This story follows Briar and Dorian who meet at a joint bachelor/bachelorette party for their friends. The two hit it off and have chemistry but the timing for these two just wasn't right. Can they find what they once had later on down the road at a different time? Will things be the same when they do meet up again? Enjoyable and entertaining.

I voluntarily reviewed a ARC

You can never go wrong with Winter Renshaw! My gateway drug to her was Absinthe and I haven’t looked back. Swoon worthy men, a few spicy scenes here and there but nothing crazy and always a HEA. This book did end on a different kind of HEA but it totally makes sense.

Dorian, a band manager, and Briar, office personnel for large financial company, have a chance meeting while out of the country for a bachelor/bachelorette party. After spending 3 days together, they make a pact to wait 2 years to contact each other. Well little does either one know that the reunion will happen sooner rather than later. If you love second chances, brothers, forced proximity, HEA, then this book is for you!

Thank you to Monlake, NetGalley and Winter Renshaw for allowing me to read Fake-ish! ❤️

I liked it a lot but I felt that it lacked development in MANY THINGS.

When I read the synopsis it caught me instantly because the truth is that I had not read any book like this and I wanted to know where the author was going to go. I liked that it went from the present to the past, to be able to know the entire story better, that made it more dynamic and one wanted to read as much as possible to know how it continued.

I liked the idea, I liked the characters, and how it was developed, but I felt that it was missing pages. That there was much more that could have been told, spread out without being weighed, and was not taken advantage of. I admit that I am a person who likes to see more development in the characters and in how things happen, it is something quite personal I think.

I highly recommend it to read something light and clear your head.

Thanks Montlake for the ARC I read on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This love story swept me off my feet and left me craving more!

Fake-ish follows the story of Dorian and Briar. Briar might be anti-marriage but hasn't given up on the idea of love. When she meets Dorian, their connection is instant, but the timing couldn't be more wrong. So, they make a pact to reconnect in two years. But, fate had other things in mind for these two. Briar starts a new job that pays well, and all she has to do is pretend to be her boss's fiance. Sounds easy enough. That is until Briar discovers that Dorian is her boss's brother...

Fake-ish pulled me in from the first page. I loved the connection between Dorian and Briar. You could tell they would be each other's game changer if only timing had been on their side. I loved the curveballs that life threw at them and enjoyed the glimpses of their past and seeing just how deep their connection went. The road to happily ever after for these two certainly wasn't an easy one, but I loved watching them fight for what they wanted.

Overall, I found this book to be an enjoyable read. I easily devoured it in just a few short hours and loved getting swept up in Dorian and Briar's story.

I love every single page of this book. Superb story line and awesome book characters. Ms. Winter outdone herself again with this story.

I read this as an ARC provided by Netgalley and Montlake publishing. This novel by Winter Renshaw is a fast past, right person wrong time story. It was a great quick read and was very entertaining! I definitely loved the fake dating element to it as well.

Briar and Dorian met at a bachelor/bachelorette party, and sparks went flying. But they had to go their separate ways and made a pact to reconnect two years later. Now one year later, Briar shows up to a holiday as the fake fiancée to Burke, her boss, who needs her help. But when they show up there, so does Burke's brother, Dorian...
This is a second chance, fake fiancée romance with very little spice, told in dual POVs and timelines. I mostly liked the read, but a bunch of little things annoyed me. The fact thay they promised they would wait for each other for TWO YEARS after spending meere days together was a bit intense. And even though I do understand that the situation with his brother and Briar probably hurt him really bad, the way Dorian treated her when she could not explain what was happening because of an NDA he did not know she signed was a bit harsh and unfair. I also feel like this was a misunderstanding trope disguised, and it bugged me. My favorite parts were the Then timeline, where the connection between the two MCs was more present (I didn't really feel of believe it in the Now timeline). Sadly, while this timeline is there a lot in the beginning, it completely disappeared after the halfway mark, and I was craving more of it. Some of the characters were very unlikable - I'm looking at you, Nicola and Burke (even if Burke had some moments, I'm questioning their authenticity now), and in the Now timeline, Dorian was mostly a jerk. The Rothwell family is a very disfunctional one. I did like Redmond as much as he broke my heart. I know I've been complaining a lot, but the fact that I still gave this 4 stars speaks volumes on how much I liked it despite all of it's flaws.
I received an advance review copy of this book for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Everyone's 'happily ever after' doesn't look the same, but love is love and it is worth the wait.
Briar and Dorian made a promise to each other, but a misunderstood opportunity almost ended everything. It seemed that they had more in common than shared feelings, how about sharing a couple months together with his family. Together-ish. The two were forced to deny their true feelings for one another, but not even an engagement to a family member could end the connection that was meant to be.
This tale kept me intrigued to see that a promise was kept. I actually looked forward to seeing what took place in the past to make waiting so worth the present obstacles. I also found that I loved "getting to know" about Dorian's father. He just wanted to be sure his children were happy and had someone to share their lives with. Having Briar connect with this in common was a joy, regardless of its ending.
Fake-ish was an enjoyable read from the beginning to the end. A definite re-read for me. Thank you, Winter and NetGalley for allowing me this ARC, so worth the wait!

