I received an arc in exchange for an honest review **

I felt like this book started off very strongly but the characters weren't as well developed as they could have been, especially the female lead. She was too forgiving in my opinion after what happened in the book but I am a sucker for a big dramatic declaration of love at the end. It was well done, but at the same time, annoying that she forgave him for what he did. All in all still a good read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Orion Dash for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

2.5⭐️ Rounded up to 3

I don’t think this book was for me. I struggled to keep up with the story and the pacing. Sometimes it felt like I was reading from Jiya’s POV, while it was supposed to be Ibrahim’s POV (and vise versa). It felt too fast for me in the beginning, where they had this heart to heart on their first date, which seemed very oddly placed to me.

I found myself rooting for only one of the two MC’s, Jiya. I don’t usually like it when an MC says something along the lines of ‘I don’t deserve you,’ because it normally is there for the sake of the grovel, but here? I think it was true. I could not bring myself to like Ibrahim at all.

Jiya and her family were what really made this somewhat enjoyable for me. Watching her mother apologize to her, her parent’s growth, and her realistic relationship with her brother was what I really enjoyed.

I love the fake dating trope so I was excited! Unfortunately this just fell flat for me. Not sure if it was too cookie cutter for me or what.

Thank you for the eARC in exchange for an honest review

This is the first book by Laila Rafi that I have read. In fact, From Fake to Forever is actually her debut novel. Already, I can’t wait to read more from Laila.

This was such a good book. I am a huge fan of the fake relationship trope, and this book used this trope amazingly. It was such a unique concept of avoiding an arranged marriage in the modern times. It was also really cool to read about characters whose culture is completely different to mine, even though our worlds are very similar.

Jiya and Ibrahaim had sparks flying off the page from the moment they met. I love all of their interactions and the way they invested in their fake relationship as more than just a way to get their families to leave them alone.

The family dynamics were intriguing and I loved the relationship between Ibrahaim and his brothers. I hope that the rest of his brothers’ have their stories told.

If you love unique family relationships, and fake relationships, then this is the book for you. I really enjoyed it and I’m sure you will do.

This is a closed-door (does not even mention sex) romance with some mild explicit language.

As a Muslim American myself I couldn’t relate too much to the lead character like I wish I could I’m not as gutsy as they are :D I did like the read, it was pretty fast and I always love a was cute with the fake dating trope. Was not expecting tiny spice that we got for it being a Muslim romance lmaooo. Anyway hopefully I can find myself a manz like Ibby

2.5 stars!

When I read the description of this book I was hooked. I loved and still love the cultural representation it has and the plot line was very different. Fake dating to escape an arranged marriage to accomplish real dreams. However; the characters fell flat for me. I could really believe their chemistry and they didn’t have much tension. The falling out wasn’t how I thought it would or even could go. I think so many things could have happened to play out better.

Overall, it’s a very sweet, short read. I wouldn’t read it again, but don’t let that stop you from picking it up!

Thank you NetGalley and Orion Dash for letting me have this eARC in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Let’s start out with what I did like. This was a simple, cheesy, delicious romance novel. Some of my fave tropes. And God I loved the heritage and culture and struggle with traditional values.

What I didn’t like? It just fell short. It felt too plain, too simple. I wasn’t fully convinced of this romance. There were parts my eyes were skimming because I just was bored.

Wish it was a bit more fast paced, more developed characters and character struggles, and not so insta love-y.

Not the worst book I’ve ever read, but not the best either.

I have mixed feelings about this book, on one hand I couldn't stop reading it until the end and at the same time I couldn't get hooked on the story
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Jiya comes from a very traditional humble family, who believe that it is time to get her a husband and fulfill her role as a good wife, but Jiya has another idea, her dream is to finish her mba and get a job abroad, she is very far from thinking about men and even less about a husband, so when there are a few months left to achieve the first of her goals, her parents begin to bring possible suitors to her house
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When Jiya tells her dilemma to her friend Haroon, aka Harry, he has the wonderful idea of ​​introducing her parents to a fake boyfriend and he has the perfect candidate, his older brother Ibrahim.
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Ibrahim also comes from a traditional family where his father decides that they should study and where they should work and whom they should marry. When his father decides to give him an ultimatum and present him with the wife he chose, Ibrahim finds in his brother's proposal the only solution to continue with his career.
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Jiya and Ibrahim come to terms and begin to get to know each other as they spend time together discovering a new attraction and feelings.
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I'm a fan of the fake relationship trope, and I'm missing a little more chemistry between the two, I felt that some moments were shortened and others accelerated.
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Although there are two points of view, they are a bit mixed in the chapters and I had a hard time finding words that were in the familiar colloquial and are presented together with the others
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For the first part of the book I didn't know where the story took place or what culture both families belonged to, I had to guess based on the food and the words, I would have greatly appreciated if it was more differentiated in the book. But again, I really enjoyed the book and there is a lot of potential in the secondary characters, especially in their brothers and I would like to read more about them and their stories
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Thanks to Laila Rafi and Orion Dash for give me this book in exchange for my honest opinion

Thanks for letting me read this one it was okay but definitely not my favorite I may need to read again later but it was a quick read though

Sooo this book I did not love. I'm really sad about it but I just couldn't get into it. 40% in and it just feels like it's dragging so much. So I have decided to DNF this book.
I really like the premise of this book and I usually enjoy a good fake dating trope, but this just isn't doing it for me. The writing just isn't clear enough in my opinion, I'm struggling to figure out who is talking. There isn't well fleshed out settings. The characters are falling a little flat. For a book that's due to be published soon it just isn't hitting the mark I would expect it to be.

