I received an ARC of this book to read through NetGalley. All opinions are my own. Ten Rules for Faking It by Sophie Sullivan is a light-hearted contemporary romance novel with just the right amount of angst. Everley Dean works as a radio show producer and on her thirtieth birthday decides to surprise her boyfriend with coffee and bagels for breakfast, only to catch him and his assistant in bed together. If that didn’t make the day enough of a disaster when she gets to work, her best friend and co-worker DJ Stacey Ryan attempts to sing Happy Birthday to her and Everley tells her to stop singing and proceeds to tell her in great detail why she will never date again… unbeknownst to her on air. Their station manager Chris Jansen, on whom Everley has a crush, decides to take advantage of the social media storm created by Everley’s rant and comes up with the idea of a bachelorette like dating series with Everley as the bachelorette to increase ratings for the station. As someone who lives with social anxiety to this feels like a nightmare to Everley, but she decides that she needs to find new ways to cope if she wants to find happiness and creates a list of how to go about that. I felt the author did a good job of showing what living with social anxiety looks like and that learning to cope with it sometimes means two steps forward and one step back. The well-written relationships between Everley and Stacey, between Chris and Everley and between Everley and her parents, made this book an enjoyable read and I do recommend it. Steam Level: Closed Door Publishing Date: December 29, 2020. #NetGalley #TenRulesForFakingIt #SophieSullivan #StMartinsPress #ContemporaryRomance #bookstagram #bookstagrammer

Radio producer Everly Dean has always held her cards close to her chest, but after accidentally revealing the cheating nature of her (now ex) boyfriend live on the airwaves she has become the most sought after single in her California town. Her boss, Chris, seizes the opportunity to lift the radio station's ratings by casting Everly in a Bachelorette-style show that has her going on dates with contestants submitted and voted on by the station's listeners. The two will work together to guide Everly out of her comfort zone, and may just find sparks of their own where they least expected it.

The genuine evolution of Everly and Chris' relationship was one of the strongest aspects of this sweet, slow burn romance. Author Sophie Sullivan crafted both of these characters in a realistic and charming manner that had me frequently flipping the pages with anticipation. Sullivan also took a tender yet pragmatic approach when describing Everly's anxiety and it was very easy to get inside her head and understand each decision that she made. One of my favorite parts of the book was seeing how Chris and Everly's coworker/best friend Stacey were able to rally behind Everly and encourage her to blossom without negating any of her apprehensions.

Everly Dean’s birthday is always a disappointment. This year though, it’s even worse when she accidentally discloses the disaster that is her love life live on the radio show that she produces. Her boss, Chris, is then under pressure from the station owner, his father, to fire Everly and her show presenter so they decide to concoct a new segment to bring in viewers and help them avoid the chop - find Everly a boyfriend. But Everly and Chris start to grow closer.....

This was a sweet, easy read with likeable characters. I thought Everly’s anxiety issues were handled really well and I liked the friendship between Everly and Stacey, her best friend.

I wasn’t hugely convinced by or invested in Chris and Everly as a couple and I do think that, whilst I enjoyed it, this one is just a little forgettable and even as I think back on it now, I find myself mixing it up with other romance novels I’ve read over the last few months.

Ten Rules for Faking It, the first romcom by author Sophie Sullivan, took a few chapters to draw me in, but once the story picked up I was totally committed! What I appreciated most was the attention paid to main character Everly’s social anxiety—a lot of the issues she struggles with are very familiar to me. However, I thought it was very odd that only one character made a gentle suggestion that Everly consider therapy; while she wasn’t “cured” by the end of the book, I wish it didn’t seem like she could resolve her anxiety simply by trying new things and powering through uncomfortable situations.

Everly and Chris, her boss-turned-friend, are a great pair and I loved digging in to their story. His attentiveness and willingness to learn what she needs to feel comfortable shouldn’t be remarkable, but Sullivan shows how little of that Everly has gotten from others around her. The premise of Everly’s Bachelorette-style dating stunt is a big part of the plot, but there’s much more to the book than just that setup.

The only reason I’m not rating Ten Rules for Faking It a 5-star read is a random secondary conflict between the two late in the book, related to Chris’s past, that really came out of nowhere and felt unnecessary. Everly’s anxiety, their professional relationship, and the friction between each of them and their respective parents felt like more than enough conflict for one couple to work through.

