Sweet HEA with a little small town mystery built in along the way. This is set in a quirky little town that Pippa Grant writes so well, with the main characters from warring families. How do they pull off a fake wedding to heal old wounds without falling for each other? Find out by picking up this sweet (and steamy) romance!

**Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC**

This book is a modern Christmas version of fake-Romeo and Juliet and to my surprise, it worked! It was fun and the fake relationship had a purpose to help end the feud between the families of our main characters. I loved the development of the characters and their relationship, and I especially loved the fact that Chili (the dog) had his own lil epilogue! It was really cute and I had a lot of fun reading this!

Such a great read! Highly recommend this one.

Many thanks to the author, the publisher, and Netgalley for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an eARC of this book, what follows is my objective opinion. Best friend's brother romance with a fake fiancé twist and a bit of a small-town mystery. Amanda and Dane, families in a multi-generational small-town feud of unknown origin. Both moved away as adults but are back in town briefly when a panicked Amanda announces a fake engagement to her grandmother to avoid inheriting the family bakery. Dane agrees because he wants to end the feud once and for all. The expected hijinks and tension follow, with both Amanda and Dane coming to realize how much they genuinely like each other as they make their way to a romantic HEA. You don't read a Pippa Grant story for its originality, you read it for the reliable humor and heart (and also for the lovable animal that's usually thrown in). This book delivers on those promises. Amanda and Dane are sweet together, and their growing attraction (while predictable) is heartwarming. There's also a nice depth in exploring the effects of the family feud on interpersonal dynamics. There are dual 1st-person POV, which I always appreciate. Publishes 10-8-24

I didn't know much about this book going in, but if Pippa writes it then I'm going to read it. The story follows Amanda and Dane from the smalltown of Tinsel where it's always Christmas and their families have been feuding for decades. One thing leads to another and we end up with a fake engagement and two MC's who are just fed up with how their families have been acting towards each other. Plus an adorable and lazy dog named Chili. The book 100% gives Hallmark Christmas but add a dash of spice.

I love Pippa but this book just didn't land for me. The book seemed to center more around the feuding than the couple. Everything takes place during one week which obviously makes things feel rushed. There's a little bit of mystery as they try to figure out what started the feud but even that felt a little unsolved at times. Honestly, with the way their family members acted towards them, I would've just left town and never came back. The book is a slow burn, and only features I think two spicy scenes. While there was your typical Grant humor, it just didn't hit her normal level for me. I think it's just the difference between a self published book and one being put out by a publisher. I notice this with a few other authors as well. It's not a bad thing, as I'm sure it gets new/different readers.

If you're looking for a fun little Christmas in July style book, then I'd give this one a chance. If you're like me, and a lover of all things Pippa, this might miss the mark for you. It was still entertaining, I just wish we had more of the couple and less of the feud.

The Fake Wedding Project is a cute and sweet fake relationship romance with just the right amount of steam and family drama.

The idea that Amanda and Dane thought they could end a family feud by pretending to be engaged was so entertaining to me. Amanda and Dane were so cute together and had wonderful chemistry. You just knew their fake relationship would bring on real feelings, and I loved watching them navigate their way through everything the town and their families through at them.

If you're looking for a sweet, hallmark-style, small-town romance that's holiday themed, with just the right amount of spice, you won't want to miss this entertaining read.

Thank you so much NetGalley and Publisher for this ARC! I have been reading numerous books from this author from the beginning of her career. I’ve loved all her stories and all her wonderful characters and her new book did not disappoint me at all. I fell in love with both characters, Amanda, and Dean and I really enjoyed the hallmark type feeling. I got while reading the story. It was a cozy warm, wonderful romance with two rival families that suddenly come together to plan a wedding!! The families don’t know that the wedding will not happen because the engagement was fake, but is it really? I really enjoyed the character development in this story. I fell for these people from the first page to the last it was such a heartwarming story of live and family and overcoming obstacles!! I highly recommend this book and the author!!

Amanda and Dane were so much fun to read. This was such a funtastic story all the feels romsnce and laugh out loud fun. I loved all the characters and the town. Loved it.

Read if you like: fake dating/engagement, high school crush, small town, family rivals, best friends brother, forbidden romance, he falls first, dramatic families, romcom, close proximity

This was the sweetest, and most light hearted romcom with the perfect Christmas vibes 🎄 I WANT TO LIVE THERE!! An all year round winter wonderland sounds incredible 🤩

Amanda is bubbly, a yapper, unpredictable, and accidentally tells her family she’s engaged to Dane.
Dane is her best friend’s big brother, who had the biggest crush on her in high school. I loved him 🥰 It’s so typical to see the big brother as a jock/the super alpha guy. Instead he was the bashful mathlete and in the school’s band 🥹

Both are tired of dealing with the shame of their families silly rivalry and decide to team up and get fake engaged. I absolutely loved them together 💕 I loved all the side characters, the character growth, the pining and lazy Chili 🐾

I highly recommend and will 100% be rereading this around Christmas time 🎄💫

Pippa Grant is bringing the laughter, slow heat and intrigue with The Fake Wedding Project.

