Finally! A romance novel where the adult characters act like adults! And communicate with each other! Thank god!
This was really sweet, and I really adored both Eva and Sean. The reason for the third act breakup felt realistic and necessary, although I will say it wrapped up a bit too quickly. In fact, the ending very much felt like the book was running out of steam. That aside, I deeply enjoyed myself!

Eva has stalker ex who isn’t accepting things are over. Hitting a breaking point, she counters his grand (piano) gesture at their place of work with a threat to light it on fire.
A faulty lighter gives firefighter Sean the chance to talk her down, and with a follow up visit a new connection is born.

I ran hold and cold on this one. A lot.
I settled on 3 stars, because while there were things that bothered me it was still entertained enough that I didn’t regret the read?

I was happy going in about the MCs being further along and settled in their lives than a lot of typical romcoms - her being a 41 yo tenured professor and him a 36 yo first responder - Unfortunately, I felt like they acted more like college *students* much of the time

Sean’s friend offers a fake relationship book as an idea of how to help get her further separated from the ex. Fake relationships are one of my top tropes, and bringing a book into a book is fun in a fourth wall breaking way. But on the other hand, the idea of Sean ‘claiming’ her to get rid of Darren gave me a bit of the ick. Honestly, it was only them - mostly him - acknowledging how that was messed up that kept me into it.

I did like that Eva had people around her that recognized how the situation with her ex was bad and could get worse, trying to back her up. Her downplaying the situation to avoid making waves was frustrating - in my opinion changing locks and filing for a restraining order should have been top priority when he started escalating. But learning self defense for herself and jumping on the offer extending it to her students was excellent.

Heading away from the negative/conflicted thoughts - I enjoyed their book conversations, and how they specifically contradicted the horrid snobby opinions of her parents about how they couldn’t possibly relate to each other. I was happy that the ‘it’s not fake for me’ reveal came when it did. And the character growth by the end was good to see, specifically her standing up for herself against her ex and both of them confronting their families views.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin for the arc

I’m always looking for a feel good story! I like the HEA! What a great, fun story! The dreamy firefighter saving the lady from the clueless guy who has done her wrong and won’t go away! Love it!!

This is not a typical fake-dating book. The angst of it being a fake relationship is resolved earlier than usual, but another, more relatable problem arises in the relationship. I loved it. It's fresh and a bit different while still being a satisfying romance.

This was a super cute, very quick read from a new to me author. The pacing was quick, and I enjoyed that it was told from both POVs and that it changed back and forth a lot - made the book very easy to read. I am generally a sucker for a firefighter hero, and Sean was adorable. Eva’s a great heroine and we love seeing more books with heroines in their 40s. The third act conflict was realistic to people their age and stage of life, and I appreciated the way it played out.

Content flags: Eva is stalked by her ex boyfriend; Sean has an accident at work that lands him in the hospital

I voluntarily read an early copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

this was such a great palette cleanser! short and sweet and absolutely perfect! i loved how well written the FMC was written and how incredible she is! i definitely will recommend this to my book club!

When a bookish professor threatens to set her ex on fire (literally) after he tries to make a grand gesture, the last thing she expects is to begin fake dating the firefighter who intervenes... or to actually fall for him. When Eva Campbell, a literature professor, sees her manipulative cheating ex hauling a grand piano to publicly serenade her as a grand gesture after she repeatedly asked him to leave her alone... it's the last straw and she snaps. She grabs a can of bug spray and a lighter hoping to scare him away.... except it alerts many people and firefighters have to come in and intervene. Cue. handsome young firefighter Sean Hannigan, who comes to talk her down. Sean offers to be Eva's fake boyfriend when he sees how relentless her ex is and how much her ex is determined to bother her. Eva is charmed by the younger man, with his sweet nature and his kindness, she agrees. What starts off as fake dating soon turns into something more as Sean falls for Eva, but can he convince her he is serious and wants more than just fake dating? This was a meh read for me, it started off fun but then it kind of fell flat. Eva is 41 and Sean is about 36, however they felt like college kids, which was odd. It just felt odd reading and the slang/pop culture moments were meh. It just didn't really work for me unfortunately. That's not to say however, that it wasn't a sweet romance overall and that it had a happy ending. If you are looking for a quick read then with romance between an older female lead and a younger male, give it a go. Both the characters were sweet and felt like they walked straight out of a Hallmark movie.

*Thanks Netgalley and Harlequin - Romance | Afterglow Books by Harlequin for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

I love a good firefighter romance and this did not disappoint. This was my first book from Adele Buck I have already ordered the physical copy for release day.

👨🏼‍🚒👩🏻‍🏫🔥 A university literature professor is pushed over the edge by a persistent ex and when a firefighter sees that there’s more than meets the eye, he is willing to make an unusual offer to help her out and keep her safe.

This was a quick and refreshing read!

The characters are so mature and well developed, the tropes were well integrated into the story and weren’t just there to draw people in, and each and every conflict was real and heart wrenching. The MMC is a walking green flag and the FMC is the epitome of the modern woman. I loved this so much!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ (4.5 stars)

Fake Flame releases on April 30th!

Thank you to @netgalley for providing me with a eARC of Fake Flame by Adele Buck in exchange for an honest review.

Sweet baby Jesus I LOVED this book. I haven’t read a firefighter romance in like ever but this has immediately converted me. This was AMAZING. So cute and funny with series undertones and it was just lovely

Fake Flame by Adele Buck was like a big cup of tea. Warm and cozy. Sean and Eva meet when his fire squad is called out to her university's quad (read the book - its a solid meet cute). She is a bit older but they just click. They fake date to get her ex off her back and Sean is not really faking it at all. Overall pretty standard fake dating trope. But the author does have the couple face some very real world challenges and I think that is what really gave it the extra star from me. It was nice to see characters making different choices than the standard romcom (also a sexy woman over 40 is a boon too). It has some definite steam. Its worth the read. Thank you to NetGalley and Afterglow Books by Harlequin for the opportunity to review this book. I was given an ARC.

