It was a very pleasant read. I loved how it was a perfect amalgamation of a very funny, well written light-hearted read. I simply loved and enjoyed it.

The Faking Game is a second chance romance story staged during the Christmas holidays. Millsy and Cara have broken up seemingly because they couldn't make long distance work. They pretend to be together for the families' sake during the holiday season but you can tell they really are pretending because they are unsure they should even be apart. It starts to feel like the only reason the two are not together is that Millsy is too laid back to say what he wants and Cara doesn't feel secure enough to tell him what she wants. There wasn't much tension between the couple, just a lot of sadness. The story is a quick read and has a lot of interesting side characters. Cara also has a pretty fun career and a lot of relatable dating mishaps as she tries to move on. Reading "The Plus One Pact" before this book is recommended but not needed to enjoy the story.
Thank you Netgalley and Boldwood Books for the chance to review this ARC.

[3.75⭐️]
Portia MacIntosh confirms herself as a master romance writer with this sweet little book.
This is a funny, light and fluffy rom-com perfect for the upcoming holiday season and that will put you already in Christmas mood. With her witty humor the author bring you along in a book that you can’t physically put down so if you’re into the fake dating and the second chance tropes I think you should totally give this book a chance

Thank you so much to netgalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

A second chance romance set in the holiday season? Sign me up. Cara and Millsy grew on me. I love the sizzling tension between them. I really enjoyed the comedy in this books thanks to Cara and her unfortunate dates. Also that overbearing aunt- I hope both sides of your pillows are warm

4.5 stars rounded up. A holiday romcom with a cute second chances story. The story was fun and cute and entertaining. Recommended for holiday romance lovers.

I went in thinking I would love this but it turns out, it’s just not for me. Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for this ARC though, I appreciate the opportunity to read it.

My issues: this is a second chance romance where exes are fake dating and pretending they never broke up for the sake of their families through the holidays. I’m totally on board. But even when I made it all the way to 30% I don’t see why they were ever in the first place. And they don’t even have animosity so there’s no tension even in a negative way. They seem pretty amicable albeit a bit sad but functioning in this post break up world nonetheless. Also, the spend the majority of 40% apart from each other anyway so there aren’t even many opportunities to have tension or angst. It’s single POV so it ends up just being Cara and a bunch of random scenes with other people.

I can tell this is supposed to be a rom com but most of the jokes I didn’t find funny. Could totally be a me problem but that’s my opinion. Most of the rom com scenarios didn’t reveal anything about the main character’s personalities, it was just awkward slapstick situations.

There are tropes listed in the description but don’t let the pepper fool you, this is fade to black. This doesn’t feel very trope-y which I see as a plus but it also doesn’t fit the description in my opinion.

This author and book reminds me of French Holiday by Sara Ready which I know some people really liked so if that is your vibe this book might be a fit for you like I wish it were for me!

Review
I expect nothing but hilarity from Portia and this one didn't disappoint.

Cara made me chuckle from start to finish. Despite their split, Cara and Millsy's chemistry is electric.

It's a fun read that eases you in to Christmas, the ending was the perfect end to such a fun filled book.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Real Rating: 3.5 stars

The Faking Game promises one of my favorite tropes: fake dating. This time, however, it was not between two strangers who are attracted to each other but deny it. Now, we were dealing with exes.

This incredibly easy-to-read romcom has a very compelling writing style, flows very well, and generally likable characters.

Cara and Joe "Millsy" dated but they broke up, however, not to ruin their family's big Christmas, decided to keep fake dating. The premise was very good, and, as mentioned, I couldn't put it down.

Unfortunately, it really didn't do it for me.

The communication between Cara and Millsy was little-to-none, they acted like children, despite the fact that they still had feelings for one another. Millsy had some guts to bring Tally over to "work." She was annoying and him spending so much time with her made no sense. He never dismissed her and constantly invited her places, including to their favorite restaurant. Why?

Cara and Millsy had chemistry but, in the midst of it all, I didn't find myself rooting for them, or caring about it so much. I also didn't like much that their spicy scenes were closed door, I feel like they could've worked as open door scenes.

It also looks like the author has previously written another book about the couple in question,The Plus One Pact, but I had no prior information that this would be part of a series. It's not marked anywhere as a sequel.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Cara and Millsy have broken up but their families don't know. They can't bare to ruin the holidays for their families so they have decided to fake it until the holidays are over. Cara is conflicted about her feelings and not so sure she wants things to be over. I loved the angst!! I truly liked both main characters and their journey.. This is a really good romantic read!

i read the first page and i thought i was gonna like it because there's nothing more i hate and relate to than toxic relatives overstepping their boundaries every chance they get. should've known i was jinxing it myself. the story wasn't really investing and neither were the characters. the writing was basic and the story wasn't something out of the box. female MC was kinda likable i guess but that didn't stand a chance against her ridiculousness. her matcher dates were hilarious so those were something i had fun reading because they are so true irl. coming to the male MC, didn't like, didn't care. u shouldn't be dragging your accent coach to every family festivities like that so unprofessional and so unnecessary but whatever i didn't like her either. the holiday vibes and that damn marriage proposal pretty much saved the plot as nothing else was sailing the couple and yeah thats it because i've nothing more to say tbh.

