Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. I wanted to love this but I just couldn't get into the story. Nothing grabbed me.

I love lists. I love goals. I love making lists of goals. TEN RULES FOR FAKING IT had me at lists and a woman struggling with discovering what she wanted out of life. Everly has a lot of social anxiety and is constantly thinking through every decision and detail and consequence. I feel like my brain does this too so I could relate to her but without her severe level of anxiety. I felt for her anxiety and her introversion, how being around people can be exhausting. My heart broke with her moments of feeling like an outsider or weird because being social can be so tiring.

The romance between Everly and Chris was fun and had a lot of great tension. I think the will-they-or-won't-they went on for way too long, though. This book could have had about 60 pages edited off it because towards the end if felt like one conflict after another for them to face and overcome. The dating contest aspect that brings Everly out of her shell was such a fun plot concept to read about. I'm a sucker for the woes of dating storyline so this was right up my alley.

This book was fun to read/listen to, I really adored Everly's characterization, and journeying with her through her battle with anxiety and learning how she wants to live her life to the fullest. This book might fall into the eventual forgettable category but very enjoyable!

I enjoyed the story, but I wouldn’t label it a rom-com. There was way too much angst to call it funny. [(Except maybe that darn donkey) Read to find out!}. The issue of anxiety and panic attacks was very well portrayed, as was, the relationships of parents and adult children. Do we ever grow out of wanting their praise, I wonder? Chris and Everly’s evolving relationship was sweet and Stacey and Ev’s friendship, wonderful. Supporting characters were well enough developed to make them interesting and part of the story, not just fillers. My only true criticism would be it could have been 50 pages shorter. A little LESS angst and introspection would have allowed it to be both interesting and fun.

Ten Rules for Faking It will find any and all heart strings you have and tug on them all. I love these contemporary romances that have a deeper story to them and are a little more thought provoking. As a huge Bachelor Nation fan, I loved this little take on the 'bachelor' style romance with main character Everly and her terrible dating life going viral after a mistaken on air rant about her cheating boyfriend. This would have made a really good Bachelorette Season!

I loved what Sophie Sullivan did with her main character Everly, with serious social anxiety and how she dealt with it. I loved the side characters who supported Everly despite her anxiety and treated her normally. It was extremely refreshing to read a positive book about something that so many people struggle with and need to feel less alone and more 'normal'. The only thing I would have wanted to be different about this book was a little more open door romance, but I think in this case, what was done was perfect for this particular one. I got all the warm and fuzzy feelings from this book and this cute romance, I highly suggest!

I really loved this novel. It was super awesome. The characters are really sweet. It was a great fake relationship romance. There were super sweet moments highly recommend.

Thanks NetGalley for the preview!
This book was the definition of the slow burn. Unfortunately, the highly anticipated moment of the first kiss was lackluster. Everly and Chris were both fine characters but I didn't find myself connecting to them. They didn't give me a reason to wish for their happily ever after. I also felt like all of the characters were underdeveloped or bland and there was no diversity. Very glad that Everly goes on a self discovery journey and stands up for what she wants but I wish the entire story carried that much passion.

I really appreciated the realistic depiction of anxiety in the main character. It's a topic that is often approached but usually not adequately done. I liked the slow burn romance.

Everly has really bad birthdays, and this year is no different - after catching her boyfriend cheating on her, she vents to her radio DJ friend about it ON AIR. She’s worried about how her boss, Chris, will handle her outburst, and when he spins in into a Bachelorette-style promotion, Everly ignores her anti-social tendencies and agrees to go on dates. However, Everly quickly realizes that the most eligible bachelor in her life might just be Chris?

I started this and stopped this several times, but I really enjoyed it once I finally got into it. I thought Everly and Chris had a fun relationship, and Everly’s anxiety issues really resonated with me. I think this was a fun read - perfect for the pool or beach this summer!

Thanks to @NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for my ARC!

A slow burning contemporary romance that has likable characters that are very entertaining. The story is told by the female, Everly, and male, Chris, main characters. I enjoyed the alternating perspectives since made the story more interesting to know why both characters reacted the way that they did in each situation.
Everly is a radio producer that desperately wants to save her job so she agrees to the radio station manager Chris' idea of a radio show based on the Bachelorette with Everly staring as the bachelorette. Chris does not know that Everly suffers from severe social anxiety and that she is just following her new '10 Rules for Faking It' to get through this social experiment. Chris' main goals with the show are to show his father, who owns the radio station, that the station can be successful and profitable before it's time for him to move on within the company. Chris is attracted to Everly but does not want to act on his feelings because eventually he will be leaving. On the other hand, Everly tries her best to ignore her developing feelings for Chris because she does not think he has the same feelings for her.
The character development throughout the story is wonderful, especially for Everly. With each chapter I got to know them even better and felt their heartbreak when they each decided without the other's knowledge that they could not act upon the feelings that they had for the other. Everly's struggle with anxiety was very well portrayed while Chris' struggle with telling his father that he wanted to be his own man was well developed.
This was a very slow burn romance and although it did drag at a few points overall it was an enjoyable escape into the worlds of Everly and Chris. I recommend for those who are fans of rom coms.. I am grateful to Netgalley and the publisher's at St, Martin's Press for the opportunity read an ARC of this delightful book in exchange for an honest review.

