TW: severe anxiety/social anxiety, overstimulating situations, on-page panic attacks

This was a sweet, swoon worthy slow burn romance (no sexy times) showing the growing friends to more relationship of a woman with severe anxiety just trying to cope everyday and a man who acknowledges her struggles, doesn’t try to “cure”/change her, and is incredibly supportive in all her endeavors!

I am blown away by the, in my opinion, respectful accuracy of the anxiety representation! The overall slower pacing of the story suits the MC’s on page struggles with anxiety, showing us and making us feel her daily struggles to go to work and handle social interactions (even with friends and family), and how truly exhausting her brain can be when she overthinks every situation and scenario. We see her handle situations that puts her out of her comfort zone, situations that both she chooses to enter and situations that others force her into because that don’t understand “the big deal” that is to her. I struggle with anxiety and found myself amongst these pages and felt exhausted for her after some of the more trying situations.

Other than seeing the struggles of her anxiety, we also see the unyielding support she receives from her best friend and love interest! Both relationships, while they don’t fully understand how her anxiety makes her feel, they never make her feel “less than” for having anxiety. They gently push her to chase her dreams and get out of her comfort zone, but entirely on her terms. They constantly check on her well being and make accommodations to help her get through the day. Both relationships were truly special and beautiful to watch unfold!

I have nothing but good things to say for this story and this author. Bravo to the author for creating such a relatable heroine without it feeling heavy or exaggerated. I have already recommended this story to several people and will continue to do so! I believe this story, while enjoyable as a romance, will also definitely help readers who don’t have anxiety understand what the daily struggle is like and hopefully become more empathetic to anyone they know who suffers from it.

Reviewed in the United States on January 8, 2021
♕ Heroine : Everly loves her job as a radio producer. She has the bad luck of having the worst birthdays ever and on her 30th bday she not only finds out that her boyfriend is cheating on her, she airs it to all her radio show listeners.

♕ Hero : Chris’s end goal was to prove to his father he was capable of taking over his communications empire in NY. But while trying to save Everly’s job organizing a radio version of the Bachelorette, he realizes that he can stand on his own and that there might be people he might miss more than his brothers if he moved back.

♕ Character development : Chris is a super nice guy, I loved how he was so very observant and caring of Everly, but he was no self-assured alpha male, which couple accounted for the slow burn. Everly had social anxiety, but is also strong and keeps trying to push herself (hence the 10 Rules for Faking it).

♕ Romance / Sexiness : This is a VERY slow burn. Although Chris has always felt an attraction towards Everly, he never acted on it knowing he wasn’t staying.

Ten Rules for Faking It is a standalone contemporary romance by author Sophie Sullivan. It is told from both points of view with a happy ending. Subgenres: Office Romance | Women’s Fiction | Friends to lovers |

I enjoyed this book. I feel like the author did a great job at creating a character who has social and heighten anxiety in a realistic way. Often, as someone who also suffers from anxiety, I don’t feel like anxiety is understood or accurately portrayed so I really appreciated being able to relate more because of this.

This was definitely a cute read! A bit of a slow burn but overall a really fun read.
I also hope maybe to see more of these characters and the radio station.
Great debut 👏

ARGH! TEN RULES FOR FAKING IT could have easily been a 5-star read. I loved that the author talked about something we all can relate to in some way because I'm sure most of us have been afraid to make the first move, to stand up for ourselves out of fear of rejection. For Everly this turned into a pattern and anxiety. The author addressed this exceptionally well - I really understood why Everly felt the way she did. I could feel her fear, her shyness, the way she hesitated and second-guessed every single decision in her life.
Just because it’s hard doesn’t mean it’s not worth it.

