A girl with social anxiety finds love. As much as I wanted it to, this book never captured my own affection. It would be more affecting for younger readers than older. The characters were immature, floundering in their everyday lives, each protagonist having overbearing and inappropriate parents. The hero encourages the object of his affections to date others and she does. The constant attention given to quirks and foibles struck this reader as intrusive. By the time of the denouement my eyes rolled. This is an adequate romance but not for me.

Ten Rules For Faking It by Sophie Sullivan is a fun, light read that is great for a Saturday afternoon at home with college football, your favorite TV show or Christmas movies on in the background.

Synopsis: Everly Dean has never had the best luck with birthdays. But her 30th might just take the case. Not only did she break up with her boyfriend, she also manages to accidentally air all her dirty laundry about said break-up on the radio. So, she makes a list — 10 ways to make it through her thirties — and this time, she’s determined to stick to it. If only there wasn’t a very cute radio station manager throwing her off track.

Everly is a lovable and highly relatable character, and I appreciated how Sullivan depicted facets of Everly’s severe social anxiety and her coping mechanisms, some of which are similar to my own. I felt that her anxiety was given all due respect and I loved that her friends, family and romantic interest didn’t view it as an issue at all.

That being said, I didn’t ever feel overly attached or invested in the characters, and I don’t really think I ever got 100% in their heads, which I like to do when I read a romance story. This book has alternating points of view between Everly and her romantic lead, Chris, which I normally like, but I felt the transitions between the two could’ve been done more smoothly.

I also felt the book became somewhat repetitive toward the end, which I think was supposed to be a byproduct of Everly’s anxiety — all the going back and forth of her mind and emotions — but actually just served to annoy me in large part. I wanted to be invested in the ending but all the back and forth left me somewhat exhausted.

This is a pretty PG romance so if you’re not into steam, this is a good option! I wish it’d given me a few more butterflies but I think so much focus was given to Everly’s strength and character building (which was great, don’t get me wrong) that sometimes I felt like the romance portion fell by the wayside.

Just the perfect fake-lovers romance for the fan of the genre. The perfect summer beach read and after reading it you will know why. A real page turner for romance addict and a funny read for everyone.

I loved this sweet, swoony duo so much! I mean clearly I did since I read this in well under 24 hours. I was so invested in the relationship between our protagonists that I could not put it down. The side characters were also completely lovable too in case you were wondering.

I have to say that there was just not enough kissing in this book for me. On the steamy scale rank this one low or you might be disappointed. I kept waiting for physical contact to happen...and waiting...and waiting...and guess what? I am still waiting. I think this could end up frustrating many a romance reader and so I wanted to give you a fair warning. However, I think the story is well worth it and still very romantic despite this.

Why do I think this? The characters are so well written and the relationship between Everly and Chris is one that I could not help but root for. I really wanted these crazy kids to work it out. I also very much appreciated that it dived so deeply into what it is like to live with anxiety. As someone who also struggles with an anxiety disorder it was nice to see that representation. I definitely related on many levels throughout the book.

The romantic tension in this one was off the charts in my opinion and if you are looking for a sweet, romantic read this might just be the one for you. If you struggle with anxiety, you will feel seen. If you just need a little happiness while a pandemic is raging throughout the world, this book might be a lovely distraction.

This is a quick read and a sweet romance with an interesting premise. I respect the author for writing a book that's really at its core a commentary on anxiety. Sadly, the excessive internal monologue in this novel ruined the reading experience. It's distracting and pulled me out of the story.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the complimentary copy. This one is not for me.

This was an okay read. It was written well enough and I think Everly and Chris had chemistry, but I didn't always connect to their romance. At times the situations felt forced. Overall, not a bad story though.

I was not a fan of this book. I tried several times to get into it, but I just could not do it. The main character was way too much of a doormat to be even remotely interesting.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with an ARC of Ten Rules for Faking It!

I really really enjoyed this book! I was hooked from the start, and read the majority of it in one sitting. I found this book to be funny and charming and real. While I loved the romance between Everly and Chris (talk about a slow burn!) my favorite part of the book was the growth that Everly went through. In my opinion it felt very real and not forced. I also loved her friendship with Stacey and the friendship that she and Chris formed before getting together.

