Member Reviews
I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.
Amanda Sellet’s Hate to Fake It to You is a charming enemies-to-lovers rom-com with a fresh twist. The story centers on Mallory, a sharp-witted protagonist who reluctantly agrees to a fake relationship with her infuriating coworker, Theo, to navigate a tricky workplace situation. What begins as a practical arrangement quickly evolves into a hilarious and heartfelt journey filled with banter, chemistry, and surprising vulnerability.
Sellet’s writing sparkles with humor and emotional depth, making Mallory and Theo’s dynamic both believable and irresistible. The workplace setting adds tension and stakes, while their gradual transformation from rivals to partners is deeply satisfying.
This book is perfect for fans of witty dialogue, fake dating tropes, and slow-burn romance. Hate to Fake It to You is as fun as it is endearing—a story you won’t want to put down.
“Hate to Fake It to You” is a hoot! This romcom brings the laughs with its quirky characters, adorable goats, and a whole lot of delightful chaos. It's the good pick for when you need something light, cute, and easy to dive into. The banter is fun, the situations are quirky, and the humor is on point. By the end, I was cheering for pretty much everyone. If you’re looking for a clean, feel-good summer read that’s all fun and no fuss, this one’s a winner!
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffith for the advanced copy. All opinions expressed are my own.
Did not love this one. The characters were extremely unlikeable and the plot kept getting crazy and more unrealistic as the book went on...I had a really hard time with this book. I felt like there was a lot of information missing that could have contributed to the plot. On the other hand, there was often so much information that I found it confusing! Nothing made sense.
Influencer, Lillibet, has the world falling in love with her lifestyle. The beautiful sceneries, the lavish self-care, and delectable food are coupled with beautifully captioned advice about life. The only problem with Lillibet? She isn't real. She is a creation of best friends, Libby, Jean and Keoki who couldn't live any further from the life they are presenting as Lillibet. When an important follower decides to come to the island to visit Lillibet, the three friends have to hustle to find a way to make their creation into reality. This attempt is followed by chaos, unfortunate events, and the possibility of love.
When a story seems completely unbelievable, it is hard to really jump into it or find ways to connect within the words on the page. Starting, Hate to Fake it to you, I fully expected to feel disappointed. It seemed like a silly premise and so unbelievable that it would be impossible to fall in love with it. I am happy to say that I was very wrong. While the story itself is hard to believe, the characters make up for the lack of connection.
The characters are fully fleshed out, fun, and easy to connect with. The main character, Libby, was intelligent, sassy, and incredibly fun to read. She got herself into situations that in no way would happen to an average person, but those situations always ended up shining a light on the person that she so desperately wanted to be. Her inner dialogue gave a deeper understanding of who she was when everything around her was falling apart. It was interesting to see the juxtaposition between who she was presenting herself to be and who she wanted to be. Jefferson, Hildy, Jean, and Keoki were all equally vital to the story and their interactions with Libby never disappointed.
Despite the lovable characters themselves, the romances lacked luster. There was so much going on that it was hard to see the romance grow in any way that felt natural. This could be because the flow of the story was difficult to follow. There were moments where everything happened at once and then moments where nothing at all happened and it was jolting to go between the two.
This was a surprisingly fun read that was a wonderful break from the seriousness of the real world if you don't mind the difficulties with the flow. Watching Libby and her friends get themselves into and out of wild situations made my own life feel a little bit more manageable, and for that, I found myself greatly appreciating this book.
3.5/5 stars
Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for my honest review.
A waitress masquerading as an influencer and a wildlife photographer are on a collision course with romance–and chaos―in Hate to Fake It to You , a zany modern twist on a screwball comedy classic about figuring out what you really want – by pretending to be someone you’re not.
Everyone gets a glow-up on social media, but Libby Lane's online persona is the fakest of fakes. Cooked up as a joke by Libby and her best friends, Lillibet is the affluent, healthier-than-thou opposite of her glam-free life on the side of Oahu most tourists never see. The phony fronting is all in good fun, until a real influencer stumbles onto the Love, Lillibet Instagram feed and starts making waves.
