I've read all of Portia MacIntosh's back catalog and was delighted to be able to read her newest title. I really liked Cara and Millsy in The Plus One Pact and was glad to catch up with them. The book was good, the side characters (mainly Cara's family) were well written and I loved visiting Scotland again. The premise fell a little flat though as you never really understood why Millsy and Cara broke up.

Another very enjoyable book from Portia Macintosh, this time a sequel to a previous novel. I'm not sure that a sequel added too much, this author has enough quality and humour to stand by the strength of a standalone novel. As ever, put a smile on my face and so easy to read. Thanks to Netgalley and Boldwood Books for this ARC.

Thank you NetGalley and Portia MacIntosh for this ARC.

I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. It was funny and the love story was great. It was such a quick and easy read for me.

"The Faking Game" by Portia Macintosh is the ultimate recipe for holiday hilarity and heartwarming chaos! Cara and her ex-boyfriend Millsy, in an attempt to preserve their families' festive cheer, are pretending to be a couple during the holidays. But Millsy's brought back an accent coach, Tally, from the US, who seems to be throwing a wrench into Cara's well-intentioned plan to rekindle their romance. With laugh-out-loud moments at every turn, this book takes the phrase "fake it 'til you make it" to a whole new level.

One of the book's standout features is the portrayal of those candidly insulting family members we all know too well. Cara's interactions with her somewhat hurtful aunt add a relatable layer of family dynamics that makes the story even more charming.
What sets "The Faking Game" apart is its refusal to stay in one dimension. With each turn of the page, you'll find yourself chuckling, cringing, and cheering for Cara as she navigates the minefield of fake romance. Portia Macintosh's storytelling is so engaging that it feels like you're having a cozy chat with a friend, sipping cocoa by the fire.

This book is a delightful rollercoaster of laughter, love, and unexpected twists. After reading it, you'll wish you could hit the reset button on your memory, just so you can experience the joy of "The Faking Game" all over again. So, cozy up, grab a cup of hot chocolate, and dive into this hilarious and heartwarming holiday adventure. You won't regret a single moment spent with Cara, Millsy, Tally, and the unforgettable cast of characters in this charming tale. Happy reading!

I liked the premise of the book and the first half made me laugh a lot and the author's writing is super fun to read.

I just wish the novel had been developed in a way that made me like Millsy... that didn't happen.

But, the book is fun.

One of the things I like most about Portia MacIntosh is how she can take an often used romcom concept and make it not feel like it's the same old story I've read (or seen) a million times. With 'The Faking Game' she uses the recently broken up couple pretending to be together for the sake of their families over Christmas idea. Given that this is Portia MacIntosh I wasn't completely sure if Cara and Millsy would end up back together or if she would meet and end up with someone else. I loved Cara and my heart broke for her a little each time she thought she was having a break-through moment with Millsy only for him to do something dumb. Honestly, how could a smart man be so obtuse about how his actions could be hurting Cara? When he seemed to be asking her out for a meal only to find out that he and Tally were going out but would bring her back something I so wanted to reach into the pages and smack him upside the head. It was moments like that that made you understand why Cara was unsure of what he wanted. And Tally was bitchy to her pretty much from the beginning. I loved the parts with Cara and Millsy finding themselves in chaos (whether or not it was of their own making). Cara's awful dates also offered some good comedic moments - I appreciated the commentary on dating apps, people who have never used them really don't understand how sparse the playing field is for normal guys. I also really liked that Cara and Charlie were truly only friends - the whole men and woman can't be friends idea has gotten so old. And a nice shout-out to George Ezra - love him! I don't want to give away anything for future readers, but the service station scene near the end was pretty much perfect from the moment Cara pulls in until the end of the chapter.

This is my first book I read from this author, but I learned that it’s a follow up book for another one of her works, The Plus One Pact. This book wasn’t promoted as an official sequel in any way though so I went ahead and just read this without any knowledge from The Plus One Act. I guess this book can be read as a stand-alone but maybe because I didn’t read the other book was why I never felt fully invested in the characters and felt a lack of any plot development.
The first half of the book didn’t really feel like Cara and Millsy had any pre-existing chemistry even though this was a second-chance from a break up book. The only time I felt the tension was all the jealousy scenes, which I did enjoy.
It’s definitely a cute rom-com for all the quirky situations Cara and Millsy gets into though and was easy to read.

Thank you NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the eARC!

Cute concept and mostly good story. I wish there was an epilogue to see what happens to the two main characters.

I received an ARC from Netgalley and Boldwood Books.

I just found out this was the follow-up to The Plus One Pact by the author where Cara and Millsy first meet. I wish it was mentioned in the beginning of the book so I could've read it first.

This was a wonderfully written second chance romance book but it honestly could have been better. The lack of communication between Cara and Millsy was kind of off-putting. The book would've been half its length if they'd just sat down and had a proper conversation like mature adults.

Other than that, it was an alright book.

I’ve really enjoyed this author’s previous books, so I was looking forward to this.

As usual, it features solid characters, and is well written - but it wasn’t, for me, quite the same quality - it lacked that thing that makes you pick up a read over and over again. It seemed to read better in the final third, but at times was a bit of a slog unfortunately.

This book was not my favorite of MacIntosh's. I wasn't sure that I liked the leading man, Millsy, throughout the book. In fact, I kinda wanted Cara to end up with Charlie until about 95% of the way through the book when I realized she was not going to... Fun characters, very strange plot point to have a dialect coach as a 3rd wheel. Overall a sweet ending, but not super satisfying as a romance.

