This was a really fun quick read where i could not put it down. I loved the characters and seeing them realize things about each other that they hadn't originally noticed. I am definitely recommending this as a fun summer read

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

3.4

Thanks to Joy Revolution and Netgalley for an ARC of this title. Caught in a Bad Fauxmance -- great Lady Gaga pun by the way -- initially promised an intriguing fake dating "winter" romp about two families with a decade long rivalry clashing for one final time at the Winter X Games, with more on the line than ever. I did enjoy some of the fake dating in the book but it ultimately failed to capture much of my interest in the end. Eight-tenths of the book had already been completed before we even got to the real competition! I simply don't believe the book delivered on many of it's promises, much of it being spent by the main character Devin and the love interest Julian dancing around each other while their families try to burn each other with their eyes. My feelings of disappointment were slightly negated by the cute cover and clear heart behind this debut.

This was cute! I kept forgetting that it wasn’t a summer book?? It’s set during the winter, but feels so much like a summer break book. I enjoyed the family rivalry. Caught in a Bad Fauxmance was a very funny and sweet read.

These were very well written characters and they felt very realistic and relatable. I was not a huge fan of the whole miscommunication during the book, but it was still an enjoyable book. However, it did feel a bit slow at first.

Thank you NetGalley and publishers for the arc. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

For years Julian and devins family have been enemies.
Until one winter they make a fake relationship.
Lgbtq

I started reading this book and it just wasn’t clicking for me. The synopsis sounded interesting, but the story was not holding my attention.

I liked this! I love that it’s a lake house story, but it’s NOT set in summer; just a warmer state. I think that’s a nice shift. It was about family and friendship and love and finding your own way. With a nice dash of neighbor rivalry.

I just didn’t like all the miscommunication and lying and not being willing to hear people out.

Absolutely adorable love story! It was a little frustrating when the characters sometimes thought the other didn't actually like him. Like of course you like each other. Just freaking tell each other and kiss

100000000/5 stars. Hands down one of my favorite books in the entire world :')

This book is everything you'd ever want in a rom-com AND MORE. Enemies-to-lovers, fake-dating, holiday romance?!?!? This book is filled with laugh out loud moments, purely chaotic moments, and swoony, heartfelt moments. The writing is snappy, funny, and fantastically descriptive. The characters are immensely lovable and are so easy to want to root for from the very first page. Devin and Julian share impeccable chemistry, their love for each other is palpable, and their banter is truly unparalleled.

I will never shut up about this book. It has exceptional diversity, queer and BIPOC representation (which the publishing industry is seriously lacking!!!), exceptional writing, and the most endearing familial and romantic relationships. Elle Gonzalez Rose expertly crafts a memorable story that tastefully discusses grief, familial relationships, and finding yourself. This book is so special and near and dear to my heart.

An absolutely wonderful debut, and I can't wait to get my hands on her forthcoming books! :) So proud of you Elle!

Such a cute book. I loved the banter and forbidden romance aspect. The chemistry between the characters was good. I enjoyed the summer vibes this gave off. I will definitely check out more books by Elle in the future. This book for me had just the right amount of romance and plot. Not sure if this was intentional but I also liked the sort of play on the Romeo and Juliet thing with the feuding family aspect. This was a great cute and light read if you prefer romances like that.

I loved this so much!! Yall already know how much I love fake dating books so this shouldn’t be a surprised but it was so great!! It also had rivals to lovers, misunderstandings, chaotic family drama, and the most swoon worthy moments 🥰 I loved that it was set in a summer-y place during the Christmas season! I didn’t expect that but it was a really fun surprise. I also loved the relationship between Devin & his siblings, it was definitely complicated at times but they really love each other so much! 🥺 The character development was also fantastic on so many levels! Just really really loved this one and highly recommend! 🥰

Rivals/enemies to fake dating is such a swing and I wish this book had pulled it off better.

Devin returns to the lake house from his childhood with his family only to find that their neighbors (and rivals) are still there and worse than ever. Except for one: Julian. And it’s him who approaches Devin with a fake-dating plan in order to get his dad (and ex) off his back. And Devin… Well, Devin tries to figure out his place in all of this.

I struggled with this one. The background story for the feud between these two families seemed to be both absurd and too much. The pranks that they families partake in aren’t “pranks” so much as “pointed cruelty.” Something is done to Devin’s sister that is so incredibly unforgivable that I couldn’t believe how quickly it all gets brushed under the rug.

I think that was my biggest frustration with this. There were parts that were silly and parts that were super serious. The juxtaposition between them gave me whiplash and nothing was super cohesive. A bummer because I feel like the premise was so promising.

Normally the rivals-to-lovers trop is interesting to me. Unfortunately, for it to work, the characters have to be interesting as well, which is not the case here. None of the main or secondary characters made me engage with the story, which was fairly predictable.

