I love fake dating books! My favourite trope.

I also like when an author makes their main character an author too, because you know what they are describing is probably spot on for others in that field of work.

This story is a slow burn, friends to lovers.

Penelope and Rory are long term friends, she wants to research the fake dating trope and he needs a pretend girlfriend to keep the married women away.

Both main characters were likeable. This is my first book by Kathy Strobos and I really enjoyed it.

Okay, let's say up front that I am probably the wrong demographic for this romance and so much of what jarred is probably an age thing.

Penelope makes minatures, little scenes with tiny characters which she sells on her Etsy page (can you hear my 50+ year old eyes rolling?), she also blogs about her minatures and is trying to write a romance based on the characters, which are loosely based on her life. To make ends meet she also walks dogs and helps her friend Jamie's mum Theresa in her sporting goods store. Things have gone very, very wrong after Penelope declares her love for Jamie, only for him to say he doesn't think of her like that. Now she has to see him and his new girlfriend at a friends and family brunch without dying of mortification.

While Jamie has been in Singapore for a year working, Penelope has become good friends with Rory, a guy she was at college with. Penelope and Rory couldn't be more different, she had parents who were on the brink of divorce when they died, his parents are still happily married. To save Penelope from embarrassment, and to save Rory from his boss' wife's wandering hands, Penelope and Rory decide to fake date. Not everyone is convinced by the fake dating, particularly Penelope's annoying older sister Olivia and Rory's ex-girlfriend Callie, which is odd because Penelope starts to realise that her feelings for Jamie were merely a crush, it's Rory she wants to spend the rest of her life with. But having already declared her love and been shot down once, can she dare to do it a second time, and possibly destroy an amazing friendship?

First let me say that Penelope is a mouthful to say and a pain to type, but she hates being called Penny (eye roll). Now I'm a fan of the slow burn, yes I'm looking at you Mariana Zapata but there has to be some purpose to it, some small steps towards the HEA, in this case I just felt like this was a short novel which had been extended by lots of little scenes that didn't go anywhere. Penelope shares three chapters of her book with her writing club and gets critique, Penelope shares three chapters of her book with her tutor and gets critique, Penelope shares three chapters of her book with a publisher and gets critique, rinse and repeat. Frankly with all the conflicting advice I'm surprised the book was readable at the end.

Also, it was clear to the reader that Rory was in love with Penelope from the very first chapter (2% to be precise) when he's reading a romance to better give Penelope's draft novel a better critique, so the push-me-pull-me where they almost kiss and then shy away got old really quickly.

My final gripe was the story within a story within a story plot, while Penelope and Rory are fake dating, so are her minatures on her blog and so are the characters in her novel. Penelope and Rory go on fake dates so that Penelope has fodder for her writing.

Overall, the blurb is on point when it calls this an opposites-attract, friends-to-lovers, slow burn, fake-dating romantic comedy, just not to my taste.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Such a cute book!

I want to start this off by saying I love Rory! This book was so wholesome and unbelievably cute! After reading the first book in this series, I was excited about this, and I was not disappointed. Penelope is such a persistent character, and I love that. Rory is swoon-worthy, and the fact that he read romance books and is supportive makes it so much better! They were entirely perfect for one another, and the chemistry was there! This book is best friends to lovers and fake dating, and I loved every second!

I don't know where I stand with this book. I liked the ending, but I also felt it was incredibly rushed. I felt like the author seems to relish the awful parts of the book, where there is tension and pain, but the good parts zoom past as if they are not of significant value. I didn't like that at all. Penelope's dream of finally getting her book published is achieved at the end, but it's hardly celebrated in the book, as the book ends soon after. Instead, we spend so much time seeing her fail. I liked her romance with Rory, but at some times it got boring, and I just felt there wasn't much to it. I also felt like there were a lot of chapters that added no value to the story's progression. I liked one of the quotes in the book, which is probably what salvaged this for me. But for the most part, I felt like a good concept was wasted, which is such a shame. I just found this read to be something I carried on because I committed myself to reading it, I lost interest because it just got quite boring, and ended up finishing it so I could get it off my shelf. I am quite disappointed, I really wanted to enjoy this book, especially after really liking 'Partner Pursuit.'

Such a sweet story. I loved the friends to lover trope and how it was done in this book. It was so wholesome and sweet, I really enjoyed the storyline but the characters have such good and interesting personalities.

At times I was slightly confused about some of the timelines and got a little mixed up - but I am sure that says more about me than the book. If you like the friends to lover I would recommend this book!

