What I Liked: Separately, I really liked Gemma and Tansy as characters. I always enjoy the opposites-attract trope and and these 2 are definitely opposites. I loved that Tansy didn’t feel the need to change who she was for Gemma and that Gemma appreciated the parts of Tansy that she didn’t think anyone would like. The theme of standing up for yourself and finding your place in the world was strong and I liked the growth the characters showed. I’m a sucker for a sappy public declaration scene and this book has a great one. I also appreciated that the third act conflict wasn’t contrived and it didn’t feel out of place in the story.

What I Didn’t Like: I wanted more romance! I felt like there were scenes between Gemma and Tansy that were missing-scenes that would have shown them falling in love. As a reader, I didn’t completely buy that they would fall in love so quickly because a lot of their feelings were implied. And even for a romance, there were some plot points that were far-fetched, such as Gemma being somewhat famous and yet randomly showing up at the wedding in the first scene. I found that hard to believe. I also felt there were too many side characters and not enough time was spent getting to know them so I kept getting confused as to who was who and their relationship to the main characters.

Who Should Read It: Alexandria Bellefleur fans will find things to like about this book and I think romance fans looking for a marriage of convenience story will want to give this one a look.

Review Wrap Up: This wasn’t a bad book by any means but the things that were missing felt like big things. I didn’t buy into the love story which is a key part of a romance novel and felt the side characters and plots were underdeveloped. Still, I like Bellefleur’s writing and I liked the main characters. I also liked how low-angst this story was because sometimes you just want to read a fluffy book. You don’t need to run out and get this book when it releases but it should be added to your TBR pile for a later date.

Favorite Quote: “Ha, U-Haul. Look at us. Doing sapphic stereotypes proud, moving in together after less than two months. Go us.” -Gemma

This standalone by Alexandria Bellefleur was so sweet! I loved the fake dating and marriage of convenience tropes and obviously all of the Taylor Swift references. Obsessed with the cover and how it is unapologetically celebrating women loving women romance. <3

I absolutely devoured this book! I will probably always love Bellefleur's writing, in part because of my utter delight at finding Taylor Swift references sprinkled throughout her books, but also because she writes with a pace that just keeps my attention the entire way through. I read this with my eyes and underlined and squealed throughout the entire thing. Tansy and Gemma and the way they meet is completely contrived and only in a romance novel would this ever happen, but how on earth could I be upset about it when it brought me so much joy? And although I did hate how the end conflict sort of erupts, I absolutely adored the way the two women come back together.

The Fiancée Farce begins at a wedding between Tansy's step-cousin Madison to the absolutely vile Trevor. Or Tucker. Um. I don't remember his name, but it definitely started with a T. We'll go with Tucker. Anyway, Tansy's been lying about being in a relationship with a woman named Gemma to get out of as many family events where Tucker would be present as is humanly possible and now her lies are catching up to her because in walks in the woman she's been pretending is her girlfriend. Turns out Gemma West is actually Gemma van Dalen and she's horrible Tucker's cousin. Fortunately, Gemma needs a wife so this winds up working out perfectly and the women strike up a perfectly business like arrangement that stays strictly business like for... oh you know, .5 seconds.

If "Glitch" is your favorite song on Midnights, I'm just saying you should probably consider picking this book up. I really, really loved how this book felt incredibly real. Tansy felt so relatable and her insecurities and the way that she manages her emotions just... Excellent. We didn't have everything in common, but the anxiety? Oh yeah. And medication for anxiety! Lexapro for the win, baby! (I mean, her medication isn't named. But for me, Lexapro is a gem. I should be sponsored by them the way I shout about it, tbh. I am not. Sadly.) But then you have Gemma, who is a little bit of a chaos Queen and, well, honestly, I loved that. I loved her. I love that both women have their own insecurities that ultimately play a role in the conflict and in the way that the conflict is resolved. It felt organic almost. Perhaps the conflict scene is a bit contrived, but honestly, I was just enjoying myself way too much to care about a little bit of over the top villainy. However, you know the movie John Tucker Must Die? Or the way Legally Blonde treats Warner at the end? That's what I wanted as my epilogue. All the ways Tucker is now entirely irrelevant. And preferably penniless. ANYWAY, I really loved this book is the point.

