this one is a strong work, yes, so maybe a recommendation. BUT, a few reservations: 1) i didn't expect a book with THAT cover to be so sex-scene-filled. They were well written but caught me off guard. 2), the game show aspect was not very big and came in fairly late in. BUT positives: main chars were utterly adorable, realistic depiction of grief, nice romance, and the game show concept was kinda fun :D 4 ish

If you love gameshows, especially Super Market Sweep, and M/M romances with a lot of steam, The (Fake) Dating Game is perfect for you.

Following Holden James after a recent break-up with his long term boyfriend, he heads to Hollywood to try out for a spot on Madcap Market, his favorite gameshow. Madcap Market holds a special place in Holden's heart and he used to watch it all the time with his mother before she passed. When the last chance of having a partner for auditions seems to be slipping away, he forms a friendship, and later fake relationship, with his hotel concierge, Leo Min. Together they come up with a fake relationship formed through the fan forums for Madcap Market to help their chances to be on the show and win the grand money prize.

I am a big fan of Supermarket Sweep and the Madcap Market comparison to it is what drew me into the novel. The (Fake) Dating Game is a quick breezy M/M romance with a lot of steam. If you don't like your doors wide open in romances, stay far away. There was a scene with a cucumber that I found questionable, but otherwise I was here entirely for this novel. After this romance I definitely want to go look into the backlist for Janovsky.

Thank you to Harlequin and Netgalley for a copy in exchange for review consideration.

Holden James has a dream to be a contestant on his favorite gameshow as a tribute to his late mother, who he always watched it with. His dream is about to go up in smoke after his boyfriend (who he was about to ask to join him on the show) dumps him and his backup plan also falls through. While drowning his sorrows in his sketchy hotel room in LA, he’s rescued by the sexy concierge, Leo Min, who shows up at his door with pizza and Monopoly to help pull Holden back from his pit of despair.

The chemistry sizzles between Holden and Leo which gives Holden an idea. If they can fool the casting directors into believing they are a real couple then Holden can fulfill his dream of being on the show and use the money to turn his life around if they win. Leo could use the money too so he’s on board with the plan. But convincing the casting directors may be the easiest part of their plan - lying to loved ones, confronting buried grief, and trying not to fall for his new partner will be the true challenge.

This story was lighthearted and fun but with a surprising depth surrounding Holden finally facing the grief over losing his mother several years earlier. Things are going horribly wrong for Holden when we first meet him but luckily his path crossed with Leo. I loved Leo’s character. He was very “go with the flow” but had depth too. The two of them together were cute. I liked their banter and they had good chemistry - which helped their cause to fool the casting directors. One thing I particularly liked was that they communicated well. They were clear with their arrangement, and when it felt like things might be changing between them, they acknowledged it.

I enjoyed all the build-up to their appearance on the show but I wish their actual time on the show didn’t come so late in the story and lasted for longer than it did. It was still fun, particularly with the angst that popped up, but I wish there had been more! Overall, though, I had a fun time reading this one!

🛒 MM Romance 👬
🛒 Fake Dating
🛒 Game show contestants
🛒 Spicy 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Fake Dating Game by is an MM Romance by Timothy Janovsky. Since childhood Holden James has dreamed of winning Madcap Market, a TV game show filmed in Los Angeles. But after flying cross country there’s just one little problem, he needs a partner. When all hope seems lost, he meets Leo, the handsome hotel concierge. The two concoct a plan to pretend to date so that they can split the cash prize. But what starts as pretend, quickly turns confusing as feelings develop between the two.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, and look forward to picking up other books from this author. It was surprisingly smuttier than I expected it to be, which I’m not mad about, but definitely caught me off guard. The connection between the characters felt authentic and I found them to both be likable. My only gripe about this book is that I wish more of the book featured the actual game show. The book seemed to skim through it, and I think that that setting set some of the more interesting scenes in the book.

Nearly obsessed with the Madcap Market game show he used to watch with his late mother, Holden dreams of playing on it in her memory. When announcing a surprise trip for him and long time boyfriend Buckley to try out ends up in a surprise public breakup instead, he starts to lose hope. Still, he makes the trip and tries to find another partner.

