Showstopping debut! From the cover to the cute-funny-sexy banter of our main characters, Emmie and Tate, Smith makes a rom-com for fans who worship authors like Christina Lauren and Helen Hoang, This is one I plan on re-reading very soon. Thanks for the laughs!

And thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

5 out of 5 hard as nails Unicorns!

I liked ‘Faker’ but I didn’t love it. I had heard about it through a few book blogs I follow and fellow readers who were all very excited about this title and comparing it to ‘The Hating Game’. I don’t think it’s fair to compare the titles however I would say my reading experience was coloured by this a lot.

In general I liked the characters, especially Emmie. I loved that she was a diverse heroine. Tate was also good but I did find the plot twist regarding his character’s former love interest hard to reconcile. It just didn’t really make sense to me that he would be so rude to Emmie based on that alone. That for me felt like my main issue with the book; eighty percent of the time I liked Tate, but then twenty percent of the time I just couldn’t imagine why Emmie would keep going back.

I liked this title and I would recommend it but with a disclaimer or two.

For some reason I couldn't connect with Tate, he was too broody for me. I really liked Emmie and she had a great sense of humor. This was an enjoyable read I will admit but just wasn't my cup of tea.

*Huge thanks to BerkleyPub for my free advance copy. This did not affect my overall opinion of the book.*

Our main character is Emmie and she works at a male dominated power tool company called Nuts & Bolts. She's one of the few female employees there so she needs to show (or fake it) that she is tough. One thing she can't fake is her annoyance to Tate, her colleague. For some reasons, they can't seem to get along and it doesn't help that they are forced to work together on a charity project for their company.

I really wanted to love this book mainly because the main character is half-Filipina and I also enjoy enemies-to-lovers trope. Unfortunately, I ended up pretty disappointed. The story was okay. The beginning actually got me hooked. I thought their banter were entertaining and I really enjoyed it but everything changed when they officially became lovers. I just didn't feel the chemistry. There were some steamy scenes but I found it cringey to read. I didn't lose hope though. I was waiting for some big drama the whole time because I was getting bored already. It happened around 250 pages later which I thought was a long wait and quite unnecessary. I don't want to be too specific because I don't want to give spoilers but I would probably enjoy it more if the one of the side characters was involved in the said drama. I wished there was enough drama or conflict than the number of times Tate's milky and glowing white skin were mentioned. I also want to add that I wasn't satisfied with how the sexual harassment issue was handled in the story. Overall, I still had fun reading this book especially the first half of it. I just didn't love it as much as I wanted to.

Enemies to Lovers and Friends to Lovers have always been two of my favourite tropes. I mostly chose to read this book because of the Asian representation. As an Asian myself, though not a Filipino, I wanted to see if the author portrays the character well. And, I was glad to find that the female protagonist was well-sketched.

Now, I didn't have any problem with any of the characters and the plot, but the narration, I felt needed a lot of improvement, in the sense that the descriptions were mostly misses for me. I am not sure if it's because I read an ARC or just the writing style in this book, but I definitely wasn't happy about it.

It's a good fun romance read but it had a great potential to be a great one.

Actual rating: 2.5 stars

Faker held a lot of potential but, unfortunately, fell quite flat.

This very well may be a case of “it’s not you; it’s me.” There are a lot of great elements to this book: enemies to lovers, office romance, multicultural, romantic comedy. The premise is right up my alley: a cool workplace setting where two people, through a series of misunderstandings, hate each other but come to realize they actually like each other with the help of a little forced proximity. The execution missed the mark for me, though.

I really enjoyed the first quarter or so of this book. However, the pacing in the development of the relationship was quite unbelievable to me. The push and pull that accompanies enemies to lovers is what makes it so enjoyable, in my opinion. However, I feel like there isn’t enough tension here. On a brighter note, there is some fun banter and the steam is turned up!

Overall, Faker just wasn’t my favorite. I know a lot of contemporary romance fans will love this one, especially if they enjoy rom coms, so don’t be afraid to check it out!

*Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy of this book. Please note that it, in no way, had an effect on my opinion or review.

I love an enemies to lovers romance so I was really looking forward to reading Faker.

I admit that I’m still on the fence about this one. I was enjoying the first half of the book but about halfway in, I kinda lost interest and ended up reading another book.
I was most definitely going to put this book to my ever growing DNF pile but then the power of bookstagram swayed me and I ended up picking it again.
Big mistake. 
if it’s any consolation I finished the book 🤷🏻‍♀️
Other than that, I didn’t enjoy the second half.

I found the first half of faker to be fun and cute but It lost me after that.

