This story had my emotions on a tilt-a-whirl, and I love when I can lose myself in a storyline so easily.

Daphne found herself back in her hometown, much to her displeasure. Her engagement, which she perceived as stable and blissful, was far from it, prompting the need for a reset. One aspect I love about this author is her creative characters; this book showcases that perfectly. The local sheriff’s department hires her temporarily for forensic accounting work, which she loves, but the close working conditions with a childhood acquaintance make this situation particularly challenging for Daphne.

Being the acting sheriff is a demanding job for Calvin, requiring him to show trustworthiness and reliability to overcome past misperceptions. His attraction to Daphne and her calming effect make it increasingly challenging for him to stay away from her.

This has an addictive mystery aspect to the storyline, and some laugh out loud situations. Her interactions with her grandmother and her search for the heirloom pot made for a very entertaining story. It’s engrossing and entertaining, with great chemistry, steam, and humor, making it one of my favorites. It was difficult to pull myself away from these pages, and I recommend this story.

I was fortunate to receive my ARC from Netgalley, and happily leave my review.

Why haven't I stumbled on this author before? This book was amazing with all the banter and some lol scenes and the whole fake dating plot was brilliant. Just enough angst but not too much to want you to throw the book.
Honestly this is my favorite read so far this year.
Monroe creates swoon worthy male leads and hysterical and smart female leads in this upbeat book.
A lovely romance with fun side characters especially Daphne's gran, who needs her own Golden oldies book imo.
Kerry Kennedy Author

Four Steps To The Perfect Fake Date
Pub Date: March 11
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🌶️🌶️🌶️
After being away from her hometown for quite sometime, Daphne Davis the good daughter returns to her hometown jobless,homeless, broke, and alone.
Daphne is an accountant who thought of her self as boring, insufficient, and not worthy of love. So when she got offered a job at the sheriff's department, she accepted thinking that a change of place and being back near her family might make her feel better. However, she didn't expect to run into Calvin Flint her nemesis the guy that drove her crazy back in high school and for him to be the Island's sheriff meaning her boss. Together they are working on solving issues surrounding the department which is going to lead to a lot of unexpected opportunities and adventures for both Daphne and Calvin.
If you love:
Rivals to enemies to lovers 🫣
Fake dating 🫠🔥
Getting back her family heirloom / secret heist 💃🏼
Adventures🙂‍↔️
Mistery 👀
Forced proximity 😍😍♥️
Small town romance ☺️
Sexy banter 😉😗
You're going to love this book sooo much.
I was literally obsessed with the story. It had everything I needed in a romance and I honestly couldn't put it down.
Thanks to @netgalley and the publisher for granting me an ARC of #FourStepsToThePerfectFakeDate in exchange for my honest review.

Xoxo😘

Four Steps to the Perfect Fake Date is a laugh out loud feel good story with characters that are quirky and likeable with a interesting plot twist to add a little action and suspense.

I received a advance reader's copy of this book and I am voluntarily leaving a review.

Since moving back to her hometown, the responsible, quiet, even boring, Daphne Davis hardly recognizes herself anymore. Maybe it was because her fiancé dumped her, and she lost her job and home in the city all in just a couple years, but she’s gone rebellious. Okay, maybe rebellious is too strong of a word for it. But she did steal some ice cream from her parents’ house and duck out of her sister’s engagement party with it. And something about being around Calvin Clint, the mean troublemaker from high school who has turned himself around become the acting Sheriff only feeds the rebellion. As does acting as the sheriff’s department’s temporary accountant to, along with Calvin, work out what strange, potentially criminal things, had been happening in the department while the last sheriff was there. So, when Daphne agrees to pretend to be Calvin’s date to his mother’s upcoming vow renewal, she starts to feel out of control. Is this version of Daphne a fake or is this who she’s always been?

I did not have a good time with this book.

For one thing, the male love interest, Calvin, is a whole collection of red flags for the at least the first third of the book. He insists on calling the other love interest, Daphne, by a high school nick name that she hates, no matter how many times she tells him to stop. At one point he tries to pressure her into letting him into her apartment (not for sex, thank goodness), even though she doesn’t want him there. He even plays into local rumors, suggesting to Daphne’s family that they’re having sex, in order to manipulate her into pretending to be his girlfriend for an event.

