Faker was a great book for this debut author. This cover was so fun and different. I loved this enemies to lovers romance and these characters. You can’t help fall for Tate and Emmie. The attraction between them is instant and the connection was off the charts. These two work together and don’t like each other. I loved Tate and his alpha ways. He is my new book boyfriend.

This was a one sitting read for me that I really enjoyed. I can’t wait for more work from this author. I highly recommend this enemies to lovers romance.

I had high hopes for FAKER. Maybe too high - I don't know. This started out quite entertaining. Emmie, our prickly heroine, is used to the male display of dominance and pissing contests. She works as a copywriter for tool products so, putting up a brave front, she seems to have it under control. Except when it comes to Tate.

I wish I could rave about Tate like others did but to me he was rude, so freaking rude and unlikable. It was so off-putting how he treated, well, pretty much everyone. His unreasonable jealousy got on my nerves fast. Once Emmie and Tate worked out their issues I didn't hate him as much but I never really warmed up to either of them. I thought they both acted like teenagers.

There were also a couple of things that didn't make much sense to me - like Emmie's appendicitis. The doctor explained Emmie's not noticing it with the symptoms of a concussion she contracted when she fell from a ladder. Everyone who has had appendicitis knows how much in pain you are...so...no. That didn't make sense.

That last incident towards the end...It was too much. It was all so far fetched and only created unnecessary drama for the sake of it.

This book is being compared to The Hating Game and it was what drew me to it. I think it's universes away from Sally Thorne's bestseller. The only thing these two have in common is the enemies-to-lovers and office romance trope. But that's me - so as always when a book doesn't chime with me I urge you to check out other reviews - what didn't work for me may absolutely work for you!

Emmie and Tate have managed to create a hostile work environment built around a misunderstanding. Everything changes once Emmie is injured at a construction site and later has her appendix removed. Instead of bickering, Tate takes care of her, makes sure her loved ones know. And there the love story begins. The problem is that Tate is controlling and jealous and falls into that category of “if he’s mean to you, that means he likes you” for the beginning of the book. It’s hard to cheer for a couple when one party openly distrusts the other and controls who has access to her. And the other thinks that this is charming behavior. There are good scenes of comfort from Tate, but when you learn that he is deciding who can talk to Emmie, it becomes uncomfortable. I wish I had liked it because, for the most part, the writing was engaging.

Who loves a good enemies to lovers story? I do! And this is one of my favorites in awhile. Emmie Echavarre and Tate Rasmussen work together at Nuts and Bolts, a company that is just what it sounds, a power tool company full of men and just a few lone females. One of which is Emmie. Anyone who has worked in a male-centric career knows that more is expected of you as a woman. I could related to this idea of being a "faker" and putting up a facade. I loved how the author really took us into Emmie's frame of mind and how well developed her character was.

Now for the chemistry. The chemistry in this book was off the charts for me. I loved loved loved Tate! He was so sweet and so earnest. And wow their chemistry in this book was electric. I had all the butterflies at just a shared look. I love when a book has the ability to do that. Their first kiss together was PERFECT. I am finding it more and more rare to find a well written kiss, that is just a kiss. I could go on and on about the chemistry in this book. But quite simply you just need to run out and pick this one up. I cannot believe this one was a debut. I will be awaiting future releases.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book!

There’s something about the combination of a workplace romance and the enemies-to-lovers trope that go so well together. I was immediately hooked by the blurb of Faker by Sarah Smith, which follows a heroine who works in a male-dominated work environment. With whip-smart humor, engaging writing, and a slow-burning, but scorching hot romance, Faker is a must-read debut novel by Sarah Smith.

Emmie Echavarre is a copywriter at Nuts & Bolts, a power tool company staffed primarily by members of the opposite sex. To be taken seriously, she's had to learn to be tough as nails...or at least pretend to be. She's a self-proclaimed "faker," maintaining a hardened, professional persona, especially when it comes to her relationship with Tate Rasmussen. Emmie has been at odds with her gruff, terse co-worker since he took an instant, inexplicable disliking to her on her first day of work. Now they spend their days either ignoring each other or engaging in an antagonistic war of words. But when they're paired together on a charity project, Emmie and Tate have to play nice...or at least try not to drive each other crazy in the process.