Leo is, well was, a floating concierge stationed at Holden’s hotel. Freshly fired, and really not looking forward to telling the mother he still lives with, the excuse to not be at home and the potential prize money have him agreeing to fake being a couple with Holden and try out for the show.

To start, it seemed like things were going so well that it felt like the least fake ‘fake relationship’ I’d read in a while. And that was great, enjoying the joy and all that! Eventually though the other shoe dropped and a surprise (or two) got me a little rage-y.

At one point in the book ex boyfriend Buckley is referred to as “a Disney animated villain come to life” and honestly? I couldn’t come up with a better description. Basically cartoonishly evil, he’s easy to hate, but then it gives the later resolution an extra punch (an emotional one, surprisingly not to the face)

The behind the scenes peeks of the show, the game itself, trivia -the scavenger hunt!- were interesting and sounded like a blast. Even though I am sure I would have failed miserably at most of that, I thoroughly enjoyed reading about *them* thriving!
I was definitely cheering on Holden and Leo and hoping for the relationship to completely drop the ‘fake’ label.
Spicier than any of the author’s other books I’ve read, but still with all the emotions you’d expect - I thought it struck a good balance, and I enjoyed it!

Thanks to NetGalley and harlequin for the arc!

This was a hard one to get into for me. The insta-lust and the immediately sharing a room together but not sleeping together just felt weird to me. Neither main character were particularly memorable to me.

The plot wasn’t strong and I didn’t feel any chemistry between the characters.

The (Fake) Dating Game is a sweet and deceptively deep queer romance focused on Holden James and Leo Min. When we meet Holden, he is focused on auditioning for his favorite game show, Madcap Market, as a tribute to his mom. After a sudden breakup, he finds himself in Los Angeles looking for a last-minute partner. Here comes Leo, a concierge that Holden has immediate chemistry with. As they get their dating plan together for Madcap Market, the two quickly fall for each other and have to confront their (fake) feelings.

I enjoyed the story, and both Holden and Leo's relationships with their respective parents are a highlight, especially with grief being a central theme throughout the story.

Thank you to Afterglow Books (Harlequin Romance) and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

*reaches for fire extinguisher* WHOA I thought this actually set a fire with how steamy it was! I really enjoyed this, but it was, I admit, a little too steamy for me. I loved the love story and loved Leo and Ms. Min 🥹. At the end I was left wanting more character development, more game show craziness, and less steam. The ending wrapped up a little too quickly for me. All things considered, this wasn’t my favorite Janovsky book, but I immediately (and I mean immediately) picked up another one!

If you’re looking for a book that is solely a fun romp with a romance thrown in, you might enjoy this. Unfortunately, although it definitely has some entertaining moments that made me laugh, I just wasn’t able to get into this one. The romance felt very forced and unrealistic to me, so I never felt connected to the characters. The main character’s actions also constantly infuriated me - I don’t think he made one smart choice in this entire book. I’ve read a previous Janovsky book and really enjoyed it, but this one just wasn’t for me.

This is a delightful fake dating rollercoaster of a rom-com novel! We're up, we're down, and we're bending in precarious directions! It blends a reality game show, familial grief, young love, and steam! Team Eggplant for the win :) There's a lot of laughter, some heartache, and unexpected romance. I really appreciated the chemistry and witty banter between the MCs - Holden and Leo. Overall, a super fun, unique rom-com with more depth than I anticipated at face value.

Sincere thanks to NetGalley & Harlequin for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

The (Fake) Dating game is a heartfelt and funny rom-com from Timothy Janovsky. In this story we follow Holden as he is still processing his mother’s passing from six years ago all while now being freshly broken up with. On top of that he is now travelling to LA to fulfill a shared dream of both him and his mother’s to be on their favorite game show, Madcap Market. There is a catch, however, he needs a partner or else he can’t audition. Enter, Leo Min, the sexy concierge working at the hotel he’s staying at. When their circumstances drive them together, they decide if they can fake it till they make it, they could audition, maybe even win, and leave with the grand prize of 100,000 dollars. As pressure mounts, will the fake actually make or will Holden succumb to his grief and broken heart.
 