In addition to that a lot of things that I would consider sexual harassment or borderline sexual harassment happen. For example, rumors spread throughout the small island that the two main characters are being sexual with each other (I’m being vague to avoid important spoilers), which is horrifying in itself, but Daphne’s friends and family – even her beloved grandmother – make her deeply uncomfortable teasing her about sex and her supposed relationship. Daphne also does a couple of major things without warning (again, being vague to avoid spoilers) to Calvin that could have been absolutely horrible had he not, for some reason, been okay with them.

The book also includes a forgiveness moral that is both cliché, and in my opinion, harmful. Pressuring people to forgive those who have seriously harmed them sets them up to minimize their own pain and potentially position themselves to be harmed again.
I also felt very little chemistry between the main characters.

The book does have strengths, of course, though. I enjoyed the relationship between Calvin and his half-sister, CeeCee. They are adorable together, and Calvin’s love for his sister is the best thing about him. I won’t say much to avoid spoilers, but I also enjoyed the very end in which a long-standing question is answered. It was legitimately clever and funny.

Overall, though, I really don’t recommend this book.

Thanks to the publisher, Montlake, for providing an advanced reader copy of this book via NetGalley.

Tw: sex, sexual harassment, neglect, parental death, physical violence

Four Steps to the Perfect Fake Date is a high school nemesis, small town, co-workers, fake dating book about Calvin and Daphne and is told from both of their points of view.

Daphne is going through a hard time and ends up back in her hometown, where she feels she doesn't compare to her sister. She runs into Calvin and they end up working together. She has some upset feelings for how he treated her in high school.

When Calvin's mom has a wedding renewal, he doesn't want to play her games, so he convinces Daphne to be his fake girlfriend for the wedding. Daphne has other motives for being his fake girlfriend.

With them working together, and doing this wedding stuff feelings are getting stronger between the two. This book had so many funny moments with Daphne's grandmother. Will Daphne and Calvin get their happy ending? I enjoyed this story, and would love to read more by this author.

It’s a common trope in romance novels for the heroine to suddenly lose their fiancé, job and home all in one fell swoop, which is exactly what happened to Daphne Davis and she is anything but pleased to be back living with her family in Fernley Island. To add insult to injury, she gets pulled over by the Sheriff who turns out to be her high school nemesis, Calvin Flint. She is about to start a new job investigating financial corruption in the Sheriff’s office which would make him her boss.
Daphne was always the “good girl”, someone who followed the rules, but seems to be acting out of character since her return as a series of mishaps throw her and Calvin together and sparks fly. As you would expect, they are not the same people they were in high school. They hatch a plan to fake date so she can accompany Calvin to his mother’s wedding vows renewal ceremony and stop the annoying matchmaking; Daphne is hiding an ulterior motive and plans to recover her grandmother’s heirloom cast iron pot at the same time. What could possibly go wrong?
I liked Daphne and Calvin, despite her internal monologue getting a bit repetitive at times. The secondary characters, especially Daphne’s grandmother and her two cronies, bring humour to the story which turns out to be a mixture of cosy mystery and romance. By the time we got to the third act breakup, they both overreact. The unresolved issues from their childhoods had affected them deeply and they found it hard to trust anyone even themselves. I enjoyed reading Four Steps to the Perfect Fake Date, and will definitely search out other books by this writer. Thanks to Montlake and NetGalley for a digital copy to review.

What a cute story! Calvin and Daphne have so much chemistry together. Both of them returning to Fernley Island after both leaving because they did not feel like they belong. They knew each other in high school and hated each other … or did they? Calvin comes back as an acting sheriff after a scandal with the previous sheriff, that Daphne’s sister Ellie (from Lilians 1st book in this series “Four Steps to the Perfect Revenge”). Daphne comes back after a broken relationship and being laid off from her job. Calvin pulls Daphne over during her one of her first nights back. Oh boy… sparks fly from the beginning! Both characters are broken and discover each other again and they find the people who they thought they hated as kids, were not the people that they were. This was a sweet and touching story. Lots of steamy, sexy chemistry and funny quirky family and friends! I always feel like I walk away from Lilian’s stories feeling like I made new friends. I love her stories! They are always a guaranteed good read, great story line, and funny hot romances!