Maybe I'll have to come back to this one in a different headspace? But the super wealthy rich people problems turned me off. I've heard brilliant things about the author, so it's likely just the trope for me!

I really enjoyed this one! It took a little for me to be fully invested in the story but once I was this was great. This book has the alluring writing that I have come to expect from Bellefleur. The chemistry between the two MCs is definitely apparent and will have you rooting for them. This is also full of fun little Taylor Swift references so if you are a Swiftie you’ll likely enjoy finding those.

Love is not a strong enough word for how I feel about this book. The characters? Obsessed. The engagement of convenience? Perfectly done. The tension? Off the charts.

I am obsessed with this book. As soon as I finished, I immediately wanted to read it again. Alexandria Bellefleur is a genius and I will be taking no questions about it at this time.

Tansy is our wallflower Cinderella, just trying to keep her dad's bookshop (the only thing she has left from his side of the family) in business, while also trying to avoid situations where she'll run into her crappy ex-bf. Gemma is the Serena van der Woodson of the newspaper publishing world who was unfathomably been left the controlling stake in the business when her grandfather passes away, but on the condition that she be legitimately married. Cue the engagement.

I just overall thought that this storyline was so well done. Both MCs had distinct voices and storylines and both experienced character growth throughout. The side characters were also interesting and mostly multi-dimensional (except for the aforementioned ex-bf who deserves nothing and should be left naked and alone on an island). The pacing was excellent and I was super invested the whole way through. I really can't say enough good things.

Thanks to Netgalley and Avon & Harper Voyager for the ARC of this!

I am absolutely obsessed with Alexandria Bellefleur and this one was no exception! On top of being adorably queer, the tropes were all my favorites: fake dating/marriage of convenience and book related jobs. This was an absolute joy to read.

It's no secret that I'm a fan of queer romance, and I am long overdue in checking out Alexandria Bellefleur's work. I was so excited to receive an ARC for The Fiancée Farce, and it fulfilled every (high!) expectation I had for it.

Tansy, exhausted by her family’s relentless inquiries as to why she’s too busy for family dinners, invents a relationship - using romance cover model Gemma West as her fake girlfriend. When Gemma shows up at a family wedding six months later, Tansy’s secrets are about to come to light - except it turns out that a relationship is exactly what Gemma needs in order to meet the conditions laid forth in her grandfather’s will, to take ownership of the family publishing empire.

Fake dating with extra high stakes, there are some really fun scenes as they get to know each other and plot their romance. Gemma and Tansy have chemistry that sparks off the page and I loved getting to know them, and I also really loved every scene with Gemma’s found family, who embrace Tansy with their whole hearts. It wouldn’t be a romance novel without some conflict along the way, including an obnoxious rich straight white dude who gets what’s coming to him courtesy of a well-placed glitter bomb, but the HEA makes it all worth it. The spice is also really fantastic - no fade to black here!

It is a fairy tale wedding right out of a bridal magazine. Tansy’s step-cousin is a beautiful bride in a gorgeous wedding gown; the groom, Tucker, is the handsome heir to the van Dalen family fortune; the decorations are perfect, the music is perfect, the cake is — of course — perfect. Then, Tansy has to go and catch the bouquet. And if that isn’t enough, in sweeps Gemma van Dalen like a sudden summer storm, a woman whose golden blonde perfection graced several romance novel covers, whose dagger-sharp smile makes Tansy’s heart race. Gemma van Dalen, who has no idea who Tansy is.

Unfortunately, Gemma is also the woman Tansy told her family she’d been dating. For six months. It was a stupid lie, meant to get her out of family dinners. Now, with Gemma grinning down at her like a cat deciding between cream or a canary, all Tansy can do is prepare for the worst. Instead, she finds herself caught in an even bigger lie as Gemma airily declares Tansy her fiancée and whisks her off to dance.

Gemma needs a wife sometime between now and the next three months in order to inherit her grandfather’s fortune and keep it out of Tucker’s greedy hands. And what better bride than someone she’s been”dating” for six months? It’s not like Tansy can say boo; after all, the lie was her idea first.