Adorable contemporary rom-com. Was particularly impressed by the authors attention and description of anxiety. Felt very real and that realness was present in all parts of the book. These characters are people I can easily believe in and their story was a page turner.

Thanks to Partner NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the digital ARC of Sophie Sullivan’s Ten Rules for Faking It in exchange for an honest review.

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

I love rom-com stories, and this was good. Pick it up, you will enjoy it too!!

A modern rom-com debut story. Radio producer Everly Dean finds her bf with his assistant in bed unfortunately her day keeps getting worse. She and her best friend, Stacey discussed it on the air without realizing it. Her best friend and the station manager Chris come up with a great idea to try and save their time slot on the radio station. A series of dates for Everly which happens to have social anxiety. I completely loved this book. I really like how the author showed Everly's anxiety and how Chris takes it very serious and is willing to act a fool for her

Loved this sweet novel, which also had a good bit of depth to it addressing Everly’s anxiety. I loved how accepting most of the characters were about mental illness; it served as a great model for how the world ought to view it (as a personality trait rather than a major flaw to hide). I also loved the bachelorette-style competition, which added a lot of fun to the plot!

Anyone else listening to more audiobooks than ever before? I know @reallyintothis is as well, I think I’m really enjoying the immersive escape they provide and this was another delightful escape for me.

This mixed mental health issues, Bachelorette style dating and good old rom com vibes into an adorable, feel good story. It had a great cast of supporting characters, a believable love story and Everly was the type of character you can’t help but root for. A fun listen for sure, I’ll be curious to see what the author comes up with next ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

It was just formulaic, a typical romance to me, and at this point I'm really looking for romances that bring something new or fresh to the genre. I'm sure it'll have folks that love it and champion it but it's just not something that brings me many feelings one way or another.

Blah blah blah. This one of so sticky sweet and cliche. I just couldn't read more than a few pages at a time without getting a stomach ache. Plus the cover is dull dull dull.

Everly made it really hard for me to love this book. She was a frustrating character to understand and it made her hard to like, which is problematic when she is the main character of the book. She held everyone to impossibly high standards, there was never going to be any pleasing her. Unfortunately she was the downfall of this book for me.

Ten Rules for Faking It
Sophie Sullivan
St. Martin’s Griffin, Dec 2020, 320 pages
Contemporary Rom-Com
Provided by Pub via NetGalley
⭐⭐⭐⭐

These illustrated covers are here to stay, I guess, so I will have to get used to them. I will say, the title of the book is typically the main event on these covers, which I really like. Also, when they portray characters from the story they attempt to do them the way the author describes them to some degree. And this one uses my blue! That’s always a plus.

This book hasn’t gotten great reviews, which I read before I read the book. So, I was a bit leary about reading it. But, it was time and I was committed. Initially, it was a little bit difficult to get involved because the first scene in the book is so chaotic, plus the main character has severe anxiety disorder associated with social gatherings (more than 2 people). It is explosive and hard to keep track of who’s saying what. Once I got into the book and was more comfortable with the characters, I went back and re-read that first scene and it made so much more sense.

The main love story was so sweet and innocent and strung out over the whole book. The dating games were well done, too. There were so many volatile relationships in this story. I can see how these people ended up the way they were. There were also some extremely strong friendships here, the kind that last a lifetime.

The author’s treatment of anxiety disorder was outstanding. The busyness of her mind, the overthinking of situations, the caution, and fear, as well as the physical symptoms that go along with it. It’s easy to describe the physical ones, but to write how busy a mind is as it spirals into a panic attack outside a restaurant…that was amazing. I found myself needing a cool drink and a few minute’s break after that. And the list-making was wonderful! Totally recommended!

Not your average love story. There's a much deeper element to it also as there is a deep dive into the main character's anxiety at play which is another element to the book which gives it depth! Would recommend!!

This romance goes so much deeper. Sophie Sullivan nailed so many ways that anxiety can stifle your life. That inner dialog that Everly has throughout is so very real. It is such an amazing feeling to see a part of yourself on the page. The friendship between Stacey and Everly is not to be overlooked either. The kind of friend that loves you, even with the flaws, is absolutely priceless. Chris and all his baggage is no less heavy than Everly's and that is all that it takes to put them in a stalemate before anything gets started. Ten rules is all heart and a must read!