Emma, a witch, is new to Charming Cove. In order to become a full fledged member of her coven, she must successfully plan and host their annual Beltane Ball. She makes a deal with the vampire Duke of Blackthorn, Alaric, to use his estate for the ball, but in return she must act as his fake girlfriend around his grandmother. What could possibly go wrong?

This book is so cute! I love a good fake dating trope and found family + witches and magic. Emma’s skunk familiar, Penelope, is also adorable and a great addition to the story. Highly recommend for a great, funny, feel-good, fall read!

Thank you to Netgalley and Bonnie Doon Press for a free digital copy of this book. This is my honest review. Publication date: August 31, 2023.

I will post a review to instagram @bookmarkedbykelsey the week of October 16th.

2.75/5 stars! Ok; let me start off by saying, this wasn't a BAD book. It was just utterly bland. If you are super into witches and paranormal contemporary romance, you'll probably still enjoy it. I just kept finding myself bored. Nothing excited me while reading this. It also felt weird that he didn't feel comfortable just being honest with his family.

I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

2.75/5 stars! Ok; let me start off by saying, this wasn't a BAD book. It was just utterly bland. If you are super into witches and paranormal contemporary romance, you'll probably still enjoy it. I just kept finding myself bored. Nothing excited me while reading this. It also felt weird that he didn't feel comfortable just being honest with his family.

I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Let me first start by saying thank you to Net Galley and Lindsey Hall for letting me read and review this cute little story. I really and truly appreciate it.

Now I want to admit that fake dating is not my favorite trope but fake dating between a witch and a vampire? Yes, please. This was the perfect cozy read to start my spooky tbr off right. I wanted witches and vampires but not so much horror and obviously romance was a plus. Lol I highly recommend this one if you want a cute, cozy, witchy, romantic read.

Emma is attempting to join the local witch's coven and has offered to plan the upcoming coven feast in order to make it happen. There's just one issue and that's getting permission from the vampire lord to have it on his estate. It just so happens the vampire, Alaric, will agree to this in exchange for Emma posing as his girlfriend in front of his grandmother. It all seems so simple but things to go awry and there are a few problems that pop up along the way.

This book is another of many fake dating tropes but it has the added element of a witch and a vampire for its main characters. I enjoyed this well enough but the relationship didn't have as much tension as I'd have liked. Still the pair get on well and they do have some strife between them before the end. I've read the previous book and but I'm still not sure how well I like the witch mechanics in this series. I felt it worked better here than in the previous book though. I felt some of the side characters were more interesting than the main ones. Also there is little to no connection with the vampire side of things. It's there and the only nod to it is the fact they have a "drink" to buy to deal with their requirements.

Overall, this was a good read and I rate it 3.5 stars. "d like to thank Bonnie Doon Press and Netgalley for the advanced reader copy. I have provided my review under no obligation.

Charming Cove is just truly the place I'd like to be. The thing I like about these books is that it gives you a hallmark setting without the cheesy hallmark acting. These are real [fictional] people with real [fictional] histories and real [fictional] flaws. I'd have liked to get more into those histories, like what it was really like for Emma to grow up in a children's home and in foster care, and the nitty gritty of Alaric's childhood with his father, instead of these things just being mentioned. Even still, the characters of this series deal with real problems on top of the sweet love story we came for and I'm definitely here for it. The writing was a tad repetitive at times, but it was still really well done, and the characterization of the side characters, as always, was spot on. Vivian and Madeline were gems, Lily was a surprise, and Penelope wanting to spray everyone who dared to hurt her witch was iconic. I'm eagerly awaiting my return to Charming Cove in the next book!

This book was really cute and lighthearted. Emma is an orphan who is in the process of joining a coven - she has been searching for a place to plant roots and find a community when she is given the challenge of planning the witches' ball. In order to prove herself and get a permanent spot in the coven she has to come up with an amazing location! In walks the Duke of Blackthorn whom she has embarrassed herself in front of twice now. His property, life, and home are a mystery and the perfect spot for the party. Armed with her trusty familiar she walks into a fake girlfriend role, a party to plan, and a family she is slowly starting to love like her own. The only thing she can count on though is herself until she realizes she has been counting on so many others the entire time. This is the second in a series with another book set to release in December 2023 - I will be reading the first as quickly as I can so that when the third comes out I am ready and waiting.

Back to Charming Cove to meet Emma, the witch and Alaric the vampire!

Nothing like a bit of fake dating to keep granny happy to make sparks fly!

This was a sweet and easy read and moves along at a good pace! Very little spice but a lot of heart. The setting of Beltane is really on point for this blossoming romance.

I'll be looking forward to another adventure in Charming Cove soon.

Alaric and Emma will have your whole heart. Fake dating, a witchy ball, and a disgruntled ghost.
Emma is trying to plan this year's witchy ball to collect joy for spell work. Alaric has the perfect venue and is in need of a stand in girlfriend. Fake dating and all of the joy that comes with it ensues.
In some ways, this book has all of the familiar things that we expect in a romance: longing looks, falling hard and fast, deadlines, and deciet. But it is done in such a way that makes you love it even more. It's like coming home to a surprise.

