This was a cute read that I dd struggle to fully get into. This book has great potential but fell a bit short for me--the characters were not always likable and the storyline as a whole felt a bit rushed. I would have enjoyed seeing the relationship between Jared and Sarah develop a bit more. Overall, this was a quick and at times funny, if not predictable read, that did not quite pull me as much as previous books by this author.

This is my first book by this author and I requested it because of the cute cover. I didn’t realize that it was as the second book in the series but I had no problems following along and never felt lost. Oh man was Jared a little rough personality wise. I mean, he totally came off like a big ole dick a time or two. I really liked Sarah, she had no problems calling him out on it. She definitely held her own against him. It certainly made for some interesting chemistry between them, so that was kinda fun. Overall I thought it was an enjoyable read and I think I’ll grab the next book that comes out about his sister, I really liked her.

Story-⭐⭐⭐⭐and 1/2⭐
Characters-⭐⭐⭐⭐
Hero-⭐⭐⭐⭐
Heroine-⭐⭐⭐⭐
Cheating-n/a
Cliffhanger-n/a
Will I recommend it-yes!

One lingerie shop. One gorgeous but broody client. One sassy sales associate. And the chemistry which is building up between them for 6 months.

Thank you netgalley and the publishers for giving me the chance two review this wonderful romance. I have to confess that this is my first Monica Murphy novel and it won't be the last! I loved everything about this book starting from the beautiful cover. What a swoon worthy cover! I loved it and it was partly the reason why I wanted to read it.

This book starts with a regular day for Sarah in 'Bliss',the lingerie shop, when her client and the male protagonist, Jared Gaines comes to buy lingerie for the lastest woman that he has been seeing(at least Sarah thinks so). So imagine her surprise when she goes home to find the same lingerie fed-exed to her with a note attached to it that says-
"For you
JG"
Romantic right? Our Sarah thinks so too but is skeptical that what a wealthy,arrogant,physically perfect and handsome CEO like him wants with an ordinary 'betty' like her.

"You dislike this man. He represents everything you hate. He’s a player, a user. You mean nothing to him, and he means nothing to you. Don’t forget that."


So she does what any ordinary girl in her shoes would do,you guessed it right! She just pretented that this isn't happening🤭 and our hero,bless his stubborn heart continues to woo her with more gifts such as a beautiful Christian Louboutin and beautiful(and expensive) flowers and some more lingerie (from the store she works at).....
"You’re ignoring me.
What will it take to get a response?
JG"
And this one here is particularly romantic. Our heroine thinks so too.......

"When I look at the stars,
I’ll think of you.
JG
OH SHIT. He just got romantic on me."

This one truly implored her to react. She is a lonely girl afterall and every girl dreams of a happily ever after with a man who loves her.......


"When was the last time I had a man hug me? Kiss me? It’s been forever. No mom or dad to hug me either. Oh, Andie will throw herself at me on occasion and give me one of those brief, tight embraces she’s so fond of. My friends are an affectionate bunch too."



I really liked her. The way she played the role of both mother/sister to her younger brother and sister when she herself is still a young girl herself is truly remarkable. Her relation with Andie was fun to watch.
It was all a game of persuation till Sarah confronts Jared about the gifts and Jared in turn tells her that he wants her to come with him to San Francisco to attend his brother's wedding as his date. Both Sarah and I are equally baffled. Believe me it came outta nowhere! But Jared is not totally honest with Sarah here. This story consist of a past flame in the mix and things get really complicated at the end when they both succumb to their mutual attraction for each other. I really enjoyed my first Monica Murphy book. There is no doubt in my mind that I am going to enjoy reading all her books in the future. Jared's sister Candice was one of my favourite character in this book. The way she became Sarah's friend was a really positive highlight for me.


"My sister is a talker . This is why she’s so good at charity work. She can convince anyone to hand over a huge donation after non-stop chatting them up for fifteen minutes."


The girl is downright fantastic. Such a lovely character and she is also behind Sarah and Jared's happily ever after(spoiler). Anyways, all the supporting characters of Stella,Caroline,Eleanor, Kevin and Andie made this book such a lovely experience.Oh and I totally agree with Eleanor that its a "Pretty Woman" situation....


