Fake-Dating Romance Tropes We Highly Recommend
I cannot say no to a fake-dating romance trope! I love these books so much, as do most of my friends, and the majority of our group reading (completely circumstantial, actually getting together and picking a book and reading it at the same time is NOT happening for this group of kick-a** women) happens to come from this category. Even an “easy read” in this category can have a complicated plot, great character development, and excellent romantic elements!
Here are some of our favorites from the depths of the backlists. How many of these spicy stories have you read?
The Break-Up Pact — Emma Lord
A Library Reads Pick!
Most Anticipated by Goodreads, Cosmo, E! News, and more!
Break ups are never easy. And break-ups in the time of social media and platforms like TikTok can take on a viral life of their own when someone decides to post them for the world to see!
June and Levi were best friends as teenagers, but time happened and one day they just weren’t close. They haven’t really spoken in years, both of them existing but not really LIVING. Suddenly, through the weirdest of coincidences, both of them are also the victims in humiliating public breakups as the clips make the rounds on social media.
A photo of June and Levi together convinces the internet that they are a couple, a steamy relationship forged in the crucible of TikTok. And the internet is happy for them! The internet is so happy that they’ve found each other, regardless of their painful pasts. And pretending to date each other will really take the sting out of those viral clips. All they have to do is prove to the world that they ARE together, and they ARE in a relationship that is so wonderful that nothing anyone says can possibly harm them.
Two humiliating, public, shameful breakups. One sparkly new relationship made for likes and comments. Levi and June are convinced that they can convince people that they are fine, they are happy, they are DATING. But can they do it without real feelings butting in to their perfect situation?
About the Author:
The Break-Up Pact is Emma Lord’s first adult novel, she is best known for fun YA romances like Tweet Cute and The Getaway List. She is a digital media editor and writer living in NYC, where she enjoys working in community theater. Emma majored in psychology at the University of Virgina, which probably factors into her amazing character development!
Yours Truly — Abby Jimenez
We’ve all made terrible first impressions; it is just part of being human! We’ve also all had people make terrible first impressions on US, which is always better than being the person making the terrible first impression.
Dr. Briana Ortiz’s love life has flatlined. It is DOA. The promotion that she was realllly qualified for and super pumped about was given to a man. But the worst thing happening in her life right now is the fact that her brother is running out of time to find a kidney donor.
Dr. Jacob Maddox is the man who got the job she wanted. And unfortunately, despite the terrible first impression that he made on her, Briana is forced to accept that maybe he is not the worst person in the world after all. He makes up for it in a unique way. He writes her a letter. And it is the greatest letter in history.
Jack isn’t the devil himself. This letter was written by a funny, likeable, handsome man who just wants to make a better second impression! Suddenly, the pair is exchanging letters, spending lunch hours together, and sharing all kinds of stories and inside jokes. But when Jacob gifts her the best thing possible—a kidney for her dying brother—Brianna knows that she can’t possibly reign in the feelings that she is developing for her quiet new hero. And she can’t possibly say no when he decides to call in a favor of his own. This book was inspired by the author’s own kidney disease diagnosis when she was 40 years old!
About the Author:
Talk about a heavy-hitter: Abby Jiminez is both a New York Times-bestselling author AND a Food Network champion! Nadia Cakes, her home business, was launched out of her kitchen in 2007 and has won numerous accolades and awards. Her books, including Just for the summer, have been translated into 28 languages.
Bridesmaid for Hire — Meghan Quinn
USA Today Bestselling Author
This book is actually a sweet combo of my two favorite tropes: enemies-to-lovers AND fake dating! I absolutely could not put this down, it felt like a tropical vacation in the middle of January.
Maggie has put everything into building her event-planning business, and she is more than ready for a vacay. Determined to focus on nothing but relaxation, she’s soaking up the rays in Bora Bora when her sworn enemy happens to walk by. Unbelievable. She’s sworn to keep her distance from Brody McFadden since a weirdly timed make out session at her brother’s wedding went…awry. Extra awkward since Brody is also her brother’s best friend. Maggie finds out that Brody is in Bora Bora to attend the wedding of his boss’ daughter. He’s hoping to leverage the trip into some pull at the office.
Maggie’s promised herself that she won’t even think about work on her trip, but when she finds out that the “wedding of the century” is taking place at her resort, she realizes that making herself useful to the bridal party could be the thing to take her business to the next level.
There is a catch. She needs to pose as Brody’s girlfriend to get the job, which means that she now has a roommate in her quiet bungalow. Her quiet, small, cozy, close quarters bungalow.
Maggie isn’t very surprised when the sparks fly between her and Brody. After all, they do have a very awkward, seconds-long past. As the wedding day draws closer and everything wedding-related spirals out of control, she realizes that it just might be HIM who takes her business down. And when she finds out the real reason that their first kiss was cut so rudely short, she knows that he just might take her heart down, too. You will LOVE the first book in the Bridesmaid for Hire series!