This book is a complete stand alone from all of her other books- and while this story does take place outside of the Pippaverse it is still filled with all the silly charm and characters that you'd expect to find in a tiny Christmas obsessed town called Tinsel created by the masterful mind of Pippa Grant.

Dane and Amanda are both back in their tiny hometown of Tinsel- when in an attempt to get out of inheriting a bakery she had no interest in taking over Amanda reveals that she is secretly engaged to Dane Silver. News of their engagement shouldn't have been such a big deal to the town except the Silver and Anderson families have a long standing family feud going back so many generations that no one even seems to remember what the cause of the feud was. Dane is tired of the feud and only having his achievements in life appreciated when it bests the Anderson family- so he agrees to continue the fake engagement in hopes that the families will finally lay their differences aside despite his brain warning him that he's just going to reignite his high school crush on Amanda. And well you'll just have to see how that works out for him.

I'll admit that Amanda and Dane's crazy fake engagement story was a bit of a slow start for me. Dane Silver is supposed to come off in a grumpy way when really he's just a more quiet and reserved kind of guy until he's comfortable, while Amanda Anderson is often loud and talks without thinking. Both characters are really sweet and I really enjoyed how easily they seemed to connect and understand each other. And is it a Pippa Grant rom-com if there isn't an adorable furry friend that can make a scene just by existing in it? And as the story continued I did find myself much more invested in uncovering the start of the feud, figuring out who was sending Amanda and Dane clues and why.

I started this book thinking I would read a couple chapters before going to bed only to find myself turning the final page and seeing that it was almost 3 am. My heart was full of disappointment at how some of their family was reacting to the engagement- but then beaming with pride at the stand the younger generation was taking in wanting to let the past go and stop hating someone just because of their last name. Just goes to show that just because someone shares your blood- you don't have to agree or accept their toxic outlook or keep them in your life. And the way that Dane and Amanda both stuck up for each other, building each other up, accepting but also encouraging each others dreams had me feeling like I was in a soft puff of sweetness. I loved the slow simmer of tension that brewed between Dane and Amanda. Sure if we look at the book logistically, this all happened over the course of a little over a week, which isn't actually long at all- but so much takes place and the feelings grow so naturally that it also felt like it took FOREVER!

The Fake Wedding Project is overall an entertaining and fabulous rom-com that has that Pippa spin that only one of my favorite rom-com queens can manage to pull off!

Thanks to netgalley and publisher for this arc. It had my all time fave trope of fake dating and their spice chemistry was great but I hateddddd everything else, the plot was ridiculous, their families and the whole feud was beyond annoying. I expected way more fun fake dating and instead god dumb af family drama nonsense. A major miss for me sadly and I almost dnfed so many times.

✅dual pov
✅fake fiancés
✅family drama
✅Romeo Juliet
✅spice

I love the idea of the family rivalry taking place in a Christmas-themed town. It makes the book feel so cozy and warm in a Holiday way even though it is set in August. It gives big Christmas-in-July vibes. You can’t go wrong with the fake engagement trope and it’s nice that this one is laced in with a little bit of a high school crush trope too. The small mystery of finding out about how their family rivalry started is a fun add-on. The reason for their feud is a unique one to me. It reminds me a bit of that episode of Bones if anyone knows what I’m talking about. Chili is such a cute dog and I like the idea that Amanda becomes a dog-walker without knowing that Dane has always had a dog. It makes them feel like destiny. The pacing is a little slow for me and I didn’t find some of the scenes very exciting, but the book is still enjoyable with lots of cute moments.

Amanda and Dane's story was fab-u-lous!

Wonderful characters, a great plot and great world building, more than a few laughs, a fabulous pet... this was just an awesome read! It was like a new and improved Hallmark Christmas movie with both more steam and more laughs.

I loved this book and definitely recommend it!

I’m definitely reading more by this author as well, i laughed and smiled so much through this book. Dane and Amanda decide to tempt fate by faking an engagement, to end a family fued. One of my favorite tropes. The spice was 🔥🔥🔥. Top tier romance, comedy, dogs included nothing could get better and with a winter town called tinsel! Amazing!

Chili stole the story, but that's common with a Pippa Grant story. That's not to say that I didn't love Amanda and Dane and the extended cast. And I really wish I could visit their small town. But Chili had my heart from his introduction.