After having my heart stomped on for the first several chapters, I began to wonder how the hostility between Emmie and Tate could possibly lead to a romance. There seemed to be too much baggage between them and too many hurt feelings for any romantic feelings to develop. But with each new chapter, we get to know a softer, more caring, more considerate side of Tate. The tension, aggression, and wariness between him and Emmie give way to attraction as they gradually break down each other's emotional barriers. Their budding romance is slow-burning, yet packed with sexual tension and explosive chemistry

From the first sentence to the final page, Faker had me riveted. It tugged on my heartstrings and had me smiling, blushing, and swooning nonstop. Sarah Smith knocked it out of the park with her debut novel and I can't wait to see what she comes out with next!

*complimentary copy provided by publisher for an honest review

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Emmie Echavarre works at Nuts & Bolts as a copywriter. It doesn't matter that she is only one of five females who work there, she loves her job. The problem is is that Emmie has to fake being someone else at work or the males will walk all over her. Most of the time Emmie can handle things easily except when it comes to Tate Rasmussen, her co-worker who sits across the hall from her and drives her nuts! The two of them have a friendly love/hate thing going. They both secretly look longing at the other but then act not as nicely to each other's face.

When Tate suggests that he and Emmie work closely together the charity construction project for Habitat for Humanity that their company is sponsoring, that is when the real fun begins. Slowly by slowly and day by day Emmie and Tate start to see each other for what they really are and quickly things begin to heat up. Too bad this is also the same time Jamie from Sawyer Custom Contracting asks Emmie out.

Emmie knows where her heart is leading her and when Tate opens his heart to Emmie she finally gets it.....she doesn't have to pretend to be someone who she isn't....she can be herself!

I just adored this story. Emmie and Tate are both so fun, quirky and perfect and they fit together beautifully. It was fun seeing how things in this story unfolded and the reasoning behind it. Overall this was a wonderful story and I highly recommend it!

In her debut novel, Smith provides the enemies-to-lovers storyline we all know and love. This was also an own voices book, in which the protagonist is a biracial Filipino American woman. Own voices is always refreshing to read and Smith gives the reader a hot and page-turning story to enjoy. I look forward to reading more from this author.

I hate that this book was just okay for me, but unfortunately that's the case with Sarah Smith's debut novel. My first impression was pretty good and I thought this had some real potential. The enemy banter in the workplace with Emmie and Tate was entertaining me and easy to engage with. Emmie is a copywriter at a power tool company named Nuts & Bolts and is in charge of creating product descriptions for the tools. The author herself once worked in a similar position and borrowed from her experience in this male dominated environment. Sexism and sexual harassment are common for the heroine which she combats with a tough, no-nonsense attitude. It's all about showing who's the alpha in the room, and she believes this is simply a disguise that she dons like a sheep in wolf's clothing. Hence, the title Faker.

Even though I was enjoying it, the first niggle I had was the repetitive descriptors of the hero's skin color which I found to be really strange. We are constantly reminded that he is pale, milky, or white to the point where you start to wonder why in the world it was necessary. I don't need to be told almost thirty times how glowingly white he is.

Tate is very rude and abrasive in the beginning of the book. Strangely, that was the most enjoyable part of the story because once they got over hating each other I got bored really fast. The pacing could have used some work. A huge chunk of the story was the two of them "taking things slowly" while making heart eyes and acting like lovesick teenagers. Her internal dialogue had an immature quality to it that became a little cheesy for me. This is coming from someone who regularly reads and loves YA romance.