The Faking Game, by Portia Macintosh, is a fun, lighthearted read, with characters that bring a few laugh-out-loud moments. I enjoyed this one. Thanks, NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC ebook for me to review.

A really enjoyable light hearted read! This is the first book I’ve read by the author and I’ll definitely be looking out for her again.
The story is light hearted but keeps you guessing until the end.
The main character is Cara and the story is told from her point of view. She’s an escape room designer who loves to solve things, Her partner Joe aka Millsy is away filming a movie but due home at the start of the book. When he arrives back we learn something that is going to make Christmas for them and their families and the huge joint Christmas they have planned - a little bit awkward!
Really enjoyed it and would definitely recommend!

Such a fun captivating rom com. Faking dating is one of my favorite tropes and this one was well done. The characters had strong chemistry. Definitely recommend.

I really enjoyed this story. Nice and easy to read, good characters and well written. Recommend for some light hearted chill out reading time.

Portia has written another banger!! But this one is so bittersweet. Joe and Cara have split up....but no one else knows . And they need to keep it quiet so that they don't ruin their joint family Christmas.

But as the festive season starts and Cara goes on one disastrous date after another she starts to think that she might not actually be over Joe.

When Christmas involves your racist brother in law, your sleazy step brother in law and your terrible aunt, there's bound to be trouble..

Add to that the fact that Cara and Joe seem to invite chaos wherever they go (like Santa's grotto). The more they bon, the more they question whether they're ready to give up on their relationship.

I loved this and blitzed it in a couple of days!

Unfortunately, this title didn't do it for me.
Cara and Millsy make a great couple. They are cute, they are funny, and they are in love. But, as Millsy has to work to LA, they split up. And when he comes back, they have to pretend to still be together for the sake of their families who are going to spend christmas gathered in a house in Scotland.
So a lot of problematic situations come from this lie.
First, I want to say that the writing is great. I sometimes laughed, I sometimes felt really really sorry for the characters. The book made me feel emotions.
What I didn't like is the way the story goes. They never take the time to talk, to explain, to open their hearts. And that's how you can have the story. Because if they had talked through all their pretence since the begining, there would'nt be a book. Finally, I ended mad at them because of the lack of communication.
To conclude : I liked the writing, not the storytelling.

Thank you to Boldwood Books and Netgalley for providing me an ARC of The Faking Game.
I like how the story started. Fake dating tropes are mostly the same story with similar starting and ending. I liked how this one started after the fake dating had begun. It was something different and the author did it well. Both of them navigating the post breakup is hilarious. Prying into each other's life to find out if they have moved on, over thinking every interaction.

I already guessed Tally got Cara's gift, There was a point which confused me towards the end. Why did Millsy's "face fall" when Cara was opening the gift? He already knew what he bought so why was he bothered?

I got to know this book is a sequel from the Acknowledgement section at the end. So if anyone wants to read but is hesitant, Faking The Game can be read as a standalone. There were a couple points where I noticed grammatical errors. I conveyed the specific points to the publisher.

Overall, Faking The Game gets 3 stars ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

I liked the shenanigans of the main lead. The negative emotions were portrayed just as much as positive ones, making the characters more human. The aspect which could have turned out better was the character of Tally. She came suddenly out of nowhere and that's exactly the way she went. There was no personality to her character. Faking The Game is marketed as a romcom. The humourous moments were few and far in between. All I can think of to describe the "com" in this romcom is the meme, " not a chuckle, not a giggle, not even a hehe".

One of the best tropes in romance is embodied in this book which is second chance romance. This is the first time that I have encountered this author and I could not stop reading it. I love how relatable the characters are and they are such a vibe.

this book was very entertaining with its premises and I really loved it but I just wish I loved the male main character more.

I think "The Plus One Pact" must be the only book by Portia McIntosh that I haven't read and I've just discovered that "The Faking Game" is a kind of continuation of this story. Okaaaay...

In this book, neither the plot, nor the characters, were strong enough to carry this story. They were both weak and, sadly, nothing special. I still am not sure why they broke up at all (wait. Was this mentioned in "The Plus One Pact"? Not sure where this one ended). The lack of communication was childish and off - putting.

The writing style was light and engaging, as usual, the characters - well, in this case the background ones - were really good. But the whole story felt flat and forced for me, sadly, as if the author lost her joy in writing.