3.5 stars

When I saw a few negative reviews about this book, I was a little afraid to dive into this ARC. However, it turns out I had more fun reading it than I anticipated. My expectations were low and I'm glad to say I ended up enjoying this romance following Everly Dean, a thirty years old woman with anxiety issues who hates birthday parties and her boss Chris who has had a crush on since he started this new job. He remained professional with her but instead she took it as a sign that Chris didn't like her. She'll find out that it's very far from the truth when she'll be doing some sort of a dating competition to boost the numbers of their radio station.

Ten Rules For Faking It was an enjoyable read but a slow one as well. If you're not in the mood for a VERY slow romance, this book probably isn't for you. I found side characters like Stacey and Rob interesting and the plot about Chris' dad and Everly's parents entertaining for the most part so even though I would have loved more romance, it was okay and the ending was really cute.

(Thank you for letting me read and review an ARC via Netgalley)

This is such a cute rom-com. It is full of bachelor vibes with friends to lovers who have the best banter. I love how it brings up anxiety in such a normal and relatable way. The characters are all so fun and the people I want to be friends with. Such a fun spin on a romance, because couldn't use that right now.

Thank you to Sophie Sullivan, St. Martin’s Press, and Netgalley for the [gifted] ARC of Ten Rules for Faking It in exchange for an honest review!

“I always worry that if I open up too much, all people will see is the anxiety. It consumes me sometimes, worrying about that. But I’ve recently learned that even when people see it clearly, it doesn’t always push them away. Not the ones who matter, anyway.”

I liked Everly and Chris enough. They had their very cute moments and their not so cute moments. I actually liked their list very much. I did have a huge problem with both of their internal thinking though. Chris worried so much about Everly working for him. Like 50% of his internal monologue was about his employee and him being her boss. The other 50% was about her dating (his idea) other men. But also, there were work rules set in place on fraternizing. It was exhausting. And Everly, sweet, anxious, Everly...all of her internal monologue was about people hating her and then leaving her. This poor girl needs to see someone. Which brings me to my next problem/worry. It was so refreshing to see a person dealing with mental illness. She struggled daily and it interfered/s with her life.

She’s wanted a pet cat her whole life but thinks like this.

“I needed them because I’ve wanted kittens for a while now but was afraid to make the leap. I mean, what if it didn’t work out? What if they tear my furniture up? What if they wreck my stuff or hate me? What if they hate each other and fight all the time?” Chris’s grin sent spirals of pleasure through her body. “That’s a lot of what-ifs.” She nodded. “That’s how my brain works. It can be exhausting.”

This beautiful girl thinks her pets will hate her. I’m a little upset the story didn’t talk more about Everly’s mental well being and counseling or therapy. She probably needs medicine to function. I was exhausted reading her parts. She worried 99% of the book. And when ever she did stand up for herself she was ignored. Like completely ignored. It’s just Everly she’s like that. She’s a little anxious. NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! Don’t just accept her and ignore a big part of her. Accept all of her. I just wanted to hug her but even that would set her off. I wanted to pay for her therapy.

It was super cute though. I loved so many parts. But that’s the problem. I loved parts not the whole. I know she was also depressed and maybe that mood affected me BUT I was also so angry in her behalf. This is super cute and the beginning took me forever to get into but once I did I read it in one sitting. It was a cute romcom and if you don’t mind long anxious internal monologues this will be the perfect end of the year or beginning of year read. Those list were a thing of beauty!!

Rating 3.5

I really enjoyed this for most of the book. I loved Everly and I thought her and Chris had such good chemistry. Every time they had one of those scenes where they *almost* acted on their feelings I felt it in my soul.

But the last quarter of the book was a little too slow for my taste. I felt like a few of the conflicts were dragged out unnecessarily and could have been resolved sooner, especially since some of the later conflicts were foreshadowed so heavily. By the time Everly and Chris finally got together I was just impatient for the book to end.

Ten Rules for Faking It was a great depiction of not only living with anxiety, but also having to live with the way everyone else reacts to your anxiety. It was amazing to see this represented so well in a romance book.

I’ll look forward to reading more from this author and I’m hoping there will be books about a couple of these side characters because they were a fun bunch.