"“Yes! One minute he’s telling her don’t kiss me, and the next they’re making out and he’s buying her jewelry and flying her…to San Francisco.”Eleanor pauses. “And he’s in…mergers and acquisitions.”Her smile grows to huge proportions, and she starts to yell, “You are totally in a Pretty Woman situation!”"



I loved reading Sarah and Jared's fake date story and the way it became something very real and beautiful between them. I recommend it to everyone out there. I don't want to ruin the surprise but it is coming out on 17 th september and hope you all enjoy it as much as I did!
Happy reading...xoxo.

Who doesn't love the fake relationships trope? I sure do, and this story is proof why it can be so good!
Just reading the blurb got my interest and it really delivered, I enjoyed Monica's writing style, it's very fluid and light; the plot may be simple enough but it got me hooked from the start, the main characters couldn't be more different but yet there's an intense chemistry between them and their banter and sass makes the reading so enjoyable. and to complement you have really good secondary characters.

As for the main characters I really liked Sarah, she sure has lots of responsabilities in her life but still remains very sweet and caring, while Jared is pretty much teh opposite and he might be hard to like but that's why I think it's a good thing that we get his POV.
Overall I think this is a fresh, sexy, fun and sweet comedy. Would surely recomment it.

4 stars!
Fake Date was my first book by Monica Murphy. I liked it and enjoyed it from beginning to end. Sarah and Jared had great chemistry together. Their bantering at the beginning was very entertaining and I liked that we were able to get both their point of views of the story. Fake relationships with a lot of chemistry are one of my favorite tropes.
Sarah and Jared were great together. She made him realize what he was missing out in life by closing himself to love. His family relationships were suffering too. Sarah made him realize how lucky he was to have a big family who loved him even if he was not the nicest person to them. I liked how she made him be a better brother and son.
Sarah was my favorite character of the book. Though still young she carried a lot of responsibility on her shoulders. She had to set her dreams and goals aside to take care of her siblings when their parents died. I loved how at the end she found inspiration to work in what she was great at and that she found her HEA and that she made Jared really work for it.
Sarah's friends were a great support system. We should all be so lucky to have one! I'll be looking out for their stories if they get one!
Great read!

Thank you to the publisher for the ARC given through NetGalley for an honest review.

Fake Date is the second book in Monica Murphy's Dating series but can definitely be read as a standalone. I love fake relationship books and Monica Murphy wrote the trope well. I loved Sarah and her friend group. They felt like people I would be friends with in real life. I wasn't a huge fan of Jared - I wish he would have had more redeeming qualities. Overall, I enjoyed this book.

**I voluntarily read an early copy of this title courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review**

Fake Date is the second book in Monica Murphy's Dating series and if you haven't read the first in the series, never fear, this one can be read completely as a standalone.

Sarah Harrison works at the high end lingerie store Bliss where one of her many jobs is to serve as a personal shopper to her clients. Her latest client that she's encountered is the enigma that is Jared Gaines. He's completely put together, always decked out in a suit, not a hair out of place, yet all she knows is he buys a whole lot of lingerie, so her assumption is he's definitely a ladies man.

When Jared starts sending Sarah gifts, she doesn't quite know what to make of it. She doesn't want to be attracted to him, but she totally is. She's got her hands full due to the fact she's raising her brother and sister following the death of their parents and so the last thing she's had time for is dating. It turns out that Jared makes a proposition that Sarah pose as his girlfriend for his brother's engagement party. She agrees, but will it be as easy as they originally think it will? Not likely when the lines begin to blur and feelings begin to emerge.

This was a fun, flirty fake relationship/hate-to-love novel and it was a great one. I enjoyed every minute of it and I also enjoyed Jared's sister, Candice, and Sarah's group of friends. I was stoked to see that the next book stars Candice as our heroine. Can't wait!

Fake Date had such a cute theme. It was flirty and had an intriguing-enough introduction to the main characters: Sarah and Jared. However, while both Sarah and Jared were moderately nuanced as protagonists, Jared’s character grows stale midway throughout the book. His actions and temperament seemed very erratic and mean-spirited— especially to his supposed romantic interest, Sarah. By the end of the book I was sending invisible brainwaves to fictional Sarah to move on from the insecure-takes-out-his-insecurities-on-an-innocent-woman— Jared.
In life, especially after your teen years, it is hard to change your ways, almost impossible. Sarah, a woman in her early 20s, thinks she can change a man (Jared a man in his mid 30s) and that becomes one of her biggest flaws. No one can change unless one wants to-- and change mostly cannot be forced upon an unwilling person. This becomes one of the books biggest faults.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I had a good time reading this book. I liked how Sarah and Jared tease each other and get on each other's nerves.