Lilian Monroe delivers a fast-paced and engaging small-town romance packed with tropes that romance fans love: fake dating, enemies-to-lovers, and a swoon-worthy hero who falls first.

The story follows Daphne Davis, a “good girl” whose perfect life falls apart when her fiancé dumps her, leaving her jobless and homeless. Moving back home, she lands a job as an accountant at the police department—only to find her new boss is Calvin Flint, her high school nemesis. As they investigate missing funds and grow closer, sparks fly despite their reluctance to admit their feelings.

The fake dating plot comes into play when Calvin needs a date for his mother’s vow renewal, leading to humorous and heartfelt moments. The addition of a stolen heirloom adds intrigue, while the chemistry between Daphne and Calvin keeps the romance fresh.

With interesting side plots, lovable characters, and no dull moments, this is a delightful read. I’ll definitely explore more from Monroe!

I enjoyed this enemies to lovers, fake date story. Daphne, the “good” girl, who is down on her luck, losing her fiancé and job, heading back home for a temp job and family for TLC. Calvin, the “bad” boy who turned his life around, is back in town as the Sheriff. The two meet up again and the fun starts.

This was a fun Enemies to Lovers - Fake Relationship read. I loved the banter between Daphne and Clint. You could feel their attraction in every line. I love it when you can feel it come off the page. Lilian Monroe Brought that Tension and Sizzle off the page.

I see many reviews talking about how they didn't like Daphne falling back into being insecure in the middle. This was something I liked about it, as a person who suffers from self-doubt and low confidence. This felt relatable. You can't control when those doubts pop into your head or when those past words whisper through your head.
Because of this, Daphne felt even more real to me. It made her and Clint's relationship feel more flushed out. They were able to help each other with the demons of their past while accepting the others. Not shaming but accepting and helping each other.


Thank you to NetGalley, Lilian Monroe, and Montlake Publishing for this ARC in exchange for an Honest Review.

Time for more Four Steps and the Davis family shenanigans in their small town- and well things end up a little messy but with a lot of love...

Four Steps to the Perfect Fake Date by Lilian Monroe follows the similarly titled small town rom-com, Four Steps to the Perfect Revenge and trust me when I say that some things will make SO much more sense if you have read Perfect Revenge before this book. Also of note this book is written in third person- which isn't a deal breaker or anything for me but since I primarily read books written in dual first POV making the switch to third takes some adjustment.

Daphne Davis is kind of the black sheep in her family- meaning that she was the quiet good girl to their chaos. But when being the good girls leaves her jobless, homeless and left by her fiance for being too boring- Daphne finds herself taking a few more risks than she would have before. Only there Daphne seems to have a glaring shadow- Calvin Flint- he may be a semi co-worker now and the acting sheriff in their small town but Daphne isn't convinced he's changed his ways since high school.

I liked the idea of these kind of opposite characters with their enemies vibe obviously ending up together somewhere along the way but I wasn't completely invested in them in the way that I am with some other characters. Even with these two "pretend" dating for the sake of stopping Calvin's mom from setting him up with a date for her vowel renewal this is a pretty slow burn book.

Now don't get me wrong, I like the story- uncovering the little mysteries, seeing what fun yet craziness the Davis' would be apart of not to mention the slow build of friendship and more between Daphne and Calvin. There are so many lovable characters and I adore the family bond and support that Daphne's family has even if she doesn't quite view herself as one of their equals and seeing the strides that Calvin is making in not being that young, angry boy anymore. The story itself is fun and captivating, and has almost all of the elements for rom-com perfection... unfortunately, I just didn't quite fall in love with Calvin and Daphne as a couple.

This one started off good. Daphne and Calvin didn't like each other in high school, to put it lightly. When they run into each other again after several years apart, things just pick right up where they left off and the animosity and snark make an appearance. Despite the underlying dislike, Calvin convinces Daphne to attend his mom's vow renewal with him to get her off his back.