I very much appreciate receiving an advanced copy of this book, but unfortunately From Fake to Forever, isn't for me.

I love the premise of this book and definitely want to see more stories featuring BIPOC characters and told by BIPOC writers so this is a step in the right direction for the publisher. I really wanted to love this book and ended up enjoying many parts of it but I was too annoyed at the hero to really root for him in the end. Let's start with the good first. I loved how the relationship between Jiya and her family was developed throughout the story. This was actually my favourite part of the book. I enjoyed reading about how her assumptions were challenged and dealt with within the cultural context. I also enjoyed Jiya's character in general. She was likeable, vulnerable, and strong at the same time which was lovely to see. Harry was also one of my favourite characters. I was actually wondering why the romantic relationship wasn't between Jiya and Harry since they seemed to have more chemistry. I wasn't really sure why Jiya was attracted to Ibrahim over Harry and assumed it must have been a physical thing. One of the main things that annoyed me about Ibrahim, and I understand this could just be personal preference, but I find it incredibly irritating if a man is condescending towards me and calls me "sweetheart" when I am not his "sweetheart". Both Ibrahim and Harry do this with Jiya, calling her "Shortcake", "Sweetheart", etc towards the beginning when their relationship has not yet developed and Jiya didn't seem to take any offense. At one stage Ibrahim and his brothers refer to another woman as a "bitch", and there was an annoying comment about a woman's make-up which when taken together didn't sit well with me. So, perhaps that affected my view of the rest of the story and it would take a whole lot more groveling on Ibrahim's part, especially after the crisis point in this story, for me to start feeling some of the love towards him. But maybe that's just me and my overactive feminist tendencies which can be triggered whenever I read romance. Read this story if you are looking for something a little different from the usual romance book; if you are after BIPOC characters finding love while negotiating elements of culture.

I really wanted to like this book cause it has one of my favorite tropes which is fake dating but it just didn’t feel interesting enough and the writing felt flat. I didn’t feel any connections to the main characters.

Oh wow. This book was amazing. I laughed, I cried, I felt my heart want to explode with happiness. I absolutely LOVED Jiya. Very safe read and not too spicy if you’re not wanting anything with spicier scenes. Excellent read that just makes you feel good.

This book seemed so interesting when I read the description. I love fake dating it’s my favorite trop or one of. This book was okay. I don’t think I would reread this book. Dual POV ! This book wasn’t as interesting as the description. Thank you NetGalley for this arc !

I did not like Ibrahim at all and Jiya as a character felt flat to me. While I thought the plot was good and had potential, the writing was very flat.

This is an adorable story that manages to still incorporate serious topics. The characters are well flashed out and you really start caring about them and the people they surround themselves which such as their siblings.
I love that there's things going on apart from the romantic relationship. This makes the characters much more relatable.
The book is also well written which is not common for romance novels.
I had a great time reading it and enjoyed it to the last bit!

This was not my cup of tea at all. It’s ironic because my favorite romance trope is fake-dating, especially to get parents off their backs. Because then they’ll have to try really really hard to be convincing, right? I had high expectations and it started really good regardless of the not so good writing. Then at some point, the author forgot to show us how Ibrahim and Jiya actually fell in love. I kept reading about it, but could not feel it. Everything happened too quickly and then POOF! all was wrong. I was disappointed.

I am afraid to say that I don’t really recommend this book to anyone. Things could’ve been so much better. I am sorry.

It doesn't take a lot to get my heart stirring but somehow, FFtF missed it for me, unfortunately. The premise of fake-dating to get overwhelming parents off their backs was so appealing. I liked how goofy Ibrahim was, how kind and genuine Jaya was. What I didn't think was fair was how the book somehow glossed over their relationship and told me more than it showed me of them falling in love. I think the angst happened too quickly; we'd just gotten some genuine romantic feelings brewing then BAM things went wrong and stayed wrong to the end. The ending was handled well, however, which was a turning point for the book. The side characters were a little too charming; more appealing than the mains, at times, which can be a bit of a threat to a romance book. You need to have a balance. I liked all those scenes of Jaya and her mother. The way they came together and finally talked to one another was so cathartic for me. I just thought Ibrahim could've done more.

I want to start by saying I loved the bones of this book, but the writing style not so much. Personally it was hard to follow conversations and just the story in general. I was really bummed when the dual pov (which is my favorite) was so hard to understand with who was speaking and I had to go back several times to reread. The first half of this book was a bust for me but the last half helped me get through it and not leave it as a DNF.

Fun, light, heart warming, and funny. This is a great book to read for the summer. It's really easy to read and well written too.