"Fake It 'Til You Make It" by Laura Carter is a captivating romantic comedy that skillfully weaves together heartbreak, humour, and self-discovery. Abbey's journey from heartache to finding unexpected love is both entertaining and relatable, drawing readers into a world where plans unravel, but new possibilities emerge.

Carter introduces us to Abbey, a woman whose life is turned upside down when her long-term relationship ends in heartbreak and she encounters a professional setback. Despite the initial despair, Abbey's decision to embark on a spontaneous adventure by renting a luxurious New York apartment sets the stage for an intriguing tale of self-discovery.

Enter Ted, a tech entrepreneur seeking solace in his brother Mike's New York penthouse after a devastating betrayal. The serendipitous encounter between Abbey and Ted, mistaken identities and all, sparks a chain of events that forms the basis of their unconventional relationship. As they navigate the complexities of their fake romance, readers are treated to a delightful blend of witty banter, genuine connection, and unforeseen obstacles.

One of the novel's strengths lies in its well-developed characters, particularly Abbey and Ted. Abbey's resilience in the face of adversity and Ted's vulnerability beneath his facade make them instantly likable and relatable protagonists. Supporting characters like Ted's brother, Mike, and Abby's sister, Dee, and best friend, Shernette, add depth and humour to the narrative, enhancing the overall reading experience.

The chemistry between Abbey and Ted is palpable, and their gradual realisation of their deeper connection adds a layer of emotional depth to the story. As they confront their respective insecurities and past traumas, readers are reminded that love often blossoms in the most unexpected places.

While the novel follows a familiar rom-com formula, Carter infuses it with enough twists and turns to keep readers engaged until the very end. The exploration of themes such as honesty, forgiveness, and self-acceptance adds depth to the storyline, elevating it beyond a simple love story.

Overall, "Fake It 'Til You Make It" is an enjoyable and heartwarming read that delivers on its promises of laughter, romance, and self-discovery. Laura Carter's engaging writing style and well-crafted characters make it a worthwhile addition to the genre, earning it a solid four-star rating in my book.

Overall, I enjoyed this cute, light read and would recommend it.

A few notes from my personal experience in reading:
-I was invested through the first half-ish but then found my reading momentum slowing. It seemed like there was a lot of build up but too little resolution until, of course, the very end.
-I know the author is from the UK, but I was having a really hard time getting past the British English in the dialogue between an American and a Canadian.
-I would love an epilogue that addresses how Abbey and Ted's relationship grows, how Ted ended up addressing Fleur and Roman, and what Abbey ended up going with for a job. I just like romances to be tied up nicely with a little bow resolving all conflicts.

I really enjoyed this! Perfect if you’re looking for a light, fun read. It reminded me of a romantic comedy from the early 2000’s.

I found the characters to be quite endearing, despite the fact that they continued to lie to each other through most of the book. The slow-burn romance combined with humour made this a 4 star read for me. Would make a great vacation read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the advanced copy!

Unfortunately. This book wasn’t for me. I felt the beginning was very slow so I couldn’t fully immerse myself into the book.

Super cute book. Abbey finds out her boyfriend is cheating on her, has to move out, and gets fired from her job. She intends to rent a swanky apartment, buy a new wardrobe, and start over as she manifests for the life she wants. Married by 30 kids by 32. But now being single and unemployed things aren’t looking up. She meets Ted in her building who is staying in his brothers penthouse and when abbey thinks he’s Mike he takes on his brothers persona. With abbeys parents vow renewal coming up they agree to date in order to shove in her ex’s face. It was really heartwarming and I loved the way the author described the settings. It made me immerse myself in the setting and fall in love with the characters. Definitely read if you love fake dating

I enjoyed reading this book and would give it a solid 3.5 stars. Overall, I would recommend this book for someone looking for a light and relaxing weekend read.

The book focuses on Ted and Abbey, roommates who have just gone through breakups. They decide to fake date, as Abbey requires a date to take with her to her parent's vow renewal , and Ted wants to leave his ex, who cheated on him. The chemistry between Abbey and Ted was very strong and real. The book truly engaged me as a reader and I loved seeing the couple together.

However, I also felt that the book lagged in the beginning, and ended abruptly. If the buildup had been condensed a little more, and there was some resolution for the couple's future, I would have enjoyed reading about them some more.

Overall, I thought that this book was a good read, and I would recommend it.