I really wanted to be obsessed with this book. I loved the premise of the book, however, it fell short for me. In the first 33% of the book, we are introduced to so many characters that it was hard for me to get caught up in the story. It was only about halfway through the book that I really got wrapped up in the book. I would've loved to see more one on one interaction between Rory and Penelope, they had so much potential. When they were alone, it was like there was chemistry between them. Don't even get me started about the freaking party. I feel like there could've been more...passion and sass in the story. And while I understand the whole miniature story-line and how Penelope was really into it, I didn't 'feel' the connection and passion towards them that Penelope had. I understood this was her thing but I would've liked to have a more emotional connection as to why Penelope was so invested in making it work? It seemed like all the parts for an incredible book were there but the emotion wasn't.
I received an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Overall a really cute story. It did feel a bit forced in a couple places but I enjoyed it. I don’t know that I’ll continue the series but I enjoyed it

Really enjoyed this book! Such a fun read with great character development! Such a fun one and great to grab!

I loved this book. As a writer myself, I felt like Penelope was incredibly relatable, and it gave me insight, albeit fictional, into what my future could look like initially trying to become published. I liked that her career wasn't romanticized as it could have been, that it felt very real. Penelope and Rory as a friends-to-lovers couple were amazing. I loved their chemistry and waited with bated breath for them to finally admit their feelings. I thought it was also well written, and both comedic and serious at times when it was needed. I liked that this book showed various types of relationships, both romantic and platonic. Overall, I highly recommend this book to all of my fellow contemporary romance readers.

Actual Rating: 3.5 stars

• Fake-dating & best friends turned into lovers trope.

• Gives us an account of an artist's life. (writers, painters, etc.)

• Talks about conflict resolution and vulnerability in relationships.

• Showcases an individual's different beliefs or views in love and relationships.

• Slow paced read for me, even though I managed to read it in one sitting, it feels I like I am reading since yesterday. Other than that, I had fun as the story progresses.

• Whole London trip was a treat, I want one of those experiences and I want one of their weekend getaways too, I basically want all of their dates (while fake dating and after fake dating).

• Where can I get a Rory?!

Let me begin by saying that I would risk it all for Penelope and Rory. I'm not even joking when I say that. They are absolutely adorable! It's a best friends-to-lover romance with faking dating and a slow burn, which is my personal favorite. Is This For Real? was everything I needed in a romance book! It was so cute and I felt myself falling for the characters as the story went on.

Penelope and Rory have been friends since college. When Rory needs a date to work functions to ward off his client’s wife, Penelope agrees to help out as she needs some inspiration for her book. Penelope is an aspiring writer hoping to get her book published. Whilst she’s querying her first book, she focuses on the second, which is based around the fake dating trope. I really liked the parallels between her love story and the book she was writing and how it improved as she learnt to express herself more.

I loved how the author incorporated the two ex's to create more drama and the relationship Penelope has with all her friends and family is wholesome and you can see from the start that she is a wonderful person. I really liked the fact that she was doing miniatures which is something about I have never read about before and I found out interesting aspects about it. This book also tackles the subjects of loss, grief and divorce which were incorporated so neatly into the story that it made you feel for the characters.

I didn't particularly liked the conflict from the last few chapters and how the writer the chose to resolve it, giving the fact that it wasn't Penelope's fault, but I let it slide because the good parts shadowed this one tiny inconvenience.

All in all, this was an entertaining read with an adorable romance. I will definitely be reading more of this trope as it warmed my heart! I can’t wait to read more books from this author.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book! It was a friends to fake dating trope, which I really liked, but it also delved into the frustrations of fake dating someone. Not only that, the main character is an aspiring writer, and this story shows the struggles of receiving rejection letters and struggling to write the perfect story! No matter the obstacles in her way, Penelope finds ways to strive for her ambitions regardless. However, I would have loved to see Rory’s point of view and understand the intentions and feelings behind some of his actions. This was a really cute story overall, and I did enjoy reading it! Also, the cover is so pretty!

“Rory thought of “All in, all good.” I like it. Catchy. Even if maybe it’s the opposite of my life slogan. That would be more like “Not in, all difficult.””

✮✮✮✮✮

Penelope and Rory are fake-dating. They’ve been best friends for years, and agree to fake-date so they each have someone to “show-off” in certain situations. Penelope, who is writing a novel based on fake-dating, uses it as an opportunity for research for her book too, but finds herself thinking about Rory when she shouldn’t. Is she getting feelings? It would never work out if she was… Rory is a diehard romantic, and she believes marriage can end in disaster.

Wow. Can I just say, Kathy’s writing definitely takes this book to another level. I liked the first book in the series, but I loved this one. The backwards, and forwards, and constant mixed emotions, with fear of stepping over an invisible line is really clear in this book. I would risk it all for these two, and I was gutted towards the end when Rory and Penelope almost lost it all.

My emotions were all over the place throughout this book, and the scenes were so perfect I could imagine them all taking place before my eyes. Kathy’s attention to detail is terrific when it comes to describing places within scenes, although I think I read the word ‘brownstone’ at least twenty times..! But, that’s minor and this was an incredible read!

This is a best friends to lovers romance, with feel-good vibes! Definitely recommend to anyone wanting a nice, light read.

Thank you to Strawbundle Publishing, Kathy Strobos and NetGalley for providing me with a copy!

Ah, the classic fake dating, is it real story! I love these so much!

