Tag: Medium Heat

The Fiancée Farce Review | Alexandria Bellefleur | Is It Worth Reading?

★★★★★★★★★★ 3.95 / 5

Overall [8.8] Romance [8]
Characters [8.6] Writing [8]
Emotion [6.4] Heat [7.6]
Ending [8] Re-read value [6]

A bookseller’s harmless white lie about a fake girlfriend collides with reality when the real woman behind the invented romance shows up needing a wife of her own.

If you love fake-dating-turned-real setups, a marriage-of-convenience countdown clock, and rom-com banter set against a cozy bookstore backdrop, The Fiancée Farce by Alexandria Bellefleur is worth a look.

Our take: this is a fizzy, farce-forward rom-com carried by immediate chemistry and genuinely wounded leads, though the back half’s scheming-family theatrics and thinly drawn side characters won’t work for every reader.

Quick Facts

Author Alexandria Bellefleur
Publisher Avon
Publication date April 18, 2023
Genre Fake Dating, Marriage of Convenience, Contemporary Romance
Format Kindle, Paperback, Audiobook
ISBN 978-0063258495
ASIN 0063258498 (Paperback) / B0BC2G73N8 (Audiobook)

Reader Match

Perfect for readers who…

  • ✓ Love a fake-dating setup that escalates into a real marriage of convenience
  • ✓ Want instant, banter-heavy chemistry over a slow burn
  • ✓ Enjoy a bookshop backdrop and found-family warmth
  • ✓ Like leads who are both carrying real emotional baggage, not just surface-level conflict
  • ✓ Appreciate bi/bi (Bi4Bi) sapphic representation

Avoid If

Skip this if you want…

  • A slow burn (this couple’s chemistry ignites almost immediately)
  • Every secondary character and subplot fully resolved (several supporting arcs stay thinly drawn)
  • No reference to past image-based exploitation of a minor (mentioned as backstory, not shown on-page)
  • A restrained finale rather than a farcical, over-the-top climax

Book Synopsis

Tansy Adams pours everything into the bookstore she inherited from her late father, leaving little energy for an actual love life. To get her stepfamily off her back about being single, she invents a girlfriend named Gemma, borrowing the name and face of a romance-novel cover model she’s never actually met.

Gemma van Dalen, meanwhile, is the estranged black sheep of a publishing dynasty who can only inherit her grandfather’s company if she’s married. When she discovers a stranger has been using her image as a fake girlfriend for months, she proposes an unexpected solution: a real engagement, in name only, that solves both of their problems.

What starts as a convenient business arrangement gets complicated as the two women settle into playing devoted fiancées in public, and the line between performance and real feeling starts to blur, even as Gemma’s scheming relatives look for a way to tear them apart before the wedding.

My Review

The Fiancée Farce doesn’t waste time getting Tansy and Gemma into a room together, and that choice pays off: the chemistry is immediate, playful, and rooted in real curiosity rather than manufactured tension.

Bellefleur’s real strength here is banter. The dialogue crackles from the leads’ very first scene, and the performance of being engaged in front of Gemma’s family gives the book plenty of room for comic set pieces without losing sight of the feelings developing underneath.

The back half leans harder into farce than romance, with a scheming cousin, a wedding-adjacent set piece, and a corporate-inheritance subplot that asks readers to accept some fairly generous coincidences. Several supporting characters, including Tansy’s stepfamily, don’t get quite the same depth as the central couple.

Still, the central relationship carries the book. Both women are working through real baggage: a transactional, unloving family for Gemma, and a painful betrayal from her teenage years for Tansy. Watching them choose honesty with each other, even inside a fake arrangement, is where this rom-com is strongest.

Romance Profile

Relationship Fake Dating, Marriage of Convenience, Opposites Attract
Age Gap None indicated
Slow Burn No, fast-developing chemistry
Forced Proximity Yes (posing as engaged in public and around family)
Heat Medium
Ending HEA
Representation Sapphic, bi/bi (Bi4Bi) leads
Dual POV Primarily Tansy’s POV
Steam [Add rating]

Emotional Profile

  • Funny
  • Swoony
  • Angsty
  • Hopeful

Content Warnings

Not officially published by the author or publisher; compiled from reader reviews and should be verified by sensitive readers before purchasing.

