Ok, this one was pretty cute.
I mostly wanted to read it, because LOOK AT THIS COVER MODEL!! We need more covers with curvy women please!
That said, the references to her body being curvy were few, and early on. I could have done with a little more of that.
For a brother's best friend story, this one is solid. The push and pull of the couple was great, with mutual pining and a one night stand months before the events of this book.
The brother ended up being a little over the top for me personally. I found him overly rude to his sister, and for a grown man, he wasn't understanding at all.
But, it was a quick and fun read overall.

How To Fake a Wedding Date by Karen Booth held much promise with every trope I absolutely love. And yet…
When socialite Alexandra Gold desperately needs a plus one for her best friend's wedding, she must ask for help from the last person in the world she would ever want to see, especially in her situation—Ryder Carson.
She's had a crush on him for the longest time, and considering the last time they were alone together led to some boundary crossing, she's not so eager to ask him to play pretend couple for the weekend.

I wanted to like this one more than I actually did while reading it. The premise had promise, but between the pace moving at a breakneck speed without getting to dig into the characters, some of the insistence on keeping them apart stopped making sense about part of the way too.

Ryder seems to be dealing with a lot of his own baggage when it comes to his past and his father, which provides a significant source of his inner turmoil while dealing with the guilt of wanting to cross the line with his best friend's sister considering all he's done for him. This sentiment doesn't sit right with me at all, making some of the justification and the relationship generally feel a little more superficial.

The way he seems like he owes a debt to Alex's brother and her family doesn't add any depth to his friendship with Daniel, making it seem like the friendship only exists out of some obligation to the Gold family.
Regarding the heroine, Alexandra Gold, we get a complete picture of her life. From her hang-ups, long-standing crush on Ryder, and romantic past, we're given a sympathetic protagonist. Her perspective helps make the romance more engaging.

And under any other circumstance, I would have been all in on the story, and the fake relationship turned into a real one.

All the pieces were there – the tropes, and the romantic dynamic, while a little shaky at the time, was somewhat engaging. I'm unsure if more time with the protagonists would have helped. But the execution was lacking, which is honestly a shame.


3.5 Stars

Like I've said before, some of these books can be hit or miss for me. I usually try and go into them not expecting too much since they are very quick reads and the story is not usually as developed as I liked them to be.

This book has curvy FMC (not like the cover, and the other trope was brothers best friends. It was a quick read and it just did what I expected it to do.

Thank you so much netgalley for the arc of this book.

I’ll be honest here. I picked up How to Fake a Wedding Date by Karen Booth mainly from the cover. I saw a “curvy” heroine and wanted to give it a try since it’s not terribly common in romances. What I got wasn’t what I was expecting.

To start off, if you’re looking for a plus-sized romance, it’s not here. There are one or two mentions of curves, but past that, you wouldn’t know other than from the cover art. It’s not exactly a bad thing, but when you go in expecting something and then it’s non-existent, it was a little disappointing.

But on to the story itself. How to Fake a Wedding Date is the third book in the Little Black Book of Secrets series, and there were a couple moments when I wished I’d read the previous books. For the most part, it stood alone, but there was an overarching plot, and I was lost as it was wrapped up. But the romance between Alex and Ryder was self-contained and pretty well-developed.

I didn’t have particularly strong feelings for Alex and Ryder. Alex is being targeted by the tabloids and asks Ryder to be her date for her best friend’s wedding to keep the tabloids at bay. They have a little bit of history, an obvious attraction, but Ryder wants to keep his distance in order to save his friendship and partnership with Alex’s brother, Daniel.

This here is where I had most of my issues. Ryder tells Daniel that he’ll help Alex, and there’s nothing between them. Daniel is adamant that their friendship will be over if he crosses that line and really wants Ryder to use the wedding for networking for their firm. Ryder is just all wishy-washy, letting Daniel run roughshod over him. Daniel is a class A jerk through the whole book, and then BAM—Alex and Ryder are together, and the entire conflict is swept under the rug with a pretty unsatisfactory conclusion. I just wanted more.

How to Fake a Wedding Date isn’t a bad book. I was sucked into the story and read it in one sitting. But I just came out of it feeling a bit let down. I think this book would be more for those who have invested in the series rather than a casual reader.