It felt like I was just watching them do routine things day after day while internally swooning and making out occasionally. There was nothing to push the plot forward and create the necessary conflict between them. Tate being an introvert and bad at relationships because of it wasn't accomplishing much. On the other hand, what did cause some drama was his persistent jealousy and uncalled for rudeness towards an acquaintance of his. Jamie seemed like a good guy who did nothing more than ask Emmie out on a date and flirt with her. It was so immature and over the top how Tate behaved towards him, and at some points his behavior got so cringy I had to skim past things.

Another thing I wasn't the biggest fan of was the sexy times in the book. The author used the most unappealing ways to describe things and I couldn't take the scenes seriously. Again, there was a lot of repetition used. Like the heroine's obsession with Tate's "clean mouth" and how it had a complete lack of flavor. Or the over-usage of "between her legs." But with words being thrown around like squealing, yelping, and slurping...instead of feeling any sexual tension between the two of them I was rolling my eyes or fighting the urge to laugh.

The plot could have used more focus on Emmie's work issue with Brett, and her belief that she's putting on an act rather than being another version of her genuine self. So much time was spent on their saccharine exchanges that I never felt it scraped very deep below the surface in any regard. Maybe it's just a case of not connecting to this author. You're not going to click with everyone, and that's okay. But to be honest, if I were to pick a book out of a lineup that I thought was a debut work, I would zero in on this one immediately. Unfortunately this was in the majority a big miss for me, but don't just take my word for it. You may find that your own subjective reading experience is altogether different from mine.

Thank you Berkley Romance for my gifted copy of Faker! #partner

A while ago I fully geeked out over the news Berkley was publishing a romance with a Filipino heroine written by a Filipino author. I’m 1/4 Filipino, but I rarely see Filipino main characters in romance. I was thrilled to get a copy of Faker, Sarah Smith’s debut, and I have to say, it did not disappoint!

I am a SUCKER for hate-to-love, it’s one of my favorite tropes. Emmie is one of the only female employees at a male dominated power-tool company, and she hates Tate Rasmussen. And she’s pretty sure he hates her too, until they’re forced to work together on a charity construction project.

I don’t normally like male characters that give off possessive vibes, but something about Tate totally worked for me. I found the chemistry with him and Emmie to be so fun to read. I had allll the feels with this one! Oh, and there’s STEAM! I love books with illustrated covers, but sometimes they don’t bring the steam. Faker definitely did!

I felt like this one moved faster than some other hate-to-love stories, and I loved that. The story spends a bit of time with Emmie and Tate working through their feelings toward each other and I adored those parts. I didn’t *love* the conflict towards the end of the book, but it pushed forward a discussion on race and racial identity that was important for the story and Emmie’s character.

I know the mentions of Tate’s pale skin was criticized in some reviews, I honestly didn’t mind it. I’m *very* pale and do not look Filipino at all (people don’t know I am until they see my mom usually), other Filipino’s have commented on it. I was confused by the overly positive comments on my skin, until someone explained the complex history why pale skin is glorified in Filipino communities. There’s some great articles out there with more information on this history.

I had total heart eyes while reading Faker! I read it while on vacation, and it was perfect to curl up with Emmie and Tate at night. I was surprised I ended up crying at one point too, Emmie’s character just spoke to me. Faker was a five star read for me, and I can’t wait for whatever Sarah Smith has for us next!

Can we all agree the cover for Faker is the cutest thing ever? Of course that’s what initially caught my eye, but despite the adorable cover the inside is equally cute, but it’s also much more than just a pretty cover. It’s also sweet and charming but it has plenty of depth, and while I wouldn’t necessarily call it serious, it does have its moments of introspection and it added something powerful to the story.

I love a good old enemies to lovers trope and this delivered! Emmie and Tate are coworkers who have never gotten along and even before they start dating their chemistry is off the charts and comes through in their bickering. Their sexual tension just builds throughout the book and the payoff was so worth it! This definitely had some steam and to balance out the sexiness were plenty of moments between these two as they shared parts of their background and histories with each other. Tate is a total introvert, he’s incredibly private and while Emmie seems more outgoing than him, she’s guarded as well. I just loved these two together and how they brought out the best in each other, it didn’t hurt that Tate pulled something seriously romantic moves in order to win Emmie over and he won me over in the end too!

