*4.5 stars*

Great Christmas romance…

What would it be like to ‘live’ Christmas all year round? Sounds like a fairytale happening in Tinsel, Michigan except for… Two resident families being less than merry with each other. How can the gingerbread and fruitcake camps be at odds – don’t they use the same sugar in their recipes? Dane and Amanda have lived this rivalry all their lives and with Dane’s sister being Amanda’s best friend and Amanda having a crush on Dane, well, things have been very complicated…

Amanda left home and has a good life in the city. It’s too bad her family doesn’t see how happy she is. When she and Dane start a fake engagement what was complicated is taken to a whole new level! I loved the humour and warmth of this story and, happily can say, I love the Andersons and Silvers but still don’t like gingerbread or fruitcake.

A perfect holiday read!

Rating: 4.5⭐
Spice: 1.5🌶️

I'm so glad I went into this book blind because I was not expecting this! Pippa has pulled all the stops, creating a perfectly cute and heartwarming romcom based in Tinsel - yep, a town which has that festive cheer 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙!! 🎄☃️🎅🏻

Dane has returned to Tinsel to visit family, when he hears someone attempting to break in through the window. Low and behold, he finds his high school crush and sister's BFF, Amanda on the other side.
However, they both come from rival families with a long-standing feud between them. When Amanda explains that she's 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 lied to her grandmother about them being engaged, Dane decides to roll with it, hoping that it'll put an end to this feud once and for all.

I absolutely loved Amanda and Dane together, along with Chili (omg, he was just so 𝙖𝙙𝙤𝙧𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚!!!). Their chemistry and light hearted banter was unmatched, and the pining from Dane...🫠🫠 (He's a literal walking green flag!) I also adored both their character growth and seeing their fake relationship blossom into something so much more... Be still my heart! 💓

I highly recommend this if you're looking for a fun and easy read, filled with Christmas vibes, crazy antics from the Tinsel town residents and a bonus mystery to solve! 𝘾𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙞 𝙖𝙠𝙖 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙'𝙨 𝙡𝙖𝙯𝙞𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙙𝙤𝙜 also gets his own epilogue... and that seriously is one not to be missed!!! 🤭

Thank you to @pippa.grant and @netgalley for providing me with an eARC, in exchange for an honest review 🫶🏻

⭐️: 4
🌶️: 4

💍 fake engagement
🎄 feuding families
💍 small town
🎄 best friends brother

A fake dating scheme with a fun Christmas twist! This book was exactly the light and fun read I was looking for and kept me on my toes until the very end (seriously, how are they going to get themselves out of this one?).

Amanda and Dane were lovable and both had such beautiful souls, that I found myself hoping they wouldn’t break each others’ hearts. And Chili, he was the goodest boy and best side character of all time!

🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️= open door, multiple scenes, descriptive

♥︎ Thank you NetGalley, Montlake and Pippa Grant for the The Fake Wedding Project!

I adored The Fake Wedding Project. It's a super fun Christmas-y rom-com with classic Pippa Grant humor. A fake engagement to end a long-standing family feud is a great idea, right? Especially when it involves your best friend's older brother who secretly had a crush on you in high school. The Andersons and Silvers have been at war for generations and most of them don't really know why. Dreading the pressure to move home and take over her family's gingerbread shop, Amanda plans to convince her family that she's happily engaged to the enemy, aka Dane. Of course feelings get involved throwing a wrench into everything. This was a perfect read, the audio makes it even better with Connorn Crais and CJ Bloom bringing these characters to life. Highly recommend.

💍Friends -To-Lovers
💍Small-Town
💍Feuding-Families
💍Fake Relationship
💍Holiday Rom-Com

My Very first Pippa Grant book and I loved it so much.
If you’re a fan of Romeo and Juliet but without the tragic ending then this is an amazing Rom Com for you.

The Banter and the monologue is fantastic the Capulets and the Montague’s have nothing on the Andersons and the Silvers of Tinsel, Michigan. This story had Hallmark vibes written all over. You got feuding families, a Christmas town called Tinsel, best friend’s older brother, a fake engagement and wedding to plan in ONE WEEK, and a cabin with one bed. What more can you ask for! This was a perfect Holiday Rom-Com for sure.

Amanda and Dean were the best together they got along so well it was so easy to follow along. These two were amazing together and the epilogue was hilarious. Never seen it coming, it was a perfect ending to this amazing book.