Overall, I thought the bones of the story itself were strong, and the characters developed. However, I did have a number of problems regarding this novel that pulled me out of it - specifically the dialogue.

Character interactions felt forced and disjointed. Theoretically, you should be able to go from one line to another in a string of dialogue (sitting at a dining table, perhaps), and unless an action that would shift dialogue occurs between them, the lines should flow between each other. However, in the first interaction alone, I found the dialogue jumping all over the place, not flowing naturally. A line would jump as a branch to a line of dialogue that occurred pages before with nothing to lead the readers into this change. These non sequiturs gave me whiplash.

However, all of that said, I did enjoy the dynamics of said characters, as well as the foundation and overall structure of the story, including the ending.

Thank you so much for allowing me to read an advanced copy of your book, #KathyStrobos. Thank you to #Netgalley and the publisher as well.

Penelope is an aspiring romance writer who lost her parents in an airplane crash while she was in college. She is living off the insurance proceeds for two years while she tries to get her book published, and she isn’t having any success. Her old crush, Jamie, is getting married, so she enlists the help of her guy friend, Rory, to be her fake boyfriend so people will stop pitying her. Penelope’s best friend, Zelda, provides added humor to the story.

Penelope chronicles the struggles of an unpublished writer and the reader becomes familiar with the story that she is writing. Unsurprisingly it mimics her life.  This is a character-driven clean romance that is perfect for nightstand readers. I received an advance review copy (ARC) in exchange for providing an honest review.

Is This For Real? was everything I needed in a romance book! It was so cute and I felt myself falling for the characters as the story went on.

Penelope and Rory have been friends since college. When Rory needs a date to work functions to ward off his client’s wife, Penelope agrees to help out as she needs some inspiration for her book. Penelope is an aspiring writer hoping to get her book published. Whilst she’s querying her first book, she focuses on the second, which is based around the fake dating trope. I really liked the parallels between her love story and the book she was writing and how it improved as she learnt to express herself more.

‘I’m not in love with him and it’s not like the books.’

Penelope has always loved her childhood best friend, Jamie, but the last time she saw him she confessed her feeling and he responded with ‘I don’t feel the same way.’ Determined not to let him get under her skin, Rory accompanies her on her lunch with Jamie and his new girlfriend. To keep up appearances, Penelope and Rory are very touchy and Penelope likes it. I loved her slow realisation of her feelings for Rory, how she processed them and then tried to figure out how to tell him. After all fake-dating never seems to stay fake! There were many cute scenes and dates that this couple did to spark inspiration for Penelope’s novel, including two trips away, and yes there was one bed!

‘Curls, you know you’re my girl, right?’

The romance in this book was so cute! I was swooning over Rory and loved their sentimental moments. Rory is incredibly supportive of Penelope’s writing and it was easy to tell he had feelings for her in the way he looked at her and defended her career path. But of course, the course of love never did run smooth! Rory’s ex-girlfriend appears back in the picture and seems to be trying to win him back, and then there is the matter of Jamie. I loved the way Penelope and Rory worked out their issues and understood the importance of working together and not separately.

‘I think I’m good at forever if it’s with you.’

This is a slow burn friends-to-lovers, but it is worth it! I haven’t read a friends-to-lovers book in a while and I cannot praise this one enough. I really enjoyed it and loved the characters both individually and together. I thought they stayed true to themselves, especially Penelope with her love for writing and dollhouse miniatures. All in all, this was an entertaining read with an adorable romance. I will definitely be reading more of this trope as it warmed my heart! I can’t wait to read more books from this author.

tropes: fake dating, friends-to-lovers, slow burn
~
this book's all about penelope and her struggling career as an author. she tried her best to revise her work, but the universe didn't agree with her. rory and penelope have been friends since college and rory told penelope that his colleague's wife was hitting on him, so he suggested that they should start fake dating (this part could've been executed differently).
~
the tropes that i mentioned above are just some of my favorites, so i was expecting something.... but this book didn't really meet my expectations. for me, there's not much chemistry between the two except the banters (which i liked btw!). the last few pages were the only good parts, in my opinion. this book could've been better.

**received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

My official review on this (amazing) book is on my TikTok now!!

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMLdHNXc2/

This was a solid 3.5 star read for me. Brisk, enjoyable, and so cathartic. Fake dating and friends to lovers are my jam, so this was an automatic “must read this.”

My only quibbles were how emotionally dense the heroine could be…but that was mostly a complaint because it was SO FREAKING CLEAR that she was in love but refusing to acknowledge it for FAR TOO LONG.

This is a cute, light-hearted romance that follows all the best tropes; fake dating, best friends to lovers, the one bed trope. It's a quick predictable read (if that's what you want).
I enjoyed following Penelope's journey as an aspiring author, joining her when she was rejected by multiple publishers.
I loved the side characters like Zelda, Audrey and Jake- they were great!
The authors writing style was different, it was alot of her telling me things instead of showing (I really have no idea how to explain it). It's not a writing style I'm familiar with or would read again.