When the Fake Snow Falls by Heather Garvin is a heartwarming, slow-burn romance that kicks off with a hilariously disastrous meet-cute and grows into a beautifully layered relationship. The chemistry between the main characters, Chase and Candace, is palpable, and their connection develops at a pace that feels both authentic and relatable.
Chase is the epitome of a golden retriever in human form—charming, persistent, and absolutely adorable. From the start, he knows what he wants, and it's refreshing to see a character who's so sure of his feelings and isn’t afraid to act on them. His texting game is strong—he's not shy about sending double (and sometimes triple) texts! What really impressed me was how genuine his conversations with Candace felt. They both seek to truly understand one another on a deeper level. Chase is humble, respectful, and a true gentleman, especially in how he navigates the simmering sexual tension between them. His patience and respect for Candace's boundaries only make him more endearing.
Candace, on the other hand, is wonderfully grounded. She’s confident, knows her worth, and maintains her boundaries without ever seeming needy or desperate. This made her both relatable and empowering as a character. I also adored her best friend, Miles, who added so much fun and humor to the story. His vibrant personality had me laughing out loud throughout the book.
The witty banter between Chase and Candace, their perfectly awkward meet-cute, and the tender moments they share are all exceptionally written. Every step of their journey feels natural, and you can’t help but root for them to find their happy ending.
Big thanks to Heather Garvin for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you NetGalley, Victory Editing and Heather Garvin for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

4.5 stars rounded up! I really enjoyed this book!

It starts off with Candace getting coffee behind a sexy man (Chase) who leaves behind his receipt with the word "Number?" Written on it. When he texts her, he's witty and funny, and she just can't believe that he wanted her number. After some top-notch banter is exchanged, Candace finds out that he wasn't asking for her number; he was asking for the barista's number.

They agree to spend time together as friends, but every time they hang out, their feelings for each other seem to deepen. Chase invites Candace to his company Christmas party to act as his fake girlfriend to keep his predatory boss away from him. So, they have practice dates. They fall even harder for each other.

The premise is so original and I loved that. The banter was exceptional! Candace and Miles' relationship was excellent. Miles was such a great supporting character, I would love to read the story of him finding his HEA!

The reason I gave this 4.5 instead of 5 is because the conflict made me angry. I know it's supposed to make me angry bc it pulls the MCs away from each other, but it just felt like there was a better way to resolve the issue than just brush it under the rug. In addition, I wanted more about Chase's background, his relationship with his family and/or a wise-cracking best friend.

This was my first of Heather Garvin's books and it's definitely not my last!

First of all I want to thank NetGalley for giving me the opportunity this book that I was so eager to read as soon as I saw it!🤍🎄❄️
This book was so good!!! I had so much fun reading this book that I didn't want to put it down until I finished it. This book had everything a book can have in order to provide a good read! This book is very fluid making us not get bored, the interactions between Chase and Candace were amazing, making me laugh and melt for every moment of them.
Honestly, I really loved this book it was a such a cute, festive, fun book!!!!🤍🎄❄️

I have to state that this was a sweet fake dating romance. The romance overall was sweet. I liked Candace and Chase together. Best friend Miles was probably my favorite character. I would love a romance book with him as a lead character. There were predictable parts in the story like Chases horrible boss. Which was okay. The ending was perfect. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for my ARC.

I will be splitting my review into 2 sections, the likes and the dislikes. First up the likes:
The whole accidental connection and fake dating played out really well and the initial connection was quite original.
The romance was a nice slow burn and quite sweet
The naughty scenes were nicely contained within 1 chapter with no needed dialogue in them, so can be easily skipped without losing necessary dialogue if preferred
It had a HEA

The dislikes:
Way way too many expletives, to the point I felt like I was reading from a moody teenagers perspective
How our heroine coped with less clients was never actually addressed
The epilogue just didn’t really add anything to the story

Thank you to NetGalley and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for providing this book, with my honest review below.

When the Fake Snow Falls was a cute holiday romance, a little unconventional for taking place in sunny Florida, which does a great job with its colorful characters.

Candace is a hairstylist who thinks the gorgeous man in front her in line at the coffee shop, Chase, was asking for her number. This stolen meet cute was hilarious and I enjoyed it starting off the book in an unconventional way. Candace and Chase do become friends and when he asks her to be his fake date (to keep the heat off him by his sexually harassing boss until his promotion), the attraction really starts to sizzle.

The plot itself is cute but not anything that I would cite as terribly different that another romance exploring the same type of conundrum. What is different is the cast of fun characters. Candace and Chase were both easy to like and the periphery characters, especially Miles, Candace’s roommate, was hilarious. I did feel we dragged on a bit with Candace’s insecurity of Chase only going out with blonde women (which to her equated to him only ever being attracted to or ever being interested in this hair color), and the third act breakup was contrived to follow a classic romance formula, but unnecessary. I’d recommend this as an easy read, specifically for some of the characters. I would have read several more pages where we focused on Miles and Candace’s parents!

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!