If you want a light romance for the holidays, this one hits the spot. Our girl also has social anxiety, and as someone who experiences the same nerve-wracking fear in most social situations, I appreciated the way the writer chose to describe what a panic attack feels like and how people sometimes misjudge it as being ‘high-maintenance’ or ‘snobbery’.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc.

I’ve been very lucky to get some wonderful ARCs from new-to-me authors recently. This is one of them. And this author isn’t just new to me, it seems this is her debut. Knowing that, I’m looking forward to see what else she’ll be bringing to the table in the future.

**Note: I discovered Sophie Sullivan is an alias for author Jody Holford after I wrote this review. I decided to keep it as is since I still find the things I said to be true. She just has more experience than I thought at first. And now, since I haven’t read anything by this author under either name until now, I have another author to try out.**

One of my favorite things in this story is the chemistry. This author did an amazing job getting the butterflies going in my belly each time the main characters, Everly and Chris, shared the page. All without them being an item. The subtle touches, the furtive looks, and the heightened awareness between them all gave me tons of warm-fuzzies. And that’s what I’m here for, folks.

Everly has a lot on her plate. Not only do her parents, who are actually great people, make her feel like she’s in the middle of their occasional tug-of-war, she has anxiety issues that she fights hard to keep a handle on. Just as with the chemistry, the author does a beautiful job with Everly’s mental health struggles. She doesn’t take things to a super dark place, but conveys the struggle of dealing with anxiety and the way it can wreak havoc on a person’s physical health. Of course, I adore the way Chris handles Everly’s issues, too. Meaning, he doesn’t handle her. He gives her space when needed, doesn’t push her to “get over it”, understands that when she says something isn’t working for her she means what she says. He is kind and patient and just wants to understand so he can help.

As much as I love Chris’ personality, I hate secrets. While I totally understand the need for Chris’ secret when he first starts working at the station, it’s obvious he’s waited too long to let anyone know the truth. Of course, that means he keeps digging a deeper whole and a wider web of lies that he loses control of eventually. Not my favorite thing, but it’s handled quite well here.

From what I can tell, although I listed this book as a standalone, we may get more from these characters. Not only would I love to see Chris’ brothers get their stories told, but Everly’s best friend could use an HEA herself. If this author handles their stories with as much care as she showed this tale, I’ll be all in.

**I received an ARC of this book courtesy of Net Galley and the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely**

I received a complimentary digital copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

Everly Dean is not happy about her 30th birthday especially after she brings breakfast to her boyfriend Simon to surprise him. Unfortunately, the surprise was on her to find he wasn’t in bed alone. She is grateful for her busy job as radio show producer at 96.2 SUN since she works with her best friend Stacey Ryan. Of course, her birthday continued to go downhill once she begins to share her humiliation with Stacey, a deejay at the SUN, who inadvertently provides another surprise! Poor Everly’s rant was broadcasted on live radio as Stacey thought singing Happy Birthday on air would be fun for her anxiety ridden friend. Everly decides she needs to make a list for her life beginning with staying at home on her birthday.

Chris Jansen, the station manager transplanted to San Verde, CA from NY to improve the ratings, sends Everly home to avoid further embarrassment. Listeners begin calling and messaging their comments and support regarding the event. Nathaniel Jansen, Chris’s controlling father had bought the radio station to turn a profit. Chris has his own life plan for success which includes proving himself to his father.

In an attempt to save the station from his father’s threat to fire Everly and Stacey for their “dead air” debacle, he pitches a Bachelorette type stunt. Everly agrees to go on these vetted dates voted on by listeners hoping to overcome her extreme social anxiety. It all seems to be going according to plan until she realizes that she might have feelings for the one person with whom she should avoid. It doesn’t help that Chris seems to be spending more time taking and confiding in her.

This is a fun and quirky story of the trials and tribulations of life and how to make lemonade out of lemons.

