Thank you Burkley Publisher Group and NetGalley for the Advanced Readers Copy.

This was every bit the fluffy paranormal romance I wanted it to be! It was funny and spicey and exactly what I needed. I loved the werewolf aspect, I have not read a lot of this kind of werewolf book so for me the alpha and omega aspects were a fresh dynamic as were some of the physical aspects of the characters. I enjoyed every second of this and recommend it to anyone who wants a fun paranormal romcom. Would be ecstatic if Lana wrote another book in the same universe, I am very interested in a society where there are so many werewolves just doing everyday human things and everyone knows their werewolves, so normalized they have medical leave for werewolf related activities. Great read!

I am Knot kidding you when I say this was one of my favorite books of the year!!

Lana Ferguson is an automatic buy author for me, because I truly feel like she can do no wrong. And The Fake Mate was another piece of evidence for this claim, because it felt like the book of my dreams was finally written and available for me.

I have been a fan of omegaverse stories, shifters, and knotting for a long time...hello my WattPad, A03, and fanfic days I have missed you. But what I never expected while reading all of them when I was younger, was seeing these come to traditional publishing in the form of a Grey's Anatomy esque Rom-Com. And honestly if younger me knew this would be a thing, she probably would have been insufferable with how much she talked about it. Not that I'm saying I am not now as an adult also driving people insane with how much I rave about this book...

What I love about Lana Ferguson's writing, is she is a perfect balance of spice and comedy in her rom-coms. Her books have made me laugh out loud while reading, while also getting hot and bothered with the spicy scenes in a perfect combination. In The Fake Mate not only did she combine these two things, but she also added her own take to shifters and omegaverses. And I found myself completely obsessive and was devouring this book within a little over a day while at a book convention.

I should also mention this book gives off Grey's Anatomy vibes. Not only is is set in a hospital setting but it has the drama you would expect from a Grey's episode, so if you want to see a paranormal romance take on that I would 100% suggest picking up this book.

I don't think she could have paired a better couple than Mackenzie and Noah. I mean a sunshine, soup-loving, omega meets an alpha growly grump? Truly name a better dynamic duo, I dare you.

Mackenzie and Noah get tangled up in each other due to both needing to find a significant other for their own reasons. And so ensues the fake relationship shenanigans that lead them both down to a sexual tension fueled rabbit hole, where lines between fake and real begin to blur. Especially once Noah learns Mackenzie is an omega, the perfect match to his alpha. Soon enough the temptation to learn just how good it can be between an alpha and omega leads them to give in to the tension.

Mackenzie and Noah just might be one of my favorite OTPs of all time, because I love them so much.

Please note this book contains Knotting, one of my personal favorite spicy tropes!!! And let's just say Lana Ferguson did it justice and I will forever be in her debt for creating this perfection in a paranormal rom-com. Oh and beware because this book contains the spice you expect from Ferguson and it is utterly decadent.

Overall this book was everything I could ever want in a book and I will be joining Lana Ferguson's fan club (Knotty Little Things) because she has yet to miss when it comes to becoming my new obsessions/hyperfixations. Thank you to Lana for giving me the book of my dreams, and introducing a new group of readers to the joys of knotting and omegaverses.

Oh this was really fun! Kind of a 'shifter-lite' version of a paranormal romance, heavy on the smexy scenes, with hospital politics at play. Definitely one of my favourite reads this year! I liked the idea of the fake relationship trope but with wolf shifters.

This was a SUPER cute read. Our two main characters start fake dating (fake mating?) for mutually beneficial reasons and oops - they end up falling for each other! Surprisingly alpha/omega relationship in a modern rom-com setting and it totally works. Could have used a tiny bit more editing but it had me giggling and kicking my feet. I'm very excited to read more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for providing the ARC.

I'm normally not into shifter romances, but I love Lana Ferguson so I figured I'd give it a shot. It turns out that even the omegaverse can be improved with goos writing.

I enjoyed the story of Mack and Noah and the crazy predicament they ended up in. The normally taciturn Dr. Taylor needs a fake .mate to appease the board once they realize he's an alpha shifter. And Dr. Carter needs a favor when she accidentally blurts out his name to her interfering grandmother. It has everything you'd expect from a fake dating romance - just add in the omegaverse and you've got yourself a strong piece of shifter fiction.