This was super cute. The writing style was fun and breezy which was perfect for a summer rivalry / fake dating story.

I could empathize with Devin's struggle to create and find what defines him as an artist, as well as his grief about his mother and fear that they would lose another piece of his memories of her and his anger and betrayal toward the Seo-Cookes.

Julian was a little harder to get a handle on because we don't see his POV, but he was sweet and charming and a little dorky and it was easy to believe Devin would fall for him.

Their siblings were more vicious about the rivalry than they were, which made it harder to like them, and they felt more there to advance the rivalry plot than anything. Well, not his stepbrother. He was just confused about the whole thing lol.

Isabel was wonderful and did such a good job of stepping into the role of mother figure without overshadowing their grief about their mom. I really liked her a lot. I liked Julian's mom too even though she wasn't really on page and we only see the results of her phone interactions with her children.

Honestly neither of their dads were good role models and were just childish about the whole thing. Thankfully they weren't on page a whole lot.

I didn't like the third act breakup, mostly because it didn't fit with what we are shown of Julian's character at all, but the resolution and grand gesture saved it for me.

Overall it was really sweet. My favorite scenes were the ones where they were able to set the rivalry aside and just enjoy being with each other. Luckily there were a lot of those. The audiobook was well done as well and the narrator did a good job bringing everyone to life.

*Thanks to Netgalley, Random House Children's, and Joy Revolution for providing an early copy for review.

Caught in a Bad Fauxmance is a cute rival to lovers romance! It was super sweet and just all around adorable. Really loved it

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

𝘼𝙣 𝙖𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙖𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙛𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙙𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙛𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙮’𝙨 𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙢𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙜𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙡 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙚𝙣𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙧𝙞𝙫𝙖𝙡𝙨 𝙤𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖𝙡𝙡.

📍 Read if you like:
• Enemies To Lovers
• Fake Dating
• LGBTQ+ Rep
• Love Stories

This was such a fun YA story between Julian and Devin, whose fake dating scheme ends up being something more than just rivals. I loved the rivalry between both families, Seo-Cooke and Baez. The feud was so intense and fun.

The cover completely threw me off, I thought it was set during summer, but it’s actually set during winter break. The games in this story were so fun and the pranks had me laughing.

I absolutely loved the campy vibes in this, and the characters were all so interesting (including the side characters). I think the author did a great job of portraying and handling grief in this book.

If you’re looking for a heartwarming and enjoyable debut novel with a touch of LGBTQ+ and Latinx rep, then I would highly recommend checking out this YA romance.

Thank you so much NetGalley and Joy Revolution for the review copy in exchange for my honest review!

•𝗧𝗪/𝗖𝗪: Death Of Parent, Grief

This was such a good book! Fake dating is in my top 3 favorite tropes so I already was psyched for this book & then it proceeded to blow me away. I loved the families, they felt so realistic to me. Devin & Julian’s chemistry was great, they had me kicking my feet like a teen.

This was a great debut & I cannot wait to read what else Elle Gonzalez Rose writes!

i adored this book from first to final page!

this is one of the best debut novels i have ever encountered. i was excited because the tropes and vibes sounded so excellent, and elle gonzalez rose absolutely delivered in the execution. caught in a bad fauxmance is equal parts funny and tenderhearted, and it has me itching for as much content as i can get my hands on about these characters. the queer representation shines through bright and honest.

this book will make you laugh until you cry, shout in triumph as you root for devin and julian and the baezes, and yearn for the taste of tres leches and love on your tongue. i highly recommend this to anyone who thinks it would be up their alley!

review will be posted to instagram shortly

Caught in a Bad Fauxmance by Elle Gonzalez Rose
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

This novel was a delight! I didn’t realize it was a romance set at the Christmas season until after I started reading and it fit in perfectly with all of my holiday reads.
This is a YA rom-com centering around the Seo-Cooke and Baez families who have been feuding at their cabins in Lake Andreas, Florida for as long as the now young adults in those families can remember. This Christmas vacation, the Baez family has returned to their cabin after a long absence and 19 year old Devin Baez runs into his nemesis Julian Seo-Cooke who, it seems, has grown up to be quite a hottie in the past few years. Julian is in need of a fake boyfriend and Devin could use some inside info to help his family in the Lake Andreas Winter Games, so the two enter into an agreement and their “fauxmance” begins.
This story was cute and the boys’ relationship, as well as the relationships within the Baez family, were really heartfelt. I would recommend this book to anyone in the mood for a short, sweet Christmas romance with summer camp vibes!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy, which I read in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to netgalley Random House Children's, Joy Revolution for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest opinion. This was such a fun and cute book. I loved the romance and the character development that took place throughout the book.