Sarah is a young woman with a lot on her plate, be the author does not go on and on about it. It's mentioned, it impacts her life, but she's not the poor victim who needs to be rescued. She just does what needs to be done, and enjoys her life. I also liked that she's not a virgin who needs teaching about sex. (I enjoyed the sex scenes, they were quite hot without over-describing everything they did.)

Although some parts seemed a bit rushed, I'm happy I read this book, and I'll reading more by this author.

Thanks NetGalley for my ARC of this book.

I loved it and it was fun, flirty, and sexy. I definitely recommend this book, this series, and this author.

I 100% thoroughly enjoyed Fake Date. It was such a fun, sweet read. I loved Sarah who was a young woman with a huge amount of responsibility on her shoulders. Despite her age she had no qualms putting Jared in his place. Jared is a brooding, standoffish millionaire who keeps his family at arms length because of the past. When he meets Sarah at Bliss lingerie he's quite taken with her and loves to get a rise out of her. When he asks her to be his fake date for his brother's engagement party he is hoping that the attraction could be a lot more than fake. Can he let go of the past and show Sarah that he can and will man up or will their relationship go no further than their fake date.

**Received ARC through NetGalley. Voluntarily reviewed **

Fake Date is a cute read that I couldn't put down. Jared is hot and knows what he wants. I love the changes in him throughout this one. I love the chemistry between Sarah and Jared. He just has this way of wearing her down that you will turn into a little pile of goo. Sarah is sweet and caring. She does an amazing job raising her siblings. Sarah just has this way about her that makes you feel like you have known her forever. I loved Fake Date. I really can't wait to see what Monica Murphy has in store for us in the next Dating book to come. The Dating series is hot and cute and something you don't want to miss out on.

The premise had promise, but unfortunately, the execution failed.
Sarah was a perfectly character, her friends were wonderful and reminded me of my own friend circle. The main problem in this book is Jared. If this is the toned down version of the protagonist then I can't imagine what the first version was like. He didn't do anything to warrant any forgiveness. About half way through the book, if felt like he was redeemable, but then things went downhill. Everything felt unnecessary, and to hostile for my taste.

I received this book from Netgalley, all opinions are my own.
Luanna

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read this book.
I liked the intimacy of the meet-cute and how the main characters became to know each other. There were just a few moments where I felt the characters weren't consistent or likeable. For example, when Sarah was telling Jared who he should apologise to after knowing him only a few days, and Jared's behaviour during the course of the book.
It was easy to read, fast paced and punchy, but it's a hard one to rate.

This was a charming story of what I think of as a mismatched pair of lovers.

24 year old Sarah Harrison is wise and mature beyond her years, tossed into the head of the house role when her parents die tragically, leaving her with a younger brother and sister to raise. She’s put aside her life and dreams to keep them supported. Feisty, snarky at times, and truly sweet-hearted, Sarah is flustered with one of her regular clients, Jared Gaines. You see, Sarah works at an exclusive lingerie shop, and Mr. Gaines, rich, handsome, and drool worthy, is a bit of a condescending idiot. But Sarah needs her well paying job, so she caters to him whenever he comes in to make a purchase for one of his “mistresses.”

But Sarah’s got it all wrong. Oh, Jared is a prick, all right, but he doesn’t have any mistresses. What he does have is a mad, lusty crush on her.

When he makes her a proposition to be his fake date at a family function, Sarah is torn between telling him to go to hell and wanting to find out just why he’s such a prickly kind of guy, despite having everything a man could ever dream of in his life..

If you’re thinking FAKE DATE is like PRETTY WOMAN without the hooker-with-a-heart-of-gold lead character, you’re not too far off. But this book is so much better than that movie ( and I loved the movie!)

No more spoilers here, because you really should read this book!
4.5 stars from me and a thanks to Netgalley for allowing me a sneak peak.