Thank you NetGalley and Boldwood Books for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

This is a cute Rom Com about a fake relationship between Abbey and Ted. Abbey is pretending to be an actress and Ted has the mistaken identity of his older brother, Mike. The mistaken identity trope seemed to drag on forever. This book was a little bit of a slow burn for me. I felt like it took forever for the characters to actually get together! Closed door romance. Dual POV. Super cute banter back and forth between the main characters. I just wanted a little more. I felt like the ending was rushed a little. Overall, I would recommend this book to someone looking for a quick , cute Rom Com, just know you're headed into a slow burn!

"Fake it til you make it" by Laura Carter delivers a charming and enjoyable read that kept me hooked from start to finish. Abbey and Ted's devastating breakups set the stage for a whirlwind romance filled with unexpected twists and turns. Carter skillfully develops their characters, making them relatable and endearing despite their flaws. While I wished for a bit more depth in some scenes, the overall story is engaging and entertaining. The dynamic between Abbey and Ted as they navigate misunderstandings and form a beautiful friendship is heartwarming.
"Fake it til you make it" is a delightful read that will leave you smiling and longing for more.

Very grateful to the publisher for my copy through NetGalley, opinions are my own

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.75/5
Spice: Closed door romance

This is my first romcom read by Laura, filled with some of my favourite tropes - fake relationship and enemies to lovers. It's a quick, easy and fun read, despite it being a slow burn story. Plus, as it's dual POV, what's not to love? 😍

Abbey is dealt a double blow when work decides to let her go and also finding out her long term boyfriend is not proposing to her, but instead dumping her. Oh, and also throw in the fact he's been cheating on her too, life could not get any worse right now for Abbey 😓

Blowing what would have been her wedding funds to rent out a luxury apartment for next six months, Abbey M.O becomes 'fake it til you make it'. However, she nearly dies from the most embarrassing encounter ever with her neighbour, Mike from the floor above and it's hate at first sight for both of them.

Besides the fake relationship, there's also a mistaken identity thrown into the mix and honestly, I was literally waiting for the web of lies to come undone and the conflict to occur. The anticipation was unreal 🥹 There also isn't a proper closure and the ending felt so rushed... So many questions were left unanswered.
Personally the story was good, but it definitely had so much potential to become more 🤌🏻

Thank you to Laura Carter, Boldwood Books, and NetGalley for providing this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

A cute romantic comedy story about two who both got cheated on and decided to fake date to make their exs’ jealous. Ted pretends to his baseball playing brother and Abby changes her life around. Abby ex was douchbag and Ted ex was thinking she did no wrong. I like the story overall it was good.

I have been putting off writing this review because I was struggling to find a way to say my thoughts in a nice way. Now, I would like to preface this by saying that just because this book was not it for me, doesn't mean it's a reflection on the authors ability as a writer. That being said, I think this book was just not for me.

"Fake It 'til You Make It" drew me in initially with the promise of "chemistry you'll be thinking about long after turning the last page" and a fake dating plot. This was definitely not the case; I was WAITING for the last page because I felt absolutely no chemistry but rather boredom.

Normally I do like a romance where there isn't excessive spice, this really could have been done better.

Abbey's character is super judgemental while claiming to be a girl's girl and a feminist... the author needs to pick what personality she wants to give her characters. A girl's girl would NOT use heavily judgemental language to describe other women, for example, “smells expensive but looks cheap”.

Ted was also very misogynistic which is very off-putting.

Also, the fact that it is basically waffle until almost halfway through the book didn't help.

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What a cute, light and fun rom com about fake dating to real love. The story is short (>300 pages) so it progresses quickly but I felt it was well developed

I tried to give this one a chance but I couldn’t relate or get into abbey’s personality. I love fake dating but a miscommunication drives me crazy and I could tell this was going to have a lot of it. DNF at 30%. Just not for me.

It’s no secret by now that I love a fake dating book, so imagine my excitement when this popped up. I knew instantly that I had to read it and I’m very glad I did. I devoured this book. I’m talking reading 75% of it in one day and only putting it down on the night because I had work the next day.

Fake It ‘til You Make It was the book in sunshine form that I absolutely needed. I wouldn’t call this a five-star read, as it definitely wasn’t, but it was so entertaining. I especially loved the twist on the fake dating trope. Not only were they faking their relationship, but they were faking who they were. This was such an interesting take on the trope and it was funny to read the little moments where they’d slip up and accidentally reveal something about the real them.