  • References to past image-based exploitation of a minor (non-explicit, disclosed as backstory)
  • Wealthy, emotionally neglectful and toxic family dynamics
  • Parental estrangement and a distant, disapproving parent
  • One explicit sex scene

Book DNA

Main Tropes Fake Dating, Marriage of Convenience, Opposites Attract, Bookshop Setting
Relationship Dynamics Invented girlfriend turned real fiancée, a business arrangement blurring into genuine partnership
Emotional Journey Guarded self-protection to unexpected vulnerability to earned happiness
Reader Moods Amused, Swoony, Angsty, Hopeful
Themes Family expectations vs. authentic self, chosen family vs. inherited obligation, performing love vs. feeling it
Tone Light, witty, and fast-moving, with real family tension underneath
Heat Medium
Ending HEA
Representation Sapphic, bi/bi leads

Similar Books

For more similar books visit: Sapphic fake dating romance books

About the Author

Alexandria Bellefleur is a bestselling, award-winning author known for swoony contemporary rom-coms that pair loveable grumps with sunshine-bright love interests. A Pacific Northwesterner now based in New York City, her debut novel Written in the Stars won a 2021 Lambda Literary Award and a Ripped Bodice Award for Excellence in Romantic Fiction. Her other books include Written in the Stars, Hang the Moon, Count Your Lucky Stars, and The Devil She Knows.

Read more Alexandria Bellefleur reviews →

FAQ

Is The Fiancée Farce spicy?

It sits at a medium heat level, with one explicit love scene alongside plenty of buildup and banter.

Does The Fiancée Farce have a happy ending?

Yes, the story ends in a happily-ever-after for Tansy and Gemma.

Can The Fiancée Farce be read as a standalone?

Yes. It is a standalone novel and not part of a series, though fans of Alexandria Bellefleur’s other sapphic rom-coms will recognize her style.

Is The Fiancée Farce slow burn?

No, the central chemistry develops quickly rather than through a long, patient burn.

Is there an age gap in The Fiancée Farce?

No significant age gap is indicated between the leads.

Who narrates the audiobook?

The audiobook is narrated by Lauren Sweet.

Is The Fiancée Farce a fake dating romance?

Yes. The premise centers on an invented fake girlfriend who becomes a real fiancée in a marriage of convenience.

Does The Fiancée Farce use dual POV?

The story is told primarily from Tansy’s perspective.

Final Verdict

Who should read it: fans of fake-dating rom-coms, marriage-of-convenience premises, and banter-driven sapphic romance with a bookish backdrop.

Who shouldn’t: readers who want a slow burn, tightly resolved subplots, or a story that stays low-key rather than leaning into farce.

Final score: [Add score]

Affiliate Disclosure

This post may contain an affiliate link. If you purchase through it, Lesbian Romance Reads may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Buy The Fiancée Farce on Amazon

 

0

Who’d Have Thought Review | G. Benson | Is It Worth Reading?

★★★★★★★★★★ 4.28 / 5

Overall [9.2] Romance [6]
Characters [8.4] Writing [8.8]
Emotion [7.6] Heat [7.8]
Ending [6.8] Re-read value [6.2]

A neurosurgeon who needs a wife by the end of the week, an ER nurse who needs $200,000 more than she needs her pride, and one marriage of convenience that starts as a business deal and slowly stops being one.

If you love marriage-of-convenience premises, slow-burn enemies-to-lovers tension, and workplace rivals who can’t stop noticing each other, Who’d Have Thought by G. Benson belongs on your list. It’s especially suited to readers who want a longer, patiently built romance with real emotional weight behind both leads.

Our take: this is a richly detailed, unhurried marriage-of-convenience romance carried by two flawed, believable leads, though its considerable length, a deliberately withheld central secret, and heavy family-conflict subplots won’t work for every reader.

Quick Facts

Author G. Benson
Publisher Ylva Publishing
Publication date October 18, 2017
Pages 362
Language English
Series Standalone
Series order N/A
Genres Contemporary Lesbian Romance, Enemies-to-Lovers, Marriage of Convenience
Format Kindle, Paperback, Audiobook
ISBN 978-3955338756
ASIN 3955338746 (Paperback) / B07BDPRVN7 (Audiobook)

Reader Match

Perfect for readers who…

  • ✓ Love a marriage-of-convenience premise that slowly becomes real
  • ✓ Enjoy workplace enemies-to-lovers tension between two women who start out barely tolerating each other
  • ✓ Want a patient, old-fashioned slow burn rather than instant sparks
  • ✓ Appreciate deeply flawed characters carrying real family baggage
  • ✓ Like a supporting cast with genuine non-binary and POC representation

Avoid If

Skip this if you want…

  • Instant chemistry (Sam and Hayden start out actively disliking each other at work)
  • A short read (this is a long, densely plotted novel at over 360 pages / 122,000 words)
  • A central mystery resolved quickly (Sam’s reason for the marriage stays hidden for much of the book)
  • A story light on heavy themes (a parent’s declining health and a family’s rejection of a gay child both play major roles)

Book Synopsis

Top neurosurgeon Samantha Thomson needs to get married, fast, and won’t explain why. With over $200,000 on offer to whoever will do it with no questions asked, cash-strapped ER nurse Hayden Pérez decides the money is worth more than her dislike of the coworker she’s never gotten along with.

