A great romance with much conflict potential.

Two years waiting but then you meet the person again one year before the meeting should happen, with the worst possible situations.

Great persons, great story,
I loved reading it and I loved nearly everything on it.

Have fun reading!

Hurry Up And Wait

Dorian and Briar both being anti marriage make a great storyline. Add in a father and two siblings and it becomes even more entertaining. Winter never lets her readers down and this book is no exception.

Fake-ish is the story of Briar and Dorian who meet at their friends' joint bachelor and bachelorette party. Dorian finds the party to be an annoying charade, and as they spend more time together, they realize they have a lot in common. And that they like one another. But he says he can't be in a relationship. He asks for her to wait for him for two years, and she agrees.
Fast forward one year, and Briar is fake dating her boss for the summer in exchange for one million dollars. She signed an ironclad NDA that doesn't allow her to speak of their arrangement, ever. But when Briar arrives, she finds that her boss's brother is none other than Dorian.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and definitely recommend it. I couldn't put it down.

If you’re looking for spice, you’re barking up the wrong tree, but this one was a decent romance.
Briar and Dorian meet during an out of country island bachelor/bachelorette weekend and sparks fly. Fast forward a year, Briar decides to go into a contract with her boss stating she will get $1m if she pretends to be his fiancé for 8 weeks during his annual summer trip to their family’s private island - one that will likely be his father’s last. Only problem? Dorian is her boss’s brother and she signed an NDA.
Character development was decent, storyline was decent. Just nothing stellar.

Briar and Dorian make a deal to wait for each other, but when Briar's boss offers her money to play his fake fiance for a summer for a huge amount of money she accepts, what can hurt right? Until she meets his boss's family and his brother Dorian. A complex love story with a lot of family drama but true love.
I volunteered to review an ARC of this book for Netgelly

4.5 stars

I don't often read contemporary but this was a nice change. The two person focus writing in the first person took some getting use to but I did think it bought something to the story making more rounded characters.

The protaganists only seemed quite young. There was an emphasis on making money which neither Briana or Dorian seemed very driven by but there ends up loadsa dosh by the end of the story. It's unusual to find a couple who don't want to get married and there was no hints about whether they wanted children either. Dorian particulary seemed to enjoy travelling. It was a quick read so I might look out for this author again.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was a super fast-paced and such an interesting, easy read. I loved the fact that I didn’t know where it would go next, and I also liked peeling back the layers of both characters. It was a perfect mix of swoony, angsty and entertaining read!!

I would like to thank netgalley for providing me the book. The book was quite fast paced but could have given more attention to Dorian and briar. Over all the book was good would like to read more from this author

Thanks to netgalley for the chance to review this book! I love a good missed opportunity/ second chance romance and this book checked all the boxes. Briar and Dorian meet at a bachelor/ bachelorette party and begin with witty banter, as the night goes on, they begin to enjoy each others company more and more and spend time falling for each other. But as the story goes, the timing is all wrong and they make a pact to wait for each other. Fast forward to the following year and Briar is engaged, but things aren’t always what they seem. Upon a summer time visit to her new fiancées family island (yes island), she realizes his brother is none other than Dorian. We witness a summer of heartbreak while Briar tries to convey her love for Dorian and he wants nothing to do with her.

If you’re up for some angst and right people wrong time, this book is absolutely for you.

I don't mind insta-love too much if there is a proper connection and chemistry to build on, but this book lacked all romance or chemistry. Every relationship was so shallow, surface emotions only.

I still don't understand why the three kids hated each other so much? To the point where they were not just aloof or distant from each other but malicious.

I found Dorian to be unlikeable. I know Burke had form, but his immediate hatred of Briar in the present was off putting. Even if he'd assumed something was fishy but she'd stonewalled because of the NDA. The obstacle that was frustrating. What was going to happen if she spilled?

I really struggled to keep reading this one, only reaching the [cheesy] ending because it is a relatively short book and I like to at least try to finish ARCs to get a full sense of the book to review.

This was my first book by Winter Renshaw, but it definitely will not be my last. Briar and Dorian meet at a destination bachelorette/bachelor gathering. They talk while the rest of the party is dancing and drinking and find out they have things in common. They spend time together over the next few days, but neither is in a place in their lives at the moment to commit to any type of relationship. They make the choice to meet up again in two years, when Dorian is free of his current commitments, so they can continue their relationship.

Fast forward a year, and Briar is fake-engaged to Dorian‘s older brother. Briar is unaware of that until she meets him at the family getaway, where they are all supposed to spend eight weeks together in the summer. Clad by an ironclad, NDA, Briar cannot disclose any information to Dorian.

As the days pass, and different things happen, Briar‘s impression of Burke, her fake fiancé, goes through an array of changes, based on information she learns.

