This is such a fun book to read for holiday season. Hallmark vibes for sure. 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. 😍

It’s easy and quick read. Full of fun family antics. Theres a little spice and the MMC is all green flags! There’s also an adorable dog who gets his own little bonus epilogue at the end which was super duper cute!

Absolutely recommend if you like Pippa Grant books and a fun holiday read 💚❤️💚

This. So much this! I snorted a noodle out of my nose from laughing so hard. 🤣🤣 I laughed more in the first 15% of this book than I've laughed in ALL of some other books.
I have never read a Pippa Grant book before, and now I'm going to have to go through her entire back catalog. Amanda and Dane were absolutely lovable and flawed, and just wanted their respective families to be and do better. I think that's something most of us can relate to. And Chili the Dog (get it? Chili Dog?) 🌭 was an absolute delight. 💖

Move over Montagues and Capulets. The Andersons and Silvers have a feud just as venomous, but this time the young “lovers” are determined that it won’t end in tragedy.

It’s a tale as old as time - Gingerbread vs. Fruitcake - and the entire town of Tinsel, Michigan is swept up in the long standing anger between the families though no one knows what grievance lies at the center of the animosity. Amanda returns to Tinsel at the behest of her tyrannical grandmother to take over the family gingerbread business - a job she does not want. Dane Silver is visiting his hometown when he runs into Amanda and discovers that she and his sister are secretly BFFs sneaking around to hide their friendship. Together they cook up a plan to get Amanda disowned so she doesn’t have to face a future of molasses and cookie cutouts, and end the feud in the process.

What follows is a farcical,holiday-ish, fake dating rom-com that had me laughing and smiling from start to finish. The audio version of the book is expertly narrated by Connor Crais and CJ Bloom. Each brings the perfect amount of fun to their characters and makes this a book I hated to pause. The bonus epilogue in particular is award worthy. I’ve added Pippa Grant to my list of authors I want to read more from.

Thank you to NetGalley, Hambright PR, and Brilliance Publishing, and Montlake for for the advance copies in exchange for my honest review.

What a delightful book! This is a wonderful retelling of the Romeo and Juliet story without the unhappy ending. This book takes place in the town of Tinsel, Michigan where they live Christmas all year round. Instead of the Montegue and Capulet families, Tinsel has the Anderson and Silver families who have been fighting for so long, no one knows what started the feud. Dane Silver has come into town for his grandparents anniversary party. He is alone in his sister’s cottage when someone breaks in through the window, and it is none other than Amanda Anderson. Amanda is in town for her grandmother’s retirement announcement, and when her grandmother said she was leaving the family Gingerbread bakery to her, she panicked and said she was engaged to Dane. Amanda has been secretly friends with Dane’s sister Lorelei and wanted to warn her of the lie she told her family. When Amanda tells Dane what she has done, he thinks they should continue the ruse to end the stupid feud that has torn the town apart. They end up having a week to pull this off, and you have a wonderful fake relationship/close proximity romance. If you are a sucker for Hallmark Holiday movies with humor sprinkled throughout, you will love this book. I hope that this is the beginning of a new series, as I would love for Lorelei to get her own book. I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley for my honest review.

Dane and Amanda’s families have been enemies for as long as the small town of Tinsel can remember, yet no one remembers the reason for this. The younger generations of these families feel it is time to put an end to this feud.

Amanda has come up with quite the plan for this to happen which starts with her telling her family that she is engaged to Dane.

Can Amanda and Dane keep up the pretence to help fix their families or will it all fail?

This is a quick, cosy read based in a Christmas themed town where it’s Christmas all year round and with some added spice. I have not read any of this authors books before but found it an enjoyable read.

Thank you NetGalley and Montlake for the advance copy.

All the sugar with the perfect touch of spice! The Fake Wedding Project by Pippa Grant was a heartfelt holiday small-town rom-com that put a smile on my face and left me all merry and bright! Amanda and Dane’s feuding family drama had light-hearted Romeo and Juliet vibes, with all the Christmas cheer, and I was here for it. This book is just perfect for the holidays.

C.J. Bloom and Connor Crais perform this audiobook in dual narration. These two embodied all things Amanda and Dane delivering Pippa’s amusingly swoony words perfectly. C.J.’s upbeat, lively tone portrayed Amanda’s passion and dedication to the cause to help her family overcome their conflicted past. Connor’s warm inviting voice matched Dane’s charismatic and attentive demeanor as he made his intentions clear with his family and Amanda. (Swoon!) Not to mention, Connor’s performance in the epilogue as the dog, Chili was hilarious perfection. Both narrators also created just the right amount of tension and longing between Amanda and Dane.

Overall, I LOVED this book. If you are a fan of a small-town holiday romance with a hot hunky dog-loving hero, a devoted community theater lover, feuding families, house break-ins, Christmassy year-round towns, high school crushes, Gingerbread Shops, fruitcake, fake engagements, family cookouts, canoe mishaps, eggnog lattes, life-size snow globes, secret letters, rainy spice, family truths, and a HEA that will fill you with cheer, then you will love Amanda and Dane’s story. I always look forward to more from Pippa Grant.