This was short but I liked it. I would have preferred if it was a bit longer so we could actually see them together though. I liked that the connection they had was so strong that it was still there a year later.

I received an arc through netgalley.

This was surprisingly a quick read for me and also yet another satisfying romance under the pen of Winter Renshaw.

Fake-ish is a story of Briar and Dorian. They meet in the Dominican Republic on a joint bachelor/bachelorette and spend three days together. They promise to wait for each other for two years before they can be together.

Two years later, Briar finds herself in a fake-relationship with her boss, who happens to be Dorian's brother.

I'm a sucker for fake engagement romances so I already knew this would be right up my alley. Right along with a signed NDA, broken family with secrets, and a guy she promised to wait for 2 years earlier.

Looking forward to what’s coming next!

“They say one woman’s trash is another woman’s treasure, but calling Burke a treasure would be giving him too much credit.” – Briar, commenting on her fake fiancé.

Well, that’s one clue that something is amiss in the brand-new engagement between Briar and Burke. In fact, it’s a bit puzzling to learn about this engagement, complete with a sparkling 5 carat diamond engagement ring, since the story begins with Briar verbally sparring (and physically sparking) with grumpy Dorian at an OTT joint bachelor/bachelorette party down in the Dominican Republic.

Complex family histories, crossed wires and worst of all – binding nondisclosure agreements – make this a thoroughly engaging, angsty and ultimately so satisfying book that will knock your socks off. Brilliant!

Three stars!

Fake-ish follows Briar and Dorian after they meet at an engagement party for mutual friends in the tropics. When the two next meet, neither of them expect to see each other while Briar is playing the role of fake-fiance to Dorian's brother Burke. The whole 'old money' private island gave me wedding crasher vibes (without any of the funny antics).

While the initial meet-cute was sweet, and the two main characters had bucket loads of chemistry, the insta-love and promise-to-wait-two-years-for-me-trope were a little much for only having known each other a grand total of 3 days (of which we see one night). The exploration of the family dynamics was interesting but unfortunately there was just no angst (or forced proximity) while Briar and Dorian and forced to navigate each other's presence in hopeless circumstances.

Nevertheless, a super fast and fun read that's perfect for an afternoon in the holidays. I just wanted more. More pining, more angst, more I'm-going-to-fight-my-brother-to-win-you-back energy! Oh and spice. I do prefer spice in my books. This was very tame - almost fade to black.

I wouldn’t say this was a light-hearted read, but I didn’t get those strong angsty feelings some stories give me. I certainly felt bad for the male and female leads in their situations though. Appreciated the dual POVs too. There was a good storyline that moved pretty smoothly. I never stopped rooting for them the end up together in the end.

Fake-ish was an interesting read that proves just because something looks one way, doesn't mean it is that way. Cryptic? :-) This book will flip flop between the present and past. I've never been a big fan of that unless it's key to a surprise twist; Not so in this case but I get why it was done that way. Briar is offered a unique opportunity. What harm could happen agreeing to be someone's fake fiancee?

I discovered Winter Renshaw when I read “The Dirty Truth” and she has not let me down yet!
She has a way with words and storytelling!
Everyone should read this book!