I thought this was a quick and easy fun romantic read. I hadn’t read the previous book so the characters were all new to me but I didn’t find this a problem. After three years together Cara and boyfriend Millsy decide to break up but also decide that they’d pretend to still be together as they’ve got lots of events coming up. They really don’t want to upset their families over the festive period. The question is whether they are meant to be together or not. This is full of hilarious moments with them getting into some tricky situations! I liked how this was written from Cara’s viewpoint and that I couldn’t be sure how it was going to end. This had some really likeable characters and some not so! Thanks to Boldwood Books and Netgalley for the ARC

I absolutely loved this book! It’s hilarious. Cara and Millsy have recently broken up but pretend to still be together as they didn’t want to ruin their families’ Christmas. They try to keep this secret but proves to be more difficult than they thought, thanks to family disputes and having a dialect coach follow Millsy’s every move.

Thank you for the ARC! Highly recommend

This book is full of charm! Set during the holiday season, Cara and Millsy have opted to create a facade that they are still together despite the fact that they parted ways due to distance. However they tried, their attraction to each other both physically and emotionally could not be denied. Cara may build escape rooms via an app for a living , but thus is one situation she didn't want to walk away from. Millsy with his determination to be a character actor as being helped by Tally, didn't want to play the part of them not being together. Life is too short not to be with the one who makes you whole and happy and the book ended as such. A lovely read.

Thank you @netgalley and @Boldwoodbooks for giving me an eARC of this lovely book to read and write an honest review about it

To say the least, I loved this book and I enjoyed each page, This book showed that love will always be tested but true love will always prevail

You know how, sometimes we let our pride be our judge ?
That’s exactly what happened to Millsy and Cara and they .. broke up

I loved their relationship way too much, their interactions, conversations ( which was a rarity in the book) and their clumsiness
~> they’d actually win a Guinness record for world’s most chaotic couple (if they were real 😂😂)

I enjoyed the other family member’s personalities with their annoyingness .. (I’m actually thinking of adopting Uncle Paddy’s strategy in my life - should make it rather interesting)

The highlight of the story though was definitely the dates … they were the best things 🤣🤣🤣
Made me laugh by myself throughout the day, replaying the scenes in my head

What I didn’t like though;-
Cara would refer to herself as a nerd and sometimes refer to herself as not smart .. ( to me was a bore, I was like pick a side! woman)

Apart from that, all was good and I give this a 4 huge brilliant stars ⭐️

I’d recommend it to anyone who wants to get a good laugh.

"The Faking Game" by Portia MacIntosh is a delightful romantic comedy filled with humour, misunderstandings, and heart-warming moments. Cara and Millsy's fake relationship creates plenty of laughs as they navigate the challenges of pretending to be a couple during various festive events. With a love triangle, witty banter, and unexpected twists, this book is a fun and light-hearted read that will leave you smiling. MacIntosh's writing is engaging, making it easy to get lost in this entertaining story of love and second chances. Perfect for fans of fake dating tropes and holiday romances.

Every time I think that I have found my favorite Portia MacIntosh book, I come across another. I absolutely loved this book. Reading Cara and Millsy's story, I found myself completely engrossed in this book. The characters were so easy to picture in my mind and I felt almost as though I was watching a movie. I laughed quite a few times as I read about the pickles that Cara and Millsy found themselves in. I just can't wait for the next book, all of Portia MacIntosh's books are such fun reads.

When I saw fake dating for the holidays, I was hoping this would have a similar feel to The Happy Place, and while my stomach was in knots off and on during this book (I wasn't sure if this was going to end the way I thought it was), the characters lacked maturity and at times it was hard to imagine them being together. I think having a dual POV may have helped see the chemistry between the two more and help the reader to understand where each of our MCs truly stood with the other.

For how strong of a relationship they are portrayed to have had, their breakup, constant miscommunication, and often the ways they treated each other went against what I would expect. Tally's role in this book seemed unnecessary for the plot and she felt like an addition only for potential drama.

Overall, this was a quick, fun, and at times cozy read, the characters just fell a little flat for me.

The chemistry between Joe and Cara, the intimacy of their relationship.and history was really well done. I felt the pull between them throughout.

I just didn't like the plot. The reason they broke up was really shallow and underdeveloped. They both came across like immature teenagers throughout, not speaking to each other and trying to out do or make the other jealous. The red herrings of possible other love interests was over played with Jay, Tally, Charlie and all the other dates....

The same with the series of bad dates and then the series of the two of them messing up and solving whatever had happened, It was so repetitive.

I think as a rom.com film it may have worked because a lot of the jokes were quite visual but on a book I was reading thinking oh not again. With the maid costume, why on earth would she not just ask them if they'd signed foe her parcel?? It was just so underdeveloped as an event.

It just felt like the focus was off. The Tally/accent situation was not needed at all, it was super annoying. Yet when they were both at their restaurant with other people, which could have been a huge emotional wringer for both, it was abruptly cut short and continued off page so we lost any impact.

Some elements I enjoyed but as an overall, it just wasn't my cup of tea.

I actually really enjoyed this one. It was also really easy to read which shows the reading quality is extremely good. It was a fun story about a couple who have split up one is a promising Hollywood actor and the other works as a game designer. They decide that they will still follow through with their plans of spending the holidays together with all of their perspective families and so follows a funny story about second chances and lost love