I’m hoping that Sophie Sullivan writes more books featuring other characters from this one; I would love to see a story for Noah. This is a really strong, thoughtful debut book from an author I plan to continue reading!

This book was such a breath of fresh air! My favorite thing about the whole package was the heroine Everly in all of her neurotic imperfections. I can fully understand that not everyone will "get" her, and she may push some people's buttons with her anxieties and constant need to break through her own boundaries. Many readers will connect with her being an introvert, but she has a lot of emotional challenges connected to social anxiety that go beyond that. She suffers from full blown panic attacks and fear of unfamiliar situations. There was something about her vulnerability that spoke to me from page one-despite her emotional baggage she never surrenders to it. She's a fighter; it just takes her a little while to acknowledge that in herself. Haven't we all been there?

The author did a phenomenal job explaining what shapes Sophie to the reader, piece by piece. I think that's another reason that she worked so well for me; I understood where she came from and how it molded her into who she was today. Her parents' volatile and rocky relationship left her feeling unstable growing up. She was like a spectator at a tennis match watching their passionate love and fury volley continuously on loop. Now as an adult, she wants a clean, tidy life where there are no surprises.

Predictability is her safe haven and this is something she feels that she can control. When she feels out of control, that's when panic sets in. She's happy to blend in the background and observe rather than experience. So she picks extroverted men who are all wrong for her because they fill in the gaps that she leaves in conversations. The problem is that they have nothing in common, so she's doomed to fail every time.

Her latest failure in love leads to a moment that rates a ten on the cringeworthy scale. After busting her man in bed with another woman, she rushes to the radio station where she works to vent to her best friend. Little does she know that the whole sorry tale is broadcast on air, live in all of its humiliating glory. Anyone would want to crawl into a hole and hide after that, but after licking her wounds for a bit she puts on a brave face. Inside, she was a churning ball of emotion and her brain was running a marathon on steroids. Not only did all of the listeners hear, but all of her coworkers, and possibly worst of all, her boss Chris.

Chris' impersonal attitude towards her has led her to believe that he doesn't like her. He isn't a nasty or unfair boss, but their interactions have become uncomfortably stilted. Chris puts on a quiet, stoic front with her, but there's so much hidden under the surface that he doesn't allow to show.

Chris' father owns the station, and he recently began working there to prove that he could turn the station's profits around all on his own. The job is a temporary stepping stone to bigger and better things so he vows to not get attached-despite his growing attraction for Sophie. When his father threatens to sell off the station, he has to kick a plan into high gear to protect the jobs of the people he's grown to care about. Sophie will participate in a Bachelorette type reality segment where she dates a series of guys and ultimately chooses Mr. Right at the end. The plan is to boost ratings and gain advertising funds and help Sophie to bravely test the waters outside of her comfort zone.

You have to give Sophie the credit and respect that she deserves for having the courage to put herself out there in such a drastic way. Not only do her dates provide a little comic relief, but they help her evolve emotionally as a character. She gives herself ten rules for "faking it" until she sees the change manifest naturally in her life. She challenges herself to try new things, be bold at work, figure out what makes her happy and hold onto it, and basically learn to value herself and her impact on others. She recognizes her faults and makes a plan to overcome them in order to turn her life in a positive direction. Yes, she has insecurities, fear, and anxiety, but she's willing to proactively do something about it. Chris is quietly supportive through everything, and she begins to see that she had completely misunderstood him. They grow a friendship with an unspoken attraction on both sides that both stubbornly try to ignore.

These two were the absolute sweetest together. I adored his ability to see her social anxieties like no other, and accept her exactly as she was. In the beginning of relationships people put on a show and only let people see the best side of themselves. The crash and burn comes later when you realize they aren't the perfect package they sold themselves to be. He recognizes her issues and stands solidly beside her. Unfortunately, he's hiding a secret from her that feels like a ticking time bomb the longer he conceals it. The deeper he gets with Everly, the harder it is to tell her the truth. You just can't be mad at the guy though, he wears his heart on his sleeve for her, and his intentions are always in the right place.

This could have easily been a five star read. It was for most of the book, but I had one little niggle towards the end that I found a little frustrating. If it weren't for that, I would have easily given this story 5++ stars.


Sophie Sullivan is a new to me author that I can't wait to read more of. Her brand of humor, her skill in character development, and the romantic thrills are top notch. She writes under the name Jody Holford, so I'll be browsing her backlist for more of her work to sample. I really appreciated her sensitivity with Sophie's anxieties, and how she brought a little more understanding to this common social challenge. Not only did Ten Rules for Faking It address the characters' emotional aspect, but it was also entertaining, sweet, and just what I look for in a rom-com. I can't recommend this one enough-it has a little something for everyone.