This was okay. I didn't like the male character. He was too cold for me. But the book itself wasn't horrible it just wasn't for me.

<i>arc provided by netgalley in exchange for an honest review</i>

DNF/skim read

This book just wasn’t for me. I could tell pretty much from the moment I started reading it that I was probably not going to like it but I tried to give it a fair chance. The premise sounded like it could be really cute but I just... didn’t care. About the characters, about the plot or their relationship, I just didn’t care about any of it. The writing style just wasn’t for me and I found myself putting the book down and not wanting to pick it back up each time.

Sarah is saleswoman at Bliss Lingerie, where she meets and helps the infuriating Jared Gaines. No matter how much hostility he seems to throw Sarah's way, she is the only woman at the store he wants to deal with and we soon figure out why.

Sarah has no idea why Jared keeps coming to see her, but she resolves that the next time will be the last, until a couple of fancy gifts keep showing up for her.

I enjoyed this book tremendously. I'm a sucker for romance novels, and I really enjoy the fake relationship trope, and this one didn't seem to overdone for my taste. I loved how Sarah didn't take any crap and let Jared know exactly what she was feeling.

I'm not going to lie, it took a while for Jared to grow on me. He was cold, callous, and arrogant. Eventually we are able to figure out why, and his demeanor becomes a bit more understandable.

The background characters were great and well-done. I really enjoyed Candice and the lightheartedness she brought to the book. The secondary characters really added to the story and brought out more aspects of both the personalities of the main characters.

I was unsure of how to feel about this book. I liked Sarah, the main female protagonist, but Jared left me wanting. I'm all about the brooding male who had his heart broken and is trying again, but he was a downright jerk with very little redeeming qualities. I firmly believe he wasn't handsome or rich, Sarah would have never given him the time a day especially with how he treated her. I'm all for enemies-t0-lovers trope, but this was beyond. I get it, his mommy died and he never actually dealt with his grief like an adult and instead started to put barriers up which only intensified when his ex-fiancee broke it off with him. We never get why, we just are to believe that she was this wicked creature who broke his heart. This gives him the entitled belief that he can be a jerk to anyone, including his own family.

I'm actually curious as to what Sarah saw in him because as a reader I wasn't shown a side to him that could make me see him as something other than an entitled asshole. I'd have been perfectly happy if this was strictly friends with benefits type of situation and then Sarah realizes that he's basically a teenager stuck in a grown man's body and move on. That never happens, and they of course get together at the end because this book wouldn't be a romance if they didn't.

The sex scene in this book was alright, but the rest were all heavily implied. I wanted more, at least something to show me the chemistry they had together. I didn't get with their hate-flirting so I wasn't sure what chemistry Candice, his sister, kept talking about.

All in all, I don't think I could recommend this book. I don't know what the author's purpose was to make Jared such a juvenile jerk, but it didn't come off very well. Especially not in today's society where women are kind of over borderline abusive behavior. I wouldn't tolerate that shit in real life so I'm not gonna read about it.

I received an ARC from Netgalley for an honest review.

I received a free copy of FAKE DATE (Book 2 of the Dating Series) by Monica Murphy in exchange for an honest review. Sarah Harrison supports her brother and sister by working at Bliss Lingerie as both a salesclerk and a personal shopper. One of Sarah’s personal shopper clients, Jared Gaines, is driving her crazy. Jared’s hot, oh so hot, but he’s unpleasant and frequents the shop to buy lingerie for his long string of mistresses. Sarah’s seriously considering having Jared reassigned to another employee when Jared sends Sarah an inappropriate gift. Sarah knows she should return the lingerie, but it takes her awhile to do it because she’ll have to return the shoes, too, and she really, really adores the Louboutins. Sarah finally confronts Jared, but he talks her out of returning the presents and into being his fake date at an upcoming out-of-town family function. Is there more to Jared than a large bank account and a bad attitude?

I liked this book. You should be aware that there were a lot of sexual fantasies and some explicit sex, which was not to my preference, but this type of material is prevalent in the genre. This is a dream story for women who like fixer-upper men. Jared seemed reasonably amenable to having Sarah coach him into being a more pleasant person and into having healthier relationships with his family.

#FakeDate #NetGalley