Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the chance to read an advance copy of this book!

I should have paid more attention to the cover blurb. "A wholesome slow-burn romance" and "a Hallmark movie in book form" describe this book extremely well but also explain why it drove me BONKERS.

I found so much of this book a very tired and cliche rom-com. Jokes about cat ladies. Jokes about fish smells in the office kitchen (is "seafood pizza" even a thing?). The old boyfriend cheats on the heroine with someone "well-endowed and flexible." The heroine has comically bad dates with people who aren't the hero, and comically bad luck on all of her birthdays. Etc, etc.

I didn't like the hero, who withholds some major information from all of his employees for no good reason and creeped me out when he changed the heroine's password to lock her out of her email for her own good, or the heroine, who really needed some therapy but somehow through the magic of love has made all of these incredible breakthroughs on her own by the end, shared in sickly-sweet monologues. I didn't like that both of our protagonists had SO MANY PARENT ISSUES AND SUCH TERRIBLE PARENTS. It drove me crazy how many times VERONICA MARS was mentioned, like the only cultural touchstone in the world.

There was just a lot that really didn't work for me. However, as I've mentioned, it is mostly what it says on the package. I would call it wholesome in the sense of kisses only steam level, but there is plenty of swearing and references to sex, including jokes about the battery-operated birthday gift from her friend Stacey. It's slow burn in the sense that the hero and heroine are boss and employee, then friends who secretly like each other with some awkward moments, and then eventually there is kissing. What I see as cliches, maybe others will enjoy as tropes. I have literally never seen a Hallmark movie, but I know tons of people love them. So, maybe pick this up, just make sure to judge this one by its cover!

I enjoyed this book so much! Everly is so relatable, and I felt like I was literally in her body when she experienced anxiety in various situations. Seeing stimming on the page, and friends who are totally supportive and understanding was so refreshing. I absolutely loved Chris and sometimes just wanted to knock them both on the head and say HELLO!!! My biggest dislike was the argument that propelled their expected falling apart. It felt like Everly was really overreacting and it felt a little hard to relate to her point of view because it felt like serious thought wasn't given to what would break up the main relationship and it felt a little lazy and exaggerated. And the fact that the same argument kept happening when resolved really slowed down the pace. The writing itself was pretty good, though not spectacular, which made me not feel the need to gobble this book up all at once, but it was certainly enjoyable and the last 50 or so pages just REALLY got me in the feels!

Cute, fluffy, soft, sweet, easy, and enjoyable. This was definitely a "feel-good" romance, which everyone needs at one point or another!

I wasn't able to get into this book even though I wanted to. I ended up marking it as DNF but I do plan on maybe trying to give it a try again after it comes out. I just am not a fan of office romances where the character ends up with her boss. Thank you Netgalley and publishers for allowing me the chance to read and review this.

My love life being made public makes me so uncomfortable but i loved reading about it happening to someone else! Very entertaining!

3.5 Stars

Ten Rules for Faking It is a cute workplace romance about finding love where you least expect it: right in front of you. Everly and Chris are such likable characters, and their story is a sweet slow burn and a feel-good romance. It did drag a bit at times, but I thought Sophie Sullivan did a great job in her depiction of Everly's anxiety, how it affects her, and how she deals with it.

Radio DJ Everly has always hated her birthdays, and after finding her boyfriend in bed with someone else on her 30th birthday, she kinda loses it. Everly has no idea that her bestie/producer Stacey has the mic on when she goes off on a tirade about dating and guys. Chris, the kinda shy station manager, has a bit of a crush on Everly, but since he's only planning on being around for a few months, he hasn't bothered to do anything about it. See, Chris is really the son of the station owner, but nobody at the station knows it. So Chris takes Everly's meltdown and sees it as an opportunity to turn it into a Bachelorette-type dating competition to help the station's sagging ratings. Although Everly suffers from severe anxiety, she pushes herself to go out there, even though she'd much rather be sitting at home. And along the way, while working with Chris on the project, Everly starts to develop feelings for him.