There seemed to be a bit of chemistry between the main characters but in my opinion, it just kind of fizzled as the book progressed. Daphne's constant self loathing got to be a bit repetitive as well. I understand that that was a big part of her character but it just got to be too much. If I'm being honest, Mable and her crew were the highlight of the story for me...I'd read a book about their shenanigans! Lol! Overall, a decent read but probably not one I'd add to my "read again someday" list.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

I had never read anything by Lilian Monroe, but “Four Steps to the Perfect Fake Date” just seemed like the cutesy and light book to read. You know those books that you can almost smell like Spring? You wanna read them in an afternoon on your balcony sipping a mocktail. It seemed very like that. But in reality, it was hiding something a little more meaningful than just a fun quick read.

The book talks about the expectations that other people put on you. Daphne is boring, the responsible one, the daughter who causes no trouble. And everyone tells her that, her ex, her family, they look at her with the weight of a good child. Daphne carries everyone’s opinion about her like it’s a fact, like she is one of those things and it happened for so long that she says those things like they’re facts. This is something very common in the romance scene where a female character is deemed as boring or not very interested. She then undergoes a change in character in order to be worthy of the affection of the love interest, but in the end, it is clear the people were just wrong about her and that she was fierce all along. My thoughts on it are conflicted. This idea is that women have to be not boring, they need to be fiery and take risks, while guys most of the time are also pretty boring themselves. So while I understand Daphne’s side, that internalized ideas that others have about us that we focus on so much that it becomes reality, it’s really unfair for women to have to carry that weight. 

I really enjoyed it when Calvin saw that moment. The moment when he saw that Daphne wasn’t able to be herself and that the stakes for her were higher than it was for him was very endearing. He saw that while nobody was expecting anything from him because he didn’t have a good reputation, Daphne had a lot to hold on to. Calvin says he sees Daphne as someone completely different from the good girl that she is, so at one point I feel like we lose who Daphne really is. She might be boring and her ex was right, she might be a good girl and her family is right and she might be the feisty woman Calvin believes her to be. But we never know what Daphne thinks about herself. She also contrasts her own opinions of her in the light of what other people tell. She is crushed under the weight of others.
 
We know that Calvin has a lot to prove, that while he made mistakes, he’s not letting those mistakes affect his work and dedication. He also feels like he wants other people’s opinions of him to change, but mostly he wants Daphne to look at him differently. And I don’t find Calvin that interesting to begin with. He is caring, he has good comebacks, and he tries to protect Daphne but he’s a small-town guy who is a sheriff. It’s not like he’s Batman. So maybe he doesn’t find Daphne “boring” because he wants to enjoy a simple and quiet life just as much as she does.

There is a side plot with a family heirloom that is an old pot, which is a little silly and very chaotic, but the more it progresses, the more the author ties it around the idea of Daphne rebelling vs the good girl image.

“Four Steps to the Perfect Fake Date” goes beyond the trope of fake dating, while fun and light it also tackles important themes and the characters are allowed to have some meaningful thoughts on their emotions and their lives.

Lilian Monroe's newest book is another great one. Former bad boy but current acting sheriff Calvin Flint is back on Fernley Island and so is his nemesis, good girl Daphne Davis. They butt heads immediately, but things heat up as time passes. It's a funny yet touching story of self-discovery for both main characters. I highly recommend everyone to read this new book.

4.5stars
What happens when you meet your high school nemesis after several years? While Daphne is someone who strictly follows the rules around Calvin she couldn’t be more opposite. Their personalities clash at every turn. Yet, despite it all, there’s an undeniable spark between them. When the opportunity arises, even though reluctantly, Daphne agrees to a fake relationship with Calvin. A cute and funny story full of anecdotes and dangerous grandmothers.
I volunteered to review an ARC of this book for NetGalley.

Moving back to the childhood town, working for the sheriff department as an accountant is not what Daphne imagined her life would be.
Dumped by her fiancé, losing her forever home and job. Esteem at an all time low
Getting pulled over by her high school nemesis starts a chain of events.
Romance blossoms but hides a hidden agenda. Can the truth set Daphne free or cause more heartbreak?
Enjoy I did.

This one was a bit of a slog for me to get through - had a some sparkling moments of banter but really repetitive which took me out of it while reading.

A playful and quick read that I just couldn't put down.

It was a quick and enjoyable read that I breezed through and before I knew it I was done.

I wish it had more to how Calvin tells her why he'd been bullying her and how he felt about her.

I had an absolute blast with reading this book. The shenanigans were top notch and I couldn’t stop laughing with some of the characters. I really wish the book would have been longer tho 🤣