About the Author:
Author Meghan Quinn writes excellent meet-cutes, books about weddings, and books about girlfriends. She was called a “romance writing machine” by the Colorado Springs Gazette! She is a wife, mother, and #1 Amazon Bestselling author, known for bringing sexy heat, heart, and laughter in all of her books.
The Fake Mate — Lana Ferguson
I was hooked as soon as I realized this was a paranormal rom com!
Mackenzie Carter hasn’t had a lot of luck in the dating arena of late. It doesn’t help that her grandmother is obsessed with Mackenzie’s lack of a romantic partner, which doesn’t seem like that big of a deal just one year out of medical school. She resolves to tell her grandmother a little white lie and let her think that Mackenzie does in fact have a social life. But she doesn’t prepare too much backstory, and when her grandmother asks for the new guy’s name, Mackenzie just blurts out the name of the first man that pops into her head. She says, “Noah Taylor!”, without mentioning that he is a cardiologist, a grump, or that he is in fact a werewolf.
Noah has spent his entire life hiding his identity. There are so many outdated stigmas about unmated alpha wolves that it is easier for him to just keep his true self under wraps. When an anonymous tipster lets the hospital know that they’ve employed an unmated alpha for years, Noah is left with two choices. He can come clean to the board, admit his status, and put his career at risk. Or he can find himself a mate. Fast.
What are the chances that Mackenzie Carter would ask him to be her fake boyfriend on the very same night that he finds himself in need of a fake girlfriend? This has got to be a sign, right? She can keep her grandmother off her back, he can keep the board off of his. It really is a win-win!
It doesn’t take long for the fake mate situation to turn into a real FWB arrangement, the lines between them start to blur. Love, it turns out, is a completely different animal!
About the Author:
We love this quote from the bio section of Lana Ferguson’s website:
“I love cats, calories, and making idiots fall in love.”
She is a self-described sex-positive nerd who fell in love with romance when a faded Fabio book changed her life at age 15.
The Great Dating Fake-Off — Livy Hart
The only thing better than reading a book about a fake couple is reading a book that stars TWO fake couples! It sounds complicated, and it is
Nora loves her best friend so much that she would do anything for him, including attending a family wedding with him and pretending to be besotted by him in order to keep his overbearing family off his back. There is just one tiny hiccup. Her actual crush happens to be at the same fancy resort, and Sebastian is with a fake date of his own, because he’s trying to keep HIS grandmother off of HIS back. It should be a piece of cake, spending a week in the beautiful Adirondacks with a gorgeous woman, but there is someone else he can’t stop thinking about. And she just so happens to be here, with HER fake date!
This is not the time or place for Sebastian and Nora to explore their real feelings for each other There are too many eyes around! There is no opportunity for them to be alone during the pickleball tournament, the bull-riding party, or the various feuds being had by various members of the families staying at the resort. But if they can’t keep their feelings hidden and private, they risk exposing the very secrets that prompted them to participate in this entire façade to begin with! How long before it is impossible to tell which feelings are pretend and which are real?
About the Author:
Livy Hart fell in love with books thanks to authors like Megan McCafferty and Nora Roberts. She started writing as a kid and hasn’t stopped since, focusing on characters who do the hard work necessary in order to find themselves. Livy loves crafting sexy stories that are full of steamy fun!
Hate to Fake It to You — Amanda Sellet
We all know that social media is all about life’s high notes. Nobody shares the true daily grind of their everyday life. Libby and her friends decide to take things to a new level. They create an online persona, and a holier-than-thou perfect princess named Lillibet is born.
Unlike the fabulous (and fake) Lillibet, Libby herself lives on the non-glamourous part of Oahu that the tourists never see. But she and her friends do such a great job presenting Lillibet as a cool, health conscious trend setter. And that a legit influencer wants to give her an actual job promoting her lifestyle brand. Libby’s group has to scramble to pull off the sleight of hand necessary to bring Lillibet’s “life” to life. The influencer, Hildy Johnson, is also traveling with a very good-looking companion. Jefferson Jones is an incredibly talented photographer who observes a lot more than the average person.
Which lie could be the one that brings the whole story crashing down? Making up a holiday, finding goats to borrow, or having a pretend hubby?? And it turns out that maybe Lillibet isn’t the only pretender around!
About the Author:
Amanda Sellet has a B.A. in Literature from New College of Florida. She also has a M.A. in Cinema Studies from New York University. She’s also married to a French archeologist, which means no one ever asks her what SHE thinks about the wine!
The fake dating romance trope is such a fun one! There are so many ways a story can go! What is your favorite fake dating book? More importantly, have you ever been a fake dater?! Inquiring minds want to know!