There were definitely plot holes with this though. Ted, who was pretending to be his brother, agrees to go on a trip to Canada, but as Mike. Abbey tells her mom she will forward his passport information, but how does that work if he isn’t actually Mike? Surely Mike has his passport as he didn’t even know about the ruse. If Ted did use Mike’s passport, well I think that’s illegal. How far was he willing to go? Anyway, that doesn’t really matter as it’s such a small part of the story.

One part of Fake It ‘til You Make It that I really didn’t like was the stereotyping done by both characters. They’re both pretty shallow people who base their judgements on each other on what’s on the surface. This does become a slight life lesson throughout the book as they both realise the other person isn’t quite what they seem, but god is it frustrating that Ted thinks Abbey is a rich airhead because he saw her buying designer clothes once.

Thankfully, they both overcome these thoughts, but as they are both faking who they are for the majority of the book, this doesn’t happen quickly. The constant shift of their personalities was pretty funny though.

The development of their relationship felt pretty natural and it was obvious they had chemistry. They like all of the same things, almost like they were written for each other or something.

Jokes aside, I really enjoyed Fake It ‘til You Make It, I did hope there would be an epilogue though. I’m such a sucker for a ‘one year later’ scene even if it is just showing them as a loved up couple that have now moved in together. I like a happy ending, what can I say?

Such a fun read. You knew exactly what was coming and the book still kept you entertained until the end.

fake it ‘til you make it
➝ an adorable, lighthearted romcom book <33

“This is what it feels like, what it looks like, to be yearned for.”

this book is so darn cute UGHH. it feels like a massive hug.
i needed this. something cute, something pure

𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐭
abbey and ted have just had devastating breakups. abbey thought her bf, andrew was gonna propose.. boy was she in for a surprise. she goes to dinner all giggly and excited - only to be informed andrew has been sleeping with another girl. brittany.

“Brittany, she’s not like you. She’s different. Exciting.”

this was his version of an “apology” i hate this man with such a burning passion-

so she decides to blow her entire wedding month on starting a new life in New York. she buys a fancy apartment, with a huge walk-in closet everything she’s ever dreamed of. YAYY

now ted. ted is geeky, he works in finance, bit of a nerd. I love him sm his gf, fleur, is a model. a shopaholic. she’s stuck up. annoying. also hate her so much. she ends up sleeping with ted’s best friend roman and he happens to walk in on them poor baby i want to give him a hug. so he’s a mess rn and he goes to his brother, mike’s apartment in New York. that’s right. neighbouring with our dear abbey and they fall in love tehehehe.

just one problem- she thinks he’s his super cocky arrogant older brother mike, a baseball player. and he thinks she’s an actress. they don’t like eachother at first but soon form a beautiful friendship💗💗

𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐝


જ⁀➴ TED

I AM OBSESSED WITH HIM. he’s so precious he’s a little insecure bless his heart so he thought pretending to be his cooler, confident older brother would make him more interesting.

Guys like my brother and Rome can be arrogant but always get the girl. They keep the girl. Guys like me don’t get a look in.

I am always surrounded by ppl like this - overconfident and self absorbed - and may I say it’s not the most flattering look. ig everyone has a type but id much rather a cute shy boy like ted than a no-commitment man that flirts with anything with a pulse

જ⁀➴ THE ROMANCE

that romance was literally so good im still in shock. i was squealing and i was dyingggg for them to get together ugh they’re so perfect. the tension was there 😩 they had so many almost-kisses and then stopped it was killing me but i knew i loved it deep down 🫶🏼🫶🏼 this book is sort of a sentimental reminder to always be yourself no matter what bc there’s always someone who’ll love you just as you are

𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞


જ⁀➴ THE ENDING

i was looking forward to when they finally got together and you know when that is?!?! the last page 😭 no epilogue, no elaboration just a simple i love you and POOF !! It’s over.

on the same sort of lines it dragged on a little at the beginning and then the ending was super duper rushed. she didn’t find out that he was pretending to be his brother until 30-ish pages until the end. that’s just not okay but it did have me on the edge of my seat a lot which probably explains why i was so addicted to this 🥹🫶🏼

𝐪𝐮𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬

➸ But God, I’ll miss him. I miss him now and we still have days together. It’s like the countdown to a vacation you wish you could continue forever.

