I really liked this one! I'd love Book 1 in the Charming Cove series, so that comes as no surprise at all. My favorite thing about these is definitely the way that Hall plays with magic in new ways. In Book 1, it was the plant magic. In this one, it's the spirits. So often, witchy romances use the blandest magic possible, so I love seeing something new and innovative in them. As for the actual romance, I really liked it as well! Emma and Alaric were adorable and I loved the found family aspects. I'll definitely be on the lookout for more books in the series!

Thanks to Netgalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review!
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3.5 stars

How to Fake-Date a Vampire was a fun, light-hearted read to kick off the start of spooky season. It’s a charming, whimsical rom-com that even beginners to romance and fantasy can enjoy. It is very easy to follow along and very low stakes, making it a great cozy read.

Our story follows Emma, an outsider who is trying to find a family of her own by any means necessary. She is currently an informal member of her coven, and in hopes to become a permanent member she volunteers to plan their annual magical ball alone to prove herself as a witch. Emma makes a deal with local duke and vampire, Alaric, to fake-date so that he can please his grandmother and so that she can host the coven’s ball at the estate.

The romance and found family trope in the book is truly heartwarming. I loved reading about Emma flourishing and realizing family comes in all ways, you just have to open yourself to it.

My favorite aspects of this was the actual magic in the book, particularly with one sassy Penelope. She was the absolute highlight of the book and I wish I got to read even more of her. I also enjoyed reading about Emma’s discovery of her own magic.

However, i was left feeling a little let down with the lack of magic outside of the witches. Alaric and his family were vampires which didn’t seem to serve anything to the story as there wasn’t much vampirism in the book besides a single blood cocktail. I think if there wasn’t going to be much built around the vampirism, he would have been better served to be a human or a fellow witch since the focus was on the general magic.

Thank you, Linsey Hall, NetGalley, and Bonnie Doon Press for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.✨

This was a cute story that I enjoyed. The town is so much fun and the quirky things that happened made me laugh a bunch, which I enjoyed.

I liked the main characters, but I was unable to connect to them. I think this book needed more - more time with the characters to learn more of their back story and to be able to feel for them and to connect to them. I'm also not a fan of the miscommunication trope and this was present in this book. It was only for a little bit, so it wasn't too bad, but I still didn't like that.

This is such a fun, fluffy romance. I imagine this would be akin to if we were watching a romance blossom in Halloweentown. A more adult Halloweentown that is.

You have Emma who is trying to climb the ranks in her coven and become a chosen witch. In order to achieve such a feat, she volunteers to plan one of the biggest events in her town, known as the Beltane Ball. Achieving to hold the ball at this regal estate is a feat no witch has been able to pull off before, so along with her possible promotion, she also risks being kicked out of her coven if she is unsuccessful.

To her benefit, she manages to strike a deal with the vampire duke Alaric. His beloved grandmother is visiting and is very interested in meeting her grandson’s girlfriend. Prior to her arrival, he had mentioned he had found the perfect woman he was planning to marry and wanted her to meet his grandmother. Unfortunately, his former girlfriend Katrina felt he was taking too long to propose and grant her luxurious lifestyle he could she was entitled to. He broke off the relationship after discovering Katrina was leaking his family’s secrets and scandals to the local press. The news leaks in turn also had a negative effect on his grandmother. Wanting to protect her from any further emotional damage, Alaric strikes a deal with Emma where they both stand to benefit. In exchange for allowing her to have her ball take place on his majestic estate, she promises to pretend to be his girlfriend.

There is an undeniable chemistry between the two, however the lines between love and professionalism start to blur the more their fake relationship develops. And it’s not just her coven and his family they need to hide their secret from. The nosey paparazzi are at every corner watching any and every move, waiting for any opportunity to expose them.

This book was so enjoyable to read and full of loveable characters. I would highly recommend picking it up if you want a lighthearted romance with a Halloween element to it.

Thank you so much to NetGalley for giving me the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

How to Fake-Date a Vampire is a funny; intense story.

I really really loved the first installment of this series and I couldn't wait to delve into the next part of the series.
But for some reason I had trouble getting into the story.
I didn't feel connected to the story and I think the plot was a bit of the hook.
We spend all this time with Emma preparing for the ball, so the fake dating a vampire duke is pushed all the way to the back of the story.
Also... when you write a vampire story... please show us a vampire. Not a guy who says he is a vampire and then no vampire action. You can add some cozy vampires to the story. this was just... not it.
Luckely Penelope saved this story for me.

I really enjoyed this one. I think it was fun, had a well-paced plot, some character development and a great romance. I did feel like there were a lot of side characters that I wished to know more about. Overall I liked this and thought it was a great follow up to the first in this series. I really enjoyed the inclusion of Aria in this one as an ode to the first book. Also, I again liked the multiple POV’s to get more into the minds of the characters

I love the "I love you" scenes! They were all so cute. I just wanted to be Emma during them. It was fast paced and I like books like that especially romance. I highly recommend. The romance and characters are just chef's kiss. I always wanted to keep going.

This is the most cozy and sweet book. I love every single character but Penelope stole the whole show. I really hope there will be more books to come. I can’t wait to see all of the adventures all of the characters can get into.

This book was the perfect cozy fall witchy read I needed going in to the season! It was so warm and imaginative and I love the humor that the familiars add to each of Linsey's books.

I have to say I preferred this book to the first one as I liked the idea that the two main characters had never met before and it was only a touch of insta love.

If you're looking for a low stakes romcom that will give you all the warm and fuzzies then this is the book for you!

Emma is a witch working to gain official status in her coven. In order to do so, she must host the best Beltane Ball ever. After an awkward encounter with Alaric, a handsome vampire and Duke, she agrees to pretend to date him in order to hold the ball on the stunning grounds of his estate.