Radio producer, Evenly Dean is your typical socially awkward, anxiety driven, romantic heroine. Stunned by a cheating ex, on her birthday no less, she rants to her best friend and local deejay, Stacey about the events of her morning while live on the air, unbeknownst to her. Embarrassed and broken, Everly hides in her apartment until Stacey and her station manager, Chris, develop a dating game to help Everly with her issues and boost segment rating, and so Chris doesn’t have to fire them both. Along the way, Everly becomes friends with Chris, but her body (and mind) want them to be more then just friends. Chris is hiding a big secret that could destroy the trust he’s created with Everly, but he’s had strong feelings for Everly since he first saw her and can’t risk losing her.

Ten Rules for Faking It is not just your typical RomCom, but so much more. It’s funny, sweet, smart and steamy in all the right places, but Everly’s character is amazing. She learns, grows and develops into a confident, strong young woman in these pages. Chris is the perfect guy we all want to fall in love with - hot, understanding and honest. Their chemistry is perfect, so real and believable. Add the outgoing, brash, lovable Stacey to the mix and I would read many more stories about this group of friends! I highly recommend this one!

Everly and Chris’ story in Ten Rules for Faking It by Sophie Sullivan, is an emotional, slow-burn and heartwarming story. Introverts and those with anxieties will definitely be able to relate to the story and especially Everly. Birthdays have never been good for Everly Dean, she has a list of some really awful ones, but this year radio producer Everly has definitely hit rock-bottom. First she caught her boyfriend cheating on her with her assistant. Then, walking into the radio station Stacey the DJ starts to sing “Happy Birthday” to her. Not realizing they are on the air, Everly let loose with all that has gone wrong that day ranting about her cheating ex and how she dislikes birthdays. Everly wants to overcome her anxiety and pitch her podcast idea to her boss. There’s just one problem, her boss, Chris is very cute and he’s extremely distant. That means he must hate her. Maybe that’s just her anxiety talking. Ok, that’s three problems, not one. After hearing her rant, people are lining up to date her, Bachelorette-style, and fans are voting. Suddenly, the idea takes off into a contest, run by the radio studio, to find the one for Everly. Working with Chris on the contest she discovers her interest in him is a two-way street. Chris seems to understand her and her anxieties. He knows how to anticipate when she is having, or about to have, an anxiety attack. The contest and all that goes with it is too much for Everly; she’s just going to have to fake it until she makes it through all of this. Everly, the queen of avoiding people, the one who lives by lists and rules, realizes that she just needs to make a list: The Ten Rules for Faking It, to get through this. After all, sometimes making the rules can help you find happiness when you least expect it.

Chris, the station manager, has been attracted to Everly since his first day at the station; but Chris is hiding secrets from the employees. He does understand Everly, better than most but the station has a strict no-fraternizing policy preventing them from exploring the attraction between them. Their magnetism pulls them together, forcing Chris to want to take care of and protect Everly. Everly has recognized the chemistry arcing between them, making it difficult to go on dates with other men, when she wants the winner to be Chris. When Chris opens up and deals with his secrets, he knows he might lose Everly, but then again, she, and what they have, just might be stronger than he realizes.

Ms. Sullivan wrote an emotional, slow-burn and heartwarming story that should not be missed. She provided a tale rich with emotions, sizzling chemistry, sarcasm, revealing conversations, and endearing characters giving Everly and Chris a chance at a life together. I recommend Ten Rules for Faking It to other readers.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.

Thank you SMPRomance for the eARC of Ten Rules for Faking It by Sophie Sullivan via Net Galley

Content Warning: (Social) anxiety, panic attacks
Low steam: slow slow slow burn, they don't kiss until about 85% of the book

This book has one of my favorite tropes: secret/hidden identities (it is my catnip). The radio station manager, Chris, is also the son of the radio station owner.

Quick Synopsis: Everly doesn't like her birthday. Nothing good has happened in this day, and many bad things have happened. Take for instance the morning of her 30th birthday, she finds that her boyfriend is cheating on her... Then when she relays this information to her best friend and co-worker, she finds out that they were on air, and all their listeners heard of the story of her now ex-boyfriend cheating on her on her birthday. This leads Everly to come up with a list of rules she wants to live by. These rules lead her to agree to Chris's suggestion of a bracket like dating game.

