This book messed me up and not in the way I usually enjoy. I love Gerri Hill’s romance novels. She often manages to make me tear up and get my emotions all over the place. I also know that she sometimes writes things that make me cringe. Consent is assumed but not always clear with some characters whom I have to call predatory. And the first chapters of this book had me really worried and uncomfortable in that regard.

It starts in the most absurd way, as do many fake romances. I mean, how does faking a relationship ever sound like a good idea? Fake romance is a fun trope, one I like a lot, but if books were real life, I don’t think it would ever end well.

At the beginning of The Great Charade, Abby is dreading going to her parents’ home for Christmas because her ex is now engaged to her brother, which didn’t stop her from seducing Abby last Christmas. Long story short, Abby wants to take a fake girlfriend with her to help her resist Holly this time. Nic is a landscape artist Abby sometimes get glimpses of at lunchtime. A stranger, since all of Abby’s friends think her idea is insane. Nic has her own issues with Christmas, going back to her horrible childhood. When Abby asks her to be her fake girlfriend for ten days, Nic agrees in exchange for sex.

Ugh. If I was in the habit of DNFing books, I’d have stopped there. Or maybe I’d have stopped the second time someone mentioned Holly being a lesbian dating a man. Bisexuality is a thing, you know?

But I almost never DNF and I’ve loved so many Hill books that she deserves the benefit of the doubt. The characters’ faults aren’t necessarily the author’s and all that. So I went on. And as the story developed, I liked Abby and Nic more and more. Nic really isn’t as callous as she let Abby (and me) think. Quite the opposite, in fact. She’s guarded, for good reasons, but she’s also caring and kind. Witnessing her get her first fairytale Christmas was heartwarming. The chemistry between the two MCs was real, and when the Christmas bubble got to an end, I was sad along with them. I was absolutely rooting for them.

Fifteen or twenty years ago, when finding sapphic stories was still somewhat of a challenge, I would have recommended this one without a second thought. Today, I’m not so sure. If you’ve never read a Gerri Hill book, don’t start here. Read At Seventeen. Read No Strings. Read The Cottage (prepare to weep), read The Secret Pond, read Chasing a Brighter Blue or The Stars at Night. Hill has written really good books, romance, mysteries, thrillers. She’s excellent at depicting scenery and taking the reader to the places she loves. When her characters are good, they’re excellent. If this book doesn’t work for you, another one will.

I received a copy from the publisher and I am voluntarily leaving a review.

𝗘𝘅𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀.

Gerri Hill has written a ton of books but I haven't read that many of them. But this one is a Christmas romance that sounded good, so I thought I'll give it a try.

I really enjoyed the dynamics between the main characters, Abby and Nic. This is a fauxmance where the characters are more or less comfortable with each other, the chemistry is good and the sex is even better. There is also a good mix of lighthearted humour with a bit of depth too. When Abby approaches Nic to be her fake girlfriend for the holidays, Nic is practically a stranger but Nic too has her own story to tell and I'm glad she gets to open up to Abby gradually.

The situation between Abby, her brother, Aaron and his fiancée, Holly is insane. Abby and Aaron don't have a relationship or any loyalty towards each other and Holly and Abby used to be an item. It's actually a weirder situation than that and if you read it, you'll know what I mean. But I feel it's all in humour so I don't think much of it even though there are times when I can feel my tolerance for absurdity being tested. Like how Abby's family dismisses Abby's feelings towards Holly and Aaron as if she's making a big deal out of nothing and how Abby chooses to stay mum about certain things.

I enjoy Gerri Hill and she surprised me with her latest book being a fake dating, holiday romance. Abby Carpenter is planning to spend ten days with her parents and brother in the skiing mountains of NM. But her brother's fiancé is her ex and she feels the best way to avoid her is to bring along a girlfriend. Sadly she hasn't dated anyone in over a year. She decides to invite Nicky Bennet whose company provides landscaping around Abby's work. Nic agrees as long as Abby understands she doesn't do relationships or even dating. I wish Hill had written Nic as saying sex would be an option between the two instead of saying it was a form of payment for her. Everything between them is sweet and consensual but I didn't love the way this part is written.