I thought this book sounded good so I decided to take a chance and I'm mostly glad I did. That being said, I will admit it wasn't a perfect read. Unfortunately, there were a few things that really bugged me and a couple of pet peeves along the way, to boot. Still I can honestly say that I enjoyed this read. I really liked Everly and I felt a deep personal connection to her, that I think other readers will as well. She is a character with issues and that is something I highly appreciate when readers are still exposed to an almost endless stream of perfection that is unrealistic and unattainable for most of us. The storyline itself is cute, funny and a tad over-the-top but I felt that was mostly in the best way. Chris was quite likable and I thought sweet. As for the romance side of this book; it is classified as a slow-burn and frankly I would have very much preferred that to be kicked-up by many levels. While I liked this pairing, I felt there were no real sparks between them, just embers that in my opinion never received enough time or care to grow into the flames I wanted for this couple and believed Everly deserved.

Ten Rules for Faking It is a sweet romantic story about Everly, a woman with anxiety, who makes a list of ten rules to fake it till she makes it.

What I liked most about this book is the way Chris, her boss, quietly acknowledged and made space for Everly's anxiety. He was thoughtful, observant, and respectful. Everly's struggles feel realistic and I appreciate how she learns to live with and not ignore her anxiety. She also has a best friend who is ride or die for her, and parents who love and support her, which was lovely.

This is a solid book - my primary quibble with it is how deal breakers appeared for Everly out of the blue, though I suppose they make sense for the character. Unfortunately, it just didn't reach out and grab me. Maybe part of that is the low heat level of the book - both MCs were feeling things with their feelings, not their bodies. Their wasn't a huge physicality to their chemistry, though there was some.

I think this will work for many many readers.

I received an ARC of the book from the publisher via NetGalley.

4.5 stars = I loved it! Would re-read.

Once I got into the swing of this one, I didn't put it down until I was finished. I loved it. Everly is a fantastic protagonist. There really weren't any core characters I didn't love. In fact, this is the perfect example of how romance readers want every side character to have a book of their own. I don't care if it's Chris' brothers or Everly's best friend or the fringe friend who bakes - I will read any book starring these characters that the author wants to put together!

I loved the writing in this - there are some great insightful moments and some hilarious ones. The chemistry between Everly and Chris is great, and I was invested in seeing if they could work things out. That said, though, there's a lovely balance here between the potential romance and Everly's personal growth. The Bachelorette-style gimmick for Everly at work was a side piece that felt like it had just enough weight to make sense in the story, but it didn't distract from the more central pieces of the story.

This is a winner! Don't miss it. (Language, sexual references, TW: anxiety, panic attack)

What a fun read with characters that jump right out of the book and into your heart and a great story that will tug at your heart strings, have you laughing out loud, with family drama, delve into social anxiety disorder, and leave a smile on your face and warmth in your heart. I loved the attraction, undeniable chemistry and slow-burn romance between radio producer Everly Dean and her station manager Chris Jansen. If you like wholesome contemporary rom-com, don't miss "Ten Rules for Faking It" by gifted author Sophie Sullivan. I received an advance reader copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving my honest review.

4.5 stars

This book was a wonderful way to wrap up my reading year.

I connected with Sophie pretty quickly as I could relate to her anxiety and feelings about social situations and crowds. I appreciated it wasn't used for comic effect, but was truly something that affected her everyday life in realistic ways.

It was sweet how much Chris liked Sophie and how they connected slowly as they spent more time together for work/the dating contest. I was glad we got his POV, too, as he had his own struggles with family.

The story was entertaining and the writing engaging. I had a hard time putting the book down as I couldn't wait to see what happened next!

This book was so slow at the beginning and I was this close to giving it a DNF. It finally picked up, but I tried to finish as quickly as possible because I wanted the book to be over. It ended up being "just okay" and I wasn't overly wowed with the book. However, I did appreciate Sullivan giving the the main character social anxiety because she did a really accurate job of describing how someone might feel in given social situations.

**Spoiler Alert**

Where do I even start! This book was phenomenal! Sophie has a way with words that pull you in and make you feel like you are part of the story. I loved every piece of this book. It gave me all the feels and reminded me of the movie 10 things I hate about you. If there was one thing I would go back and change... more steam! Other than that... don’t change a thing. Love love loved the whitty banter of everly & chris. Staceys character was hysterical. I also loved how much chris supported everly. I laughed, I cried, i blushed, I loved!

