Well-written and sweet - I liked Fake It Like You Mean It. I'd argue this is more complex than just a simple romance book but overall, it was a solid read and I'd recommend it for those looking for an escape for a few hours.

This is not a romcom, more of a romance with serious subjects, mainly Alzheimer’s and the struggles of caregivers. I liked the characters, I liked the love story and its progression. It is an enemy to lovers with a touch of the fake dating trope. There are some steaming scenes, so pass it up if you want a clean book. Overall, it was well written, with more substance than most romance stories.

Fake It Like You Mean It
4.25 ⭐️

This one was so so sweet and after reading the description, I couldn’t wait to pick it up!

Elle heads back to check in on her grandma who has Alzheimer’s when she runs into the live in nurse staying with her grandma. Elle and Adam have to fake a relationship when her grandma thinks they’re together.

This was a beautiful story full of grief and the struggles that come from taking care of a loved one as their health deteriorates. I enjoyed this book so much and will definitely be checking out more stories from Megan Murphy!

Thanks to @netgalley for this ARC!

A million thank yous to NetGalley and Alcove press for this eARC, and to Melanie Sweeney who recommended it.

I read this book in less than a day. Starting it feels like falling directly into Elle’s head in the best way imaginable, and you stay there with her, and Adam, and Lovie in the magical pink house in Indiana through the entire book.

We recently lost my husband’s Gram to a decade’s long battle with dementia and the constant state of overwhelming care, love, resentment, frustration, panic, grief, and hope is so painfully and poignantly captured here, and if you know, you know. And Megan Murphy knows.

Adam and Elle’s story is delicious, their friendship and flirtation budding in such a heartwarming and funny way that it makes this story impossible to put down.

I laughed, I cried, I panic cried about Lovie dying on page, I laughed some more. I will definitely reread this, and can’t wait to share it with my family when it comes out!

I really enjoyed “Fake It Like You Mean It” by Megan Murphy. I was pleasantly surprised that a book with a heavy focus on Alzheimer’s disease can feel so lighthearted at times. I loved Adam, he is a great MMC! He is a nurse who is extremely capable, caring, and emotionally available. Elle is a podcast host who takes a break from the big city to help at home with her ailing grandmother. Luckily for Elle (and us), Adam is there as a live in nurse until a spot/insurance comes through to move her grandmother to a full time medical facility. Love the forced proximity makes for a great dynamic between the two main characters.

In this book:
Forced proximity
One bed
Alzheimer’s disease
Podcast host
Nurse

Thank you NetGalley, Megan Murphy, and Alcove Press for an advanced digital copy of this book.

I adore books that are romantic but have comedy bits as well! This new title from Murphy was spot on for combining those two elements. I was entertained and enjoyed this story. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

This was a hard read as someone who recently lost a family member after a long fight with dementia. But it was also real, raw, and adorable. I’m so impressed at this being Megan Murphy’s debut— it’s so competent in its themes and plot and writing. And the relationship! I was a little worried about Adam not coming through since this is single POV, but I was worried for no reason; their chemistry flew off the page. An excellent, heartfelt debut.

WHEW my heart got a workout with this one (including bouts of delicious tingles).

It takes a deft hand to move a story featuring the mental decline of a loved one along in an enemies to lovers close proximity romance in a way so sweet and empathetic, balancing the tough parts with healing, heat and heart. In a way that doesn’t press down, but holds tight and lifts up. Murphy does it perfectly.

The energy between Elle and Nurse Adam is palpable, and it was an absolute pleasure to witness them fall in love. I smiled a LOT while reading.

Tough, independent women often get a bad rep because people often don’t take the time to see how much love they hold behind their walls. This story shuffles bricks aside until we can’t deny their understandable complexity, and fall a bit for them, too.

Highly recommend this love story for every one of its beautiful, funny, moving, spicy, relatable parts. Looking forward to what this new author writes for us next.

For fans of:
Abby Jimenez
Kate Clayborn
Elena Armas
Katherine Center
Falon Ballard
Jessica Joyce

Ugh! Why would I rate a book 5 stars and start a review that way? Because I didn’t know I would be feeling all the feels while reading this on an airplane today! Pretty sure my seat mate was side eyeing me wondering why I was tearing up. And I’m not a cryer. This book just got to me. Don’t judge this book by its cover. It’s the heartfelt story of Elle dealing with her Grandma’s Alzheimer’s alongside a live in nurse named Adam. They get off on the wrong foot, but end up in a fake relationship because Grandma Lovie thinks Elle and Adam are her and her late husband Buddy. Adam, dealing with his own familial drama, agrees to fake date Elle when Lovie is awake. This turns into a slow burn. Both Adam and Elle overcome pasts to lean into this new romance. The tension is 🔥. This is open door, but not very descriptive and easy to breeze past. Definitely worth a read!