➸ This isn’t real, I remind myself. You can’t miss what you don’t have

➸ “We might be the most compatible fake boyfriend and girlfriend known to man”

𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧
i totally, with all my heart recommend this book. this is in no way a literary masterpiece but idc. I ATE IT UPPP.

the title on goodreads killed me:
“Fake It ‘til You Make It: A BRAND NEW laugh-out-loud, fake-dating romantic comedy from Laura Carter”

WHY IS IT SO LONG ?!?! i did in fact laugh out loud though i will admit so at least we know it’s not false advertising

anyways go read this it’s so damn cute. no smut, minimal cursing. just some lighthearted romance that will have you giggling and screaming

Thank you Netgalley, Boldwood Books and Laura Carter for providing me this ARC.

This was a very cliche story, but good read. 💜

PROS
This book is a very cute funny romance story.
I always love the fake dating trope and dual POV's.
During some parts, I was sitting on the edge of my seat. The characters are loveable and relatable. It was a quick read.

CONS
The mistaken identity lasted too long. I started getting frustrated by this. The reveal should have been sooner.
The ending felt rushed in comparison to the rest of the story. I missed a flash forward. I would've loved to know a bit more about their future together. Lots of my questions are still unanswered.

Overall it's a good book if you love cliches and the fake dating romance trope.

If a guy I just met called me 'Lady Big Panties,' well, I'd simply have to kill him.

In a world where I had never read a fake dating romance before, I might've considered Fake It 'Till You Make It a fun, light read. But, in reality, it unfortunately doesn't bring anything new to the table and frustrates the ever-loving shit out of me.

Why was I so frustrated? Well, if you look closely, you'll notice that our main characters don't do anything wrong ever. Sure, they lie to each other all the time, but since they both do it, it's okay, I guess? On the other hand, their past partners and half the people in their lives are on a Disney villain level of evilness for no good reason (I swear a character was described cackling like a witch at some point!)

I understand not wanting to write problematic characters, but Abby is so perfect she doesn't even fuck up on her job hard enough to actually get fired; she just volunteers to quit because she's so pure and fair!! (And it's not even clear if it was actually her fault because her coworker never checked her numbers!)

Also, this book was on some new level of 'not like other girls'-isms that were actually mostly coming from Ted's POV. I hate it. I hate this trope. I know girls want to read about guys seeing *something* in them, but every time Ted describes Abby, he goes out of his way to explain how much different (and more natural) she looks than his ex. (Paraphrasing: 'Fleur wore expensive clothes, had fake nails, dyed hair, and lip fillers, but Abby is so naturally gorgeous in her pajamas.') My good dude, did you even like your ex? Why did you propose to her if you didn't like her?

Finally, the unrealistic dilemma of our mmc, 'Will she still like me when she finds out I'm not a millionaire baseball player but a millionaire tech developer?' is just ridiculous.

All in all, this wasn't it for me. Maybe someone who hasn't read a fuckton of fake dating romances can find something new and charming in this, but I just couldn't.

A super cute fake dating rom-com!

Abbey thinks shes on the way to having all her goals in line when her longtime partner Andrew brings her out for what she thinks will be the proposal of dreams. Instead its a nightmare night where Andrew breaks her heart by telling her hes been cheating on her with someone more 'exciting' ( talk about twisting the knife dude).

Abbey, amid a mental crisis, decides to uproot and spend her wedding savings on a longtime stay in a swanky New York hotel. It's here that we meet our co-main character, Ted. A gorgeous nerdy tech mogul who lives upstairs. Ted is also going through his own romantic crisis as his fiance Fleur had been cheating on him with his (now ex) best friend Roman. Both of them end up getting tangled in their own lies to impress the other, while also deciding they can be the best solution to the problems they're facing. As Abbey's parents vow renewal is on the horizon, she decides they should go together and this is where our fake dating and all it's complicated feelings begins.

This was a super cute story that at times got bogged down by it's own complications. Having dual POV with both of these characters going through a similar obstacle started the story off on an odd note, but followed by extra miscommunication it was maybe a tad too much for the story to hold up. Still an enjoyable read to add to the fake dating catalogue.

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC of Fake It 'Til You Make It. All opinions are my own.

Quick read, drew me in pretty fast, made me laugh out loud several times. Loved to hate the crappy ex's right alongside our main characters (and their besties). My sensitive heart just needed more of Abbey and Ted vocally loving each other for who they are (instead of thinking about how the other person probably wouldn't love them for who they are because THEY WOULD AND THEY DO).