A cute read, possibly helped by its setting on Oahu; I still have warm feelings about Hawai'i after traveling there last summer. Sellet's love for the island comes through, and she does a great job making you feel like you're there. Bumped it up from a 3.5 to 4.

Libby and her best friend/roommate Jean have created a fake influencer profile online, Lilibet. It's a way for Libby to write and for Jean to share her art and photography; unfortunately, media empire heir Hildy is a fan of theirs and travels to Hawai'i in hopes of setting up a partnership. So Libby and Jean have to figure out how to be the wealthy, married Lilibet for Hildy...and Hildy's fake boyfriend Jefferson.

This kind of set-up can be frustrating, as I usually just want to yell at the characters to tell each other the truth as they continue to rationalize what's happening or determine that the time just isn't right. I was impressed, however, with how Sellet wrote it; there was never a moment where I wanted to smack the characters upside the head. Libby and Jefferson both come across sympathetically.

The side characters are where this misses a bit for me. Jean comes across as pretty unlikeable, and Hildy's insistence on acting like the 30-something Jefferson and Libby were ancient got old fairly quickly. I also never got a great feeling for the relationship between Hildy and her uncle. However, there are some good goat cameos and a malasada shout-out.

This 100% feels like a Hallmark movie, and I mean that as a compliment.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Griffin and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

There were times that this book was laugh-out-loud funny and others when the story dragged on. Libby and her friends created a fake influence profile online and now their top fans whats to meet them.

While the writing was good in this story, it was a struggle for me to finish.

Read if you like:
🧼 Clean Romances
☀️ Summer Vibes
🤣 LOL Moments/ RomComs
🐐 Goats

This is a silly, seeet, and sassy romcom! It has plenty of laugh out loud moments with funny characters, cute goats, and lots of chaos.

If you’re in the mood for a summer romcom with lots of laughs that’s squeaky clean, then this one is worth checking out!

Thank you to the publisher for my ARC in exchange for my review!

As intriguing as this story sounded, it was just okay for me. I liked the relationship between Libby and Jefferson, even if it felt a little instalovey and solely based on physical attraction. But you could see their feelings grow as they spent more time together, even if Libby wasn’t truly being herself. The whole plot is that she’s created a fake internet persona that has to become real when Jefferson and Hildy, the daughter of a media empire, come to visit. But it felt that it was so poorly executed of a persona that what was meant to come off as funny ended up being more cringe. I felt that way about most of book, scenes that were meant ti be funny just fell short for me.

Overall, I liked the romance but not much else of this book.

This one just didn’t do it for me. I finished and truly couldn’t tell you what happened. I loved the bits of “love lillibit” & appreciated the resolution in the end, but the banter was almost too much & too silly at times. I also didn’t feel a connection with the characters at all. The setting however was beautiful and I thought the author did a wonderful job writing it.

This book made me laugh so much, the things they had to go through to fake everything was so wild and so funny. After a while it became too extreme and I couldn’t even keep up!

I loved Libby and JJ, I kept reading because I wanted to know how all of this will unfold between them and it did not disappoint.

Solid read, with just the right amount of laughs!

This new to me author as written a funny fake it til you make it story on the beaches of Hawaii and it’s going to make you laugh out loud.

With all of these characters you aren’t going to be able to stop yourself from laughing at their hijinks. But the real question is will love prevail over a long list of half truths?

Take a chance on this one, it is funny where it needs to be and it’s going to make for a great break from your day to day!

Hate to Fake It to You by Amanda Sellet was such a gem!
I was not disappointed by this rom-com by her.
This book completely hooked me right from the start. It is funny and romantic, and I honestly loved everything about it.
Adorable, fun and charming, this one is such a perfect book for book lovers and romance lovers alike.
I have nothing negative to say about it. Perfect!!!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read and review this book. These opinions are completely my own.

This may be the first time I felt old reading a romance novel and I have read a lot. The writing just wasn't aimed at me and that's OK. I think this would be more relatable for the under-30 set.