Of course they talk, get to know each other and enjoy each other in every way. Nic has baggage due to her family life. (Her background was a little darker than I was expecting.) But overall these are women that can talk, be kind, love and support each other. After the holidays you know it isn't going to be over but you have to wait for Hill to get them back together. I enjoyed this very much with minor grumbles for not understanding why the brother sticks to the fiancé, the significance of the grandparents not choosing to come for Christmas etc. Thank you to NetGalley and Bella Books for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

My first Christmas themed book of the year and it was an excellent decision. I can easily get overloaded with Holiday “joy”, so I generally only read a few of these books a year, but this was a no-brainer for me, a fauxmance written by Gerri Hill, a favorite topic and a favorite writer. And yes, the book gives a winter white wonderland, with a (fake) romance and a bit of crazy family drama, so it delivers exactly what you might expect (and hope for) from a Christmas themed book.

Abby is dreading Christmas with her family, 2 years previous her ex-cheated on her with her brother (during the family Christmas holiday). If that’s not bad enough, the year after, the same ex slept with Abby during the Christmas holiday, while still in a relationship with Abby’s brother. Now, Abby is determined not to let that happen again, she needs protection and what better protection than a fake girlfriend?
Ok, this is pretty crazy, and you have to suspend belief in order to get to the point of the fauxmance in this book and you should not question the motivations behind the actions of the characters in this book. But it’s so crazy that I found it quite funny and I just went along with it. I liked the characters and their chemistry, changing from lust to romance, and their backstories add depth and some angst to the story.

So, Abby has to find a last-minute fake girlfriend who she finds in Nic. Nic has bad experiences with Christmas, doesn’t like the holiday, and never really celebrated Christmas. But she sees this as a fun project, and she has no other plans, so why not? It turns out that Nic is the perfect person to ramp up the winter wonderland feeling, because, throw in some snow and a nice fireplace and it’s all winter fun and amazement and even Nic gets to enjoy the holiday.

There was only one thing in this book that I wished Hill would have approached differently and that’s a weird sex angle. At some point sex is requested/demanded as payment (while knowing the other person wasn’t into that). In the end it didn’t play out like that and all sex was consensual, but it just didn’t sit right with me. Interestingly, while I disliked this person for obvious reasons at the start of the book, I actually really liked her after getting to know her better and I could not see her make such a demand, it seemed so out of character. I was glad this angle was more or less dropped later on, but I wish it was not there at all.

In summary, I wouldn’t call this book all light and fluffy, there is some drama and emotional moments, but at the same time it’s the right kind of crazy and an excellent book to get that holiday feeling.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I received an ARC copy of this book from the Publisher via Netgalley and voluntarily leaving my review.

I love this read with one of my favorite tropes. Great Christmas romance

Abby is dreading going home for Christmas holiday it’s not that she doesn’t want to spend time with her family it’s she doesn’t want to see her ex Holly who happens to be engage to her brother Aaron. She afraid she fall for her Holly charms and get sucked back in like she did last Christmas she gets idea to have a fake girlfriend as a buffer between them although her friends thinks she crazy and should tell Holly off and talk with her brother she doesn’t want to ruin her family holiday.

Nicky aka Nic has baggage that she carries around that baggage prevents her from forming romantic attachment but she does has a few friends she let’s gets close. She doesn’t care for the holidays and you’ll find out why. When she approached by Abby with a proposal to pretend to be her girlfriend she accepts with a stipulation that Abby balks at but decides to accept although she won’t go through with it.

Abby and Nic grow closer and start to have feelings but go their separate ways but neither one can forget the other. There’s little angst with Nic believing she isn’t good enough for Abby because who she dates and Abby thinking Nic would never let someone love her.

Romantic fake relationship instigated so that her brother's fiancee can't hit on her again over the holidays at their parent's house. Of course doesn't go quite as planned. Feelings become involved; fake girlfriend doesn't celebrate Christmas but gets drawn in by all the decorations and holiday cheer. A feelgood Christmas romance. Don't think I've read a Gerri Hill yet I didn't enjoy.