Note to self: trust your instincts

***read the e-ARC from NetGalley

When I first heard about this book, I was really excited to read it because of the Filipino representation. In the end, I liked the book but it's not a favorite. But, I am looking forward to her upcoming books.

Overall, I enjoyed the story, I thought it was really cute and I love the enemies to lovers trope. There were moments though that I felt like Emmie went to far with her insults? I don't know, that's just my opinion. I also like the references to Eat Bulaga since I grew up watching that show and seeing some Tagalog/Ilocano words.

So why the three stars? The main thing that bothered my was how cringy some of the descriptions were. There's a huge difference between cringy moments (i.e. feeling secondhand embarrassment) and cringy writing. The conversations the characters had were fine, but it was just the descriptions, especially for the sexy scenes. Like using the word "slurp"?? What is this, ice cream? Let me give you an example:

"Minutes pass. I bite again, he nips me back. I slurp, he sucks. Every morsel of contact I have with Tate's lips and tongue is heaven."

This is from chapter 20. I've read hundreds of books with these type of sings and this is the first time I've see the word "slurp" used to describe kissing.

Unfortunately I DNF'd this book at the halfway point. I wasn't able to connect to the characters and found both MC's to be extremely unlikeable. Since I didn't connect to any characters and didn't feel any chemistry between them, I lost interest in their romance and story arcs. I absolutely love the enemies to lovers trope so I was very sad this didn't end up working for me. However, I'm still very interested in checking out Sarah Smith's books in the future. I just don't think this was the book for me.

It was a fun, quick read. The characters were relatable, but the story left much to be desired. The characters, while relatable, were boring and problematic in some places. Workplace harassment is real, and to see characters engage in it so blatantly is hard to read; even if its addressed very briefly. The main character being half-Philippine is great because representation matters, and the fact this novel is an average romance novel is what we need.

Faker is a fun enemies to lovers / workplace romance that delivers on everything we expect from a romance novel - swoony hero, relatable heroine, and their love story. Unfortunately this one felt rushed at times and some plot lines seemed overly contrived. I would still recommend it to readers of romance, especially fans of Sally Thorne’s The Hating Game.

Thank you NetGalley, Berkley Romance for the chance to read and review Faker. I adored this story! Full review to come.

I ended up DNFing this book unfortunately. I just felt like the workplace environment was toxic and didn’t enjoy the male love interest.

I've thought about it, and ultimately decided I'm not going to review this one. It had a lot of parallels and similarities to another book and it kept pulling me out as I read. If I reviewed it, it wouldn't be the best review, so I'd rather not comment on it at all. I'm so sorry. I wanted to love it so much!

So this was a lot of fun and surprisingly I found I related more with Tate than Emmie. I liked the chemistry between the two and how the relationship evolved. Fun and quick read.

While I liked aspects of this book, it sort of fell flat for me. I liked that it featured diverse characters, and it dealt with a woman in a male dominated industry, but something about the story just did not capture my interest. I am not a fan of the "I have loved you since I saw you so I must be horrible and rude" trope, and I felt the conflict between the two characters was hardly a conflict at all.

When I first started reading FAKER, it immediately gave me so many THE HATING GAME vibes. This both excited me and made me nervous. I didn’t want to inadvertently start comparing it to one of my most favorite books, and doom it before I had barely begun.

It veered from THG enough that I stopped comparing it, but unfortunately, it was still a disappointment. For some reason, I just couldn’t get on board with Tate and Emmie’s relationship. I didn’t understand the progression of it, nor did I feel that much chemistry between them.

I had a few big issues that stood out to me, but they may be spoilery, so stop now if you don’t want to know anything specific-ish about the book.

Alright, so, I didn’t like the fact that Tate being an introvert was used as an excuse for him being rude. I know lots of introvert, I’m an introvert, and none of us are straight-up rude to other people for no reason. There’s a difference between being shy and coming off as unfriendly, and just being outright rude. Tate was rude for a huge portion of this book, and it was uncalled for in the majority of the situations.

Also, the whole accidental, mistaken identity kiss thing. Just, no. He got off way too easy there. That conflict could (and frankly should have) lasted longer. In my opinion, it was resolved way too quickly.

There were other things that I just didn’t get or understand, but I don’t want to dwell on it much more. This book wasn’t for me and that’s okay. But there’s good news, just because it wasn’t my cup of tea, doesn’t mean that it won’t be yours. My friend Jasmine (@diaryofaclosetreader on Instagram) really enjoyed it, so be sure to keep an eye out for her review to get a different opinion.

I received a free copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the first half of the book. The enemies to lovers trope is one of my favorite and I think that Emmie's working in a mostly male construction company was a good base to the story. However, it kind of fell apart once her and Tate get together. Their interactions seemed more forced, and the chemistry kind of disappeared. By the end, the dialogue felt cringey and the big reveal felt unnecessary.
I know it's a debut, so I will look forward to her second book.

