oh. my. god?! this book was phenomenal, especially for my first time reading a sports romance! marion de ré did a fantastic job with writing an easy-to-read, can’t-put-it-down, binge-worthy book that i simply could not get enough of. i was fully invested in this book from the jump, reading it every spare chance i had! i even went as far as sobbing because the book ended and running to read the extended epilogue when i found out there was one! roxanne (roxy) grant and wade hunter are just some of the sweetest characters i have ever read about! i really related to roxy throughout the book, especially when she discussed her body image issues. god bless for books where the fmc is NOT skinny!!! another note i made is that even though i’m typically a spicy romance type of girl, this book was a great change of pace and i found myself enjoying the closed door scenes. one last thing: all hail the cinnamon roll hero trope.

thank you to netgalley, marion de ré, and victory editing netgalley co-op for granting me access to this ARC in exchange for my honest review!
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#marionderewrites #fakedatingthefootballerbook

The story had a lot of potential. I felt that the writing was very basic. I just wanting so much more to happen. The third act breakup was also not needed.

Fake Dating the Footballer by
Book 3 of For the Love of Rom-Coms (these are technically stand alones with interconnected characters)

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

*thank you Netgalley and author for a chance to review this arc*

I love applying for ARCS based on the covers. I saw this one and immediately applied.

This is a sweet romance and the perfect palate cleanser. Wade is a Profesional footballer and Roxy is a writer for a Fashion Magazine. She is applying for a contest that would allow her article on the front of the Magazine she works for. Their relationship starts as a fake dating/contract type of relationship but quickly becomes so much more.

The characters were well written and I loved everything about Wade. Roxy is a curvy girl and has a lot of insecurities about herself. When she starts fake dating Wade and gets pictured more, her confidence falls when reading what others have to say online about her body. Wade is quick to jump in and make her feel like a million bucks. He loves her body, tells her how beautiful she is and it was beautiful to read her confidence change.

This is a clean romance but the tension and the innuendo are perfection. If you're looking for something quick and something that'll make you smile, I highly suggest this book!

#bookreview #arcreader #arc #netgalley #bookishpost #bookishcontent #bookstagram #canadianbookstagram

I love RoxyxWade! They are the cutest! This book could’ve easily been 100pages longer:
The first half, is in my opinion, missing some
- Main character building. Specially between Roxy and Lina, like… Roxy isn’t just RoxyxWade. Give us some more Roxy power😍
- Explain her ambition aka the article some more. Like it felt off that it just randomly came up during her and wades conversation later in the book.
- The books lexical niveau is in the beginning very YA. I would have loved some more thought / scenes from Roxy and her father + Brother

A comment about the second part of the book:
- the short miscommunication between Roxy and Wade when Wade finds Karl there, almost had me screaming in annoyance. But the way that you build that - with wades fear of losing Roxy and his future - made very much sense. Like it was a harsh conversation starter, but it got them on the right track.
- Lastly! Why the skip, between Wade telling everyone he’s staying in London/Roxy in the train/subway??Why couldn’t we read about Roxy seeing Wade declaring his love for her on the screen? Rather than her suddenly being on the her way?

The last part of the book felt a bit rushed. But not necessarily bad, just fast paced. The epilogue could have been split up in my opinion as well. Why did they meet up with Colton? Is it a build up for an another book? ;)
And THAT beautiful moment between Roxy and Wade in the end? That deserved it own moment to shine :D

AHHHH I absolutely love this book!!! It was such a cute and funny lighthearted rom-com. Loved seeing Roxy and Wade relationship develop over time. It was so refreshing to not see them constantly fighting and arguing and saying “I hate you” like in most fake dating books.
I definitely give this a 5/5 stars. Cannot wait to read more by Marion De Ré

Sports romance? Swoony MMC? Fake dating? Body positivity? Closed door? What more could you want in a book? I loved this book. Sports romances have a special place in my heart and this one did not disappoint. It's been forever since I've seen a football romance (or soccer for my fellow Americans). Wade Hunter had my heart from his first mention on the page. He is supportive and just overall lovely. He also just steps in and goes with the flow when Roxy declares that they are dating even though he totally doesn't even know her. Roxy agrees to fake date him when he shows up at her flat with a proposal that they can both get something out of this fake relationship. Oh, and to make things worse Wade Hunter turns out to be a famous footballer and Roxy absolutely hates football. It was so fun to see the progression of their story from strangers to friends to lovers. This book had a good balance between romance and sports. The football games are described but not in such great detail that it takes away from the story. As an American who knows nothing about soccer, these descriptions helped me to understand the basics of the game. I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for that next sports romance to satisfy their craving.
I received an ARC but these are my own honest opinions.