This was an okay (not) Christmas story, although the small, fictional town of Tinsel, MI celebrates the holiday year-round. The premise is that Amanda, visiting from NYC, in an effort to avoid having a dreaded conversation with her pushy grandmother, pretends to be engaged to her secret best friend Lorelei’s brother Dane who is visiting from San Francisco. Why a secret BFF? Well, that’s because their families have been feuding for about 150 years and no one remembers why. Unfortunately, the whole town walks on eggshells because their parents’ and grandparents’ primary pastime, when they’re not running rival bakeries (her family’s gingerbread and his family’s fruitcake), is to play a mean game of oneupmanship, not hesitating to use their offsprings’ accomplishments as pawns in their petty war rather than just showing pride. Dane, who hasn’t really seen Amanda since high school (when he harbored a crush on her), readily agrees to fake an engagement with the lie that they’ll elope to Vegas a month later. However, the feud-weary townsfolk decide they should get married within the week. Do they not have enough to keep themselves busy that they can drop everything to throw together a wedding in a matter of days…and not have the courtesy to even ask the couple if they’re okay with it?

I just couldn’t get on board with the idea that they’re both such pushovers and are so easily bulldozed by everyone, that they really think they can use their very brief engagement to end the feud, and that announcing it is fake just before the ceremony won’t have everything blow up in their faces. There’s just so much that’s unrealistic about this story, and I got bored and frustrated with how rude and inconsiderate Dane’s uncle and all their grandparents were to their supposed future spouses. Although there was spice (as in the sexy kind, not the baking type), I didn’t feel any chemistry between them. I also didn’t buy into the instalove trope, even if they were sharing a cabin for a few days. Not a horrible book, but not the least bit memorable either.

"The Fake Wedding Project" by Pippa Grant is a cute and quick read that's a Romeo and Juliet inspired holiday romance.

It's all about one family's secret gingerbread recipe and the other family's famous fruit cake.

Story Likes
⭐⭐⭐

SPICE
🌶️ mild(ish)

RECOMMEND
💳 yes*

*This story is great for anyone who likes small town, feuding families, fake engagement, romcoms that has Hallmark vibes.

Thank you Montlake, Pippa Grant, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read "The Fake Wedding Project" in advance.

As usual Pippa has brought pure laughter to us with this book. You have the small town charm we are accustomed too along with a fake engagement that came out of nowhere but turned into a way to bring the two families back together after generations of fueding which nobody seems to know why after so long. Tinsel slowly warms up to the idea that they can all get along if Dane and Amanda really are going to get married. This book sprinkles a little Christmas joy in July around and just be prepared to start craving baked sweets. I hope we have more time in Tinsel in the future.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the eARC of “The Fake Wedding Project” by Pippa Grant in exchange for my honest review.

The Fake Wedding Project is a standalone, lighthearted romcom. Dane and Amanda return home to their small town for family parties. Their families have a multi-generational family feud that nobody really knows why it started. Amanda’s grandma is expecting her to take over the family Gingerbread House business but she’s not wanting to, so she says the one thing that she thinks will get her out of it…she’s engaged to Dane Silver! When Amanda tells Dane what she did, he tells her they should fake an engagement to help their families to stop the feud so she doesn’t have to sneak around to hide her friendship with his sister.

I throughly enjoyed this book and the writing style. It kept me engaged from start to finish. I found myself laughing out loud several times. I’d highly recommend this book, it was a great read!

The Fake Wedding Project was an interesting take on a fake-relationship-meets-feuding-families story. I thought it was a unique premise for a book, and I found the it to be very entertaining. It's a stand alone story and would be a great introduction to Pippa Grant's writing.

I received a copy of this book at my request, and the opinions here are my own.

Book review 📚
The Fake Wedding Project by Pippa Grant
⭐⭐⭐⭐

This book takes fake dating to a whole different level; I was expecting the same old story with the same old plot but actually the route Grant took it down was nothing short of spectacular.

Amanda and Dane join forces to end the rivalry of their families and become “engaged”. The rivalry between their families, which seems to have gone on forever and a day, has become enough for both of them. What better way than to shut them all up by getting engaged?

Christmas vibes, winter wonderland, cute and cosy, fake dating, brothers’ best friend? I mean the book sells itself.

I think this was the fastest I’ve ever finished a Pippa Grant book because I could not put it down once I started. “The Fake Wedding Project” is a fun, flirty and laugh out loud fake fiance rom-com that I loved so much.

Dane is back visiting his hometown, Tinsel and the last thing he was expecting was to be fake engaged to his high school crush, Amanda. Amanda is back home and is trying to convince her family that she’s not the one to take over her family’s business because she wants and needs to be in the big city. In a panic, she tells her family that she’s engaged to Dane. Which would normally not be a problem but their families have been fighting for generations and no one really knows the reason why. But both think if their families believe they’re in love, the feud will end. But as they work on this charade, the lines start to blur.