I didn't finish this book. I lost interest in it. I did like that it features a plus sized heroine, though. Sadly, the story and writing didn't maintain my attention.

Karen Booth is one of my favorite authors. And best friend/sibling romances are one of my favorite romance tropes. Combining these two makes me really happy.

How to Fake a Wedding Date is the third and final book in Karen’s Little Black Book of Secrets series. The series is about three childhood best friends and a social media account going after the three and others who all share a link. From the romance standpoint, this is a standalone read, however, the mystery of who is behind the social media account plays out over the course of the three books.

How to Fake a Wedding Date finds Alexandra “Alex” Gold in desperate need of a date for her best friend Chloe’s wedding that is being held at the family estate of her other best friend Taylor. Generally, it wouldn’t be a big deal if a person didn’t have a date for a wedding. But Alex isn’t just any old person. After calling off her own wedding mere days before it was to take place, Alex has been hounded by the tabloids and given the nickname “Trust Fund Tornado”. The last fourteen months have been hard for her. Trying to get back into the dating pool is all fine and dandy until the men figure out who she actually is and think of any excuse to get away from her. In her eyes, having a date for the wedding would show that she is fine and has moved on.

When Alex confides in her older brother Daniel, he has the perfect solution. He offers up his best friend and business partner Ryder Carson as tribute. Daniel figures Alex is safe with Ryder and that Ryder can use the wedding as an opportunity to meet and connect with Chloe’s uncle Geoffrey who they have been trying to meet with. “Pretend to like me for three days.” ~ Alex has no idea that Ryder doesn’t have to pretend at all. Ryder is very much attracted to Alex, but his relationship with Daniel and the Gold family is too important to him. He feels that he owes them everything and doesn’t want to jeopardize what he has with them.

Alex who has been attracted to Ryder for some time now plans on using this time to convince him that they should be together. Immediately, I was a little put off by Alex pushing Ryder so hard for a relationship or to bed him again (yes, there’s a story there) when she knew about the bro code and how Ryder feels bad about risking his friendship with Daniel and their business together. She doesn’t care. Like she literally doesn’t care about that, she just wants Ryder and the consequences for him mean nothing to her. Somehow Karen managed to pull Alex from the dark side and make her likable. And of course, Ryder gives in to his attraction and forgets about everything except for him and Alex. When these two are together, they’re really amazing. Alex brings out a different side of Ryder and he just simply makes her happy, without having to pretend she’s someone or something else.

One of the reasons I was looking forward to this story was the mystery of who was behind Little Black Book. For me, the mystery and reveal fell flat. I was expecting more of a climactic reveal than what I got. Friendship and romance are what drove this story. I’m not sure if I can say that Alex grew during the course of this book, but you did get to see her vulnerabilities and truths shine through. It actually made me like and feel for her. Ryder definitely grew throughout the course of the story. He had a couple of moments that really made him hero material and one in particular that made my heart soar.

If you’re into stories with tropes galore How to Fake a Wedding Date definitely has you covered. Karen has thrown everything in. There’s best friend/sibling, forbidden love, friends to lovers, fake relationship, a curvy heroine, and only one bed.

~ Favorite Quotes ~

“If it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be.”

“The person you’re meant to be with will find you. I promise. Don’t give up hope.”

Love the cover! However, this book reminded me why sibling's best friend/best friend's sibling is my least favorite trope of all time -- especially when everyone is obnoxiously wealthy! I liked Alex and Ryder's chemistry and kindness to each other, but the rest of the book -- from the writing to the supporting characters to the hastily-wrapped-up solution to the "Little Black Book" mystery (which somehow involved both too much exposition and not enough information) -- was pretty lackluster. This might be a good read for superfans of the trope or those who enjoyed the previous books in the series.

Many thanks for the opportunity to read and review!

Alex is still trying to overcome the negative publicity that ensued when she cancelled her wedding and in order to diffuse the situation she needs a date for her best friend’s wedding. Her brother Daniel suggests that she take his best friend and business partner Ryder as it will help her out and Ryder can approach a man that they have been trying to connect with professionally.