Super impressive debut and one that I can definitely recommend, an easy and fast romance read that I loved spending a few hours with.

Was this the most groundbreaking romance I've ever read? No.
Did I find it entertaining? Yes.
Is it contributing to me getting out of my reading slump? Absolutely.

Definitely fun, if a little predictable and cheesy at times. The book definitely wasn't without its faults but I still liked it.

This book was... OK. A lot of elements were formulaic and easy to spot, such as Tate being mean to Emmie because he liked her, the 'mean' things Emmie overhead Tate saying being without proper context, the reason behind her hospital visit... The biggest surprise was the big misunderstanding towards the end that adds the conflict lost in the obviousness of knowing that Tate likes Emmie the whole time.

That being said, the romance itself was sweet, and begins from such a caring position between Tate and Emmie that you cannot help but to root for them. With two exceptions, we could have done without the other guy and found a better way to add those beats in for the sake of building tension.

I did love Emmie's relationships with the other women in her sphere and wish that we had seen more of her with the few women who worked at Nuts & Bolts with her. A breezy summer beach read, but nothing special.

1 Star / 2 Steam (maybe)

This was a huge DUMPSTER FIRE!! I wanted to enjoy it but after the third or fourth mention of how "pale/milky/white" Tate's skin was in only two chapters, this turned into a hate read rather than a read for enjoyment. Emmie is employed in a male-dominated shop dealing with tools. Tate is the social media coordinator and Emmie has taken the companies digital visibility to the next level but when the two of them meet Tate doesn't take to Emmie the way she thinks is acceptable. There is also the constant mentioning of how the men at the tool company objectify the female employees so Emmie has to have her "bitch boss" attitude in place at all times. Tate steps in after an incident with Emmie while taking care of her in an intimate way getting someone in the company fired. Although there was a similar incident in reverse nothing happened to that offender. This story tried and failed to do the hate to lover trope and I found myself utterly annoyed with this story from the obsession/objectification of skin color, why there was supposed to be "hate" between Emmie and Tate didn't really make sense, and there is a love triangle that was just unnecessary. Overall, this was just a mess IMO and a waste of my day.

This specific video review will be included in the September/October 2019 wrap-up.

For other video book reviews check out my YouTube Channel: Steph's Romance Book Talk.

Full disclaimer: I did not finish this book. While the contemporary rom-com is hugely popular right now, I just couldn't get myself excited about this one. I will purchase for my library's collection, but I just wasn't in the contemporary romance mood.

I do love a cute contemporary read where the ending is happy! This book was that and gave me the all the feels.
The book follows Emmie and Tate on their romantic adventure. Both are young and working at Nuts & Bolts a hardware company. Emmie believes that she has to be this hard and strong woman as she work in a men's world. The problem is Tate isn't like most men and she struggles with him as he is constantly hostile.
The story is fun and does have some strong themes. Emmie has always been the different one being of
It's a definitely enemies to lovers book so if you don't like this Trope then I'd say definitely give this book a read! Sarah Smith's style of writing flows and I found it easy to read and get into. You can laugh, get upset and get angry at times in this book. You see how Smith develops the characters, with Emmie coming across as hard, bossy and strong and Tate as tough, withdrawn, socially awkward and don't forget handsome!
They both develop as characters throughout the book and you can clearly see that they are good for one another. And like I said I do like a good happy ending.
My only gripe about the book is the scene at Tate's reunion. I found both the scene and reactions unnecessary however I do recognise that this book needed it for their arc developments.
This is a great debut novel by Sarah Smith. It's full of laughter, love and gentleness. We definitely need more books like this.

Faker just didn't work for me. It's obvious from the get-go that Tate is into Emmie but isn't going to do anything about it. His lack of communication causes problems throughout the whole novel and his jealous episodes were upsetting. If he'd been able to have an actual conversation with Emmie, 70% of the book probably wouldn't have happened. So ultimately it just didn't work for me as a romance. I did like Emmie, the heroine, and her character growth in the story; the writing was good. I would try this author's work again.