This is a standard Pippa Grant story with plenty of laughs, cute animals, great banter and a fun town. I thought this wasn't as funny as some of her wackier stories but that said, it shows her strengths because really, she whisked me away to this Christmas village and put me in the Christmas mood. I really did love this slight slow burn Christmas-ish romance with the best doggie side kick!

Another fun romance novel from Pippa Grant. Will a fake engagement be enough to dissolve the feud between families?

This book pulled me in from the very first page. This one was a little different than previous books I've read by this author because she mixed a little bit of mystery into the background of this fun story with the element of what caused the feud between the Andersons and the Silvers. And I thought that element of mystery added a lot to the story. Instead of just focusing on Amanda and Dane's love story, we also had the mystery floating around. I loved both the main characters and the supporting cast (and I've got my fingers crossed that Lorelei will get a story of her own). In my humble opinion, no one does rom or com like Pippa Grant.

A sincere thank you to NetGalley and Montlake for providing an advance copy for review.

How absolutely adorable!

As I am already a fan of this author’s creativity, when I saw this available in Netgalley, I happily requested a copy. Prepare for a highly entertaining stand-alone that highlights the quirkiness and craziness of rom-com characters in a small town. Yup! Sign me up!

Amanda’s life is based on the East coast, while Dane’s is on the West coast. It shouldn’t pose a problem to go back to their Christmas themed Michigan hometown, but unfortunately it does. I admired Dane’s acceptance of Amanda’s situation and his commitment to fixing everything once and for all. Their undeniable chemistry was always apparent, and I found it amusing to witness their attempts to keep it a secret. Oh, the lies!! After finally giving in to the intense chemistry that sparked between them, their relationship experienced a period of happiness... until it didn’t. The Silvers and the Andersons’ feud had an intriguing mystery and a satisfying resolution that I really enjoyed.

While we all have our favorite animal character in the Pippaverse, Chili is now joining the mix as the laziest dog imaginable! He added a cute touch to this story!

Include this in your TBR list as soon as possible; I highly recommend it. Even better, go pre-order it right now. Trust me, you won’t be able to put this book down. It’s funny, steamy, and totally addictive. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Romeo and Juliet meets Hallmark Christmas movie in this steamy romp about star-crossed nonlovers caught up in a fake romance that could change everything they know in a real big way.

We all know I LOVE a good fake dating/marriage trope. It's my absolute fave. So when I got the opportunity to snag this ARC, I absolutely jumped on it! I loved the way this was written. It had me giggling at Amanda's inner monologue, and I absolutely LOVED the dog!! If in doubt, always add a cute dog to a book and you've sold me.

All in all, this was a super cute, light read with some spice and I had a good time! It was funny to me that it's a Christmas themed book set in the summer, when that's how it is in New Zealand where I am! I loved that this was a Romeo & Juliet retelling. It worked so well!

The Fake Wedding Project by Pippa Grant
Stars: 4
Spice: R
52 Book Club Summer Prompt #16 - Road Cycling: Book with Jewelry on the cover

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

This book was a delight. All books by Pippa Grant are a delight really but I was especially loving the vibe of small town, Christmas in July, unrequited high school crush that Grant brought to her newest novel. This one is out in October, just in time to remind us all of the heat of summer but the joy of Christmas.

Amanda Anderson is in a tough spot: she is visiting her hometown of Tinsel, Michigan for her grandmother’s retirement from the family gingerbread business. Amanda does not want to stay in Tinsel to run the bakery that has been in the Anderson family for generations. For one thing, she can’t bake, for another, if she were to take over, it would make it even harder for her to hang out with her best friend, Lorelei Silver. See the Silvers and the Andersons are Tinsel's version of the Hatfields and the McCoys, so that friendship would not go over well, which Lorelei’s brother, Dane, knows all too well. He has spent his entire life listening to his family measure everything he does against the Andersons and he is sick of it. So sick that when Amanda suggests they pretend to be dating to see if they can’t force their families to stop this ridiculous fighting, Dane jumps at the chance. It doesn’t hurt that in high school, Dane had the biggest crush on Amanda.

So can this fake-dating, opposites attract couple manage to bring their families together AND fall in love? Well, what do you think?

It’s a fun ride with some fabulous secondary characters and the world’s laziest dog. Grant does an excellent job of mixing hilarious hijinks with tender moments and some great spice, sometimes all at the same time (there is one smoking moment that has you fanning yourself one moment and peeing your pants laughing the next).

I’m ready for some more love stories from Tinsel. And if you haven’t read any Pippa Grant yet, definitely check this one out in October.