HATE TO FAKE IT TO YOU – Amanda Sellet
St. Martin Griffin
ISBN: 978-1250906243
July 16, 2024
Romantic Comedy

Hawaii – Present Day

Libby Lane, with the help of her best friend Jean, has created a fake persona on Instagram that has her showing others how to experience the communal aspects of life. But behind her fake life is plain and boring Libby. She is nothing like Lillibet, who has a wonderful husband, lives in a fabulous house, and knows how to do just about everything from cooking to creative displays. Unfortunately for Libby, she has attracted the attention of Hildy Johnson, a social media influencer and part of the famous reality show darlings, the Johnsons. Hildy decides to come to Hawaii with her current boyfriend, wildlife photographer Jefferson Jones, to meet and complete an interview on Lillibet for a magazine. To say that Libby is now in a panic is an understatement. She has to recreate her “perfect life” for Hildy or be branded a fake. What happens in the coming days in HATE TO FAKE IT TO YOU is fodder for a slapstick comedy. Nothing goes right…and Libby is finding herself attracted to Jefferson.

Readers will have to peg HATE TO FAKE IT TO YOU as a different kind of story and romance. Libby created this perfect woman with the help of her best friend Jean. Of course, they didn’t expect that they would have to show Lillibet to the world in a public display. They manage to find a local’s house to pretend to live there, but there’s a catch. The owner doesn’t just want to be her pretend husband—he wants to marry her. Libby accidentally met Jefferson before she realized he and Hildy had arrived and kind of let her hair down in front of him. That is when the attraction between them started, and it doesn’t abate in this tale. Oh, and Jefferson is not really Hildy’s boyfriend. It turns out he is a fake too. There is a lot of faking it until you shake out the truth in HATE TO FAKE IT TO YOU.

Hildy has the influence, but she is really a nice person, though a bit oblivious to the goings around her. Jefferson had to wonder about “Lillibet’s” marriage because the couple does not seem happy together, and in fact, appears to be a couple of swingers. Jean is supposed to be the housekeeper, but she acts like the lady of the Manor and orders others around. Meanwhile, Libby wonders what is going to happen if the truth comes out. There are plenty of laugh-out-loud scenes and snappy dialogue to keep the plot moving along. HATE TO FAKE IT TO YOU is a madcap comedy that has a bit of everything…go wrong. Probably the only complaint is that it takes a while for everything to get all sorted out. At the end of the book, will Libby be exposed, and will she get a chance with Jefferson? You’ll have to read it to find out.

A tale set on the beautiful island of Oahu in Hawaii that blends romance with comedy. Don’t miss the fun in HATE TO FAKE IT TO YOU.

Patti Fischer
Romance Reviews Today

Hate to Fake It to You by Amanda Sellet is full of characters pretending to be someone they’re not. Each has agreed to this in hopes of using one another’s “status” for personal gain. While the plot sounded promising, it ultimately fell a little flat for me.

The characters were all over the top and ended up being rather unlikable, in my opinion. Using one another for their own nefarious, selfish reasons wasn’t relatable or enjoyable for me.

I would rate this three stars as I’m sure a perhaps younger audience may enjoy this.

Thank you NetGalley, Amanda Sellet, and the publishers for the opportunity to read this in exchange for a candid review.

I thought I would enjoy this but the writing lacks focus on a topic. It’s all over the place. The dialogue, while I’m sure is intended to show the relationship between the characters, is actually just very confusing . It was also unclear the relationship between some of the characters and then, by time it was explained, I was already annoyed with the lack of information.

What a cute plot, and how much I enjoyed reading this one! I read it in a single sitting because I was having so much fun reading it! I quite liked it and definitely recommend to others - absolutely pick this one up if you’re looking for a fun time.