Do you like sports romance? How about the sweetest body positive MMC? And you can’t forget the Fake dating. If you like those you’ll love this. This is the story about Roxy and Wade who end up in a fake dating situation after some unforeseen circumstances. Not only will you absolutely fall for the characters the banter throughout the story is amazing and I absolutely fell in love with the MMC and his support for the FMC I’ve been in kinda a book slump for awhile and this has got me excited to read again :) I was sent this book and this is my honest opinion #netgalley

Thank you NetGalley, Victory Editing by NetGalley and Marion De Re for allowing me to read this book early with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Roxy is at the airport to pick up her crush, thinking their relationship is moving beyond friendship. Where she finds out he’s coming back after a 10 month work trip with a fiancée. She panics and grabs the closest guy to her to act as her boyfriend. That guy happens to be the biggest football star.

My thoughts:
I adored the characters in this whirlwind romance. I also appreciated how they came together as a couple! The first half of the book is perfect pace and you can easily see how it all unfolds. But the second half felt rushed. Everything between our main characters happens really fast. I would’ve like more pov’s from Wade (MMC) at some situations.
No spice.

Resuming:
I think it’s a cute book and I recommend it. It´s good for when you’re having a reading slump too!

Thank you NetGalley, Victory Editing by NetGalley and Marion De Re for allowing me to read this book early with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

There was a lot of endearing qualities in this story. Their meet-cute was adorable and I instantly loved how ride-or-die Wade was when Roxy called on him. They also have some cute call-backs to extravagant date ideas that Roxy jokingly requests early in the story. While I wish we got a little more spice from them, I knew going in this was a fade-to-black story and just to appreciate the smooching.

Now, for what I didn't like as much. Roxy has body confidence struggles that are brought to light while "fake" dating Wade in the spotlight. While Wade's compliments of Roxy's figure are swoon-worthy for sure, there was another side of the coin that was less body positive and leaned a bit too much towards dissing other body types for me...
"Roxy is full of life, full of femininity. If you ask me, we don't see the right body types on those runways and magazine covers. This is what sexy and beautiful looks like". I appreciate your love for curves, Wade, I really do, but maybe not harsh on other body types in the process.

Overall, this was a cute read for those who love the fake-dating trope, which I certainly do.

"Fake Dating the Footballer" is a fantastic emotional rollercoaster experience, complete with unexpected airport encounters and false dating.
After Roxy and Wade are photographed by airport paparazzi, they decide to go along with the fake dating. Even though Wade and Roxy initially pretended to be dating, their chemistry became obvious as they spent more time together at events. I enjoy how their bond and friendship develop over time and how Wade shows Roxy that playing football can be enjoyable. I loved Roxy's acceptance that she was looking forward to seeing a football game. That's when I realized Wade had won her heart.

All things considered, this endearing romantic comedy won my heart with its endearing plot and lighthearted tone. I can't wait to read more from the series as I'm a first-time reader of this author. This book is excellent, and it deserves every star! I highly recommend it!

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I had so much fun reading this book! The book is lighthearted, delightful and filled with witty banter between the main characters. I enjoyed the characters of Roxy & Wade and how they played off of one another. I was able to read the book in an entire day and I spent the entire book smiling & laughing!

While I am familiar with football, I still had to research a few rules (just like Roxy). And even if football seems too boring De Re does such a great job writing about football that I think anyone can find the excitement in it.

Despite the light-heartedness and laughter of the book, De Re does not shy away from the topic of today’s perception of body images. She is sensitive about the issue and still brings about her message of loving your body in a way that does not pull the mood of the book down.

