Pretty much exactly what you’d think. Fell flat in a few places and didn’t always manage to finish what it started, but it was mostly fun!

I loved this fake dating paranormal romance! Amy Boyles is a new author to me, I’ll be waiting for her next book after reading this one!

Addison comes from a magical family but has no magic herself, much to her family’s chagrin; she runs the family bookstore and is able to match customers with the perfect book.
She’s just been dumped by her boyfriend due to her lack of magic. The family magic is getting low, and Addison or one of her sisters needs to find a spouse. The family decides to hold a magic ball where everyone can meet her.

Feylin is the King of the Fae, living in an old castle in town. The fae and the witches are wary of each other. He met Addison at the bookstore, so when he sees her ex harassing her he steps in as her fake boyfriend. However, he somehow calls on ancient fae magic and suddenly he and Addison are bound together. They must go through a set of fae ceremonies prior to their marriage, which is a problem for a fake relationship!

The plot is very entertaining and I loved all the different characters, 5 stars.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed as in this review are completely my own.

“Every part of me wanted her. I wanted to own her completely, brand her with my body, fill her and hear her moan my name.”

"So basically I'm in a fake relationship with a fae. I'm faking it with a fae."

"Addison." My name sounds sacred as it drips from his lips. "You are driving me out of my mind."

Amazing, wonderful, magical, funny and addicting!!! This book was all these things and more !!! A fantasy romance book with fake engagement, true love joining, witches, fae, spice, magic, forced proximity and enemies to lovers !!! I had the time of my life reading!! It was a refreshing book after a bit of dark books I went through and I’m so glad I did read it at the time I did!!! Addie is the first of six sisters only she is the only one without powers. When her family finds itself on a verge of losing it all, she has to marry. Only she is not expecting to fall and arranged a fake engagement with the fae king, Feylin, who despises her family but is also looking for a wife to make his lords happy. This book was made of betrayals, secrets, balls, tension, frustration, collaboration and a desire sparkling between the main characters, impossible to hide! Their story was so good to read and I honestly found myself more intrigued and invested in the story the more I read. And I genuinely can’t wait for the next one on this series !!!

"You have changed me, and for once a fae myth is right. I didn't say it when you mentioned it, too soon and all, but we believe that a joined couple signifies true love, and I've come to believe that."

"Because if this isn't true love, then true love doesn't exist."

"You, Addison Thornrose, you have wrecked me,"

Witches. Wizards. Fae.
This was a simple but cute read. I think both of the main characters were written well so the book kept my interest. I loved the element of magic in this story.

This is one of my new favorite books! First time in a while that I have finished a book in one day. I highly recommended this to my reader friends! 5 stars 100%!!!!!!

Netgalley arc

I really enjoyed the different style of writing, for someone who reads lots of fae books it was very refreshing.

I devoured this in less than 24 hours!

Addie is a witch with no powers in a family full of powers, she is forced to marry to carry on the magic of her family.. but is it that simple?

I don't feel it was very enemies to lovers as some other reads , probably more forced proximity?

Overall I really enjoyed this book 5*

4/5 stars! I really enjoyed this book and couldn’t put it down. I found it to be a nice quick read. How To Fake It With A Fae is book one of a new series. I can’t wait to read the rest of the books in the series. This book is released February 25, 2024. Thank you Ladybugbooks LLC, Amy Boyles and Netgalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.

The best advice I can give before reading this is to go into this story thinking it will be a silly enemies to lovers romance. It’s full of goofy metaphors, pop culture references, everyday slang in a modern day setting. This comedic romantantasy features witches, wizards, and fae with royalty and a fun big family feel. There’s a bit of world building, but I can see it being more complex in future books. It’s feel good quick read that features a little spice and miscommunication twists. The ending opens up into many more sequels, which I’d pick up if I was looking for a light hearted read.

I think this story is a cute start to a series. When I remembered to not take it too seriously, I enjoyed it much more than when I was analyzing it for a review.

A solid 3 ⭐️'s

ARC received through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Any book I start is a three star and then I will at and. subtract so let's to some maths.
Start:
The beginning was a fun Ell Woods moments and. I loved it +0,5
Plot starts well Addie is getting a. bit whiny and starts to get on my nerves -0,5
They meet and Feylinis saving it a little bit +0,25
Addie gets more and more annoying -0,5
The plot and story. is not working and predictable;-0.5
End score = 2,25

Well it was just such a boring book and I was so close to DNF'ing it but my kindle said I had an hour left so I just powered through and finished it to make a rounded review but it was a struggle.

Addison was ...29 years old. I had to keep reminding myself about that. While I LOVED the grumpy/sunshine that just radiated from this, I had a lot of difficulty understanding why 2 adults couldn't talk about their feelings with each other. I don't mind the missed-communications trope, but I was tired by the end. However, I just love the idea of Addison's world and I think about lost it at the twist towards the end. I really enjoyed this overall.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

3.5

This is a pretty fun rom-com!

I struggle with romantasy books as I find they don't fulfil my expectations as a fantasy, nor as a romance. By leaning more heavily into the romance side of things and opting for a very soft magic system in an urban fantasy setting, Boyles has hit the mark for me.

The heart and soul of any romance, for me, is the chemistry between the two leads. At the start, I found it a little difficult to buy into. Addie and her love interest immediately engage in verbal sparring that, at times, feels immature. As the relationship develops and we spend more time with the characters, they're able to engage in a more meaningful way on the page. Once this happens, the real sparks start flying.