What begins as a business negotiation — Gemma will give Tansy the money she needs to buy her bookstore from her stepmother and Tansy will go through with the wedding — becomes something else as Tansy finds herself falling in love with the whirlwind that is Gemma van Dalen, all while Gemma finds her own heart being caught in the gentle, caring hands of a very protective and loving Tansy Adams.

What are you supposed to do when you fall in love with your fiancée? Maybe … try dating?

Tansy’s first forays into romance ended tragically when, at sixteen, her older boyfriend not only took pictures of her, but shared them around the school along with salacious details. Her reputation was ruined and the school, not wanting to offend the van Dalen’s family money, covered up what Tucker had done to her. Now, Tansy just wants to be left alone. Dating is hard, but it’s even harder when combined with her trauma, her anxiety, and her inability to trust people. Making up a fake girlfriend to get a respite from her family seemed like such a good idea at the time.

But Gemma, the person, is so much more than Gemma, the idea. Because they’re both in on the same scheme, Gemma sees no reason to lie about anything between the two of them. After all, they have to stay married for two years, and it’s better to go into that as friends and partners. This lack of expectation, with the ground rules laid out before her, makes it easy for Tansy to take a breath and move forward with their shared scheme. Gemma makes it easy, almost too easy, offering up the most breathtaking gifts with the ease of someone for whom money has never been an issue. Her love language is gifts, and Tansy has never really had someone gift her anything. Not the way Gemma does.

Gemma’s childhood has always been one of disappointing her father, who took away all parenting rights from her mother when he divorced her. Gemma acted out for attention, and attention she got. Yelling, insults, boarding school, scathing contempt. With Tansy, it’s different. When a reporter tries using Gemma’s wild past against her, Tansy is right there, defending her. When Gemma opens up about her past — the good and the bad — Tansy doesn’t judge her. Instead, it’s acceptance, acknowledgement that they’ve both been hurt, and steadfast support when she needs it.

This story is a gooey, glittery, frosting-filled romance that does everything I wanted and expected it to do, and does it so well, so effortlessly that it was there and gone in one sitting. You have the fake fiancée, of course, as well as the backstabbing family, the plucky friend group, sparkly revenge, and just desserts. It’s such a light, flaky pastry of a book that will either work for you … or leave you wanting more. The writing is effortless, and the characters are exactly as they appear. The villains are all suitably villainous, and the happy ending feels right out of a Hallmark movie. If you give it a try, I hope you enjoy it!

This was a very enjoyable sapphic romance story with two of my favorite tropes: fake engagement and marriage of convenience.I haven't read any of Alexandria's books prior to this one, but I can tell you that I'll definitely be reading them now. Bellefleur writes with such striking openness and charm, I had a hard time pausing this audiobook. It was a real joy to listen to this story. The fake engagement romance can be a little over the top sometimes, especially if it's a bit too drama heavy, but the conflict in this book felt reasonable and realistic. Plus, I really appreciate how it was all resolved in the end - the ending was perfect.

I loved the chemistry between the characters, Tansy and Gemma work so great together. They have that "opposites attract" thing going on, at least on the surface, and as the story progresses they discover they're more alike than they initially realized. The romance part was amazing, and there was a good amount of spice for a newbie romance reader like myself. Overall this was really fun and I recommend it to anyone looking for a feel good romance story.

When Tansy’s father died, her stepmother inherited her family’s bookstore and Tansy had to grow up with her stepfamily. They’ve always been very nosy so, to avoid some family events she doesn’t want to attend, Tansy says that she’s been dating someone and the first person that she could think of was Gemma, a romance novel cover model.

Everything is great until Gemma herself shows up. Tansy thinks she’ll have to come clean, but to her surprise, Gemma acts as if they were actually dating. Tansy is very confused, so Gemma later explains to her that her grandfather died recently and left her the family’s company, but she can only inherit it if she is married by the time of the annual board meeting in a few months, so this lie could benefit both of them. As they spend time together, they get to know each other and the romance between them becomes less fake each day.

I really enjoyed this modern take on the marriage of convenience trope. Both Tansy and Gemma are great and lovable characters and I really wanted them to be happy. I found it very refreshing how they solved the issues between them by being honest and communicating instead of the very annoying miscommunication trope.