Janovsky has created a delightfully funny, extremely sexy, and heartwarmingly emotional novel that traverses many forms of grief: grief in the wake of losing a loved one, grief in losing a relationship, and even the grief in losing oneself along the way. Packed into a tight knit story, Janovsky has explored how we change in the face of these forms of grief in our MC Holden and I love how he addresses the way Holden navigates this to find his way back to himself and finally let himself be loved. Grief is a powerful thing, and it can be hard to process for many people and I only hope that stories like Holden’s can resonate. Ultimately, grief and love are intertwined, and this story weaves them beautifully making you care so much for Holden and his fight to win this gameshow and find love. With these heavy topics, Janovsky also balances these sadder moments with heartwarming and funny ones making the book tug at your heart all while uplifting you.
 
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Holden’s story and even cried my way through the end. A quick and emotional, funny and sexy novel, I highly recommend picking this up when it comes out.
 
Thank you Harlequin Books and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Pub Date: Jan 23, 2024

Scarf Rating: 🧣🧣🧣🧣🧣 (5/5)

Taylor Swift songs I associate with this book: The Best Day, Cruel Summer, invisible string, happiness, marjorie, Sparks Fly, How You Get The [Boy]

This was a cute, easy ,fun, unique read!

I really enjoyed the characters in this book. Our main character lost his mom years ago and has vowed to do everything he can to go on her favourite tv show, be a contestant and win money to pay off some debt. When things don’t go right with his current boyfriend of 4 years he has to find another partner.

In a last minute turn around he meets this guy who works at his hotel in LA and convinces him to be his partner on the show and fake boyfriend (we love fake dating tropes) the chemistry between them is elite. There’s some spicy scenes!
They navigate this new relationship and end up delving deep into other issues in their lives along the way.

I enjoyed this story. There was a little depth, little spice, lots of fun, and I smiled a lot!

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this in advanced in exchange for my honest opinion

I really enjoyed Timothy Janovsky's Boy Meets Boy series, so I was excited for the opportunity to read his new novel, The (Fake) Dating Game. This was a cute, queer rom-com that followed Holden James, a recently dumped 20-something year old who's main aspiration is scoring a spot on Madcap Market to honor his late mother. After said dumping, Holden still decides to still take his trip to LA in the hopes of finding a partner willing to compete with him. Everything that could go wrong does and his first day ends with him wallowing in his hotel room blasting Taylor Swift. His savior comes in the form of a cute desk clerk named Leo who brings him pizza and distracts him with a game of Monopoly. When their casual night in begins to steam up, however, their relationship begins to take a more complicated turn. To further entangle them to one another, Leo also agrees to compete with Holden on Madcap Market. The two hatch a plan and figure they would have a better shot being cast if the competed as a couple; cue one of my favorite tropes: fake dating!

This was a fun, short read. I liked the characters and was happy when they got their HEA. I feel like the ending lost me a little bit, but otherwise I really enjoyed the book. I look forward to more books from this author!

This is a weak entry into the romance genre from Janovsky. The fake dating premise is already a personal least favorite, but this is an unappealing and unrealistic take on the trope. The main character is sympathetic but at times grating to read about. In a romance novel, the romance should surely be the strongest component of the book, but I did not buy Holden and Leo as a couple. The two leads and their respective family issues were the bright spots in this otherwise forgettable book.

Thanks so much to the publisher for the advanced e-book!

Any book that I can binge read in a few hours is a 5 star from me! I LOVED this! I know it is just January but this will likely be one of my top romances of the year! TFDG is steamy, heartfelt, funny, full of things I LOVE (Taylor Swift! Monopoly! Nostalgic gameshows I watched as a child!), and just overall made me smile! I love Holden and Leo SOOOO much.

One of the big themes in this book is grief. Holden lost his mom a few years prior to the book timeline and a lot of the plot centers around Holden finally confronting and tackling his grief. I felt the author handled this topic with such kindness and care and he even included a gentle content warning at the beginning of the book for folks who might not be ready to read this kind of content yet.

Somehow Janovsky's is getting better with each book and I think this is his best book yet! (and it definitely
is his steamiest book yet!)

I've said before that Timothy Janovsky always delivers a solid romance read and The (Fake) Dating Game was no exception.