This book was interesting! I really enjoyed that the conflict was a true thing that happens to a lot of couples in this phase of life. I wasn’t entirely on board for a man who knew he was being a caveman and shouldn’t but did it anyways. Overall, this is a cute story with a fun couple but I wish it had a few changes.

In Fake Flame, a college professor fake dates a firefighter to get her ex off of her back. They are immediately attracted to each other and things start to become real.

This story is somewhere between a 3 and 3.5 star for me.

I felt that the story was good as a cute and easy read in between more serious books. It was light and fun, and there was good feminist messaging.

The dialogue in this story sometimes felt a little bit unrealistic. The characters talked like book characters, not like people in real life. The professor teaches pop culture courses, and she and the hero had pages-long discourse discussing pop culture. This felt like the messaging was interjected a little unnaturally into the story. To read this one you have to suspend your disbelief a bit.

The third act breakup lasted a bit long for my taste, but it wasn't too painful because I wasn't super deeply invested in the characters.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes the fake dating trope and just wants an easy read.

I am a huge fan of the fake dating trope so when I read the premise of Fake Flame, I knew I needed to read it. It had a Jane Austen loving hero and a grumpy heroine? Sign me up! Plus we get a reverse age gap.
This is the perfect cute and romantic read. The writing is funny and fun which makes the novel feel past paced. The characters are charming and I really enjoyed their relationship. I can definitely see readers falling for the MMC.
Definitely recommend!

This was a really fun and cute book! I love that the characters were older (in their 30s and 40s) because we often see much younger characters who appear immature or childish, but it was refreshing to read something different. It's a steamy read, but there's also some great benter and some laugh out loud moments. The characters have great chemistry from the start and it only becomes more obvious as they strike up a fake dating relationship. I do wish there was some more resolution with her stalker ex, as we didn't really get to see that really conclude. I also wish this was not written in third person, and wish it was dual POV, but that's a personal preference. This book does deal with the heavy topics of stalking and an abusive ex, but I think the author handled this all really well. Overall, it was a great book!

A pleasant read, fake dating to get rid of an annoying ex. The switching POVs after a few paragraphs between characters was a little dizzying. The amount of times the MCs had to tell their friends about fake dating the other was too many times.

This book was fine. It was a quick, breezy read about Eva, a college professor who is being harassed by the ex that cheated on her, and Sean, a firefighter who pretends to be her boyfriend to deter her ex from pursuing her.

Both characters are immensely likable, but they seemed a bit too perfect at times — especially Sean. I felt they could have been fleshed out more. However, I liked that they were 41 (Eva) and 36 (Sean). It was refreshing to read a romance between two people who are mature, settled, and know what they want.

The fake dating plot, while fun, feels like it doesn’t last long because these two fall into insta-lust and then insta-love in short order. There are some sweet and spicy moments I enjoyed, but I thought the first sex scene happened too soon. This book, due to its short length, goes by at breakneck speed. I felt like their relationship needed more time to develop.

Also, what was up with the constant POV shifts? Just I was getting settled into a character’s POV, it’d change in the middle of a scene, sometimes multiple times per chapter. It gave me whiplash and made it hard to feel immersed in the story or connected to the characters. I love dual POV — I actually prefer it — but the constant switching and lack of distinct voices for each character threw me off.

This is more of a 2.5-star read, but I’m rounding up to 3 because Sean is a dreamboat (even if I did think he was too perfect at times).

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC, which was provided in exchange for an honest review.

This is so cute. Short, sweet, and to the point. If you ever search for romances with grown respectful adults this one is for you! I loved that these two are settled in their lives and careers. So the way their relationship unfolds is just so perfectly right place, right time. Even though they have somewhat of a meet disaster this MMC is so understanding. I loved them both and felt like they were simply perfect for each other.

There is a little bit of angst with the fake dating premise, it’s not quite miscommunication in that I was never frustrated, it was honestly again, cute. They both have mutual feelings but it’s supposed to be fake ahhh.

This has well paced spice balanced with plot. This is a shorter read so just overall I had such a fun and swoony time. Thank you to Harlequin for the eARC!

Fake Flame by Adele Buck
Pub date: April 23, 2024
Rating: 4/5

I really enjoyed Eva and Sean's story. This story was sweet and sexy and definitely checked off a lot of my expectations for the fake dating trope. But there was also a uniqueness to this story. Most notably, I loved that while Sean was protective of Eva and the situation she was dealing with, he also helped empower her and helped her to be able to defend herself rather than having to rely on him.

I also appreciated the way this story handled Eva's age and feelings about having children. I felt this particular aspect of the story was covered very realistically with Sean's initial reaction being to propose "fixes" before he maturely figures out that there doesn't need to be a fix; Eva's feelings are valid.

While I recognize its benefit for adding to the plot, and namely the having/not having part of the story, I did feel some of the parts with Sean's family were a bit contrived. I've wrestled with why this is, and I think it's that we're introduced to his parents--the main drivers of this part--so briefly that they and their role felt underdeveloped to me. I almost think Sean's feelings and journey through thinking about having kids could've stood alone without the role of the parents. This didn't hugely detract from the book, I just felt it didn't add a lot and weakened this one small part of the story for me.

I would definitely recommend this book to fans of contemporary romance, especially if you like the fake dating trope.

ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley in exchange for honest review.

I liked this book but didn't love it. Some of the characters felt a bit one dimensional for me but I finished it. I was just hoping for more.