Both main characters were extremely likable and Everly's best friend, Stacey, was the ultimate sidekick who got her but didn't hold back with her honesty. Chris was truly wonderful, he had this intuition and understanding for what Everly needed and how she felt. But, and here is where my issues start, we have these endless, repetitive inner monologues that just slow the reading down and make the storyline drag. At a time where I find it hard to focus it's a little annoying since it takes me much longer to get through a book then usual. The thing that made the story fall apart a little was Everly's archaic take on marriage and divorce and the way she kept throwing stuff in Chris's face that had happened before they even met. She denied him a decade of growth which felt a little immature and the whole conflict came out of nowhere. Drama for drama's sake. But what I loved was her gradual growth, how she grew braver and more empowered.
All at once, sitting next to him, she’d realized she did like him. That she wished he were one of her dates. All her dates.

Sophie Sullivan is an author to watch. I think she has immense talent if she can condense her word count a little and mind the flow of the story a little more. I was still sufficiently entertained and loved parts of the story that were funny and cute. Those make me want to try her future books again!

Fun, entertaining, fast-paced romance.

Introverted Everly has just experienced a nightmare event on her birthday when she discovers her boyfriend cheating on her when she drops in to share breakfast with him. Her day goes from bad to worse in an even-more embarrassing on-air scene at the radio station where she is a producer. Ultimately, the radio station runs a promotional event to find Everly a better match.

I found the characters likable and the switching perspectives between Everly and Chris added depth to both the story and the authenticity. Everly’s anxiety and social issues are at the forefront of her interactions and although they are emphasized throughout the story, there is enough of her internal monologue and growing self-awareness that it is easy to root for her.

Overall, this a good, fun rom-com with an entertaining story and great characters.

I adored this book!

Ten Rules for Faking It is a story about finding out who you are and the people who help make you that person.

The main character in this story, Everly, suffers from severe anxiety, The anxiety in this book was represented extremely well and I could relate to Everly on certain aspects of said anxiety, Being told in dual POV was also well done seeing the different sides of the anxiety,

I love these characters and the growth that the two main characters go through. I wish we had a few more chapters in the POV of Chris, but what we got I enjoyed. I specifially wouldn't have minded seeing the scene play out of Rob telling him about what happens at the gym.

The entire premise of this book was fun and quirky. Having a dating "show" through the radio station was fascinating and it worked for me. I wish we could have seen a bit more of some of the dates but I understand why we don't.

I also love the friendship between Everly and Stacy. In a lot of ways they remind me of myself and my best friend. I like that this book doesn't have the main character falling hoplessless in love with each guy but instead has her keep her reserves and shows the reader through her anxiety why she thinks the way she does about dating. It may not be the norm but there should be more stories without the complete insta love and serial dating.
There is significantly less romance in this book than I had anticipated and I love how and why that is.

Overall, this book was sweet and adorable. The romance that is there I connected to and there are great friendships in this as well. We also see decent parent/child relationships, even if they aren't the best.

If you're looking for decent anxiety rep, demi rep (or so it felt to me), and a sweet and fun story, check this book out. If you're looking for instalove and a bit of smut this may not be for you.

Cute slow burn romance about a radio producer who finds her boyfriend cheating on her on her birthday. She rants on air about it by accident and ends up as part of a radio promotion where "Bachelorette"-style she dates listeners and then at the end picks a winner to date. The problem is that she is really attracted to the station manager Chris. I loved how sweet their romance was and how seriously her anxiety was taken as a heroine's characteristic. Chris's background seemed a little unrealistic but I liked him as a character in general.
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in return for my honest review.

Each year, Everly Dean is plagued by some traumatic experience on her birthday. This year, she happens to walk in on her boyfriend having sex with his assistant. She knew she should have stayed home! To make matters worse, she just blurted the whole ordeal to her best friend who forgot to mute the live mic on the radio station they both work at. Now everyone knows she had a bad birthday and the phone lines are ringing off the hook.

Everly is on the verge of losing her job because of ratings and dead air time when she is approached by her station manager, whom she thinks is cute but standoffish. She is thrown in to a dating pool to see which guy will be her match. Everly finds herself stepping into the dating world with the guidance of her friends and boss. The problem is that she realizes she may just want her boss.

