This was a wonderful, heartfelt debut. I could not put it down once I started. That may just be because I am obsessed — OBSESSED — with enemies-to-lovers romances, especially when they also involve a workplace, but this is one of the best I’ve read since The Hating Game. Both main characters are charming as hell, and I couldn’t help but love them. Emmie is strong and determined and she doesn’t even see it — she thinks her brave persona is just the act she puts on to get through working in a male-dominated office, but her real personality comes through as both soft and tough, both emotional and intelligent, all wrapped up in a quirky little package. Tate is brooding, yes, and dramatic, for sure, but he also shows a gentle side that reveals his introverted personality, and the struggles he has had with navigating relationships because of it. The two seem like they would never work, but they DO, and so, so well. I never wanted this book to end; I loved the couple so much that I just wanted to keep reading about their relationship forever. And can we talk about the diversity and little cultural tidbits thrown in to the mix? Sarah Smith has proved to be a phenomenal new romance author to look out for.

***Thanks to the publisher and #Netgalley for providing me with a copy of #Faker in exchange for an honest review***

If you liked The Hating Game by Sally Thorne, you'll love Faker!

Emmie works in a male dominated field and has to keep up a tough facade. When her coworker Tate (whom she loathes!) starts to show her a different, softer side, her whole world is turned upside down.

This was a fun quick read with two great main characters. If you enjoy the enemies-to-lovers trope, I recommend this book.

This was a cute story about a woman who feels like she has to "fake" being tough to be taken seriously at her construction tool copy editing job and the coworker who sits across the hall who seems to can't stand her. It turns out that it's all a big misunderstanding and their relationship completely changes. I enjoyed getting to know the characters and see their relationship blossom.

Definitely picked this for the cover, but 100% stayed for Emmie and Tate. Seriously, so cute. I could not stop reading and when I did, it was all I could think about. Right off the bat it gave me "The Hating Game" vibe, though it didn't quite live up to it, it was still an amazing debut. I can't wait to see what else she comes up with!

I wish I liked this one more. It wasn't especially well-written, and lacked dramatic tension. It just didn't click for me.

Emmie's turn from hating Tate to kissing him seemed pretty unmotivated (except he's gorgeous, got that) considering how she felt about him in the beginning, and how she maintained a defensive stance at work.

That said, I did appreciate the portrayal of a woman's attitude in an all-male work environment, something I'd love to see in more romance literature. I've been in similar circumstances (and wasn't as tough as Emmie). Constant defensiveness and second-guessing is exhausting!

The easy comparison to make with this one is to The Hating Game, and I have to admit, this one falls flat in comparison. The switch from enemies to lovers happens kind of abruptly but I did enjoy Emmie and Tate’s chemistry. It definitely grew on me over time but it took well over a quarter of the book to get me there. Worth a read if you want something quick and mostly fun when it’s out in October but maybe borrow, not buy. Thanks to netgalley for the arc!

2 stars
I struggled with this book from page one. The writing wasn't my style. Then the plot had my head spinning. The cover is cute though.

Faker is such a funny and sweet rom-com! Working in a power tool company means Emmie has to be tough as nails to hold her own even though her true personality is much more easy-going. Working with Tate, who is hostile as can be to her, makes the charade so much harder. As they work more closely together, Emmie starts to see that Tate's hostility is not all it seems. A hater-to-lover story with the twists and turns of a modern romance, Faker is heartwarming and charming; This is one romance that I'll keep rereading over again!

Really enjoyed this book from debut author Sarah Smith. I appreciated that the make character was a decent guy...not all alpha and domineering. It was refreshing to read that in a romance.

Definitely a very cute and quick romance! But there was so much copied content from The Hating Game, this didn’t feel like an original story. It was definitely a different setting and there were some additional different portions. I love that Emmie was a girl boss. I think this book addressed sexual harassment and racism in a way THG didn’t, and that was empowering. However, all the major plot points and even lots of lines were paraphrased or had the same feel but in a different setting. I know romance uses lots of the same tropes, but this did make me question if THG was being used as a reference throughout the entire timeline of the book.

Love love loved this enemies-to-lovers work romance. The character growth was believable and you were rooting for the couple all the way through!

A thoroughly enjoyable enemies to lovers type story. Though it bears similarities to The Hating Game, Smith makes the story her own so you can’t help falling in love with Tate and Emmie. The relationship these two build feels so solid even after a fairly short amount of time. Great book when you need a feel good read to make you smile and your heart melt.

This was a fun quick read with two great main characters. Even though it starts as an enemies to lovers story there is minimal angst and they are honest and compassionate with eachother. For sure recommend this book.

The premise sounded fun, but this title ultimately fell short for me. I enjoyed the first third of the novel; I liked Emmie a lot and I appreciated that Smith took on workplace harassment and misogyny. However, once the love triangle then Emmie/Tate relationship began to form, the plot became predictable and boring. The enemies-to-lovers relationship happened instantaneously and I felt that it did not have enough time to develop. It was as if all the reasons the two quarreled with one other was brushed off with a "Actually, I've been obsessed with you all this time" and that was that. I also thought it was very weird and problematic that Tate kisses another Asian woman thinking it was Emmie and it's brushed off pretty quickly. What? I was also disappointed that it is Tate, not Emmie, who gets a harasser at the workplace fired. Sure, he was looking out for her, but it just seemed like Tate was suddenly doing everything for Emmie and, frequently, without really including her in the discussion.

However, I have never encountered the phrase "milky glow" to describe someone and that gave me a good laugh.

Read this if you need a reminder of how to become less guarded with people but also set boundaries, with a lot of romance thrown in!

"Faker" is a love story between Emmie and her once-hated coworker, Tate. Generally, this is my favorite trope but it fell flat with me in "Faker." The switch from enemies to lovers happens so fast and there is seemingly no problem with the way they treated each other before that point. Aside from that, the characters are cute and I did chuckle a few times to myself.

This was so fun!!! I love Tate so much. He was just a really interesting lead that you don't often see in books. Emmie was a great counter to Tate, as well! I love the slow burn, close proximity, enemies to lovers part of it. I just really had a wonderful time reading this! I look forward to more books by Sarah Smith.

This was a cute fun read keeping in line with the current trend of contemporary romance. The cover and title are eye catching and I would definitely read this author again.

I really liked this book. It is very well written, and I liked the fact that the H/H wasn't your normal extrovert/ type A personalities. This is a great book for all us introverts out there. It highlights just how hard it is for us to open up to other people and be in crowded situations. I love the sparks between Tate and Emmie. They may have seemed to move fast but it was believable in the context of the story. That this is Sarah Smith's debut book is amazing, if she continues on like this she will have an awesome career.