Very low angst but there’s drama because of the mistaken identity fiasco (Libby pretends to be a different person on her lifestyle IG influencer account, “Love, Lillibet”). A media mogul’s daughter, Hildy, has a life-changing experience and decides to go to Hawaii to seek out Lillibet, who she follows for life tips, with the man who saved her - wildlife photographer Jefferson. Libby and all of her community scramble to help Lillibet exist and to show Hildy a good time on the island, and some Lillibet activities and insider secrets. What no one counted on was Libby and Jefferson hitting it off… especially when Lillibet was supposedly married (she needed to have a huge, affluent house somehow).

Fun, flirty, and there are cute goats! Plus, it’s in Hawaii - hard to go wrong here. It’s a quick and easy and light read.

I received an advance copy from NetGalley and St. Martin's Press (St. Martin's Griffin), and this is my honest feedback.

This book is such a gem. There were moments where I laughed out loud and other heartfelt scenes where I really related to trying to find your place in the world. Libby, along with her two best friends, create an online persona that is nothing like their real life. When media-darling Hildy notices the Love, Lillibet account, she wants to meet Lillibet and flies to Hawaii to do just that. They are forced to bring Lillibet to life and antics ensue.

This was such a fun rom-com that was over the top at times but delightful. I really enjoyed the characters, with the banter between Hildy and Jefferson being my favorite. There's a romance plot, but this is so much more. We have themes of found family, finding yourself in the world, community, a woman's ambition, friendship, plus goats! There's fake dating on multiple fronts, and on a personal note, I absolutely loved the backdrop of living in Hawaii. Roacheo! The bugs there are legit, by the way.

There is a third-act break-up that I know readers have feelings about, but in this book it just works! I won't give away the when/who/how but it felt necessary and it wasn't drawn out. I wanted a little more resolution to the Mr. L situation, and I wanted a little more of the dichotomy between tourism/non-resident property owners and residents.

Overall though, I found this book to be fun and light while also touching on some very real emotions. It would make a great vacation read!

Our fmc is Libby, whose carefully presented social media influencer persona "Lillibet" showcases a lifestyle that's more of an exercise in creative writing than actually resembling her real life in Hawaii. She wants to be a freelance journalist but her life has hit a few snags. OUr mmc is Jefferson, a wildlife photographer who happened to be in the right place at the right time to be a snowstorm hero in Wyoming. Their paths cross in Hawaii when the media socialite Jefferson rescued (Hildy) is a big fan of Libby's lifestyle counter-part Lillibet and comes to visit her. Libby and her friends scramble to keep up the facade to impress Hildy and maybe find a way out forward into the lives they want. Will they be successful or will the subterfuge derail everything? I have to say, the resulting trainwreck was a lot more amusing than I anticipated. With stories like these where willful deceit is such a big part of the plot it's easy to descend into cringe-worthy story lines, but I thought it was handled well here. The author has a nice comedic voice with a lovely touch of snark. There were enough genuinely funny scenes to keep things moving nicely, and several spots where I legitimately cackled out loud. Not a big fan of Libby's friend Jean but I *loved* Keoki and his family. This is a new-to-me author and it's her adult debut, I sincerely hope she continues with adult fiction because I would really love to read more from her!

Thank you to NetGalley for an Ebook ARC of this story, this is my objective review. Publishes July 16, 2024.

A really lovely, funny, and sweet adult romance debut! I loved the humor, the found family , and the absolute love and respect for the island. Highly recommend!

This book wasn’t really for me. I struggled a lot with the characters overall and the love felt very insta-lovey to me.

The best part of the book was really the Hawaiian setting. I wouldn’t say I would never read this author again, but I don’t think this is the book I would recommend.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the eARC of this book for my honest review.

I will tell you that I love rom-coms and books that are not too serious. But this book wasn't it for me. I struggled to connect with the characters and be drawn into the story. I honestly put this book down and eventually got back to it, but I just don't leave books unfinished. Other reviews loved this book, but it just wasn't for me.

Had some trouble connecting with this story, the characters were flawed but their romance wasn’t felt. The island descriptions were very nice, made me want to visit and see it for myself.

I had a hard time with this book. I struggled with the characters and the miscommunication. The romance lacked chemistry in my opinion. I did like Hawaii as the setting and I did find it funny at times.