This review will not be posted on Goodreads or other sites.

This is a DNF for me, which breaks my heart. After getting this arc I decided to go back and read the first in the series first. I absolutely LOVED it! So starting this one I was really excited; however, I struggled to get through since so much of it felt like a rinse and repeat from the first novel with just interchanging a few things. Maybe I would have enjoyed it if I had continued on, but I spent a lot of time ready the percentage I did without enjoying it.

Really enjoyable witchy romance. I loved the whole familiar element and the characters were well rounded and fantastic.

I't a light and entertaining read even if not as good as The Modern Girl's Guide to Magic. There's no introduction and you're right into the action.
I had fun but I would have preferred some more character development
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

With all the familiar comforts of a paranormal romantic comedy, How to Fake-Date a Vampire was a thoroughly enjoyable and cozy fall read. I loved Alaric and Emma's romance and the quirky yet lovable supporting cast of characters added so much depth, feeling, and comedic relief to the story. Due to the overabundance of works in this genre, many can often feel too contrived or forced, but this one felt fresh and flowed easily. I loved it!

This was a fun lighthearted read with a good plot. Who does't love a fake dating trope?! I have not read the first book, however did not feel this changed my experience as such.

I really liked Linsey's writing style, it was fast-paced, witty and enjoyable. I cruised through this book with ease.

I really enjoyed this book and I am looking forward to going back and reading the first book now.

I truly enjoyed this book. Some of my favorite things about it were the fake dating, the aspect of vampires and witches, and the overall slow of the characters and plot. Linsey did a wonderful job at writing this, and making it smooth and enjoyable. I loved this one more than the first.

I received this book from NetGalley and I was so excited to read it not only because it seemed like the perfect witchy-vampire book for fall, but also because the main character and I share a name (which is always fun). But let me tell you this books was awful.

Although I know this is a second book to the “Charming Cove” series, there was no warm up to the story. It just dove right into the middle of the story. Normally, for standalone series like this, there would be some recap of the last book.

Next, the writing was awful. It read like a 2nd graders story. “I like him but it’s fake”, “I love home but it’s fake,” “I’m sleeping with him and he’s taking care of me, but it’s fake.” Come on! Give me some depth. It felt incredibly juvenile.

I also hated that our main character only said the word “bum” when she swore. What adult does that? I get censoring yourself around children, but this was tooooooo much. Might as well not speak at all if the only words that come out of your mouth when you are in a crisis is “bum” or “double bum.”

We never found out who hired the paparazzi, so that felt like a pointless addition and was a weak way of making MC MMC have their third act break up.

Let’s also not forget that the title of this book is “How to Fake Date a VAMPIRE” emphases on VAMPIRE. Yet, her vampires don’t have super hearing, don’t live forever, aren’t fast, aren’t effected by the sun, and apparently eat curry. They only mentioned biting once and it was Alaric saying he wouldn’t bite her. Might as well call this book “How to Fake Date a Human or a Duke.”

All in all I would not recommend this book. If you want something witchy or vampire-y for this fall read “A Discover of Witches” far more interesting and written well.

Thank you net galley and publisher for the Arc! I’m not a huge romance reader, but I’m a total sucker for paranormal romance and How to Date a Fake Vampire scratched that itch with a cute autumn vibe. Fun, cozy low stakes low-fantasy romance read. Nothing terribly different or exciting, but very comforting if you like romance tropes.

Thank you to netgalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

A cute, quick paranormal rom com. It was a fun read for getting into spooky season. While Alaric was supposed to be a vampire, he didn’t give off a lot of vampire vibes or characteristics of one which disappointed me. The witchy vibes were fun, even though they were kind of odd at times “joy batteries”?? strange, but we’ll go with it.

3 ⭐️/ 2💋

Steady paced, sweet romance with fake dating.
Emma wants to be a full member of her coven and signs up to plan the Beltane Ball. However there is a problem the place she wants to hold it is at the Vampire Dukes estate. Alaric says he will only let the ball go ahead if Emma agrees to be his fake date.
This is a low stakes romance with little drama and any drama that occurs is quickly dealt with. If you came looking for vampires this is not really for you as the vampires only seem to be rice and mix blood in their drinks.
I loved it as it seems to follow the same formula as the last book.
Witch with low self confidence must complete task, has help from handsome man, falls in love problems solved, happy ever after! Penelope the skunk is an absolute star with her witty banter!
I love this book for making the everyday simple things seem magical.

Thank you to the author, publisher and netgalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

I had an absolutely great time with this. It was a lighthearted and easy read with the perfect autumnal vibes.

I read this in three days, something I never normally do and had already recommended this book to numerous people before I’d even reached the halfway mark - and I can’t wait to recommend it even more now I’ve finished it.