Member Reviews

This is a second chance romance between Briar and Dorian, who made a pact to wait for two years to continue their relationship. These two flawed but likeable souls and the unique plot make for an intriguing read. Once they reconnect, it is a bumpy ride with drama and steam, humor and charm, sexual tension and chemistry, family dynamic, twists and turns, plus appealing secondary characters to keep the reader interested. Emotional romance.

I received an Advance Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving my honest review.

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Fake-ish is a fun, light second-chance romance with a fake-relationship twist. From the moment Briar and Dorian meet on a tropical getaway, their chemistry is undeniable. They bond over their mutual dislike of marriage, and though their weekend together is brief, the connection lingers—until fate throws them back together in a surprising way.

Their sizzling chemistry drives the story, and the tension builds as Briar keeps her fake engagement a secret. Despite some deeper themes like family drama and money issues, the tone stays playful.

Overall, Fake-ish is an easy, entertaining read with plenty of emotional tension and a steamy romance. Even if a few characters are hard to like, the story has all the right ingredients for fans of angsty, spicy romances.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

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I love a fake romance story, and this one even included some second chance romance elements. Cute book, fun to read.

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I enjoy a fake relationship story with driven protagonists, however this was not my favourite to read. There was nothing that stood out to me, however it could be an easy holiday read.

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Loved this book and everything by this author. Was a great story. will definitely be reading more.

This story gave me all the feels i could hope for.

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we purchased this book for our library
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I loved this book so much! Fake-ish by Winter Renshaw is a second chance, ex's brother, summer romance. The main characters, Dorian (main male lead) and Briar (main female lead) have so much chemistry, and it was so refreshing to see how well they communicated and interacted with one another. I loved the tension between both of them, and I love how strong of a FMC the main character Briar is. The cast of supporting characters, including Dorian's family, were very entertaining. Overall, this was an incredible read.

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A fun, fake romance with a second chance twist. Loved this one by Renshaw and it definitely won't be the last!

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This is a good book. The two main characters are Briar and Dorian. There is an instant attraction. They meet at an bachelorette and bachelor party. They had a couple of nights. When they parted they promised they would meet up again. One year later, Dorian’s father is in bad shape His children come to see him for the summer. One of the sons brings Briar as his fake fiancé. Dorian recognizes her. The father passes away. Briar and Dorian fall in love.

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I loved the chemistry between the FMC and MMC. This was my first read from Winter and it won't be my last! I loved her writing!

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I love a second chance romance and Fake-ish adds in a fake relationship into the mix. This was a light and fun read that even though it touched on some heavier topics, it really did a good job of staying light. I enjoyed how it switched between the past when they met and the present day as Winter reveals both timelines of their relationship. It left me intrigued to see how they went from having it so right but at the wrong time to a year later and everything being so wrong. Their chemistry lingers in every moment they spend together and the whole time I just wished Briar could tell him what was going on.

When they meet in a tropical paradise and bond over their mutual dislike for the institute of marriage, Dorian and Briar had no idea their weekend together would stick with them both long after they returned to their lives, promising to reconnect in two years. When Briar is offered a chance to solve all her financial problems by posing as her boss’s fake fiance, she had no idea visiting his family home on a private island would put her face to face with Dorian and unable to tell him it’s all fake. But secrets don’t stay secrets forever…

I wanted to love this story but I settled on like. In audio, the narrators Stefan Cordova and Kathryn Lynnhurst definitely helped me like the story more by giving voice and life to the characters, but honestly there were a lot of unlikable characters in this story. I honestly only liked Briar and the grandfather, only sometimes liking Dorian. Everyone else I loved to hate and I’m usually a big fan of side characters. I think for me, this took some of the joy out of the story but did make me root even more for Briar and Dorian amd their HEA. Overall, I did enjoy the story and liked the overall premise, but I think there was just something missing for me.

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Please give me any and all books written by Winter Renshaw. I am quite literally obsessed. If you provided a grocery list, I would in fact read that and rate it 5 stars. Loved this book, loved the spice. Give us more!

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This was a fun quick read from Winter renshaw. It wasn’t my favorite book from her but I liked the characters it was engaging!

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Dnf @50%

I set this one down after struggling to care about any of the characters or their motivations and I believe it is time to just call it. I really like the previous book I read by Winter Renshaw so I was hopeful but Briar was just so two dimensional that I just couldn’t finish.

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Briar and Dorian meet one night at a bachelorette party and end up spending several days together getting to know each other. They connected over their shared anti-marriage beliefs amongst other things. Unfortunately the timing was off due to Dorian's job, but they agreed to meet back up in two years when he was no longer traveling for work.

The next time Briar runs into Dorian is when she is brought to meet the family of her fiance. Low and behold her fiance is Dorian's brother. The good news is the engagement is fake. The bad news is she can't tell anyone. Things get messy very quickly. One thing is certain though, the connection between Briar and Dorian is as strong as ever.

There were parts of this story I liked a lot. The premise was extremely intriguing and I could not wait to see where the story was going to go. Unfortunately, I really despised Burke, and I feel like the execution of the story fell kind of flat. I feel like various parts of the story needed to be further developed. It was still engaging but not my favorite of this author's work.

Thank you to Netgalley and Montlake for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

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A quick, fun read from Winter Renshaw. Loved the characters and the chemistry between them as well as the storyline.

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Fake-ish by Winter Renshaw is a second chance contemporary romance that can be read as a standalone. This is the story of Briar and Dorian and is told in both POV in both past and present terms.
Briar and Dorian both met on a joint destination bachelor/bachelorette party. They clicked from the start but circumstances had these two putting any potential relationship on hold. Two years later, Briar has agreed to a fake relationship with a man from work so that he can get his inheritance. On a trip to her fake fiancee's home to meet the family, she sees Dorian, who happens to be her fake fiancee's brother. Clad by an NDA, Briar can't tell Dorian the truth. Dorian is upset that Briar didn't wait for him and feels a sense of deja vu, as this has happened before, where the woman he loved chose his brother.
Will Briar tell Dorian the truth? Will these two find their happy ever after?
Fake-ish was a good quick read. I enjoy reading fake relationship, forced proximity, and second chance and if you are a fan of those tropes, then you'll enjoy this story.

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I really enjoyed the concept of this book, I honestly couldn’t put it down. It was just what I needed

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When Dorian met Briar the feelings he had for her were undeniable however he also believed that due to the demands of his career that a relationship between them would never succeed. Instead, he asks her to wait two years until he is in the position to pursue something with her however the next time he sees her it is a family event and she is engaged to his brother.

For financial reasons Briar agrees to pretend to be engaged to Burke, Dorian’s brother, so that he can claim his inheritance. This creates a complicated situation as she is unable to reveal the truth and Dorian is not happy that she is there with her brother. Let the drama begin!

Burke is a man you will despise and only makes the situation between Dorian and Briar more difficult. It is the things that Dorian and Briar don’t say that amps up the humor and the angst as they try to uncover all the truths both when it comes to his family and their relationship.

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I always enjoy a Winter Renshaw story and this one was no exception…..some fake-dating, a second chance and all sorts of family drama…what’s not to love?!?!
A bit more spice would have been nice but I enjoyed the fact that the storyline was a little bit different and this authors writing style is easy and flows really well.

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