I enjoyed the story and finished it in one day. Winter Renshaw‘s writing style flowed very easily for me as a reader and I can’t wait to read more from her.

I love me some romance and this one didn’t deliver on it. I just wasn’t expecting it not to. But maybe that’s me.

I've read quite a few books by Winter Renshaw, so when I read this book's description and saw who it was written by, I jumped at the chance to read it. While I loved the idea of the plot, I didn't quite love the execution. Don't get me wrong, it's definitely not terrible but I felt like it needed more.
Fake-ish alternates between the past on the weekend the two MCs meet and the present where the female MC is pretending to be the male MC's brother's fiancé. Generally, I like this format, but I felt like it didn't really provide anything for me in this book. The problem for me was that I felt like we never actually got to know the characters. Sure, we get to see them meet, but it often felt like a lot of tell and not show. I felt like I never truly got to know the characters' personalities which for me meant they weren't very memorable. Within minutes of finishing the book, I could barely remember the female MC's first name. We never really get to know her or learn what she wants out of life, what she enjoys, etc.
I felt like the book was honestly sort of lacking in romance. It really felt like a large emphasis was placed on the family dynamics of Dorian, but then at the same time, we never really get an explanation for all the issues in their family. They all have this stiff familial relationship but it doesn’t really explain why and the few things they mention make it out that they were close as kids but don’t really explain why that fell apart so badly after their mom died. There's tension between all the siblings and their significant others and generally, it just felt like a book with a lot of angst but no real explanations as to why, or the explanations were very vague.
Another thing is that I felt like the side characters were very inconsistent. Burke, the man she is pretending to be engaged to, for instance, has these sudden shifts in likeability and I just felt like that could have been executed better with more backstory or explanation. There's another character as well who is connected to the family who gets a lot of page time and I think is supposed to be a source of angst in the book, but then their appearance is very anticlimactic and they say like 2 sentences and peace out.
Overall, I'm sure plenty of people will enjoy this book, but for me, it felt like an outline or first draft of a book. There are so many parts of it that I felt like could have used more explanation and more character development, so for me, it fell short. Overall I'd say 2.75/5 stars, I liked the idea but wasn't keen on the execution.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this book in exchange for an honest review.

this was a really short book and I did enjoy it but I think it being short did it a disservice. I think the past chapters should’ve been longer so I could’ve felt more for the main couple and added depth but overall the writing wasn’t bad. Thanks to netgalley for the arc.

I’m a huge fan of Winter Renshaw’s books. She always manages to take popular tropes and make them feel unique again. “Fake-ish” was no exception. It’s a great mix of second chance/right person wrong time/fake engagement/siblings ex. What I enjoyed most about the book was the dual POV that alternates not only between main characters Dorian and Briar, but also from the present to one year ago. This back and forth made the book hard to put down as I yearned to figure out how they went from what happened one year ago to present day.

I found that this book had a lot less spice than other Renshaw novels. Also, despite the great build up of the conflict throughout the flashbacks and the present, the resolution seemed rushed. We got to enjoy so little of the HEA that I really could have used a few more chapters.

What a great book! I love it!
It is about Briar and Dorian, who meet at a bachelor and bachelorette party which both of them don’t particularly enjoy, since it is basically a group of people getting drunk. They meet and start talking…
<i>The next time I catch the bartender’s eye, I order two ice waters and slide one of them to Dorian. Tomorrow’s supposed to be a day at the resort’s private beach, but I have a feeling half of these people are going to be too hungover to enjoy it.
“You’re giving me a hard time about not having fun and now you’re ordering water?” he asks with a huff.
“It’s called pacing myself. Tomorrow’s beach day, and I love beaches more than anything in the world. I’ll be damned if I miss it.” Pointing to his water, I say, “Drink up.”
“Who said I was going to the beach?”
“You’re just going to sit in your room, feeling sorry for yourself? Thinking about the girl who broke your heart in the relatively near or distant past?”
He fights a smirk and rolls his eyes. “Do you always say the first thing that comes to your mind?”
“Pretty much.”</i>
…and I really have to commend the author because the dialogue is amazing! It is funny, deep, entertaining and you can see yourself having this conversation with a great guy, too. The pace is perfect. I love that their relationship is not rushed. It’s not too rushed, not too slow, just perfect. The author took just enough time to see them blossom and build a beautiful thing together. You just see their bond develop!
But all of this is one year ago. The next chapter is the present time, and Briar is accompanying her boss Burke to a family holiday as his fake fiancé. Burke is paying her a lot of money to act as his fiancé to placate his father, who is ill. And he made her sign an ironclad confidentiality agreement. No problem, you think, just act the fiancé for eight weeks on a sunny island, collect the money and that’s it. Not exactly, since Burke’s brother turns out to be Dorian! You quickly notice that Briar and Dorian had something real and something special going on, so Dorian can’t understand why Briar is engaged to his brother, of all people. The Rothwell family dynamic is awful, and his brother is cold and distant. His sister is not much better. So how is it possible that the easygoing, fun loving Briar who didn’t ever wanted to get married and promised to wait for him is suddenly engaged to Burke?
Each chapter in the book highlights the heaviness of the situation, and the story is told with flashbacks; from one year ago until the present time. The chapters about them meeting one year ago show the beautiful, developing relationship between Dorian and Briar, their emotional connection, and then the next chapter in the present time shows the present time and all the tension, the questions and the lack of communication, where they used to talk about everything. This going back and forth is perfectly done because you understand more and more how special it is what Dorian and Briar had, and how incredibly undoable it is for them to be torn apart by the current situation. The frustration and heartbreak is evident and you just can’t put the book down because you have to know what happens next.
The one thing I majorly dislike, is that Dorian and Audrina have been dating for several years before… I won’t spoil that. But despite that, the book is really great and I can definitely recommend it to everyone. The conclusion is perfect, not cheesy, but the only way they can have their happily ever after: they get together again and don’t need many words because they are O.K., they’re each other’s person. I loved it!
Go read this book! You won’t be able to stop until you finished it.
Thank you Netgalley and the publisher, Montlake, for providing an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I greatly enjoyed this one!
Yes, it’s a little predictable, but for a story that helps you enter a different world, I enjoyed it. Even with the few oddities of the story.