Hate to love is one of my favorite tropes and I was absolutely all over the idea of co-workers in the construction field. Sadly, this was fairly disappointing.

I wanted to like Emmie and Tate. They’re both decent people who want to connect. There is a lot of “what side of this person am I going to see today” and that left me wondering why she was even bothering. There are a few secondary characters, but no one stood out.

Plot wise it was just okay. The tension is non-existent and the bits that might have provided a build up to the story fell flat. I didn’t see the chemistry and while they did have a lot of conversations, I couldn’t quite settle into their relationship. Oh and there are way too many mentions of “wet and sloppy” kissing and that’s yucky.

Overall, I loved the idea, but the execution just didn’t work for me. I could have easily set this down and not picked it back up. Regardless, I am interested to see what Sarah writes next.

**Huge thanks to Berkley for providing the arc free of charge**

This was a book that I DNF’d. I found the main character to be insufferable because of that I also found the romance to be super annoying. I know this is a debut novel but I’m not sure I will be picking up other titles by this author.

Faker is an impressive debut about an office romance with an enemies to lovers vibe! Emmie is a Filipino living in the midwest and arguing daily with her whiter than white bread coworker, Tate. Their banter in the beginning is really biting. They do NOT like each other. However, Tate is strangely concerned about Emmie being hassled by a coworker. It isn't long before Emmie and Tate's relationship changes. Emmie is still a bit hesitant-Tate had really hurt her feelings in the past.

The focus of the plot of Faker is on their relationship and on each character's growth. Emmie shared her struggles with having to leave Hawaii as a teenager and being the only non-white girl in her midwest town. Tate shares his struggles with being supremely introverted. I felt a connection with Tate because I really understood his struggle-not wanting to be in certain situations, not enjoying social events, etc.

My only struggle with Faker was an event near the end involving Tate. He does something that I just found unbelieveable and while it isn't unforgiveable, I do think Emmie probably should have been a bit more questioning and unsure of his motives. [spoiler]Tate brings Emmie to his high school reunion. While there, Emmie sees a girl who looks EXACTLY like her, and it turns out its Tate's ex. He walks up and kisses the ex. He tells Emmie he thought it was her. [/spoiler]However, I found Faker to be highly entertaining and think that readers will enjoy the low angst and unique characters!

Audio fans: Donnabella Martel is a new to me narrator and I thought the story was well performed! The entire story is told from Emmie's POV and Martel does a great job brings Emmie to life.

Had to give up on this ARC I was given because of the toxic relationship between the two main characters. This went beyond "enemy coworkers" into mentally abusive behavior for no good reason. Tate is SUCH a jerk. Emmie is clueless and also kind of a jerk. NO ONE SAYS WHAT THEY MEAN.

The subtext in the beginning of the story as to why he was super nice via email to Emmie before he started working there (but then he saw her, freaked out, and has been an asshole ever since) is that he didn't realize how amazingly attractive she was, and now he can't handle working with a person he can't date that is so pretty. Because...this lax-as-hell HR from this company forbids workplace romances? HIGHLY doubt.

And because he was a jerk to her up front, Emmie is also a jerk, and so obviously WHAT is a man to do? Certainly not use his words to communicate, but instead act holier-than-thou, like he's such a saint for keeping his hands off. Oh, but he's secretly nice to OTHER people! Well, then, his behavior to Emmie is all okay! Ugh ugh ugh.

And then when Emmie spies a text from Tate to a friend about how "it's effing sooooo hard to work with her"--and as the reader we know it means because he's sooooo obsessed with her--she flips out. And instead of Tate calmly telling her that he likes her, he grabs her face and kisses her.

Authors, PSA: this ISN'T great writing. If real life people were doing this, it would be dumb as hell, and I would never talk to these idiots. I don't want to read about these idiots either.

Please find yourself another book to read. The Hating Game by Sally Thorne has a similar premise but the animosity between the leads isn't nearly as toxic.