Ten Rules For Faking It is a lighthearted read. It's a slow burn before these two get on the same page. There is a lot of denial from both of them about what they are feeling, and that's when I felt the story dragged at times. The book is well-written, but I didn't feel that zing of chemistry between Everly and Chris, thus the reason for my 3.5 Star review.

I received an advanced copy via NetGalley and St. Martin's Press and voluntarily left a review.

Will appear soon at Romance Reviews Today. http://romrevtoday.com/
Just posted it on Amazon.


TEN RULES FOR FAKING IT – Sophie Sullivan
Griffin
ISBN: 978-1250624161
December 29, 2020
Romantic Comedy

Bakersfield, California – Present Day

Radio show producer Everly Dean is having the worst birthday ever. Not that past birthdays haven’t had their ugliness but catching your boyfriend in bed with his assistant is the worst ever. Add in the fact that Everly just accidentally spilled the information to listeners on live radio while she was ranting to her best friend (and DJ), Stacey. Now everyone knows she was cheated on. As Everly slinks away in shame, she is contacted by the station manager, Chris Jansen, who gives her the rest of the day off. Everly figures her days at the station are numbered.

But the response to what happened to Everly is overwhelmingly sympathetic. And since she complained about not being able to find a decent man, an idea forms by those around her: why not do a Bachelorette style contest where Everly goes out with men selected for her and she reports back on how the dates went. At the end of a few weeks, she will narrow her selections down and choose what is hopefully Mr. Right. Chris will assist Everly so that everything goes smoothly. The problem is that Everly and Chris are starting to become attracted to each other…

Everly has TEN RULES FOR FAKING IT and hopes the list doesn’t get any longer. Her rules have tidied her over as she has waded into the dating pool, but the men she’s picked in the past don’t muster saving. Add in that she’s a bit shy, how can she suddenly put herself out in the public eye reporting on her dates with men she just met? Chris is there to guide her, but things start to get nice and cozy between them. When will they realize that an attraction is brewing between them? The men that Everly picks are suitable, but none give her that zing of desire she has being around Chris. Will she end up with one of the men anyway?

TEN RULES FOR FAKING IT is a cute, funny tale about the travails of dating. A lot of people have advice for Everly, but will she follow it? How can she when the one man who she finds attractive is the man most likely not available to her: Chris. What Everly doesn’t realize about her boss is that he’s hiding a couple of things from her and the rest of the station employees, namely that he’s the son of the owner. Chris didn’t divulge that info when he started because he wanted to be liked and respected on his own merits. Of course, like with any secret, it’s bound to come out. How will Everly react?

Looking for a breezy, funny romance to kick back with? Then be sure to grab a copy of TEN RULES FOR FAKING IT and prepare yourself for a journey of some fun reading.

Patti Fischer

After another typically horrendous birthday, Everly decides that she is going to make some changes in her life. She makes a list of ten things she will do to make things better for herself. She is usually introverted, struggles with anxiety especially in social situations, and has a difficult time trying new things that are out of her box. Her ten rules are set to help her overcome all of that. I could relate to the anxiety that Everly dealt with and I appreciated how well the author described those issues. It was handled with a positive outlook and sensitivity. I thought the overall idea of the book was great- and a good read for people making their New Year’s resolutions.

The story follows Everly through the time after her birthday. To boost ratings and income, the radio station that she works for takes advantage of her bad-birthday luck and capitalizes on the situation where Everly walked in on her boyfriend and another woman. The station manager invents a Bachelor-style contest for Everly to find love and to attract listeners by involving the public in the selection of her dates. Everly goes out of her comfort zone and dates different bachelors. She has a great best friend who really added support to her throughout the story. Everly also has an odd relationship with her parents, who have an odd relationship between themselves. Plus, while dating the bachelors, a “forbidden” romance develops between Everly and another man. There was a lot going on in this book!

I liked the love story that developed in the book, but it seemed to begin abruptly and without much interaction between the two characters prior. I didn’t understand how they could be in love without every having addressed each other with first names. There was no story or warm up showing how they grew to like one another.