Thank you Alcove Press for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I have had the absolute pleasure of getting to read this book early and I wish that I could unread it so that I could go back to the beginning and witness Elle’s journey for the first time all over again. Elle is messy and stubborn and strong and it’s so easy to relate to her, to apply her story of growth and closure and grief and yearning to your own life. I read the very last sentence with tears in my eyes because there was a part of me that felt like I was given a piece of this happily ever after to carry with me.

I genuinely love Megan’s writing style. As someone who never annotates—ADHD simultaneously makes me want to do it all in, and prevents me from remembering to do it at all—I somehow ended up with hundreds of highlights of lines that just hit exactly the right way, or spoke to me in a way that made me as a reader feel very seen.

Fake It Like You Mean It is soft, and spicy, funny and heartbreaking, and just full of so much love.

I say this completely devoid of bias—everyone who’s looking for a love story that feels almost like a warm hug should read this as soon as it releases. I can’t wait to see what comes next. I’ve got my eyes on a couple of side characters whose love stories might get added to the top of my Christmas wish list.

"Fake It Like You Mean It" is an emotional whirlwind hidden within a charming, faux-dating storyline that masterfully blends humor, tension, and moments that will tug at your heartstrings. Megan Murphy weaves a touching narrative that follows Elle, a woman who returns to her childhood home to care for her grandmother, Lovie, whose Alzheimer's is rapidly progressing. However, Elle’s life takes an unexpected turn when she discovers Adam Wheeler, Lovie’s live-in nurse, has taken up residence in her former bedroom.
From the outset, the dynamic between Elle and Adam is both amusing and captivating, with their witty exchanges and initial dislike giving way to a slow-burn realization that perhaps their connection runs deeper than pretending. Lovie’s insistence that they’re a couple prompts them to play along, leading to a fake relationship that quickly becomes more intimate and emotionally charged than either expected. As they care for Lovie together, their worlds gradually intertwine in a way that feels both natural and inevitable.
The connection between Elle and Adam feels genuine—it’s more than just the usual enemies-to-lovers trope. Their bond grows organically through moments of shared vulnerability, humor, and tenderness. Murphy’s sensitive portrayal of Alzheimer’s is both heart-wrenching and compassionate, making Lovie’s character the true emotional center of the story. Her lucid moments, as well as her confusion, are portrayed with a level of empathy that will hit home for anyone who has witnessed the impact of dementia firsthand.
In addition to the romance, the book delves deeply into the pain of watching a loved one fade away and the profound sense of loss that accompanies it. Elle’s journey is not just about finding love but also about discovering herself as she navigates grief, memories, and the heavy burden of familial responsibility.
For fans of the fake-dating and slow-burn romance genres, this novel is a standout. It delivers all the light-hearted rom-com moments you'd expect but also offers emotional depth and beautifully crafted characters. "Fake It Like You Mean It" is a deeply moving exploration of love in all its forms—romantic, familial, and self-love—making it a compelling read for anyone looking to laugh, cry, and fall in love once again.
Grateful to NetGalley and Alcove Press for providing me with an advanced digital copy of this delightful romance in exchange for an honest review!

What a rollercoaster of emotions in this enemies to lovers read! It was a sweet romance but what got me was Lovie. I don't know how accurately this book depicted someone with Alzheimer's but Lovie was such a sweet character and I wish she were my grandmother!

Fake dating and enemies to lovers, this book has two of the best tropes and delivers them *chefs kiss* perfectly.

Elle and Adam have instant tension, it’s not clear why, maybe it’s one of those “I want you but I’m not sure if I can have you so I’ll be mean to you” situations but it creates the perfect enemies situation, and it’s delicious!

Enemies to lovers romance. Such an emotional rollercoaster ride.

When Elle learns that her grandmother, Lovie's Alzheimer status has progressed, she drops everything and heads home. Exhausted from travel she drops right into her old bed and on top of the live in nurse Adam. These two butt heads at every turn. Elle has decided that Adam will not do, and she will need to request a replacement as soon as possible. The only problem....Lovie thinks that they are in love. Sparks fly as these two are pushed together by Lovie.