This story was sooo cute! Light and hilarious, perfect for the holidays. Though it's not a Holiday Romance, the action takes place in a small town known for their year round Christamsy vibes - and rivalry.

So they way these two tried to fix their longtime family rivalry was cute and funny. Until feelings got involved. 🤣

Banter, spice, family feuds, secret christmas recipes, found family, meddling friends, fake dating - a really great one sitting read.

Thank you to the publisher for the arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was like a Hallmark movie in book form. I'd recommend if you're looking for a quick, easy read with fake dating and small town charm. While this book is set in a Christmas-themed town and gives off some of those holiday vibes, it takes place during the summer, so I wouldn't necessarily classify it as a Christmas book.

The whole feud between the two families was a little ridiculous, to the point where it consumed their entire lives. I'd be so annoyed with them if I was another resident of the town. I did enjoy learning the mystery of just why these two families hated each other so much though.

I liked our two main characters and the romance was cute, but a little too insta-lovey for me. I always have issues when a book takes place during the span of a week.

Also, any book with a cute dog gets points from me, and Chili was the best. I loved the bonus epilogue from his point of view, too!

brb — moving to tinsel, michigan 🎅🏼🎄

this book is definitely romeo and juliet, meets hatfield’s and mccoy’s—but as a romcom with all the steamy hallmark vibes.

amanda anderson announces she is engaged in a panic when her family expects her drop everything and take over their bakery. to make matters even more crazy, she tells them her fiancé is dane silver—without him knowing. the fruitcake loving silver’s and the gingerbread loving anderson’s have hated each other for generations, but the new generation is tired of secret friendships and holding grudges no one even knows what they are. so amanda and dane decide to keep the charade going, fake dating through fake wedding planning to try to mend the rift between their families. it’s supposed to be temporary, but it starts to not feel fake at all.

the small town romance, best friends brother, spicy forbidden romance goodness had me eating this right up. plus i love a cute, lazy dog and the little mystery is so much fun.

the fake wedding project is the perfect intro to holiday romance without being an overly christmas romance because it’s set in a town that’s christmas themed all year but it’s not actually december. a must read to get you into the holiday spirit.

Welcome to Tinsel, Michigan!!

When I saw this described as Romeo & Juliet meets a steamy Christine Hallmark movie, I knew I wanted to read it!

I immediately fell for Amanda and Dane (and his incredibly lazy dog Chili!) Their accidental engagement was actually very relatable and all the family drama that came with it!

The feuding between the Andersons and Silvers was epic. It was over the top and ridiculous and so much fun to read - I mean it was the Gingerbread House vs Fruitcake Emporium.

Amanda and Dane had such great chemistry and they were so dedicated to the fake relationship - I found myself laughing out loud at the situations they ended up in. This such a fun story - be sure and read the epilogue!!

✨What to Expect:
🩵Romantic Comedy
🥀Romeo & Juliet Vibes
🔥Hallmark Vibes, But Make It Spicy
🏡Small Town
🎄Holiday Romance-ish
💍Fake Relationship
💖Forced Proximity
🦮 Chili…Sweet Lazy Chili

This book was very ok to me. I’m kind of bummed. I had high hopes with how everyone raves about her books but this kind of fell flat to me. There wasn’t enough of a history or connection between the MMC and FMC. I think I was missing some tension. And I just really didn’t like the last chapter at all. I was cringing. The book as a whole wasn’t bad. It just wasn’t for me.

A fun fake dating read, but now far will they to with their fake dating ruse, as far as a wedding? I loved this book.

Synopsis: Amanda Anderson is back home to visit and her grandmother wants to pass on the family gingerbread bakery to her. Instead of refusing, she tells them she's engaged to Dane Silver. The Silver's and The Anderson's have been fighting for generations in this tiny Christmas town called Tinsel. Amanda thinks if she's engaged to Dane, then there's no way her grandmother would give her the bakery. When she confesses to Dane that she did this, he hops on board and says they can trick their families into getting along if they keep up their fake engagement. The big question is will they be able to bring peace to Tinsel?

Tropes:
- Romeo and Juliette
- Fake dating / fake engagement

My opinion:
I'll be honest, it was a cute story and the writing was very fun. It is a story that has an obvious ending, so it wasn't like some big surprise that they were able to pull it off in the end and that they ' accidentally' fell in love while doing so. With that said, it was unique in that they incorporated the mystery of the generations long family feud. I'll also note that the sex scenes were delicious.

Would recommend!

I am always a sucker for fake relationship and feuding families, so the fact that this had both had me sold immediately. I couldn’t put it down and was alternating between my kindle and the audio.