I didn’t like the slow effect of the slow burn in this story. It takes entirely too long for the characters to acknowledge their feelings for one another. While I do appreciate the author’s attempts to show readers that Chris is interested in Everly early on, it didn’t help to build a connection. He is constantly in his head around her, unsure of what to say or do. I need him to be more confident in himself.

Another thing that I take issue with is that Chris is so in love with Everly early on in the story but the readers learn that he doesn’t really know anything about her. The insta love with the slow burn makes for an offbeat story. He only started to discover who she really is through her series of dates. The chemistry is way off in this book and the storyline is just not memorable.

I enjoyed the side characters and how they played a major role in the story development. I think they kept my interest more than anything.

Overall, if you want a light, easy and fast read, then I recommend Ten Rules to Faking It.

~ Samantha

Ten Rules for Faking it by Sophie Sullivan

Everly is having a rough start to her year. On her thirtieth birthday, she caught her boyfriend in bed with his assistant. She goes to work at the radio station and is telling her best friend Stacey this without realizing they are on air. The listeners get upset on her behalf, and start flooding the station with calls and e-mails.

Chris is their boss at the radio station, but his dad owns the station. His dad wants to fire Everly and Stacy for this accident. Chris stands up for them and comes up with a plan to get the rating for the show up. Guys can apply to take Everly on dates, and she will discuss each one on air. At the end, she will pick her favorite. Think The Bachelorette, but on the radio instead of on TV.

While this does improve the ratings, Everly has anxiety and she has to learn to let down her walls and trust people. This is a struggle for her throughout the whole book, but she does finally learn to let people who are worth trusting into her life and her heart. I loved watching her grow in this area. However, I felt like the romance was really a side plot to this storyline. While this is a great story with lots of character growth, the growth doesn’t really happen until the very end of the book, and I was hoping for more romance.

Chris also learns to stand up to his dad, and to find out what makes him happy instead of what pleases his dad (because nothing pleases his dad). This plays out into how and why the romance works at the end. However, once again I felt like this kind of overshadowed the romance plot.

Overall, this is a cute story. I would recommend this if you like a slow burn, very low steam romance with lots of character growth.

3 stars
I received this book for free in return for an honest review.

I don't tend to gravitate toward the romance genre, but this one sounded cute with the premise of a radio show doing a dating contest. I expected this to be a breezy and fast read for the holidays - but, I have to admit that it was a bit of a slow read for me. The narrative is split between the two main characters, Everly and Chris. Their romance has some funny - even laugh out loud - elements. I appreciated a main character dealing with social anxiety, but I wish that it hadn't been the main source of her character development. I do think that this provides an eye-opening look into severe anxiety, but I just wanted a bit more to balance out her character. None of the other characters are deeply developed, either. And the office romances, frankly, feel a little outdated and made me squirm in a not pleasant way.

And as for the radio contest - what to me sounded like the most fun - is actually what really bogged this book down! The pacing lags with the details and logistics of it, and just feels overly drawn out. I really wanted to like this one more than I did. It's not a terrible read, and there are definitely some fun moments, but I never found myself very eager to pick it up to see what would happen next.

I really wanted to get into this book, but I didn't find the characters, especially the main one relatable. I think I went in with an idea of how this book would be, a cute rom com type of book, but I just didn't find it very enjoyable. I'd still recommend it to people who like more Chick Lit type books. This one just wasn't for me.

This wasn't my cup of tea. I enjoy a good slow burn, office romance, destined to be romance... this wasn't it.

The He Likes and She Likes just dragged on for so long, dragging the whole story and making this a boring read. It set up other characters to set this up for a series, but since this story didn't impress me, I'm not invested to keep going.