I had WAY too much fun with this book but loved every single second so much and truly cannot get these two out of my head. its sweet and adorable and primal and possessive and sexy and nuanced and funny and HOT HOT HOT. I’m not the most well-rounded in the omegaverse but I had an absolute blast and thought this was a great book for anyone looking for a easy introduction to the omegaverse as it is simple yet sexy as hell. I truly had so so so much fun. Psa though: the audiobook is not safe for work. I learned that the hard way and had to suffer the consequences of my own actions

Never thought I'd be reading a mainstream omegaverse novel on main but here we are! "The Fake Mate" is a delightful rom-com about Mackenzie, a doctor and an omega, who enters into a fake dating relationship with Noah Taylor, the hospital's resident grump who happens to be the perfect alpha for her. The book reminded me a lot of recent successful romcoms like "The Love Hypothesis," so even if the omegaverse seems daunting to new readers of the subgenre the character dynamics will be familiar. This was a quick, steamy read I thoroughly enjoyed!

This is not my usual genre, but I gave this a chance and I am not disappointed.
I did enjoy the story: young ER doctor and grumpy, slightly older cardiologist come to a mutual agreement to fake date/mate.
Since this was my first shifter romance, I was a total newbie to the scenting, but more than that, I had NEVER heard about knotting. I had no idea what knotting was or what it meant in this situation, so I googled it. Needless to say, that was quite eye-opening.
It had some spicy parts, where the alpha came out. However, there were also some very funny moments. If you, like me, are a newbie to the shifter genre, or a longtime fan, I believe you will enjoy this book.

LOVE KNOTTINGGGGGGGG!! The fact that this book is an omegaverse between two doctors is honestly so freaking badass & I just loved it all around! And as with every Lana book you read, you will come to realize that they are all HOT and this book definitely brought the HEAT (in more ways than one hehehe).

Mack is struggling in the dating department & honestly has had enough of her grandma trying to set her up. So she thinks up a lie that she’s actually already dating someone. But when she is asked of a name, she blurbs out the first person she sees, who happens to be the grumpiest of grumps in the entire hospital: Noah. What she doesn’t expect is for the two of them to come to a fake mating agreement that will help both of them out! Noah needs a mate & Mack needs a man. What could POSSIBLY go wrong!?

We get lots of spice, some drama, banter out of this world, and great side characters that will make you giggle!

Who doesn’t love a big ole grumpy hot doctor who’s mean status may or may not be ~grossly exaggerated~ and one that takes care of his (fake) mate when she isn’t feeling well:’) especially when the mate in question happens to be the cutest lil spunky ER doctor you ever did see. Listen my medical heart was just THRIVING during this book. *slow claps all around*

Spice: 3.5🌶️

Tropes:
Fake dating
Workplace romance
Forced proximity
Grumpy x sunshine
ER doc x cardiologist
Wolf shifters
Omegaverse
He falls first

I have read a lot of fake dating books but I have to say I have never read one like this! Two wolf shifters after to be fake mates! This paranormal romance is pure fun, plus how adorable is this cover? Look at the attention to detail with those paw prints!

Huge thank you to @berkleypub @berittalksbooks @thephdivabooks @dg_reads and @netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review
.

This is the spicy werewolf romance that I didn’t know I needed! Fake dating romances can be a lot of fun and this one certainly was just that. Mackenzie needs a fake boyfriend so that her grandmother will stop setting her up on awful dates while Noah needs a mate when his Alpha status becomes known at the hospital where they both work. It was incredibly entertaining to watch this pair try to figure things out.

I liked Mackenzie and Noah and thought that they made a great pair. As they spend time together, they find that the attraction between them isn’t fake at all. I thought that the chemistry between them was very well done and it was obvious pretty early on in the story that they both felt more for each other than they had planned when they made their fake dating arrangements. I thought that the secondary characters were really well done and added a lot to the story as well.

I listened to the audiobook and thought Samantha Summers and Joe Arden did an amazing job with this story. I thought that their voices complimented each other’s very nicely. Both narrators did a great job of bringing the characters to life through their reading by adding just the right amount of emotion to their narration. I am certain that their narration added to my overall enjoyment of this story.

I would recommend this book to others. I enjoyed Lana Ferguson’s previous book, The Nanny, and was excited to give this one a try. This story had a bit of a different feel since it had some paranormal elements but it was just as entertaining. I cannot wait to read more of this author’s work in the future.

I received a review copy of this book from Berkley Publishing Group and Penguin Random House Audio.

This was my first Omegaverse and I LOVED it. It was a great relationship of convenience but you fall in love with both the main character right from the jump.