Dane was so swoony and always put Amanda first. He stood up to both of their families and the fact that he’s always had a crush on her melted my heart. I also loved Amanda’s friendship with Dane’s sister.

If you’re looking for a romcom book that reads like a spicy Hallmark movie, this is it! This book takes place around August, but Tinsel feels like Christmas year round.

ho ho holy crap i loved this book! as a die hard fan a hallmark movies, this book would fight right in with their christmas in july theme! a town that’s Christmas all year round, two feuding families fighting over something people don’t even remember, and two people from those families fake engaged to hopefully stop the feuding. it was fast paced, intriguing, and the love story had a depth to it that i never wanted to stop reading it. Dane and Amanda were so cute and i loved watching them fall in love.

Some I discovered her on Bookstagram, Pippa Grant is an auto-read author for me. I know her books will have humor that make me laugh out loud, well-developed and likable main characters, an assortment of side characters that make me smile, witty banter, chemistry and a swoon-worthy happy ever after. All of this was true of The Fake Wedding Project!

It takes place in a Christmas-themed town in Michigan (there really is one). There are feuding families and this fake engagement gets everyone in a tizzy. I loved Amanda and Dane and how their fake romance slowly became real.

Thanks to the publisher for sharing a copy with me. All opinions are my own.

First special thank you to Netgalley for the e-ARC in exchange of my honest review.
How adorable and cute is this book! I don't think there is anything to hate at all. It was pleasant, very calming and fast read. If you are looking for something to make you feel better about the world, the humanity and life in general, please pick this up because the experience is here free for the taking.
A town called tinsel that celebrates Christmas year long- I mean, when can I move in? Are you obsessed with Christmas? -this book is for you.

The book talks about a story of a fruit cake company and the gingerbread bakery whose got a long-standing family feud. Talking about small towns, right? And yet, I am all here for it. The younger generations of both families were sick and tired of it, and they are taking matters into their own hands. It is Christmas after all- the season of perpetual hope and unity and family love. The solution to their dilemma? - a fake engagement! I mean how adorable is that?!
I don't want to spoil anything but y'all know how this goes right? The fake engagement will definitely turn into a real one and HEA will be the ending. As to how they get to the sought after HEA is going to be the beauty and charm of this book.
I love and enjoyed it all and felt just as happy as when I started! Highly recommended read!

8 likes

I think that this one is weak compared to the author's other offerings. It felt like a knock off of the Blissed series. I don't like that everything happens in a week. It made everything feel rushed, and we never get to really go deeper with the characters. I had a hard time with all of these people hating each other without knowing the reason why. It made them hard to like. The ending was pretty good, and I always appreciate the bonuses.

I listened to the audio book but I absolutely lovedd this book! I thought this friends to lovers, marriage of convivence romace was lough out loud funny! I literally had tears coming from my eyes. The was spice was a 3/5 but it was perfectly done! I would 100% reccommend this book to anyone wanted a hilarious rom com!

PS The bonus epilog in the dog's pov was PERFECT!

Rating: 4.25 stars

adventurous, emotional, funny, inspiring, mysterious, medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

This was a fun read. It covers the romance genres of small-town, contemporary, and holiday, and he falls first.

Envision yourself in a quaint small town where everyone is acquainted with each other. It's a place where you'd expect harmony, but there's a twist. Two families, the Andersons and the Silvers, are in a perpetual feud, each blaming the other for their misfortunes. This feud has been a part of the town's fabric for so long that its origins have become a distant memory.

Amanda Anderson would love to hang out with her best friend, Lorelai Silver, for all to see, but her friend is from a family she should not speak to. Her grandmother is also pressuring her to move back home.

Dan Silver is fed up that his family can only think about how to best the Andersons. He is considering not visiting home as much if they don't change.

But what can Dan and Amanda do to get their families to change? They decide to fake an engagement with each other. Now, the story becomes exciting.

Pippa Grant is a new author to me, and i enjoyed reading her work. The chaos, wit, and love are seen throughout the story, but somehow, you will want this couple not to be in a fake relationship.

Reasons I enjoyed this book:
Easy-to-read, Entertaining, Romantic, Unpredictable, Witty, Wonderful characters

This made me laugh a lot so basically the FMC and the MMC are from opposite families who always had a problem between them so in order to end that they decide fake arrange a marriage between them but well at the end they were always the one of each other I did enjoy a lot and it was a easy and quick read