I love a good fake engagement storyline and this one was so fun. I loved Amanda from the beginning and it only grew as the story went on. She’s fun, smart, caring and knows what she wants in life. I loved that she was brave enough to go find her calling in life even though when she came back home she was feeling the pressures from her family. Dane is a walking green flag and I loved how he helped her without hesitation. His crush on her from high school was still there and only grew as they spent time together. It was clear that there was a chemistry between them and I loved them figuring out as the story went on. I was so invested in the family feud and was so curious on what and/or who it was over. As I was reading, I kept wishing that this small town was real. Chili the dog was hilarious and I loved his bonus epilogue. The ending was perfect and I hope we get more from this small town soon.

This book was honestly one of my favorite stories this summer. I loved the Romeo and Juliet vibe between Dane and Amanda, and the way the younger generations of the Andersons and Silvers seemed genuinely like each other. I was thoroughly surprised when Amanda propositioned Dane with her Fake Wedding Project, but I never thought he had such secret feelings for her.
I was mad at several of the family members, but some of their accusations and stories made me laugh out loud.

Tis the season… well technically tisn’t actually the season, it’s the height of summer, but Christmas is big business all year round in Tinsel, Michigan. So is the generations-long feud between the Andersons and the Silvers but perhaps an engagement between Amanda Anderson and Dane Silver will do something to change that. Except, it’s fake. And rapidly spiralling out of control…
This is trademark Pippa Grant: appealing main characters with strong first-person narration from two people who gradually realise they’ve got themselves into one hell of a situation, a well-realised supporting cast, an appealing (and very laidback) dog and some truly zany moments - all accessorised with snort-worthy humour and a touch of spice. It was a thoroughly enjoyable and heartwarming read, and the only reason it’s not 5 stars is that I couldn’t quite get my head around the whole plot taking place over the course of just a week.

The Fake Wedding Project is a cozy rom com mystery with fun twists. I loved the Christmas town, rivaling families (Romeo & Juliette), and fake relationship tropes in addition to all the Hallmarky vibes throughout. Pippa knows how to grab you from the first page and keep you turning pages. Dane and Amanda earned their lovely HEA considering the mess those families created over time. The angst and steam were light which served the story well. The familial characters, community, and the laziest dog around, were all colorful additions. If you're in the mood for a lighthearted, humorous, and charming read, I highly recommend this story.

Looking for a fast-paced, enemies-to-lovers, steamy romance novel with a Christmas theme? The Fake Wedding Project features star-crossed enemies who get caught up in a fake romance with real consequences. Think Romeo & Juliet meets a sweet Hallmark Christmas movie and load it with hot spice!

While no one really knows why the Andersons and the Silvers hate each other, it’s a feud that’s lasted generations. Maybe faking a relationship can finally end the madness once and for all? If only, Amanda and Dane could remind their hearts it’s just make-believe.

These two go were meant to be, like peanut butter & jelly, ham & cheese, Christmas trees & tinsel. It’s undeniable and their banter was so cute! PLUS there’s an adorable (lazy) dog named Chili. Kinda cheesy, but ultimately adorable. That’s this story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake for the opportunity to read this digital ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

A fake engagement between two families at war, in a small town. Will Dane and Amanda succeed in joining the two families and brin peace to their little town of Tinsel?

The plot was a bit predictable, but it was an enjoyable read nonetheless.

Special mention to Chili, the best, laziest dog out there.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

This was a cute, fake- engaged trope book.
Amanda and Dane agree to fake date with the hope of finally, bringing about an end to a family feud that has lasted for way to long. No one even knows what the beef is about. Or is there actually someone that does?
Amanda and Lorelei (from the feuding family) have been secret friends for years. When Amanda tries to get out of being the next in line of their family's gingerbread bakery she blurts out that she and Dane (Lorelei's brother ) are engaged.
She convinces Dane to go along with her plan, and he hopes it'll bring an end to the feud.
What she doesn't know , is that Dane had a secret crush on her long ago.
As they try to trick their family and the lovely town /community, their attraction grows.
This was really sweet and cute with some spice thrown in.

Chilli the dog's POV was great, I really loved that at the end!

Thanks to Netgalley, author and publisher for the opportunity to read and share my thoughts on this book.

Such a fun backstory (Romeo and Juliet meets hallmark Christmas movie) and cast of characters. Loved the tropes, it was laugh out loud funny, a great cover with beautiful artwork, and another wonderful story written by Pippa Grant! Thank you for letting me read an advanced copy. I was smiling, giggling, kicking my feet, and smiling while reading this book. Absolutely loved the book and am very excited for its release. Have already posted about how much I enjoyed reading this on threads and look forward to leaving a review on release day. It was an absolute pleasure to get to read this prior to release.