Megan Murphy’s debut novel was so real, raw, and honest. It dove deep into what it is like taking care for someone with Alzheimer’s, how it takes a village to get through those times, the reality of caregiver burnout, and still managed to give us an incredibly sweet romance.

In just a few pages you get to witness Elle’s journey. She’s stubborn, strong, and relatable. Adam is logical, observant and sweet. Both grumpy. And together they stumble through life and fall in love in one of the best slow burn, fake dating, forced proximity (yes there is only one bed) romances I have read this year.

Fake It Like You mean it is sweet, fun, relatable, heartbreaking, and spicy, all rolled into one. Definitely deserved those 5 stars and I think I will be recommending it to EVERYONE. It is worth it!

Elle meets Adam when he is the nurse caring for her grandmother who has Alzheimer's. Soon they are fake dating then falling for real, but when they leave this bubble? Looking forward to more from this author.

Elle is a popular podcast host who has to return to her small town to assist in caring for her grandmother with Alzheimer's, Lovie. Adam is the live-in nurse caring for Lovie until she can move to a full-time memory care facility. Elle and Adam have some ups and downs, but they learn a lot about each other and themselves along their journey of caring for Lovie.

I could not believe that this is Megan Murphy's debut novel! Her writing is up there with the best of them - funny banter, a swoon-worthy MMC, and multiple tropes in one (fake dating AND a single bed, I mean come on!). I can't wait to read more of her work!

Thank you to NetGalley for the free advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

(Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for a review. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own)

Publication date: 18 March 2025
Publisher: Alcove Press

A woman burdened by her grandmother's advancing Alzheimer's finds herself entangled in a fake relationship with her grandmother's live-in nurse. Honestly, what could go wrong, right?

Elle, our caregiver-turned-fake-girlfriend is relatable in her chaotic attempts to juggle family, feelings and the ever-present Adam Wheeler. Adam, the live-in nurse with a penchant for being a "pain in the ass" is your classic grumpy-sunshine combo and the banter between him and Elle is genuinely entertaining. Murphy also handled Alzheimers with a delicate balance of humour and empathy.

However, the enemies to lovers transition was a bit rushed like they skipped a few chapters of character development. I think there could have been more feuding just to make the storyline a little more believable.

Ultimately, this book is a sweet and quirky debut that delivers a healthy dose of feel-good moments. It's a solid three stars – a bit messy, a bit predictable but undeniably charming.

When she gets a phone call telling her her grandmother Lovies's Alzheimer's is getting worse, Elle drops everything to move back home and help the woman who raised her. She's expecting things to be difficult, but they're even worse than she could have ever imagined as the loving woman she remembers has no idea who she is and is always violent and beligerent towards her. Thankfully, live-in nurse Adam is there to lend a hand, even as Elle finds him to be a total pain in the ass. Thrown together in their desire to care for Lovie, they find themselves having to act like a couple to keep her calm. What could possibly go wrong?

I really liked the characters and the situations they find themselves in feel realistic in a way that adds comfort to what could have veered in dark and depressing territory. That the focus remains on the slowly building romance instead of Lovie's ever-deteriorating mind while still making that the focus of why they're together in the first place. It makes for both fun and sad moments that balance each other out perfectly.

It hits a bit hard to read about how much a disease like Alzheimer's can wreak havoc on a family. Murphy does not pull punches when it comes to the more negative sides of it, but I commend her for keeping the focus on the positive things that can come when you're there and have support. It's a nice little boost that keeps the story from getting dark.

Very happy thanks to NetGalley and Alcove Press for the emotional and romantic read!

Famous podcaster Elle returns to her hometown in Indiana to care for her grandmother, Lovie, who raised her and now suffers from advanced Alzheimer’s. Elle is there to help take care of Lovie while waiting for insurance to cover her grandmother’s transition to a full-time care facility. To her surprise, she finds Adam, the in-home care nurse, in her bed—and he's not exactly thrilled.
Lovie, confused by her condition, thinks Elle and Adam are her and her husband, so they’re forced to play along.

At first, I had a lot of questions. I struggled to understand how Alzheimer’s patients could mistake others for themselves, and it didn’t make sense to me. But after doing some research, I learned that it’s possible and accepted it. The enemies-to-lovers trope felt a little flat. While I understood why Elle was grumpy, I couldn’t quite grasp why Adam was rude to the person paying him.