This was such a great book. This author did a great job with all of the struggles that accompany Alzheimer's. As someone who has experienced this, I really appreciated how the author wrote this horrible disease. The banter between Elle and Adam was great regardless of whether they were fighting or flirting. Elle and Adam showed great growth through the book. I loved the ending; I did not want this book to end.

Thank you NetGalley and Alcove press for this title. This is my very honest review.

4 stars. This was a pretty good debut book by Megan Murphy. I'll first start out by saying, after growing up real close to the Elkhart/Goshen area it did make me have all the feels for living in Indiana. Now, the book as a whole was sweet. There were a lot of really great, cute parts. It does bring a lot of awareness to Alzheimer's. While, I have never been close to someone in that situation so I can't confirm how accurate it was, it all felt so real and raw. Elle and Adam were cute but I wanted to feel more. I didn't get the beginning part or why they disliked each other, or why they were pretending too. It might have been better as a friends to lover situation. I also wish we got a little bit of Adam's POV. There were moments where his actions were confusing to me and I wanted to know more about what he was thinking. To me, while the banter was fun and made me not feel as connected to the book or characters. There was a lot of talk about the cake for the baseball player. I am not sure if that is trying to set up for another book or what but if not I feel like they could have edited that out. Overall, this book was good. I would read more by this author in the future. It was a cute read, and I loved how it showed different professions than I am use to seeing in books.

Thanks NetGalley, Megan Murphy, and Alcove Press for the free eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Fue agridulce. Por un lado tenemos a Elle que regresó para cuidar de su abuela, Lovie, que tiene alzheimer y está parte es muy triste porque la enfermedad ya está avanzada y son muy pocos los momentos en los que recuerda a su nieta.
Por el otro lado, tenemos a James quien es enfermero de Lovie, quien se enamora de Elle, es una buena persona, gran hermano y tío y un novio que siempre está apoyando.

Una lástima que él no narre ningún capítulo, siento que al libro le falta enfocarse un poco más en él, porque al final parece algo decorativo y tiene muchas cualidades para ser un personaje entrañable.

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

The first half of this book was pretty rough for me. The dislike between the two main characters felt really forced and I didn’t understand why they even really disliked each other. There weren’t really any interactions that were positive between the two in my opinion, and I like to see the characters getting to know and understand each other sooner in a book.

That being said, the back half was enjoyable. Adam ends up being very sweet and supportive towards Elle. You also start to get to know the characters much better and that understanding led to feeling more of an emotional connection to our lead and what she’s going through. I don’t find the “faking it” trope to actually be that big of an important factor in this story, so if you’re going into this look for that just know that. This book is good if you want to enjoy a simple, sweet and emotional romance.

Enemies to lovers and fake dating are two of my favorite tropes in romance novels. That’s what I found in Fake It Like You Mean It.

Megan Murphy's debut, "Fake It Like You Mean It" had me at Elle on the L (despite the initial reference to the Chicago subway system. Has anybody ever called it that?). Loved the depiction of living in Chicago, chatting it up on the L, but also being tied to somewhere more rural, a few hours outside of the city. This story resonated deeply with me and, as such, I gobbled it up in one rainy Sunday. The barrier between 4-5 stars here for me was it didn't make me cry (so a very strong 4 star here)!

I didn't totally understand the enemies behind the enemies-to-lovers trope in this case (you've already accepted help into your home, why are you so mad at this man?), but Murphy made it much easier to look past any such criticisms as I totally fell for Elle and Adam. I appreciated the complexity and depth of each character - it made the ups and downs of their potential relationship make more sense & feel more real.

As someone who has stepped in to a caregiving role for a loved one, Elle's story really hit home. I so appreciated the perspective and representation of caregiving, especially in one's twenties, and the whole of what it is and how unfortunate it can be. Elle's life didn't stop because she went home to stay with Lovie - it changed and she changed, but she retained a life outside of her world in Indiana- keeping in touch with friends, falling in love, it all still happened. The world kept spinning. And yet, Elle had to compartmentalize so much of herself and her feelings. It was a dutiful representation of such a situation.

Murphy certainly delivered on a realistic, heartstring-tugging romance. Thank you to Alcove Press & NetGalley for the E-Arc!

There were some really cute things about this book, but also things that I didn't like that much, so this one was so so for me. I will say that I did enjoy the banter between the MCs & the "ruse" that they put on for Lovie. Overall I think this is a fun book, but I'm not sure I would read it again.