Oh my wow! Freaking loved Dorian and Briar. Two people with the same values and want the same things come around once in a lifetime. On a bachelor/bachelorette party weekend they get left behind at a bar and spend time together and find they have a lot in common and lead to a few amazing days together, but reality is it’s time to go home. Promises made and a year later Briar finds herself agreeing to something she truly has no idea what she’s getting into and when she steps through the door to meet her fiancés family she comes face to face with Dorian, the love of her life. Secrets and lies, feelings between them are still on the surface, but she can’t explain what’s really going on and she may lose the one person, the only person who really got her and she got him and now he thinks she’s a liar and a good digger. How can she make him see it’s ever only and ever will be him? Loved the book!

Not a terrible book but the amount of anxiety this premise gave me meant I couldn’t really enjoy it! Also wildly unbelievable

The premise of this felt like something that would be right up my street but the whole thing just felt a bit rushed. It was kind of a dual timeline but the stuff in the past was so insta-love that I found it hard to be believable and therefore at no point felt all that invested in their relationship.

There was also a lot of repetition in places that made some chapters feel like you were just moving in circles as opposed to moving forward. It was a quick and easy read but it wasn’t quite for me in the end

What an amazing and complex story that starts as a chance meeting by two people, Dorian and Briar, who are both at friends' destination, bachelor and bachelorette party. Neither one wants to be there but Dorian feels obligated to his college friend and Briar to her cousin. When they start talking and one thing leads to another they hit it off but the timing is not right for our couple and they pledge to wait for each other and get back together down the road. When they next meet Briar is introduced to Dorian as his brother's fiance. This is where it really gets interesting and there are several twists and turns along the way.

This author can take me on a journey and keep me guessing on how the story will end. I was wrapped up in this book and couldn't get enough. My heart broke for both Dorian and Briar and the what if that they lost. This is a good story and has a happy ending.

I thoroughly enjoyed it and highly recommend it.

<b>Winter Renshaw delivers complicated emotions so effortlessly in her books! Fake-ish is a perfect blend of angsty, heartaching and sweet feels. Dorian gives the tortured, brooding and intense vibes those make my heart and panties melt. Briar captured my heart too, with her beautiful sunny soul. They met under impossible circumstances but love makes everything possible.</b>

When Briar agreed to act as her boss's fake fiance for eight weeks and spend the time with his sick father and divided siblings..she didn't know she is gonna come face to face with the same man she fell in love with one hour ago. Dorian is the brother and he is enraged at her .Because one year ago, when they met at the wedding of their mutual acquaintances, they promised each other to wait without contact till he can be free from his obligation as band manager and give her the full attention she deserved. Now Briar is stuck at a rock and hard place. The family is going through so much crisis and drama and she is clueless how to navigate it all.

<b>This set up of an obnoxiously healthy and dysfunctional family in a luxurious island was intriguing. It was like a reality show. Her fake fiance boss, Burke is a money hungry businessman robot who just needs this fake engagement to get all the inheritance money. The sister is also stuck in a marriage and wow she can be really nasty and bitter. Then there is Dorian who doesn't care about the money. He made his own from the band. Their father is trying to make up for the lost time but there is too much bad blood among the siblings, so much history of betrayal and secrets and the cracks are big. Briar is stuck in middle of this.</b>

At first I was a bit sceptical about the flashbacks in every alternate chapter because I didn't understand the necessity to go in details of that one wedding party trip. But then I realised it's so important. Two complete strangers fell in love there. Both afraid of love, both anti marriage, both sceptical about happily ever after..but they connected like magic. You can feel that through the chapters. They parted ways with a promise and they never stopped loving each other. But now Dorian sees her as his brother's fiance and that dredges up all kind of anger and pain. Oh my the angst is beautiful here. The author is shredding your hearts slowly and you are at her mercy. Then secrets come out. Tragedies unfold. Choices are to be made. I think Briar stood so strong through it and even at the worst situations, she thought about everyone. She really has a big heart. Open. Unconditional..Vulnerable. Dorian definitely took some time to go beyond his anger and grief. The spice wasn't a lot here but the touches here and there, the almost breakdown moments..keep the sizzle alive. There was something so dreamy about the way they met and fell in love and went through the heartbreak to find happily ever after. Winter Renshaw is a master at dual POV where she writes in a flawless way like we are in head and heart of the characters and it's just so easy to connect with them.

I reviewed an early copy voluntarily