Finally, I loved how she incorporated the purple roses and their significance. I am not sure how am people look at the meanings of flowers but the meanings are overwhelming and beautiful. The purple roses are perfect for this story.

All I can say now . . . READ the book if you are looking to smile, laugh and fall in love with the wonderful Roxy & Wade!

Roxy & Wade are so cute! I love how their relationship started and they didn’t shy away from the fact for very long that they had feelings for each other. Typically with fake dating they act like it’s not happening and this was refreshing!

Wade taking her to all of the places she joked about going to was completely adorable - like the top of the Eiffel Tower.

I recommend this book to anyone who likes fake dating and sports romance.

WOW! This was my first book by Marion De Ré and I will definitely be reading more!
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Fake Dating the Footballer was everything I was hoping it would be! Wade is the ultimate book boyfriend. I loved that they were complete strangers when they first met and he helped Roxy without a second thought. The character growth that they both go through is fantastic. If you are looking for a sweet, fluffy, feel-good read this book is perfect!

P.S. the side characters were also great and I NEED their books right NOW! (Colton!!!)

I was given a chance to read this early thanks to NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

I adored the characters in this whirlwind romance. I also appreciated how they came together as a couple! The first half of the book is perfect pace and you can easily see how it all unfolds. The only problem I had was the second half of the book felt rushed. Everything between our main characters happens really fast.

DNF at 22%

I really wanted to love this book. Wade is a great candidate for a book boyfriend. I'm a sucker for fake dating and sports romance. Plus football? I was sold. Add in the promise of body positivity and I felt that this book would be a great fit for my tastes.

However, the kind of 'body positivity' in the first 22% that I read was the FMC saying "ew I can never wear that outfit again I look so fat" or "I chose this outfit cause it makes me look like a 14, not a 16, and I'm just so fat." The 'body positivity' from the MMC was equivalent to him saying "hot bod." I am just not a fan of the kind of body positivity that relies on the idea that a woman can't love her body until a man shows her she's allowed to.

The story and characters also just felt like a caricature of what it could have been.

Thank you NetGalley, Victory Editing by NetGalley and Marion De Re for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is the 3rd book on the series but I felt ok with this being a standalone.

Roxy is picking up her crush from the airport thinking their relationship is moving beyond friendship only to find out he’s coming back to town after a 10 month work trip with a fiancée. She panics and grabs the closest guy to her to act as her boyfriend. That guy happens to be the biggest football star. Cue fake dating.

I enjoyed Roxy being curvy but struggled with how it was handled/such an ongoing topic. Maybe that’s my insecurities but it didn’t feel empowering,.

The ending felt rushed to me and wish it would have had a little more substance to it but overall a cute story.

Fake dating to (assumed) lovers. Famous/commoner. No spice.

As much as I love a fake dating story, this one didn’t quite manage to draw me in. Wasn’t fully sold on their chemistry with a lack of depth and quickly finished scenes and zero steamy moments. Lots of predictable story lines and easy conclusions

I love a feel good romance and a good meet cute. This is both! I couldn't put this book down. It didn't shy away from issues like foster care and body issues but at its core it was a wonderful heart warming read. 10/10!

"Fake Dating the Footballer" by Marion De Ré is an absolute gem of a rom-com! It's like a warm hug on a chilly day, filled with all the best tropes: fake dating, sports romance, and a cinnamon roll hero you can't help but adore. Roxy and Wade's chemistry leaps off the pages, making you grin, chuckle, and swoon in equal measure. Plus, the witty banter and tender moments keep you hooked from start to finish. Trust me, this book is a touchdown in the rom-com genre! 🏈💕

From unexpected airport encounters to fake dating shenanigans, "Fake Dating the Footballer" is a delightful rollercoaster ride of emotions. Roxy and Wade's journey from fake to real love is heartwarming and endearing, with just the right amount of tension and tough decisions to keep you on your toes. While there were a few minor hiccups along the way, like stereotypical portrayals and surface-level moments, the overall experience is a joyous one. If you're looking for a fun and quick read to brighten your day, look no further than this charming rom-com! 📚✨

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I am so thankful to of had the chance to review this ARC! This book was such an easy read, and so swoon-worthy! Could not put this down!! Currently on my faves list; highly recommend!