Despite that, the story grew on me. By the end, I loved it so much that my initial complaints didn’t matter. The complexity of the situation and the overall narrative were engaging, and I loved how their relationship evolved.

Thank you so much NetGalley and Alcove Press for the ARC!!

Oof! I got smacked right in the feels with this one.

I laughed, a lot. I cried, A LOT. I swooned, and kicked my feet, and just all around had a fantastic time reading Fake It Like You Mean It!

Wow! As a nursing student I just had to read this for the LOLs and Megan wrote a fabulous story. Fake dating and slow burn tropes were written wonderfully and really tied the whole story together. Definitely would recommend and will be adding Megan’s books to my tbr

Elle’s grandmother Lovie Alzheimer’s is progressing fast, so Elle decides to leave Chicago to be with her. When she returns to her childhood home, she finds Adam Wheeler, working as her live-in nurse. Yet Lovie believes that Elle and Adam are madly in love, so they decide to play along with the story, believing that she will forget by the next day, but she doesn’t. Soon the fake dating scheme becomes read for Elle but she wonders whether Adam feels the same.
I enjoyed the banter between this couple, who at first disliked each other until they realised that there is more to their feelings. Lovie is the person that binds them together, and I enjoyed seeing their relationship grow while they cared for her. This aspect makes their relationship more realistic, as it is difficult to hide the pain that comes with caring for someone with Alzheimer’s. While Lovie struggles, it is even more painful for Elle, who knows how her grandmother has changed.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was such a cute and fun book! I loved the ease of it all. The premise was sweet and a fast and easy read. Lightheaded but a bit more spice than I prefer. I’m all for a good forced proximity romance!

Sometimes fake-dating romances stretch the boundaries of credulity. This one, where Elle and Adam find themselves pretending because Elle’s dementia-affected grandmother Lovie believes them to be a completely different couple, does not. Their start is inauspicious - podcaster Elle has no idea what’s involved in caring for Lovie, and Adam is delightfully, unapologetically grumpy - but the way they gradually fall for each other is beautifully done. Add in an unflinching depiction of the realities of dealing with dementia and Elle’s struggles to work out how to move forward with her life, and this novel packs a true emotional punch alongside moments of humour and genuine sweetness. It’s one that will stay in my memory for quite some time.

What a charming debut! Definitely for fans of Abbey Jimenez and Sarah Adams. This was a sweet rom-com about Elle who leaves her Chicago apartment to tend to her ailing grandmother who has Alzheimers. When she arrives she realizes it isn't just her grandmother, but there is a VERY attractive live-in nurse named Adam. That is just what she needs. The two are mistaken by her grandmother as younger versions of herself and her husband and Elle and Adam play along that they are married.

It hits all the tropes and the humor was really sweet. It didn't get too spicy until roughly 80% in, so this is sllllllloooooooooooowwwwwwwwwwww burn ladies. Sllllllooooooooowwwwwwwwww burn.

It was light and tender- and gave a really good idea of the difficult reality Alzheimers is for many.

Really well done for a debut!

Publishes 3.18

Content: a few f-words, some open door

“𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘱 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳’𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦.”

This book was so sweet! 🥹🥰

Elle is just a girl living in Chicago, riding the train & recording her podcast 𝘌𝘭𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓 when she gets a phone call that her grandmother’s Alzheimer’s is getting worse. Elle’s grandmother Lovie raised her & she knew this time would be coming, so she decides to go home & help care for her grandmother until she can find a more permanent solution. What she doesn’t expect to find when she shows up at her childhood home is Adam sleeping in her bed. Adam is the nurse who has been assigned to help care for her grandmother & these two can’t stand each other. But when Lovie thinks they’re a couple, these two have to fake it like they mean it for the sake of Elle’s grandmother.