I recieved a free copy from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I wanted to like this book and I didnat the beginning but as the book dragged on and on I just wanted it to end.
Everly's boyfriend cheated on her on her birthday and that news is revealed to all of the radio listeners which results in her becoming a segment of the show in the form of a Bachelorette, dating game type show.
Chris is the station manager which is just a stepping stone to the real job he wants in his fathers company.
The interactions between Chris and Everly are sweet for the most part but considering this is a romance they don't spend enough time together. I also like the representation with a character with social anxiety but thats about it.
There are parts about Everly that piss me off. Her parents suck. Chris is the poor little rich kid trope. Everly is the she is so gorgeous but doesn't know it trope. By the end I no longer cared.

What a fun book! I could totally relate to Everly, her introversion, and her anxiety. It was sweet how Chris understood her and accepted her as she was. The side characters were nice additions, too. The story is funny and well-written. While it's on the long side, the pacing is good so it never seems to drag. If you like laugh-out-loud romantic comedy, don't miss this one!

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received.

Everly has always had bad luck on her birthdays, and her 30th is no exception when she finds her boyfriend in bed with another girl. But that’s not the worst of it. She is a producer at a radio station and her story is accidentally broadcast live as she’s retelling it to her best friend, and the dee jay. The public outcry is tremendous and is generating lots of buzz. The station pitches an idea for a Bachelorette style competition. Everly agrees as it will help the radio station but has to deal with her ever present anxiety and now her surprise feelings for the cute radio station manager, Chris.

A cute premise for a romance story and likable characters. I appreciated how the author weaved in how Everly deals with anxiety. Definitely a slow burn romance, but unfortunately too slow for me.

What happens when your life blows up and on your birthday no less? You fake it until you make it of course! In Ten Rules for Faking It by Sophie Sullivan, we get a slow burn romance as two people who deal with changes thrown their way.

On her birthday, Everly finds her boyfriend and his assistant in a compromising position. Ready for a change, she is determined to reach her goals, but her anxiety sometimes gets the better of her. Chris, her boss, is drawn to her, as she is to him, but he has no plans to stay. But when she very publicly complains about her ex, she finds herself dating for her job, can things finally change? So begins her journey to find her happiness. A sweet and charming read.

Happy reading!

“Ten Rules for Faking It” is the real deal! This was our first buddy read for Lovearctually book club and it did not disappoint.

“What happens when your love life becomes the talk of the town?” Everly Dean has never been a fan of her birthday. Her 30th birthday in particular is the absolute worst. She starts the day out finding her boyfriend hooking up with his assistant. When she rants about the mortifying incident to her best friend, a radio deejay who happened to be live on-air at the time, Everly inadvertently has most of the town furious on her behalf. (And pledging their support to help her find love!)

Everly agrees to do a bachelorette-style contest after her (super cute!) boss approaches her with the idea. She sees it a great way to try out her new “rules” for getting out of her head (and house) and working through her crippling social anxiety. One of my absolute favorite parts of the book is how it tackles mental health head-on. As someone who is constantly battling that nonstop internal chatter and overthinking EVERYTHING, I definitely related to Everly. I share some weird anxiety-related quirks like fingernail tapping and pressure. I like how (most) of the people around her accepted her and helped her work through the hard stuff.

I DO wish they had gone a bit deeper into some coping/treatment options, but I think Everly definitely started taking the reins more and advocating for herself.

It’s a closed door, slow-burn romance with some moments that will make you laugh out loud. (Including a hilariously relatable Siri convo and a piñata incident that makes me cringe thinking about it! Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an earc.

10 reasons to Read This Book.

• this was a delightful feel good story with a “The Bachelor” vibe.
• Sophie Sullivan has put a fun fresh spin on the romcom.
• The radio station setting was fun.
• we can all relate to how mortified Everly must’ve felt when her BFF Stacey announces on the radio that she caught her boyfriend cheating on her on her birthday.
• Chris was a great guy and I liked the cute chemistry between Everly and him.
• stacey was such a great supportive friend. Loved the friendship between these ladies.
• Everly‘s family was hilarious, definitely added some laughs to the story.
• The portrayal of social anxiety was handled thoughtfully in the story. It was done in a very realistic relatable way.
• Rebecca Gibel does a fantastic job in narrating the audiobook.
• we all need a feel good uplifting romcom in our life about now!
*** Big thank you to St. Martin’s Press & Macmillan Audio for my gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own. ***