The story kicks off with Addie being summoned home after the death of her beloved grandmother. I expected to see grief on the page. But right after Addie gets the news, we meet Feylin, and the narrative focus shifts to signal that this is the love interest and that he's a bit of a babe. This felt out of step with what had just occurred a mere scene earlier. This disconnect continues throughout, reducing the grandmother and her death to a narrative device.

The second is something some readers are fine with, but I rarely enjoy: miscommunication. There are several instances where Addie refuses to tell Feylin something for seemingly no reason. Most of these are small, and are perhaps used as a way to get the reader used to her poor communication when it becomes more important to the plot, but unfortunately that didn't work for me.

I also struggled with the rules around the family magic. It seems that all daughters are required to get married and have children to preserve the family's power - this struck me as unnecessarily heteronormative. Perhaps I've misunderstood how the magic works, but I couldn't help but think what if one of the daughters was a lesbian or asexual? There are seven of them, so the odds aren't bad that one might be queer. This isn't something that impeded my enjoyment of the narrative but it did catch my attention and make me wonder how it could have been done in a more inclusive way.

The spice is good! I don't know for chilli pepper ratings (perhaps a 2-2.5?). There are only a couple of on pages physical scenes, but Boyles does an excellent job of creating sexual tension. You're just dying for them to hurry up and get together.

Overall, this was fun! It's easy to read and does what it sets out to do. If you like romcoms and don't mind the miscommunication trope, give How to Fake it with a Fae a go!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc.

The series revolves around sisters, starting with me, Addison, whose magical powers never manifested. After a tragedy, she finds herself in a fake engagement with the fae king, Feylin. The story is good for its quirky elements, unique magical concepts, and a rom-com vibe. I enjoy the humor, tension, and the forced proximity element due to the 'joining.'

While I appreciate the first-person narrative and find myself endearing, some critique certain dialogue as cringe or corny. My personal preferences include a desire for higher stakes and better communication between characters. A twist involving getting killed by a book is seen as unserious but doesn't ruin my overall enjoyment. The fast-paced nature is acknowledged, and I'm excited for potential future books.

Overall, the book is a quick, fun, and lighthearted fantasy rom-com with witches and fae.
Thank you Netgallery and Amy Boyles for allowing me to read this book.

The title of this book drew me to choose it. A rom com book with witches and fae, it sounded really interesting.

The book centres around Addison Thornrose, a witch with no powers and the king of the Fae, Feylin.

Both have their reasons to marry and fate brings them together with an opportunity that will suit them both, but disaster awaits

The story was a fun read, with first person narrative from them both, which is something I enjoy reading. Filled with plot twists, I can't wait for the best book. I'm hoping we get to learn more about the other supernaturals mentioned.

ARC receiver courtesy of the publisher and Netgalley, thank you for the opportunity to read.

I liked this book in the beginning but then it swiftly went downhill, the story had good bones but the grammar and sentence structure were not well done and needs another few rounds of editing. I also found the FMC to be very juvenile for supposedly being 29.. this was just not for me and I DNF’d at 27%

The REALLY good kind of sexy!! Fae are everywhere right now but 'How to Fake it With a Fae' is also a billionaire romance which is my *smutty* kryptonite? I love a good billionaire shifter romance, and I feel like I'd exhausted those on Kindle Unlimited? So, I was pretty much guaranteed to love this. I hope all of my fellow quick fantasy smut readers get to read this series because I can already tell it will be good for the rest of the sisters!!

**Thank you to Ladybugbooks LLC & NetGalley for the advanced reader copy. I received this book for free, but all thoughts are my own. – SLR 🖤

I liked this book. The magic elements were cool and I liked the bookshop. I felt like the characters fell flat at times but I liked them at other times. I wanted to see more of Elmore, he seems like a really intriguing character and I’m hoping he’ll have a bigger role in future books. I think this series has potential to be great but this book just didn’t quite hit the mark.

Unfortunately I decided to dnf this book at around 30%. I couldn't connect to the characters nor did I feel a romantic chemistry between the love interests. I also found the writing a bit immature which made me disconnect with the story. I did find the world and the concept of supernatural beings in the human world interesting.

Thank you for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest opinion.

I didn’t know what to expect going into this book but it was just a fun combo of fantasy and lighthearted romance! Addie was so fun and I obviously love that she works in a book store! The beginning of this book is very legally blonde mixed with encanto and I loved that! Feylin was so dreamy!

Okay I absolutely adore series' that follow sisters- I think it is an immaculate template, because you get to see all your favourite characters throughout the books. This one started off strong with our lead Addison (oldest sister- also side note, I love that the sisters names are in alphabetical order) whose magic just never manifested and as the odd duck out of her family she lives amongst humans. When tragedy strikes she is brought back home, only to somehow end up in a fake-engagement scenario with the fae king!!
How To Fake It With A Fae was deliciously quirky, I loved that the witches don't fly brooms, but skillets. Amy Boyles puts a fun spin on traditional witchy ideas. Also as an avid reader, all bookworms know that the most elite books feature libraries, bookstores or just literary inclined heroines and Addison absolutely fits the bill.
Our MMC Feylin (the aforementioned fae king) is hell bent on revenge on the witching community (specifically Addison's family)- does this spell disaster? Yes, yes it does- in the best way.
If you are looking for a cute rom-com, this one is certainly worth the read!

This book has the most absolutely beautiful cover! Also, I was drawn into the fun and unique summary. It had some fun and funny moments. Overall, though, I struggled a bit to connect to the story and the characters. The ending frustrated me because I found the forgiveness (based on some decisions made by the MMC) came way too quickly.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ladybug Books for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.