Fake dating is one of my favourite romance tropes! I think I appreciate the ridiculousness of the trope and I find it leads to some hilarious moments. It is also fun to see the creative ways authors come up with to explain why these characters find themselves in a fake relationship in the first place.
Talia Hibbert always hits for me and I recently listened to the audiobook of The Fake Boyfriend Fiasco and I had such a great time with it. I loved that our hero gets into this fake relationship with the hopes it will turn into something more! These two have amazing chemistry and banter.
I have noticed an overlap between my favourite fake dating romances and my favourite foodie romances, and I love that! Fake It Til You Bake It is on that list and as an added bonus it is also a sports romance and has a reality TV element. It was so fun to see these two have a terrible meet cute that turns into a wonderful romance!
I have been talking about D’Vaughn and Kris Plan a Wedding a lot recently and I am glad because it is severely underrated! It is sapphic and they meet on a reality TV show where they have to convince their families that they are getting married and go through entire process of planning the wedding. It is so much fun!
It is difficult to find speculative books that have the fake dating trope but I have read a few and they also tend to be witchy. A Wizard’s Guide to Fake Dating a Demon is my favourite! Our heroine is a witch who isn’t great with magic and accidently summons a demon who can’t leave her side until she sells him her soul, which she refuses to do, so they pretend to be dating to explain why he is always around. I still need to read the sequel!
A Fake Girlfriend For Chinese New Year is a novella with the Holidays with the Wongs series but I think you can read them out of order! This is arguably my favourite in the series but I think that is because of the tropes.
Anita Kelly is one of my favourite authors and their latest release, How You Get the Girl, has a unique kind of fake dating. One of the heroines has never dated so they agree to fake date as a way to practice dating for when she meets someone.
Mistlefoe is a novella within the Mead Mishaps and one I think a lot of readers skip but they are missing out! It has a talking sword and takes place during a Winterfest. Loved it!
The Bodyguard is the only book I have read by Katherine Center but I really enjoyed it. I loved that she was his bodyguard but pretends to be his girlfriend so his family is not concerned for his safety. I will have to try something else from her!
Honey and Spice is one of my favourite books and there is something about Bolu Babalola’s writing that really works for me. I loved the banter between these two and it one I keep thinking I need to reread!
Not the Witch You Wed is obviously another witchy fake dating romance but this time it is between a witch and a werewolf! I appreciated the politics in this book!
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Fake dating is fun!
It really is!
Thanks for the recommendations. Putting several in my overflowing TBR pile.
I’m so happy to hear that!
Earlier this year I read a great speculative fake dating book! It’s Claws and Contrivances by Stephanie Burgis, the second in her Regency Dragons series. I liked it so much! Fake dating when done well is one of my favorite tropes, and this one was just perfectly executed. I loved it.
A Witch’s Guide to Fake Dating a Demon is on my TBR! I’m glad to see that you enjoyed it. 🙂
My favourite genre!!! I can’t wait to watch this! 🥰