Along the way, Emma finds her familiar, a spunky skunk named Penelope who enhances her powers, and friends in the town who help her with the ball. Emma also grows close with Alaric's grandmother and aunt, finding the family she always wishes she had and also finding family in her coven.

This is part of a series, but can also be read as a standalone. Its a cute, short read and perfect for spooky season. Penelope was my favorite character. Her obsession with food and sparkly things, and her sassy dialogue makes her so loveable. I adored her!

I did find the writing a bit repetitive at times, and the third act breakup was predictable, but I really enjoyed this book!

How to Fake-Date a Vampire was a very entertaining read, despite its paper-thin plot. I had really high expectations going into this book as fake dating is one of my favourite tropes, but even that element fell a little short. I am still giving this book a decent rating as I did have a good time reading it.

Alaric being a vampire made no difference to this story. The drinking of blood is mentioned a few times and maybe strength (can’t remember) but it’s also said that he isn’t immortal, can basically only move a bit faster than humans and sunlight doesn’t affect him. What’s the point of him being a vampire then? At least the witches actually did spells of a sort, there wasn’t any need for him to be a vampire.

If you took a shot every time the duke’s grandmother was referred to as ‘the dowager duchess’ you’d be on the floor in three chapters. It’s actually ridiculous how many times it is said in this book.

Using American English for a book set in the UK is a strange choice. I actually forgot this was set in the UK until it randomly mentioned they are in Cornwall. This obviously isn’t a major issue but you’d think a book set in the UK would use UK English.

The biggest conflict in this book is the witches’ collection of ‘joy batteries’ being smashed. Does the joy battery smasher get revealed? Nope. The conflicts in this book seem to have no effect. They never find out or even try to find out who sabotaged the batteries and the issue with the ghost gets resolved in the background.

My favourite character was 100% Penelope. Who doesn’t want a sassy little skunk as a familiar? She was hilarious and I loved how everyone would set a place for her at the table whenever they had dinner together.
Honestly, I really liked this book to begin with and it is an entertaining read but the further in I got, the more I realised how flimsy the plot was. The book was obviously written purely to use the fake dating trope, which is my favourite, but it means that an actual plotline didn’t come to fruition. So much of the ball planning happens off-page.

How to Fake-Date a Vampire was a decent read, but only if you’re going into it to expect a good time, not a good read. The actual writing wasn’t bad, it has a lot of potential, but the plot needed fine-tuning and just more content.

This is the perfect Autumn read.

This was a cute and cosy read with just the right amount of romance

I am really on a paranormal romance kick at the moment, and this is just another example of why this is always going to be a go to genre when I need a pick me up.

A light, fluffy book about a witch trying, and failing, not to fall in love with the vampire duke she's in a fake relationship with. I love a good fake dating trope, and this was done well.

Looking forward to reading more from Linsey in the future!

This was a quick and quirky story of a witch and a vampire duke that happened to need favors from one another. Overall, I liked it but wasn’t in love with it but it was a good quick read for me. The romance was cute and a little steamy while the plot was overall simple with it being all about family and the unconditional love families have for one another. The story was pretty short but what I loved most was that it was dual POV. All and all I would recommend this for anyone that’s looking for a short and sweet romance with little drama and so steam.

I really enjoyed the concept of this book! I loved Emma’s character and her development throughout the whole book. Penelope was probably my favourite character, she was so sassy!
I really didn’t connect with Alaric’s character, I felt his POVs didn’t give him a lot of depth or character growth, but I still enjoyed his contribution to the plot. There also was not a lot about them being vampires besides the fact that they drink blood, maybe that’ll be in the next book? I think Vivian is hilarious and I’d love a spin off about her adventures in life.

How to Fake-Date a Vampire is a cosy, warm hearted read full of humour. We follow Emma, an apprentice trying to become a real witch and become a member of the coven. She has to arrange a ball, however the location she wants is the house of a local vampire Alaric. In exchange for letting her host the ball in his house Alaric asks her to enter a fake relationship with her and romance and comedy ensues. Overall a really fun book that I highly recommend, another great instalment in this series.

Such a cosy, heart warming and funny read.

Penelope, the skunk, is a golden character - so funny!

The characters are such a joy to read, I would read more books with these characters no problem at all - I love every single one of them.

Perfect book for an afternoon in your armchair with a cup of tea.

I loved it.

Book title: How to fake Date a Vampire
Author: Lindsey Hall
Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟
Publication date: August 31st, 2023


This was a great cozy read for me. Emma is trying to prove herself to her witch coven to go from apprentice to real witch. Her and a competing apprentice have to arrange a ball and the one who does better becomes a member of the coven. She tries to have the ball at the local exclusive vampire house, Alaric. As she tries to ask him he needs a favor from her as well, asking to fake a relationship with him for the good of his ailing grandmother.
I really liked this book. The characters are easy to love and set in a fun world. Her familiar, Penelope, is a skunk and is so funny, I just love her. It's an easy fun fall read.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bonnie Doon Press for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley & Bonnie Doon Press for the copy in exchange for an honest review.

A very sweet, quick rom-com involving a witch navigating a new fake-boyfriend that goes deeper than expected.

One thing that kept bugging me is how Alaric is a vampire but literally had no vampire drawbacks or positives--he was practically a human. Just a really rich guy who lives as long as a human. And drinks blood once in a while but it was barely mentioned. What's the point of dating a vampire if none of the vampire stuff actually happens? I know it's silly but this book may as well have been called How To Fake-Date A Really Rich Human Guy instead because that's what it was.

Still, it was a quick, easy, and light-hearted read. I hadn't read the first book but it was still able to explain everything well and I could follow along. So this can be read as a standalone.