Mackenzie cant seem to find 'mr. right' in her grandma's eye and she's sick of having to go on bad date after bad date so when she's on the phone with her grandma and she asks once again if she's seeing anyone the first person to come to mind is the grouchy Dr. Noah Taylor. And when her grandma keeps pushing her to meet THE Noah Taylor Mackenzie is forces to tell him and ask him to go along and in a shocking twist Noah is not only okay with the lie but wants her to tell the board they are actually mates so that he can continue working at the hospital.

The Facts: Shifter romcom, fake dating, alpha/omega, overprotective MMC, he falls first, grumpy vs sunshine.

Giirl.. GIRRRRLLLL.

Okay, so I'm not going to lie. Werewolves aren't my jam. (well, weren't), Yes, I was the 6th grader who wore the "I run with vampires" shirt, and I wholeheartedly think that my werewolf aversion was created because of Twilight and being Team Edward. But I knew, I KNEW, especially after read Lana's debut, The Nanny, that if ANYONE could change my mind about werewolves, it would be THE LANA FERGUSON.

And guess what!

I was right.

The proof? The first spicy scene, I was on the phone with my bestie, and I said, "Ya know, maybe werewolves are sexy." And time after time in the book, it was proven because Noah f*cking Taylor has some (or a lot) raw sex appeal. Also, Mack is one of the best FMCs I have ever read. She's fierce, witty, and just overall amazing. The story flowed incredibly well. I loved the dual POV aspect; I loved being in both Noah and Mack's heads. The wittiness of the writing in general pulled me in immensely. This was simply captivating with the sizzling romance of Mack and Noah. I couldn't recommend this one more (but I will continue to yell my love for this book from the rooftops of everywhere.)

If y'all want some fake dating doctors with a spice rating so nice that you gotta fan yourself, some laugh out loud scenes, and swoon-worthy moments, check this one out.

My new goal is to make sure I read the descriptions before starting a book lol if this is your cup of tea, I’m sure you’ll absolutely enjoy this one

I’ve been going back and forth about my rating on this one. I’m sitting at a 3.5 but rounding to 4. I still enjoy Ferguson’s writing and how easy it is to get drawn into her books.

I adored the dynamic of Noah and Mackenzie’s relationship. I’m a sucker for grumpy sunshine and this delivered and satisfied my cravings. I’m so glad this was dual POV because reading Noah’s train of thoughts made this much more enjoyable and I enjoyed reading about him realizing he was falling in love with Mackenzie. Chemistry? These two had that in waves. The sex scenes here were quite spicy. The cover of this book may be cute, but goodness was it hot!

So what didn’t work for me? I read a lot of omegaverse so I felt the overexplanation was a bit much. It made it come off as too descriptive. Along with that, it only seemed like it was used as a trope instead of actually being the way this world worked. While speaking of the characters; I love a good sex scene, this was a bit much. We honestly had more sex scenes than character development at times.

I don’t want to be too critical, but I saw the third act break up coming from a few pages into the book. It was predictable and I had the same feelings about her debut as well.

Now don’t get me wrong, even with the issues I had, I still enjoyed it for the most part. All in all, Ferguson’s writing was good as always and this story was easy to follow. The characters were good and I’m excited for her upcoming release next year.

Mackenzie, an ER doctor and wolf-shifter, needs a man to get her grandmother to stop with the matchmaking. Her dates have been awful and she’s tired of it. Dr. Noah Taylor needs a mate since someone has outed his Alpha status to the board of directors, and most fear that designation when the Alpha is not mated. Alpha shifters are supposed to be safer when they’re mated, so when Mackenzie asks him to fake-date he jumps at the chance if she’ll pretend to be his mate. Of course, their fake situation will lead to more. This is a romance, after all!

The Fake Mate was entertaining and hot! It grabbed my attention when I saw it was a shifter romance, since I love shifter stories, but I would call this shifter-lite, more focused on romance. Their romance was very spicy. I do enjoy spice in a romance, but sometimes, less is more. I ended up skimming after the first few because they went on and on.

The humor and banter were fun, and I enjoyed the grumpy/sunshine aspect, although, I think Noah was oblivious to his surroundings, focused on his job, more than a true grump. Noah and Mackenzie were both likable and relatable and it was easy to see they were made for each other and I enjoyed their journey to a real HEA!

