4.5 ★

An accidental/mistaken meet-cute leads to fake dating during the holiday season.

You can immediately feel the chemistry between Candace and Chase. There's a lot of great tension and angst. It's insta-love due to the nature of the plot, but it also felt surprisingly slow-burn at the same time, which I really enjoyed. There's a lot of flirty banter and cute on-page texts. And of course, there's a touch of holiday vibes. Chase is very fun and flirty and will have you kicking your feet and giggling. Candace is very relatable. I understood her reluctance to define the relationship, considering her previous experiences and insecurities. I admire her for prioritizing her own emotions.

I personally did not like the conflict in this book. I feel like it could have been easily avoided if the characters had just stood up for themselves or one another. Other than that, it was a very quick and fun read, for sure.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

4.5☆

『 tropes 』
•fake dating
•christmas romance
•open door
•golden retriever

『 plot 』
candace meets chase in a coffee shop, she thinks he’s asking for her number, but he isn’t, it was meant to be the barista working there. disappointed, but knowing she isn’t chase’s type, she keeps him at a distance, and they agree to be friends. but then chase needs a favour, he needs a date to his company’s christmas party and candace agrees. thus begins fake dates, practice runs, subtle touches and fake kisses that don’t feel that fake at all

『 characters 』
there were no bad characters, bar one, but every story needs an unlikeable character.

candace is sweet, loyal, trusting, prickly, and a little bit guarded and is so easy to love.. chase is funny, confident, honest, open and a little bit broken from his boss’ inappropriate behaviour and together they quite literally make the perfect couple, even if candace tries to do everything in her power to keep him at arms length.

miles, amanda and elvis are great side characters, they’re funny, loyal, good friends and all round likeable characters

『 writing style 』
a dual pov is normally my favourite, but i’m glad this was only from candace’s point of view. i like that it was a little biased and we only saw her thoughts on everything, and her guessing on how chase might be feeling, when he’s not actually telling her how he’s feeling. it was fun to be in the dark a little bit, to always be questioning if chase was for real, just like candace was. the writing flowed, it was easy, it didn’t lag or feel awkward.

『 overall 』
this book had me blushing and kicking and squealing for the whole 200+ pages. it was light, it was funny, it was sweet and charming. i thoroughly enjoyed it, i loved the tension between the two characters, the chemistry between them were some of the best i’ve ever read. i loved every word of this book

I honestly read this book in one sitting, I couldn't put it down.

I think what pulled me in is the banter between Candice and Chase and how fast (in a good way) the pacing was. I started reading and the next thing I knew I was 45% of the way through. I felt the struggles for both Candice and Chase in their work situations and I feel that it Chase's situation was done very well. It is a situation that doesn't get as much notice as it should because it's out there but most men won't say anything about it. I adored the side characters and will be looking into this authors books again.

“my point is that as great as your friends are, it’s not about them. it’s about you. it’s always about you”

when the fake snow falls is a fake dating x slow burn romantic comedy that had me hooked from the start

it’s my first festive read and my first book by heather garvin, and I’ll be definitely getting into her other works if they’re anything like WTFSF!

it follows in the pov of candace, and while sometimes it’s nice to know what the MMC is thinking in a dual pov, heather garvin did a great job of illustrating chase with on page texts and how he carried himself in conversations with candace, and her friends

great side characters that didn’t take up too much of the book, but made it easier to connect with the story as there’s so much more depth to it

I will say I did NOT expect the reveal about 60% of the way in, and it literally had me putting my kindle down for a moment to process what I just read

if you’re looking for a quick, lighthearted, festive read, then when the fake snow falls is one you should pick up

thanks to victory editing for approving me to read when the fake snow falls <3

Heather Garvin is a new-to-me author, and I'll definitely be checking out more of her work! A hilarious/disastrous meet cute segues into an enjoyable slow-burn with plenty of tension and great chemistry between the two main characters. But the manner of their meeting casts a shadow over Candace and Chase's 'fake' relationship: is Chase genuinely interested in something more with Candace, or will she have to guard herself from getting too involved - and how will the walls she puts up affect her ability to really get to know this guy with whom she has such a great rapport?

With single pov romances I'm sometimes left feeling that an alternative pov is lacking; that the narrative is missing something. That wasn't the case here; I think the author does a great job of showing Chase's pov *through* Candace's own viewpoint, and as a reader we're able to read his intentions and cross our fingers that Candace will open her eyes to them too! She's an unreliable narrator in many respects, wilfully refusing to shed the 'fake' label despite evidence to the contrary - but never annoying with it, as it's clear where she's coming from in her insecurities.

The dialogue throughout is sparky and fun, both between the central pair and with the supporting cast. Miles, Elvis and Amanda are great and I loved the non-conventional (from a northern European pov) Floridian Christmas vibes! I slightly wanted to shake both characters when it came to the third act breakup and tell them to communicate, but it's not like it was unrealistic, and things were soon resolved for the HEA.

Overall, a worthy addition to your Christmas tbr pile, and something outside the usual snowy/cold/wintriness of the conventional seasonal fare!

it is now october which means its time to start my christmas reads and im so glad this got to be the first christmas read of many to come.

so enjoyable i had a ball reading this it was so easy to get through and i loved the main characters and the side characters they had my heart.

i didnt like the 3rd act breakup i thought it was unnecessary but im glad it didnt last very long. i prefer slow burn so i didnt enjoy the fact that they liked each other so fast but thats basically it! their meet-cute was ADORABLE it was so cute i loved it. mmc is my dream man honestly what the heck.

thank you to netgalley for an ARC of this book!