When Hildy Johnson, the ambitious junior member of a media dynasty, travels to Hawaii to talk to Lillibet about parlaying her lifestyle brand into a job, Libby and her friends scramble to take the make-believe to a new level. Complicating the charade even further is Hildy’s handsome companion, a wildlife photographer named Jefferson Jones, whose keen eye sees more than he lets on.
Between the pretend husband, borrowed goats, a made-up holiday, and Libby’s very real attraction to Jefferson, it’s anyone’s guess which lie will blow their cover first … especially since Lillibet isn’t the only one with something to hide.
If you are in a dark space emotionally like I was when I read this book, it will help. I loved it. Cannot wait to read more from the author.
This was so bad that I'm having trouble putting it into coherent words. I don't think I've ever read a book that I wanted to end faster than I did this one. Nothing worked and everything was so contrived that it was almost laughable. This was my first book by this author and it will almost certainly be my last.
3.5 stars. What happens when an influencer has to convince people that the online life she portrays is real? This rom-com had a lot of funny lines that landed well. The setting in Hawaii was very easy to picture and played a strong role. The main characters-when they were being their authentic selves-sounded like people I’d like to know. In my opinion, the premise of internet influencers who are faking a lot of their content was both realistic (probably) and frustrating simply because I'm always here for genuine but messy instead of fake perfection. But the way Libby and her friends tried to pull off their well-curated but very fake lifestyle was great slapstick comedy and my favorite part of the book. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-arc of this book.
I thought the influencer vibes was something unique and I can appreciate the fake influencer jig for the sake of getting out of poverty. There's some hilarious disasters in this book that made me laugh out loud and I enjoyed the tropical settings in this book. I feel like the romance part was out of nowhere tho as the FMCs was supposed to be on a mission to land a job but got distracted by a man over some videos of him saving another girl.
Did love the lying part of this book but it all came together so it was ok, sort of? I loved That there were goats in this story and it truly was hilarious! If you don’t mind the lying trope then you will really like this book.
Do you like silly, crazy, unbelievable, zany, and cute little goats? If so, then this book is for you! . This book is full of laughs but lacking in spice. I tend to like books that are a little less silly but this was still cute and a great escape from reality!
Thank you Netgalley and St. Martins Press for this Advanced Reader Copy.
Thanks to NetGalley for the eArc!
3.5 Stars - cute and funny read which, at times, veered a bit outlandish.
Sorry but this book wasn’t for me. I didn’t connect with the FMC and was not interested in her story, fake or real.
I really tried to give this book a chance, but I found the characters to be insufferable. I will not be reviewing this book on my social media accounts.
This one was a fun, kind of zaney read. The premise was definitely unique but not really believable, but then again we don’t always read romcoms for their basis in reality! If you’re looking for an easy read that will be a light-hearted escape from reality, check this one out.
Hate to Fake it to you by Amanda Sellet
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Libby lives with her best friend on Oahu, working hard to pay the bills. She runs a blog that started as a joke where she writes as Lillibet, who is a rich, healthy lifestyle influencer. When she is contacted for a job opportunity AS Lillibet, she is forced to pretend.
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What I liked:
-This book was so funny. I was dying laughing at all the jokes and banter. I especially loved all of the dialogue from Hildy, she was awesome.
-I love a good “pretend to be someone you aren’t “ storyline. I thought this one played very well, I was engrossed the whole way through.
-The romance was sweet. (No spice factor, so keep that in mind!)
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4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Very entertaining read, also the audiobook was excellent. At about 30% into the book I realized that this author also wrote By The Book which I ADORED. I can’t believe I didn’t realize that, I would have tried to prioritize this book sooner.
This book was a DNF for me. I got to 30% and decided it was not for me. Hopefully it will be a good fit for someone else!
This one was just okay. I'm not a big fan of the lying trope and it was just really out there. I would try the author again though.
A fun, light, summery read. Libby lives a double life as a fake influencer but questions if the secret is worth keeping up when she meets Jefferson. To me, it was very unfair for Jean to give up her part of the secret while expecting Libby to keep up her end of the deal.
Thank you to NetGalley for this advanced reader copy.
This is a silly romcom with funny characters, lots of chaos and a few cute goats.If you’re looking for a fun, silly, and completely unbelievable rom-com to escape reality, look no further. This is a good read if you are looking for a break from some heavier reads and need something light.