I thought the way the characters all supported each other in relationships and friendships was uplifting. However, the story felt overdone and too long. It was enjoyable, but too drawn out and stuffed full of too many storylines.

Everly walks in on her boyfriend and his assistant on her worse birthday ever. Adding to the horror, Everly blurts out what happened to her friend not realizing that she is live on the radio. The station manager Chris has a major crush on Everly, but he can't act on it due to non-fraternization policy of the radio station. Chris also has higher ambitions to rise in his father's company and doesn't plan to stay there long. I received a free copy of this ebook from the publisher through Netgalley. Even though this is a cute story, I didn't really connect with the characters. I didn't like that due to Chris's attraction to Everly that he avoided her before the start of this book. This book was not for me.

Thank you Sophie Sullivan, St Martins Press and Netgalley for #gifting me an ARC of this book.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5 Stars
Sweet Romance

Everly mistakenly airs her dirty laundry LIVE on the radio show she produces. This quickly leads to a Bachelorette inspired dating promo at the station, with her designated as the Bachelorette. Between Everly’s blind dates and her hot boss Chris, her anxiety it through the roof. She’s made a list of 10 rules to help her “fake it til she makes it” now that she’s thirty, can she stick to them?

This is a sweet slow build romance. To be honest, I thought that this book focused more on Everly and her anxiety than on the actual romance part (which I’m totally okay with). While I myself don’t suffer from anxiety, I appreciated seeing a main character that did. This story normalized these feelings and gave me some insight into what others go through when they can’t shut their mind off. I loved seeing how Stacey and Chris reacted to Everly’s anxiety and helped her through situations with understanding and love. This story is written through the POV of Everly & Chris, giving us insight into Everly’s anxiety through both her eyes and the eyes of an outsider.

While I loved having so much emphasis on Everly and her anxiety, I wish that a bit more attention would have been given to the romance part. I wanted to feel a bit more of the pull between them as the sparks started to fly and as things started to build. With that said, it was still a sweet read. Everyone needs someone as understanding as Chris is in their life!

Everly’s bad luck on her birthday has come around again. Her 30th finds her single and upset. But when her job ends up in jeopardy, a crazy plan that puts her out into the world of dating might just be the thing she needs to turn her life around. With the help of her best friend Stacie, Everly is about to embark on a difficult journey, that puts her out there in a very big way.

This one has such potential, but it landed flat in several places for me. First is Everly’s mother, who is just absolute garbage. Ignoring the fact she treats Everly more like a friend than a daughter, she consistently thinks Everly should just forgive her ex-boyfriend. This whole “men make mistakes” had me sick. Second, I didn’t care for Everly as a character. She wasn’t that great of a friend to Stacie. The friendship was entirely one-sided. Everly is incredibly childish for someone thirty years old. She just wasn’t a likable character.

This was a fun storyline, my dislike of characters aside. I appreciated that Sullivan represented social anxiety well. I liked when Everly finally found herself and could speak up and act like the grown-up she is supposed to be. Overall, this wasn’t the right fit for me, but I think because the storyline is so fun, it will be the right fit for others. Thank you, St. Martin’s, for sending this along.

This was a cute story and 100% predictable. I liked the characters, but got a little tired of all the self doubt in both parties. The author put a lot of thought into Everly’s character and definitely put to light how scary anxiety and social anxiety can be. This was an easy read and definitely one to pick up if you’re looking for something light and a palate cleanser in between books.

This was such a good read! I won't pretend to understand how Everly's brain works and the way her anxiety affects her life but this book gave insight into a person struggling. Chris was amazing with her throughout the book. Stacey - what a great friend! Loved everything about this - tears flowed when she stood up for herself with her parents. Looking forward to what the author writes next!

OᐯᗴᖇᐯIᗴᗯ: After Everly finds her boyfriend in a compromising position, she rants to her radio host best friend, not realizing she’s on-air. This leads her station manager, Chris, to run a bachelorette type of dating contest to find Everly a new man. But maybe Everly’s new man is closer than she thinks.