This is a great book. The characters are really well developed; each having their own ‘voice’ and personality befitting their role in the story. I loved the relationship portrayed between the two friends, Everly, our heroine, and her best friend, Stacey. The way they confided in each other, supported each other, and ‘got’ each other is the way all friendships should be. The hero, Chris, is an amazing guy. Trying to juggle the needs of the business, his undercover requirements to his father, and his attraction to Everly, would have a lesser man going crazy. His sensitivity to Everyly’s needs was really well-written. The way he responded to her anxiety episodes was nothing short of perfect (okay, it is fiction, but really well-written in this aspect). Truthfully, the sensitivity in this book in dealing with the anxiety issues Everly faces was so well done, I’m not sure there could be anything better written in a fiction story. This is a sweet, gentle romance, showing amazingly sensitive treatment for an anxiety condition. There are elements of humor, and many places where the book made me laugh, but I wouldn’t call it a rom-com. It is a very good book, and one I highly recommend. I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley. This is my freely given, honest review.

Cheeky fun, boy meets girl romance that I absolutely love! I am a sucker for a funny love story and this one did not disappoint! Grab this for your winter reading by the fire or your summer read by the pool!

One sweet, full-of-nerves heroine with girl-next-door qualities. One wholesome hero with a heart of gold, who’s a little lost when it comes to love and how to accept new dreams.

What do you have? An adorable novel with two people that come together through unexpected and unique ways despite the hills they have to climb on their way to the finish line.

Everly and Chris are the cutest. They will make you swoon and smile. Cry and laugh. Each little angsty moment ended with the perfect HEA.

Not only that, but there’s an undeniable charm in the raw humanity found amongst the pages. It’s nice to see portrayals of personal quirks done tastefully. Add in a unique setting with unwaveringly fun secondary characters and this novel has something for everyone.

I’ll definitely be ready for the authors next novel!

Ten Rules for Faking It by Sophie Sullivan is a wonderful love story and my first book by this author. This book was easy to read and perfect for an escape from cold weather or the pandemic. I will be reading more books by this author, I highly recommend this book if you enjoy romantic comedies.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

3.5

Once I was able to get into this book, I devoured it. It started a little slow and I wasn't super invested, but once I was invested, I was invested.
One of my least favourite things in books is miscommunication and that's all that this book was. Everly and Chris NOT COMMUNICATING. They were both sitting there like "I love them. But I can't be with them. For no good reason, but I still can't be with them!" It got really old.

What I liked:
The representation of social anxiety. I thought that it was so well done. I know that everyone goes through anxiety differently, but for me personally, I felt represented.
She didn't romanticize it. She didn't make it some sort of magical experience. It felt real. I loved Stacey because Everly could not get rid of her. Stacey was like "you want to be alone? Okay. I'll just sit quietly in a corner and be there for you." She was so supportive and just picked up on everything that Everly was feeling.
Chris was alright. I liked their banter and how their relationship progressed. Their relationship wasn't earth shattering, but it was cute

Ten Rules for Faking It is a slow burn romance that moves a little too slowly for my tastes. It is a cute story and it had a ton of potential, but cute doesn't tend to work out for me when I'm wishing it would pick up the pace. The premise here is solid, and I do think the author did a terrific job of representing social anxiety with Everly. I even liked both Everly and Chris, I just didn't particularly like them together - at least, not enough to really root for them as a couple. I think the problem is that these two lacked heat, and I don't mean of the steamy variety. The relationship lacked fire, that something that pushes a romance past the initial attraction and into a love story I can get invested in. That was missing here and I feel like the story suffered for the lack of it. What it all came down to is Ten Rules for Faking It is a cute story that fell just short of being what it could have been.

Radio Producer Everly Dean thought she was venting to her best friend Stacy after finding her boyfriend catching her boyfriend cheating on her birthday. Turns out their entire radio audience heard. As a way to make it up to her, her Boss, Chris suggests a Bachelorette type segment/contest for the station.

Chris is very invested in the dating show type segment. Not just because Everly is his employee and he wants to make sure she is safe, but because he has feelings for her. The two start spending time outside of work, and realize they have feelings for each other, making things between them complicated.

I thought this book was just okay. It was a little boring, and a bit slow to get going. The characters, both Everly and Dean were both sweet, and likeable, but not enough to make me give this more than 3 stars.