Overall a really enjoyable and fun read!

I loved this story! I loved the reality of explaining anxiety and how it can take over your whole body and especially your mind! Everly was an incredible character and I loved how real she was.

I was provided with an ARC of this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I liked this feel good read. Everly has birthdays thst bomb, but her 30th is a life changer. I loved that Chris was interested in Everly long before she knew about it and he was really into her. Stacey was hilarious and I liked the dinner scene with her, Noah, Chris, and Everly. There was a lot of character development for both Everly and Chris. Each took command of their lives, finally, and also took chances. The end was the best. The list at the end is sigh worthy. It is very Romantic, soft, and sweet.

I was overjoyed when I saw this book was available on Net galley as a Read Now, so I jumped at the chance to read it when I saw it available.... I devoured this in one sitting, I literally sat with a cup of hot chocolate and a biscuit and got lost in the story, the characters and the overall story was just so engaging.
I don't often come out of a book liking all of the characters, there is usually one or two that I don't care for but honestly I loved them all (well except for cheating Simon but he's hardly mentioned so we are all fine). Everly is literally just like very other girl growing up in a world of not being able to trust, thinking she isn't good enough, not worthy of great friends, I think every woman in the world can really relate to her as a person and Chris is my new fictional crush, I literally want to meet him.
Romance is very much samey samey I find, but in this book I felt that it explored new and very relevant real feelings and stories which made a refreshing change. I loved this book, will be definitely purchasing it and hope that it gets all the praise it deserves, I urge anyone to buy this book when it releases.

Sweet - easy to read with characters who you can relate . After a bad break up you may find your one and only .
I received this novel from net galley and the publisher as an ARC. Thank you! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

On Everly’s 30th birthday she figures out that her boyfriend is cheating on her with his assistant. Everly works in a radio station. Her friend who is also the DJ in the radio station wanted to give her a surprise by wishing her on air and broadcasting it for the listeners.However the timing was not perfect. Everly just entered whining and grieving about her boyfriend cheating her and the listeners could hear all of it. Her personal life is now publicised. Everly also suffers from severe anxiety problem and all these events just made it even worse.
On the other hand Chris, who happens to be Everly’s boss and also the son of the owner of the radio station has a secret crush on her. In order to cover up the incident and to generate more revenues. Chris comes up with a brilliant idea and things really start getting interesting from there. What I liked is that how this book described about the main character suffering from anxiety disorder. Especially people who suffer from panic attacks and anxiety can really feel for the character. Overall it was fun and enjoyable story but there was not much about the the bonding between Everly and Chris. Thank you Net Galley for this book.

Ten Rules of Faking It by Sophie Sullivan

Rating - 4 /5 Stars

Publication Date - 12/29/2020

**Thank you to Netgalley, Griffin, and of course, Sophie Sullivan for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Everly has just turned 30. Everly has just found out her boyfriend cheated on her. Everly has told the entire world about this development thanks to her job at the radio and a mistake of on-air vs off. Everly never wants to leave her apartment again. Even worse, Everly deals with social anxiety - something she vows to slightly push through in her new spin around the sun. What better than making a list of ideas with her best friend, Stacey - oh, and also starring in the bachelorette form segment for her company? Totally doable for someone with anxiety right?

Chris has always had a plan, he wants to please his father and step into the head of communications role within his company. He is always trying to prove himself and when the opportunity arises, he takes his job as the senior manager of a radio station to do that. When the station takes a downward turn, an idea comes to him - what if the one blunder of last week, the reveal of one cheating boyfriend, could lead to a bachelorette style segment? It's all for the numbers right? It doesn't
matter than Chris has had a crush on the girl since the moment he saw her.

I absolutely adored this book. It is a slow burn of a romance, but that romance was not what gave me the feels in this book. Sure, Chris and Everly have a beautiful start to a relationship, but what really resonated with me in this book was the way Sullivan described the anxious thoughts of Everly to the reader. I really enjoyed reading about Everly from her inner monologues, her conversations of FRIENDSHIP with Chris, and her almost sisterhood with her best friend Stacey. I was rooting for Everly from the beginning of her list-making. Having Chris and Everly end up together was perfect - I never saw another option, even though Everly pushed for her feelings towards Owen to equal the same.