The book held so much promise in the beginning. I was invested in seeing how Everly would use her ten rules throughout the book; if she would hold herself accountable for following through. I wanted to see how Chris's identity would play out.

Yet, this novel I think doesn't work for me because
- Trying to do too much, and not enough at the same time. I think this comes from having too many secondary characters with their own storylines, but not enough development of those plots (Stacy and Rob).
- Chris is such a cinnamon-roll of a hero. Though her anxiety leads her to keep her co-workers at a distance, as manager, Chris has observed her, and is able to anticipate things that will help Everly get through some social situations. Don't get me wrong, Chris and Everly are perfect for each other, I personally need more angst between the two characters in a slow burn.
- The super slow burn (again, first kiss is at 85%), which might have been okay if there was more angst.
- On a lesser level, geography. It might be that I don't know my state very well (very possible), but geography bothered me

Overall, it's a solid debut novel. It contains one of my favorite tropes - the hidden/secret identity. The characters are well written. I'm excited to see what is in store for Chris's two brothers, and to understanding more is his sister in the future.

This book is for people looking for a cinnamon-roll hero, and a low steam slow burn.

Everly Dean is a fun character to fall in love with! On her thirtieth birthday she accidently shares the news over the radio that her boyfriend has cheated on her and things go amusingly downhill for her from there. A fun slow burn escapism read.

They say representation matters. I know it is important but I didn’t get it, not really. Until I read this book.

I have never felt so seen, so understood, and so represented. Everly is a producer for a radio station and on the day of her birthday she walks in on her boyfriend getting frisky with someone else. When she walks into work she rants to her best friend but it just so happens to make it on air.

What is a flailing radio station to do but turn it into a dating series and promote the heck out of it after callers are invested and supporting her in finding someone better!

Throughout the book you can feel Everly’s anxiety, it jumps off the page where it was almost a physical ache. I felt for her, I’ve been there. You see her struggle with dates, and surprise birthday parties (don’t, and I repeat don’t ever have a surprise party for someone with anxiety).

Through it all Everly had the support of people around her who got her, maybe didn’t understand all the racing thoughts but they loved her for who she was and who doesn’t need more friends like that in their lives!

Yes, there is a romance in there and I loved seeing her dates and also her finding her perfect person. I just think the bigger picture was that we all have those weird quirks, those things that make us unique and we are all just trying to be accepted and understood.

If you don’t have anxiety maybe you won’t love this book as much as I did, but maybe someone in your life has it and you can understand a little more what they go through daily to get through.

I think it could have been edited a bit more to quicken the pace at the beginning but I can totally overlook that in that it just tugged my soul.

As I read the last page I just wept, wept for Everly, for the man that accepted her, for her owning who she was, and for me, for feeling seen and understood. In the end that’s all we can hope for, right?!

This one is for all those people who crave the hallmark slow burn.
This friends to lovers has such a fun and cute storyline. Everly and Chris definitely had me smiling ear to ear. If you are looking for a romantic comedy that will have you feeling all giddy, check this one out.
Blurb-


TW-This books deals with the struggles of anxiety.

Ten Rules For Faking It by Sophie Sullivan was a cute and lighthearted read. After Everly catches her boyfriend cheating on her, on her birthday no less what follows is a offshot of the Bachelorette television series. Although I did find it overall to be a cute read, for me it just didn't contain the depth that I normally look for in a book. Even when I am not a huge fan of a book I always suggest others read the book for themself, because not everyone enjoys the same type of book.

I received a ARC from NetGalley and the publisher and was under no obligation to leave a favorable review, all opinions expressed here are my own.

This was an okay read. The first half felt like a solid 2 stars for me (since I almost gave up reading it) and the second half's more like a 3.5. I love a good slow-burn romance, but this one was just TOO slow.

A short summary: Everly (our main character) has always hated celebrating her birthdays due to some rather unfortunate and really cringe-worthy surprises from the past. Fast forward to her 30th birthday when she got the worst surprise of them all, that led her to becoming the woman starring on a radio-format dating contest, trying to look for the perfect guy. This was pitched by the radio's station manager, Chris, who happened to be the same boss who's kept Everly at a distance for 12 long months.