Not only is Ryder’s best friend Daniel but Daniel’s father invested in the company that they are partners in. He knows that Daniel would not want him and Alex to be together and he has managed to control his feelings together except for the one night they spent together in the past. Now that they find themselves pretending to be a couple he is conflicted between his loyalty to Daniel and his feelings for Alex.

You can empathize with the struggle that Alex and Ryder are facing as they must choose between what makes them happy verses the edicts of those in their lives as they take us on an emotional and romantic journey.

No romance....

For years that was the accepted status quo for Alex and Ryder.
Except for that New Year's Kiss, and the one night stand they had in March that ended with Ryder sneaking out on Alex.
Except now, Ryder is asked by his best friend and business parter and Alex's brother, Daniel, to escort Alex to a wedding. She get deflection from her own cancelled wedding fourteen months ago and Ryder gets a chance at a lucrative deal with the bride's uncle.
Win-win, except Ryder wants Alex and Alex is still mad at him...

Recommend. Plus for a curvy girl.

The all too tempting conclusion to Karen Booth's Little Black Book trilogy! The characters are complex with emotional sides as their fake connection triggers the all too real attraction that has been rearing it's head between them for awhile, no matter how off-limits the other is! Really enjoyed their story and the conclusion to the series.

Alexandra is sweet and sincere and I enjoyed watching her come into her own and reach for the dreams she wanted so badly.

Ryder is a doll and I loved every minute of his story.

I highly recommend this book as well as the entire series to anyone that loves their steamy romance riddled with family, close friends and a stewing mystery that spins throughout the series.

Alex Gold has a problem. She's notorious for canceling her high profile wedding and the paparrazzi are still looking for a story. When it comes time to manage her friend Chloe's wedding, she realizes she's going to need a date for the wedding.

To solve the problem, her brother recommends his business partner and friend Ryder, with the caveat it's all fake and Ryde will never touch his sister.

Oopsy.

The bro-code is very strong in this story. Alex's brother is really sort of a jerk when he insists on that condition as if it's okay for Ryder to be a business partner but not a boyfriend to his sister? Ugh. I wanted to smack him, or at least tell him off because Alex was amazing and her and Ryder together --- even better.

There are no big surprises here, it's a story of two people finding love and then having to deal with everyone around them, many who think they belong together and some that believe they don't.

How to Fake a Wedding Date is a lovely and sweet happily-ever-after story that I ripped through quickly, just because it was a wonderful world to spend time it. I loved Ryder and Alex together and even more so after all the drama gets resolved. An amazing feel-good story, with a terrific cover and a heart warming HEA.

Alex invites Ryder, her brother's best friend, to be her fake date for a wedding. Given their past, can they keep it platonic?

I love Karen Booth's light and fun writing style! I was glad the book didn't make an issue of the fact that the heroine is plus sized. This is a steamy story about tested loyalties and learning to take risks to get what you want.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

How to Fake a Wedding Date by Karen Booth, book three in the Little Black Book of Secrets series, is a multi-trope story including brother’s best friend, fake dating and only one bed, that I could not put down. This fun, flirty romance is a story of crushing on a big brother's best friend/business partner and finding your self-worth. Alexandra Gold’s reputation has been destroyed by the tabloids, after calling off her wedding at the last minute, and is in need of a date to her best friend's wedding. Her older brother suggests his business partner, Ryder Carson; especially since a client they want is also attending. Alex has crushed on Ryder for years and is worried that her true feelings about him will come across. Daniel Gold makes it clear to Ryder that he is not to cross the line with his sister. Ryder is attracted to Alex but fears ruining his relationship with Daniel so he tries desperately to keep things platonic. However, the more time they spend together the closer they get. Sparks fly and the chemistry sizzles between Ryder and Alex, such that wedding guests notice. Before long, Alex and Ryder figure out that there is nothing 'fake' about their dates and they're connecting and falling more in love with each other. Soon Ryder must decide which is more important, his friendship with Daniel or love for Alex.

Ms. Booth wrote an emotional, wonderful, heartwarming romance that kept me turning the pages wanting to see how Alex and Ryder handle their situation and hoping a happy ending is in their future. I highly recommend How to Fake a Wedding Date to other readers.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.

I received an ARC, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Content Warnings: Loss of a parent, stalking, bullying, and verbally/emotionally abusive/manipulative parent.

