Scan barcode
A review by nadjsim
Fake It 'til You Make It by Laura Carter
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? No
1.5
If a guy I just met called me 'Lady Big Panties,' well, I'd simply have to kill him.
Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
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.
Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
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.