I liked both Everly and Chris enough. Hidden glances, soft touches and consistent pining are some of my weaknesses when it comes to romance, but this one frustrated me so much that I wanted to skip like 60% of the book and just read the ending. Despite that, I appreciated the female friendship present—I wouldn't mind a separate book ft. Everly's bff Stacey or Chris' brother Noah, the anxiety representation which felt authentic and justified, and the life-altering realizations at the end. The inner monologues just annoyed me a lot.

Thank you Netgalley & St. Martin's Griffin for the earc! This book comes out today!

Everly has significant anxiety, to the point that the only person who really gets her is her best friend and co-worker, Stacey. Until Stacey messes up and hugely embarrasses Everly on live radio, on her birthday, right after she caught her boyfriend cheating.
The book is pretty long and spends a lot of time going through Everly's time during the dating contest. She grows closer to her boss, Chris, and their attraction grows, but for the majority of the book they try to talk themselves out of it, mostly because of their working relationship.
I enjoyed the book a lot. The characters were interesting and drew me in. There were also lots of great secondary characters. I would almost classify this more as women's fiction - while the attraction is strong between Chris and Everly, it is very much a slow burn friendship, and the focus of the book to me felt more about how she made progress on her Ten Rules list and learned more about herself. The romantic portion of the book was more swoony than steamy.
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Everly is a producer at a radio station who has seen the most devastating events happen to her on her birthday so it would only seem par for the course that she would find out the truth about the man she was dating on that day as well. The one thing she hadn’t counted on was what she thought was a private conversation with a friend would become public or that she would have her choice of men or that the one man she can’t stop thinking about would be her boss.

Chris manages the radio station but that is only a stepping-stone to where he wants to go in his career. He has been attracted to her for a while but due to his career goals he doesn’t believe they have a future together. He only wants to help her with the challenges she is facing both personally and professionally but keeping his distance is proving to be more difficult than he imagined.

Everly quirks make her relatable and have you wanting her to succeed while Chris balances between supporting her and gives her the assertiveness she needs. Their romance is heartwarming and continues to grow as the story develops.

This was a quick, cute read. I loved the characters from the beginning and got invested in the story right away. I read it in a day because I just had to see what was going to happen. I loved the Bachelorette type story and how Everly progresses throughout. It did get a little slower through the middle, but it picked back up in the end. Overall it was a typical cute romcom story.

Everly has a hard time faking love!

Broadcast engineer Everly Dean has hated her birthday but when she found her now ex-boyfriend cheating on her on her birthday, she was over having people celebrating it. Everly hated talking about things with her social anxiety but when she was asked how the date went, she was blunt on how things went wrong. Her new boss, Chris Jansen thought that a contest with her dating a few guys would help the rating for the radio station.

Everly knew that her social would make every date a problem, leading to some rules being made about dating especially thinking about her cute new boss.

If you like entertaining romance that is realistic, you need to read Ten Rules for Faking It because it is hard to put yourself out there to date and if Everly can do it you will enjoy every step of her journey to finding love.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Readers who enjoy lighthearted, comedic romances may enjoy Sophie Sullivan’s debut novel. Everly, the book’s heroine reaches a milestone birthday and takes the initiative to develop a list of goals designed to expand her interests, build confidence and support her in holding fast to what she wants. It is a worthy enterprise, and through the help of her friends—including Chris, the story’s hero, it’s a list Everly is able to succeed in completing.

Though the story is told from Everly and Chris’ alternating points of view, there is little to distinguish between the two narrative voices, which some readers might find problematic. Like Everly, Chris is also on a course to build his own confidence not only to succeed in his business ventures, but to declare his feelings. The alternating perspectives do offer readers better insights into some of the side plots that are occurring; but some might have appreciated a story told from an omniscient point of view, since there’s little to distinguish between who’s speaking.

Overall, this is a good debut and I look forward to reading other works by this author.

Super cute! I wish it focused more on the dates aspect but the slow burn kept it interesting!!!! I am looking forward to more by this author!

Ten Rules for Faking It was a great distraction from real life. This is a clean, fun, sweet rom-com that isn't trashy or crass.

It was crazy that at times I felt like Sullivan lived inside of my head. As someone who struggles and battles anxiety, I often wonder what is wrong with me. It was refreshing to read a book at a main character who struggled with anxiety and wasn't ashamed of it. Everly is a real, honest and likable main character who constantly fought back the anxiety that had been a part of her for as long as she remembered.

I just found out that Sophie Sullivan writes under the alter ego of Jody Holford. I will definitely be checking out her backlist.