It’s been about a year since Alex canceled her own wedding. Labeled the “Trust Fund Tornado”, by the media, it has been impossible to date once men realize who Alex is. The last thing Alex wants is to show up at one of her best friends’ weddings…dateless. Tired of the media casting a negative light on her she’s determined to find a date for the wedding and hopefully change the media’s narrative of her.

Ryder’s been best friends with Daniel, Alex’s brother, since college. Their friendship and partnership mean everything to him. Growing up with nothing was hard, especially after the loss of his mother, but Ryder’s friendship with Daniel changed everything. Though he can’t stop thinking about Alex, and they’ve crossed the line already, Ryder is determined to stay away to protect his relationship with Daniel.

The idea that her friend’s wedding has Alex sad and melancholy about her own canceled wedding made no sense to me. The way she describes her ex, even before admitting she didn’t love him, you can tell she had no emotional connection to him. It made it really hard for me to believe Alex believes in Happily Ever After when she stayed in a relationship with someone she really didn’t like…and then almost married them.

Ryder and Daniel’s friendship isn’t giving best friend vibes. It really felt like Ryder and Daniel are competitors, even though they own a company together, I was hoping to really see their friendship and why going behind Daniel’s back would break Ryder’s heart. Nothing I read helped me understand Ryder’s adamant stance of trying to stay away from Alex.

Going in I thought the Little Black Book drama, and reveal, would take up a good chunk of the story—as each book in the series felt like it was building to the reveal—so I was getting worried when we really hadn’t gotten any confirmed evidence, as the ending was looming closer. It felt like LBB’s reveal was an afterthought that was last minute, with very little time to explain it all. Something that I thought would have a grand reveal was left feeling rushed and incomplete.

I really wanted to like this book—with a plus-size cover model, failing for your brother’s best friend, and the reveal of Little Black Book—but sadly it just didn’t hit like I needed it to.

The story wasn't bad, but the cover is very misleading. I was excited to see a chubbier model on the cover, thinking that the story was a more inclusive romance. I was disappointed to discover that nothing in the book actually indicated that the heroine was anything other than curvy, a common descriptor for most romance novels.

I love that Harlequin is moving in a more inclusive and representative direction. However, the story needs to support that inclusivity.

I devoured this book in a few hours. I throughly enjoyed Alex and Ryder’s love. I loved the honesty between the couple.

I loathed the family of Alex- Especially the brother! I felt like he was cold and didn’t trust the people closest to him.

I received an advanced copy of this book via Net Galley. I’m glad I did, as it was a fun read and I’d read it again.

She left her fiance at the altar and has been the recurring theme in the tabloids. Now she needs a date for the wedding. Her brother's best friend seems like an obvious choice. He and her brother run an architect company together. Exposure at the wedding could bring them business and she wouldn't have to face the world alone.

But as they spend time together, sparks fly and old feelings resurface, it's only a matter of time before fake becomes real.

I really like the storyline, it's one of my favourite tropes, but the writing style wasn't my cup of tea.

thank you Netgalley and Harlequin Desire for the ARC, all thoughts and opinions are my own

Alex needs a date to her friend's wedding and her brother volunteers his own best friend. Unfortunately, they've had a secret one-night stand in the past and are highly attracted to each other. Combine that with an overbearing brother who absolutely does not want his friend and sister together, we have a dilemma between loyalty and lust.

How to Fake a Wedding Date left me feeling wanting, but not in the way the author might like. The characters felt flat, the story line felt flat, and any romance also felt flat. If you were expecting a more progressive story because the book was advertised as a curvy romance, you can forget it. The only body positivity representation, or reference to the main character being curvy, besides the front cover is one scant line saying she is curvy. The overbearing older brother constantly freaking out about the idea of his best friend and sister ever possibly becoming involved, and the male lead's adherence to his best friend and partner's controlling whims, is a turn off to the story.

Disclaimer: A copy was provided by the publisher.

I enjoyed this one but ultimately wanted more. I wanted more of who Alex was outside of "she left her fiancé" and why she was close to her brother, cause he seemed like an ass most of the book. He seemed more concerned with his business than with his sister or her feelings.

I haven't read the two previous books in this serious so the whole piece about "Little Black Book" felt a little after thought. It felt rushed in at the end.