Briar and Dorian met a year ago and it was fate. They both believed the other to be their soulmate. Too bad they were only together for three days. AND they agreed to not be in contact for two years, but would wait for each other to be together in two years.
Sooooo this is where my rating changes from 5 to 4. These two were idiots! If you believe you’ve found your soulmate, wouldn’t you at least want to be friends during this time?!?! I mean I would!
Then I continued reading… Briar is now fake engaged to someone. For eight weeks she has to pretend to be engaged to a guy named Burke while they spend this entire time with his family at their vacation home.
Okay, not too bad right?!?! It’s not real.
Too bad his brother… YES HIS BROTHER… is Dorian!
And she can’t tell him since she sighed a NDA.
Sigh…..
I loved the drama though if I’m being honest and you will as well. Give this one a chance!!!

So this was more of a 3.5 star read for me and it pains me to rate a Winter Renshaw book that low, but I expected better. The spice and the characters were just bland and stale.

4.25 stars

I can always count on Winter Renshaw when I need a good cry. I initially thought this book would give grumpy/sunshine vibes, but it was definitely more fake engagement/second-chance romance. For the first half of the book, I had a lot of trouble connecting with the characters. I got glimpses of Briar and Dorian from the past, but they were really 'flat' in the present. [After I finished reading the book, I realized that this was probably intentional, because Renshaw started revealing more and more about the characters as the book went on. So, if you're thinking about DNFing, please don't.]

When I read a romance, my favorite scene usually ends up being the moment H and h overcome the hurdles and finally get together...which, in my opinion, happened way too late this time around. In this book, the scene that hit me the hardest was a conversation between Dorian and his father, where his father says he worries about him because "sometimes you're too independent for your own good. You need someone to soften you. To make you smile." A couple of years ago, I probably wouldn't have appreciated parent/adult children moments like these.

I think the overall conflict resolution was a bit too convenient/fast for my taste. I rarely say this, but I wish the book were 50-100 pages longer so we'd get to enjoy more H+h moments. At one point, I thought we would get happily ever afters for the secondary characters as well, but they ultimately got what they deserved.

(ARC generously provided by NetGalley)

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 3 Stars

This book left me feeling emotionally whiplashed. What on earth? I'm not even sure if I liked it at this point.

The premise was initially quite enjoyable, but the drawn-out NDA situation became tiresome. Briar's passivity in the face of mistreatment really bothered me, as I would have stood my ground with that family. Moreover, if Nicola hadn't overheard the conversation between her and Burke, she might not have said anything to Dorian. That's messed up! If he truly is the love of your life, why not just be honest with him? Who cares about the NDA?

I also had mixed feelings about the relationships between the brothers and sisters. They were likable at times, but downright awful at others. They gave me emotional whiplash too.

I believe this book suffered from being both too short and too long simultaneously. It was too short to fully delve into and develop the family dynamics, so everything remained somewhat surface-level. On the other hand, the book felt too long because the conflict dragged on for far too long. This left me unsatisfied with the love story. I was hoping for more tender moments, and I didn't get them. (crying emoji)

I would like to express my gratitude to both Netgalley and the author for the early copy of the book. Please note that my review is completely unbiased.