I really enjoyed this book! When I thought back after finishing it what I would rate it, I went through my rating system & really enjoyed so much about this book. I tried to think of something that bothered me or I didn’t care for & I couldn’t find a single thing. I loved the relationship that Elle had with her grandmother & seeing the moments they had together was so precious. Watching Adam struggle with things in his own life, but still be there to help Elle with Lovie was the sweetest! I loved these two & honestly every character involved, and I can’t wait for everyone else to get their hands on it! 😍

Fake It Like You Mean It is a super cute romance novel by debut author Megan Murphy! This book features a fake relationship, enemies to lovers, one bed, forced proximity, & Alzheimer’s disease awareness.

Thank you to NetGalley, Megan Murphy & Alcove Press for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is a solid romance. I loved the forced proximity of the boundaries blurring between workplace into the personal. I had to drop a star unfortunately for the beginning set up. It felt so clear it was forced "enemies" to lovers when I feel like the stakes could have been just as high if they actually acted like real humans when they first met. The accusations and misunderstanding at first, sure, but it really made no logical sense for why he of all people she took issue with when she had no problems with past caregivers of her grandma and him to her to act professionally.

Overlooking that, the rest of this book was great! I don't normally gravitate towards terminal illness in romance but it didn't feel gratuitous. The sad parts and the angst felt familiar in a safe way, not too emotionally devastating which I thought was well done keeping this feeling like a romance vs fiction/story just about the FMC's journey.

Thank you to Alcove Press for the eARC.

**I'm giving this a 4star rating because my copy has no paragraph formatting, so reading the book was difficult because of my vision focusing issues. Based on the blurb and a brief flip through, I think this would be a book I'd enjoy, hence the preemptive rating. It sounds fun!

Thanks for the opportunity to review! I'm going to check this one out once it's published.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️.75
Spice: 🌶️🌶️

Thank you to Alcove Press and NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for an honest review.

This is a debut novel and the blurb sounded great, but sadly there are parts that were a miss for me.

I personally think that with Adam’s POV we could have looked at situations from his perspective and it might have help understand WHY he went for Elle, after she is rude to him for no reason for most of the book.

The story of taking care of someone with Alzheimer’s and how it changes and progresses, was the good part of the book.

Elle infuriated me so much at her grandmother’s. The podcasts and the idea behind it sounded like a fun way to meet people and hear their stories, this is were Elle shined as she used it as a coping mechanism. Her being hostile towards Adam made the romance feel forced in the end. The Rom-Com wasn’t really romantic comedy-ing for me personally.

I was hoping for a “romance but more book” with the heavy topic of Alzheimer’s. I was hoping this would go deeper with Elle & Lovie’s relationship. Or Elle’s relationship with Alzheimer’s, but that could be me projecting as someone who has family with the disease.

If you’re looking for an easy read with loose fake dating, you’ll eat this up!

Thank you to Alcove Press and NetGalley for this ARC!

just finished "Fake It Like You Mean It" by Megan Murphy and I'm OBSESSED! 😭❤️ Seriously, this book is EVERYTHING! It's got the sweetest romance EVER, but also tackles Alzheimer's in such a real way. Like, they fake being married for her grandma?! Genius! 😂

The slow burn? 🔥🔥🔥 And hello, forced proximity/one bed trope! 🤭 You know I'm here for it!

Can you believe this is Megan Murphy's DEBUT?! I'm officially a fan! 🙌

stunning amazing beautiful and absolutley perfect!! i loved this debut!! the perfect amount of tension and banter and i simply could not put it down

Fake It Like You Mean It is a story that packs a punch with laughter from the romantic comedy vibes and heartaches from the raw elements of dealing with Alzheimer's. Megan Murphy put heart into this story and you can tell from how she writes the heartfelt scenes with Elle, the main female lead, and her grandmother Lovie. If fake dating is your go-to trope, you will love this one especially if you are particular about the reason how and why fake dating unravels in the plot. Elle and Adam's fake dating tension in this shined in this story!

I personally didn't feel a strong connection with Elle, but her humor was refreshing in the pages and provided a great break in between the heavier moments. In addition, I felt like the story did a lot of telling vs. showing when it came down to the descriptive scenes. There were also some moments in the book (purely language choices) that I wish had gone through a sensitivity review. Overall, I appreciated the focus on Alzheimer's and would love to see what others think about how this story depicts the reality of this diagnosis.

Huge thank you to NetGalley and Alcove Press for an early ARC of this book! Can't wait to see what Megan Murphy brings us in the future!