Cute story about learning to assert your place in the world. Emmie works at a tool company with a lot of men, and has perfected her assertive work personality. The only person who consistently gets under her skin is her coworker Tate, who seems to enjoy annoying her for his own amusement. Too bad he’s also extremely good-looking. When the two are forced to work on a long-term project together, can they set their animosity aside? And what’s behind it? Hatred or maybe something else?

This definitely shares a lot of DNA with The Hating Game, with its coworker enemies-to-lovers plot. And I didn’t care for some of Tate’s occasionally jealous behavior, which came off as pretty controlling. The author should’ve at least had them talk through it, so impressionable younger readers won’t think that’s an acceptable way to act.

But overall I enjoyed this book. I’m curious to see if Smith is writing any more with the same characters.

Hiding one’s true self hinders the intimacy from which love grows. Début author Sarah Smith finely illustrates this truth in her sexy enemies-to-lovers romance, Faker. Smith’s complex protagonists, heartwarming revelations, and steamy desire make for an enjoyable read. However, the saccharine love story that unfolds requires more suspension of disbelief than usual for romantic fiction.

Twenty-six-year-old marketing manager Emmie Echavarre is only one of three women employed by Nuts & Bolts, a power tool distributor in Omaha, Nebraska. Born to a Filipino mother and a white father, Emmie learned at a young age how to develop a thick skin in the face of adversity. So every day, she dons her “boss-bitch” face in order to survive in a male-dominated work environment. Emmie’s long-time antagonist is Nuts & Bolts media manager Tate Rasmussen, who has been inexplicably hostile toward her from day one. The two office neighbors have fallen into a daily routine of name-calling, bickering, and passive-aggressive behavior. (To be honest, it’s hard to believe that the stern, businesslike Emmie doesn’t report Tate’s constant verbal abuse. She instead opts to go tit-for-tat. #dontstooptohislevel #gethisassfired )

Friction eventually turns into sparks when Emmie and Tate are forced to collaborate on their company’s charity construction project. As the duo work closely together, Emmie observes that her seemingly apathetic - and strikingly handsome - colleague is surprisingly kind and considerate.  And Tate comes to realize that the beautiful Emmie is fun and easy to talk to.

Attraction between the two grows, but, given their history, Emmie believes that this ‘new’ Tate is too good to last.

First off, Faker is not a romantic comedy, as categorized by the publisher. There are a few amusing moments and minor quirky characters, but comedy is not prevalent throughout the novel. (A cutesy illustrated book cover does not a rom-com make.) The novel is actually much sexier than I had expected;  Smith is aces at writing kissing scenes, and her passionate prose and A+ in-car makeout sessions are hot. But sadly, the sexual tension, while titillating, becomes too drawn out and repetitive in nature.

Emmie and Tate, both fakers in their own right, are well-matched. Emmie, a no-nonsense woman of color who disregards her sensitive side as a liability, is the perfect adversary for Tate, a grouchy white man who fiercely conceals his introverted nature. Both are deeply caring individuals who avoid hurt feelings and heartbreak at all cost. Emmie is a likable, well-drawn character whose struggles with sexism and unwanted stares, will be relatable to many women. Her backstory is compelling and details aspects of her Filipino culture and her early childhood in Hawaii. And, for a “milky white” Midwestern dude, Tate is wonderfully open-minded and goes above and beyond to learn more about Emmie’s ethnic foods and native language.

Even though I genuinely rooted for Emmie and Tate, there were a few things about the brooding hero that I found unsettling. Tate is undeniably sweet, but some of his adoring gestures are excessive, which to me appeared a little desperate. (#lovemeEmmieloveme) He also exhibits fleeting instances of alpha-level jealousy. (#notcoolTate) Also, when the reason for Tate’s bad behavior is eventually revealed to Emmie, I found his explanation to be lacking and not particularly believable. Perhaps, if the story had been told in alternating points of view, I would have been able to better understand Tate’s motivations, but Faker is told in first-person from Emmie’s perspective. Smith does find a clever way to dig deeper into Tate’s psyche, but I might have found Tate just as likable as Emmie had she opted to include his PoV.

Faker delivers on palpable emotion and physical affection, but the plot is derailed on a few occasions by plot contrivances that border on absurd. All things considered however, Faker is a comfortable read. Stakes are raised, but not too high so as to overwhelm, and conflicts last long enough to raise concern, but not enough to cause major stress. In a world where news stories of ignorance and hatred are unrelenting, Faker is the romance novel to pick up when you want to change the narrative to one of understanding and love.

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