Thank you for the ARC! This was such a fun book! I didn’t expect to like it as much as I did, but I had such a good time reading it. The chemistry between the two main characters was really cute and I love the take on the omega-verse. At times it did get a little annoying, but overall I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a fun, quick, fake dating/workplace romance!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🔥🔥🔥

Quick Breakdown

Medical Workplace
Grumpy x Sunshine
Opposites Attract
Fake Dating
Shifter / Omegaverse
He Cares for Her
Stern Brunch Daddy
Dual POV
Open Door - Moderate Detail

Sick of her grandmother’s matchmaking schemes, Dr. McKenzie Carter impulsively gives the name of her work acquaintance, interventional cardiologist, Dr. Noah Taylor when she shares she’s dating someone new. What she’s not expecting is Noah to agree as quickly as he does. Turns out, his alpha status has been uncovered, and he’s in need of a mate ASAP. He might be broody, but he’s not aggressive or dangerous like some people fear an unmatched alpha can be. As the two spend time together to promote this relationship, true feelings start to grow.

This was so fun! I fell for Lana’s writing with The Nanny & it’s back again with The Fake Mate. I don’t read many (any 🤭) shifter / omega-verse romances, which only made me more curious about this one. Luckily, Lana had shared a quick vocab guide to her page which came in handy, but I still found myself down a Google rabbit hole. This felt like a great intro to this paranormal world & I can see myself searching for more.

This had all the tropes I want in a romance: the forced proximity encouraged through fake dating between a sunshine pulling a grump out of his shell. I’m also always here for a medical workplace setting. My only qualm was the third act breakup felt out a bit abrupt & out of place but I did like how our FMC handled it.

Overall, I definitely recommend this one, especially to anyone curious about shifters & alpha / omega pairings & appreciates delicious spice 😉

I had never read a shifter romance prior to The Fake Mate, but after reading and loving Lana Ferguson’s spicy debut, The Nanny, I knew I wanted my first experience reading about shifters to be written by her. I made the right decision too. Not only is it a shifter romance, but it also features two of my favorite tropes, fake dating and grumpy-sunshine so I was definitely in my happy place reading this one.

The story follows Mackenzie (Mack) Carter and Noah Taylor, two wolf shifters who also happen to be doctors working at the same hospital. After a long string of disastrous dates, Mack has decided she is done with men for a while but is constantly having to dodge her grandmother, who is determined to find Mack a husband. As much as Mack loves her grandmother, she can’t take it anymore and during one particularly awkward conversation with her, blurts out that she is seeing Noah Taylor, the first man who happens to walk by while she is talking and absolutely the last man she would actually want to date. Desperate times call for desperate measures though, right?

Noah is dealing with a similarly sticky situation. He has hidden the fact that he is an Alpha male for years because of the stigma that surrounds that designation. When someone sends an anonymous tip to the hospital board, Noah has to either come clean to the board and risk his future or else convince them that he is nothing to worry about because he has a mate. When Mack approaches him to see if he would be willing to help her out, Noah, although shocked, reluctantly agrees since it sounds like this arrangement could solve both of their problems.

This was such a fun romance to read! Ferguson does a fabulous job with both the grumpy-sunshine and the fake dating tropes. I loved the initial snarky banter between the two of them and thoroughly enjoyed watching them get under each other’s skin. My favorite part of a fake dating relationship is when those fake feelings give way to something real and Ferguson handled this aspect so well. I adored watching Mack and Noah really start to open up to one another. That bond of trust that starts to build up between them is everything and I just ate it up!

The Fake Mate is full of humor and heart, as well as a heavy dose of spicy shifter love. It was everything I hoped my first time reading a shifter romance would be and more!

This gem of a book is now released to the public! I can’t convince you all to read this enough. If you don’t pick up a single other new release, snatch this one up!!

Mackenzie has a dilemma, her grandmother is being real pushy about her finding a mate. However, Mackenzie is tired of going on crappy dates. She turns to her grumpy coworker for help in being her fake mate. Noah has a dilemma of his own and this is perfect timing. Someone has disclosed to the hospital board his biggest secret, that he is an alpha. If he has a mate, that will keep everyone off his trail since alphas with mates are more tame. They agree to have a fake relationship to benefit them both, but of course, they realize that they both have feelings…

𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐈 𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐓 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐂𝐇𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐌𝐀𝐒 𝐈𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐀𝐇 𝐓𝐀𝐘𝐋𝐎𝐑

I loved everything about this book. It had great pace, great character development, an entertaining plot, laugh-out-loud banter, and spice that will make you sweat. What more could you ask for?? This book deserved every star it received and more!

Y’all, I’m feeling sick. I need Noah Taylor to come give me a checkup. I wanted to jump into this book and be Noah’s fake (but not so fake) mate. He is definitely one of my top book boyfriends for sure.

If you are looking for your next favorite spicy rom-com, pick this one up!