The best parts of this book were Everly finding her voice and the amount of support she has around her. Stacey is a beautiful and unique friend. She and Everly are opposites, but they stand by one another through everything. Beyond that, Everly finding comfort with Chris was beautiful. As someone with anxiety - it can be hard to let go, but sometimes letting go and seeking discomfort will find your true happiness.

This book was adorable!

I really enjoyed the characters, the story, the way the story was told. I could picture this as a movie, and it was pure fun.

I want to thank the publisher, the author and #netgalley for the advance copy which did not impact my review. This book was total lighthearted escapism.

This book was so perfect! It was laugh out loud funny but heartwarming at the same time. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Everly. I love that the author talked so openly about Everly’s anxiety disorder and panic attacks. Everly learning to let other people care for her and love her, even the anxiety and panic, was so refreshing. Watching Chris grow and learn what he really wanted in life and stand to up his father was good. Watching the two of them fall in love and overcome was perfect. Go read this now!

10 Rules for faking it was so relatable I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed it. Everly is you and I. She going through life trying to find love and rock at her job. Seems simple right? But her parents Ricky relationship and as someone prone to disaster; Everly seems to hit roadblock after roadblock. Until a birthday DISASTER leads to a creative way to boost her radio segments ratings and help in the department of her love life. Set up by her cute producer (aka BOSS who secretly loves her) to host a bachelorette style segment she is well on her way to finding happiness. Until feelings get in the way becuase Chris (producer boss) becomes and friend and more. Everly bravely heads into the unknown and has some rules to help her... until she realizes she might be faking it. Cleverly written and fast paced so you won’t want to put it down. I swear you will be rooting for Everly to stop faking it and redo all the rules!

Ten Rules for Faking It is about Everly Dean, who always has such bad luck when it comes to her birthdays. On her 30th birthday, she discovers her boyfriend is cheating on her with his assistant and accidentally rants about it on air at the radio station where she works as a producer. After a huge outpouring of support (and interest in dating her) from the radio station's audience, Everly's boss, Chris pitches a Bachelorette style dating contest to boost radio listenership where Everly will date a set of men, eventually picking her happily ever after. While Everly is supposed to be falling for one of the men she's dating, she's actually (accidentally) falling for Chris and she slowly realizes that her feelings may not be one-sided.

This was fun, entertaining and completely sweet read. The characters are well-developed and the author’s intent to attract attention about the importance of social anxiety and anxiety attacks was outstanding. It's very clear that Sophie Sullivan wanted to portray the whole picture of how anxiety can affect an individual (both in body and mind) in all areas of their life. I also loved the strong female friendship between Everly and her BFF Stacey. They are each other’s person and will be there for each other no matter what. Ten Rules for Faking It is cute and lighthearted and I recommend if you're looking for a quick rom-com and if you're a fan of the bachelor!

Sophie Sullivan’s newest book, Ten Rules for Faking It, has an interesting plot and features a protagonist experiencing things out of her comfort zone. Chris is a great character and ever so patient with Everly, however Everly can be annoying at times with her repetitive thoughts. I really like the author’s representation of social anxiety in the book.

Review posted on GoodReads (November 12, 2020)
Review Linked.

3.5/5 stars!

A huge thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for sending me an E-ARC of this book for an honest review!

This book was such a fun, heart-felt romance! When I first started this book, I found myself setting it down. I was having some issues connecting with the main characters. But I pushed through, and I am so glad I did, because after a few chapters I found myself really loving our two main characters and their stories.

One of my favorite things about this book was how it talked about mental health, specifically anxiety. The main character, Everly, deals with really bad anxiety, and throughout the story we watch her overcome her insecurities and social anxiety and come to love herself. It was a really heart-warming story to read. I myself have really bad anxiety. Like Everly, it can turn into a lot of self-loathing, and it was really emotional watching her come to love herself and let herself love others.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I didn't end up giving it 4 stars just because I wanted MORE from the romance. Don't get me wrong, I loved Chris and Everly's romance! I just wanted more... if that makes sense. I also, like I said above, had a few pacing issues in the book. I felt like the pacing at the beginning and a little bit towards the middle of the book was a bit slow for me.

Thanks for reading!
Caden