ᗰY TᕼOᑌᘜᕼTᔕ: This story was so fun! The interplay between Everly and her friend Stacey is perfect. The romance is a slow burn, but it makes sense. I love that Everly struggles with social anxiety, and that it is accepted and understood by those closest to her. It made her character relatable. This book is definitely a fun way to pass time!

ᖇᗩTIᑎᘜ: ★★★★

So, I made it to my 80-book goal and I am so happy that this is my last book of the year. Sophie Sullivan you made me laugh out loud and made my sister think I have lost my mind with this read and for that I thank you. Have you ever felt like a book just gets you? Ten Rules for Faking It is a romcom with a great deal of substance along with the expected witty banter and funny situations, and it totally gets me.
What I loved was the banter between all the characters. The inner monologs that had me snorting while in bed reading and for the record, I want my own Stacey. I love the way that Everly tries to break her norms and get past her anxiety to find a better version of herself. Hello Chris awesome job for knowing when to say all the right things and to understand a girl. This book gave me all the feels. I loved the attraction, undeniable chemistry and slow-burn romance between radio producer Everly Dean and her station manager Chris Jansen. I will for sure accept this rose and read anything by Sophie Sullivan hands down. Now go read this book my best friend is already getting a copy.

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I'm not going to lie. Ten Rules for Faking It was cute in all kinds of way. It's just.. that.. the romance was so SLOW sometimes that I just didn't care anymore at a certain point. Maybe it's just me or maybe it's because its new years eve. But pace is such a huge factor into getting intrigued in a book. Again, it could be me but that pace was just off when I was reading it.

The one thing it had going was that.. it was just cute. Just cute. All kinds of cute. The thing that killed me was how cute it was and how nothing else seemed to really happen. Yeah, it had it's funny moments here and there. Plus it had drama.. like almost every other contemporary book out there. The pace just killed it for me. Sometimes slow burning things help me and the book - it just didn't work for me this time around.

I tried. I liked it. That's about it.

A cute story! I have a hard time with a slow burn romance but I ended up enjoying this one. I wish, however, that it would have been in first person though. Thank you to the publisher for sharing.

Everly Dean hates birthdays. The book opens with her birthday starting off with her catching her bf cheating on her with his assistant. It only gets worse when she accidentally shares the story on air on the radio show she produces. Listeners sympathize with her, and her cute boss Chris, comes up with the idea to have a bachelorette type of contest to help her meet someone new. Everly suffers severe social anxiety and this makes it all even more challenging.

This was a feel good love story. Most characters are great people and it makes you want them to do well. Everly is really sweet, but guarded; I want a friend like Stacey for myself, and Chris is just the most thoughtful a person could be.

I found the book a bit long, but you do get a lot of detail for every scene. Everly's anxiety is well portrayed and I liked that she was surrounded by supportive people. I also appreciated it being a main focus in this book because it brings attention to an otherwise invisible ailment.

I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys chick lit and anyone who has anxiety.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the eGalley. All opinions expressed are my own.

This was a super-cute read by an author I have never read before. The story grabs you from the beginning and keeps you involved until the end.

Ten Rules for Faking It has such a cute premise. Everly ends up accidentally exposing on air her recent romantic troubles and ends up doing a radio style bachelorette. I thought this was cute and well done. Everly struggled on some of the dates (either due to her own anxiety or the guy being an idiot) and I enjoyed watching her work through things.

In her corner she has her boss Chris. I adored him. He's connected to the radio station in another way, which leads to some trouble later on, but I get his reasons and easy to forgive because he was so likeable and cared so much about Everly. She also has her best friend Stacy, though there were times were I didn't feel that she deserved the title. If she knew Everly as well as it was said she did there were a couple of things she wouldn't have done, imo.

The relationship between Everly and Chris is a ssssllloooooooowww burn. It was sweet and they're good for each other, but there was so much going on in Everly and Chris's life that it took awhile for things to bloom between them.