I also love that it’s set in Seattle and I could imagine them in Tansy’s bookstore or in Gemma’s family’s home in Medina. And characters from Alexandria Bellefleur’s previous books were mentioned here!

Thank you @avon and @netgalley for the ARC of The Fiancée Farce.

I was absolutely charmed by this book less than two full chapters in. Tansy and Gemma immediately stole my heart.

I found the plot perfect. The marriage of convenience trope was done so well. I honestly didn’t see the twist coming.

And I absolutely adored the Epilogue! Alexandria Bellefleur is now an auto buy author.

The audiobook was top notch. I found a new audiobook narrator that I love!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher. I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a great take on marriage of convenience and was a soft, swoony, and funny romance. I loved that the marriage helped save a family bookstore. The found family as always was delightful, especially with such a terrible blood family. I'm just obsessed with this and all of the books that Alexandria writes.

I made it halfway through before officially calling it quits. It makes me extremely sad because it started off really fun but it had such a weird blend of speed of light fast and glacially slow? Marriage of convenience is one of my favorite tropes so I was super excited to see it in a contemporary sapphic setting. Unfortunately, it lacked the depth and the development of their connection. I can buy insta-lust but it has to go somewhere before I turn 90. Oh and what was with all of the side characters all being horrible people?? I wanted to swoon not be annoyed.

I loved The Fiancée Farce! Filled with tropey romantic goodness, I love fake dating and it’s done so well here. Our main characters are so lovable, individually and together. On the outside looking in, Gemma’s the disaster and Tansy’s the good girl, how could they ever work being so different? But they do! This was fake dating done well, the relationship felt very real and the ending was just excellent. There’s so much excellent queer romance coming out these days and this is one of my recent favorites.

I’ve not read anything by Alexandria Bellefleur before this but I’ve got to now!

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Five stars does not accurately depict just how obsessed I am with this book. Also, forget book boyfriends when Gemma van Dalen is in the picture. She is top tier book GIRLFRIEND material and I love her.

This is my favourite book by Alexandria Bellefleur. Even four books in, you can sense that her writing has grown and shifted and that she is really settling into her craft. She created so many incredible characters in this book, both to love AND to hate. And Gemma and Tansy are two MC’s that will stick with me for a very long time.

A romance cover model and a bookshop owner? And it's sapphic?!? YES PLEASE,

This was such a cute romcom! I love that it was low-angst. Sometimes, you just need a light read, and this book was wonderful.

ADORABLE. ADORABLE. ADORABLE. I could not have loved this more!!

Go read this now and thank me later 💕💕💕

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a really sweet sapphic romance and it makes my heart so, so happy to see more queer stories on our bookshelves.

Read if you like:
-Fake Engagements
-Modern Marriage of Convenience
-Opposites Attract
-Instalove
-Queer found family
-Taylor Swift references

For me, it didn't quite land. The relationship felt a bit unrealistic from the start and I stronglyyyy dislike the instalove trope. The main characters were sweet (I really liked Gemma), but they fell for each other far too quickly imo. I was also just a bit bored. Which is consistent with my experiences with Alexandria's other books. She just may not be for me.

If the above tropes are your jam, I do definitely recommend! The audiobook (thank you Librofm!) was also really enjoyable.

I have read a book by this author before and wasn't the biggest fan of it, but a part of me was still curious to check out other books by this author and I'm really glad I thought that way. This book was really good, very addictive, and just a fun time while also having some great emotional depths to it as well. I really liked the themes of dysfunctional family, and being the black sheep in your family. I also like how those themes were tied into some found family stuff. Gemma's friend group was WAY larger than life and I loved their addition to the story. It really made this book pop. The romance was also just incredibly cute. There are some over the top/unrealistic elements to it, but like what did you expect from a book with this premise? However, the actual romance was rooted in so many great conversations between our two leads that really made them connect to each other besides just that instant attraction to each other. I also loved how our two leads where each other's biggest cheerleaders and were constantly hyping each other up. It just made me squee with joy. So yeah, I wasn't fully in love with this book but I did really enjoy it and I'm glad I gave this author another chance and can't wait to read even more by her now.