Holden wasn't my favourite of Janovsky's MCs, but he was charming in a lot of ways. I think the end of the story was the strongest part and I really loved the way Holden faced his issues head on before getting into a new relationship.

As well, the themes of grief were really beautifully interwoven and the ending had me crying, which I wasn't expecting from a book about faking dating to get onto a game show.

I will say that I found myself skimming the spicy scenes a bit, but I think maybe I just wasn't in the mood for a spicy book and this was definitely Janovsky's spiciest. Although I did like the focus on consent during those scenes and Holden and Leo's relationship was overall very healthy.

If you want an emotional and sweet queer read, I'd definitely recommend picking up this one!

This was the quick, fun read I needed after a disappointing thriller before. But I would like to note this book is charming in its own right. I would like to thank the publisher for the ARC. Because this book left me on a high.

This is such fun and charming romance novel that will interest most millennials because its plot revolves around a Supermarket Sweep-type game show (do I need to say more?). The story is told from Holden's POV, a character who is finding himself a bit lost as he's grieving the passing of his mother, and the sudden dissolution of his long-term relationship leaves him without a partner to audition for said supermarket game show with. Enter Leo, a hotel concierge Holden bonds with over pizza and break-up songs, and a fake dating plot is born. I loved the time that they spent getting to know each other as they prepared for their audition and how they found commonality in feeling a bit unmotivated in their professional lives (a reassuringly realistic experience for twenty-year-olds).

I've really enjoyed Janovsky's previous books and this was another great romance that is definitely much spicier than the rest. I have a few quibbles with the role his ex plays later in the book and the dreaded 3rd act inevitability, but honestly, these are small complaints.

Highly recommend this to all romance readers! Many thanks to Harlequin and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The (Fake) Dating Game was a light read that, although I didn't five-star-love it, makes me want to read more by Timothy Janovsky.

Basically, this book is a good time and readers seriously can't crack the spine expecting to take the plot or characters too seriously. That being said, my biggest disappointment with the book is how quickly the two MCs trusted each other when it came to sex. I mean, really? They just met and don't anticipate seeing each other again, but ok you say you're STI-free so let's forego condoms? Can we please quit normalizing this in fiction? Please?

Other than that, the characters were well matched, and I enjoyed their banter and how all-in Leo is with the game show even though it's clearly Holden's obsession and not Leo's. It's clear that Holden is working through so many layers of grief throughout the narrative, and Leo seems like such a good guy, supportive in a genuine way even when he could easily have walked away.

I'd recommend The (Fake) Dating Game to any of my spicy-romance loving pals. There's nothing really new here, but who needs 'new' when reading can be this much fun?

Tw: Previous parent death, Grief of a lost parent

Holden James gets a chance to compete in Madcap Market and it seems like everything is going perfectly. He’ll honor his mother’s memory by competing in the beloved game show they watched together, and who better to compete with him than his current boyfriend of four years? Except at dinner after Holden asks his boyfriend dumps him, seemingly out of the blue.

Cut to four weeks later. It’s the week of the auditions for the game show and Holden is out of options in his quest to find someone to compete with. As he drowns his sorrows via a hotel minibar blasting Taylor Swift, there’s a knock at his hotel door. There stands Leo Min, a cute concierge, with pizza and Monopoly, providing solutions to Holden’s problems in more ways than one. Will a fake relationship be enough to get them on the show for a chance at the $100,000, and maybe a shot at love?

I am OBSESSED with the 1990’s show Supermarket Sweep. When they put those old episodes on streaming, I watched them on repeat until my husband was sick of it. So, when I read the description for this book, I had to read it. The beginning is a little bumpy. Some of the dialogue is cringey, especially between Holden and Leo. If you can push through that it becomes a bit more authentic. There’s a lot of self-reflection and the two MMCs seem surprisingly emotionally intelligent when faced with different obstacles in life. I found myself rooting for them.

I’ll be honest, this book is waaaaaay hornier than I expected. I usually like a little more plot with my spice, and I rarely enjoy insta-love tropes. This book was somewhere in the middle, and the growth Holden goes through was worth it. I’d read more by this author.

Thanks to Harlequin Romance and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.