The arrangement is supposed to be strictly business, one year and done, but Hayden and Sam quickly discover that convincing their families, friends, and colleagues that their whirlwind marriage is the real thing takes far more effort, and far more time in each other’s company, than either of them planned for.

As the year goes on, the walls both women have built up start to crack, revealing a far more complicated, sympathetic person underneath Sam’s cold exterior, while Hayden confronts what she actually wants once the lines between pretend and real stop being so clear.

My Review

Who’d Have Thought’s greatest strength is patience. Benson refuses to rush Sam and Hayden’s relationship, letting genuine dislike curdle into grudging respect and then into something neither woman is prepared for, long before anything resembling romance appears on the page.

That patience comes at a cost of length: this is a long book, and Benson keeps the central question of why Sam needs to marry so badly deliberately vague for much of the runtime. Some readers find the eventual reveal satisfying; others feel the mystery is stretched well past the point it can pay off.

The book’s real depth comes from its family subplots. Hayden’s mother is living with Alzheimer’s, and Sam’s parents respond to her coming out with rejection and pressure toward conversion therapy, both storylines handled with more sincerity than shock value. Where the romance itself can feel more physical than emotional in places, these family threads give both women’s guardedness real weight.

The supporting cast helps too: Hayden’s non-binary best friend Luce is a warm, fully realized presence rather than a token, and Hayden herself, a Latina ER nurse juggling family stress and financial pressure, is a refreshingly grounded lead for a genre that skews heavily toward wealthy, white protagonists. It’s an imperfect, occasionally frustrating book, but a rewarding one for readers willing to settle in.

Romance Profile

Relationship Marriage of Convenience, Enemies to Lovers, Workplace Romance, Opposites Attract
Age Gap Yes, a notable gap between the more senior Sam and the younger Hayden
Slow Burn Yes, a deliberately paced burn stretched across a year-long marriage
Forced Proximity Yes (marriage and a shared home)
Heat Medium-High (a handful of explicit scenes)
Ending HEA
Representation Lesbian/pansexual leads, non-binary supporting character, POC lead
Dual POV No, primarily Hayden’s POV
Steam [Add rating]

Emotional Profile

  • Angsty
  • Swoony
  • Hopeful
  • Bittersweet

Content Warnings

Not officially published by the author or publisher.

  • A parent’s rejection of a child’s sexuality, including pressure toward conversion therapy, challenged but present on the page
  • A parent living with Alzheimer’s/dementia
  • Past family estrangement over a sibling’s sexuality
  • A handful of explicit sex scenes

Book DNA

Main Tropes Marriage of Convenience, Enemies to Lovers, Workplace Romance, Opposites Attract
Relationship Dynamics Reluctant fake spouses slowly lowering their guards, prickly coworker tension turning tender
Emotional Journey Guarded hostility to grudging respect to earned love
Reader Moods Angsty, Swoony, Hopeful, Bittersweet
Themes Family acceptance versus rejection, chosen family, what makes a marriage real
Tone Slow-building and emotionally rich, with real humor alongside heavy family drama
Heat Medium-High
Ending HEA
Representation Lesbian/pansexual leads, non-binary supporting character, POC lead

Similar Books

For more similar books visit: Enemies-to-lovers sapphic romance books

About the Author

G. Benson is an Australian-born author now based in Spain, known for character-driven contemporary sapphic romance. Her other novels include All the Little Moments and Flinging It, and Who’d Have Thought won the Golden Crown Literary Award for Contemporary Romance in 2018.

Read more G. Benson reviews →

FAQ

Is Who’d Have Thought spicy?

It sits at a medium-to-high heat level, with a handful of explicit scenes spread across the book.

Does Who’d Have Thought have a happy ending?

Yes. The book ends with a HEA for Sam and Hayden.

Can Who’d Have Thought be read as a standalone?

Yes. It is a standalone novel and not part of a series.

Is Who’d Have Thought slow burn?

Yes, it’s a deliberately paced slow burn that unfolds over the course of a year-long marriage.

Is there an age gap in Who’d Have Thought?

Yes. Several readers note a meaningful age gap between the more senior Sam and the younger Hayden.

Who narrates the audiobook?

The audiobook is narrated by Tanya Eby.

Is Who’d Have Thought a marriage of convenience romance?

Yes. The premise centers on Sam paying Hayden to marry her for a year, no questions asked.

Does Who’d Have Thought use dual POV?

No, the story is told primarily from Hayden’s point of view.

Final Verdict

Who should read it: fans of marriage-of-convenience and enemies-to-lovers romance, patient slow burns, and character-driven stories with real emotional depth.

Who shouldn’t: readers who want a short, fast read, instant chemistry, or a story light on heavy family themes.

Final score: [Add score]

Affiliate Disclosure

This post may contain an affiliate link. If you purchase through it, Lesbian Romance Reads may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Buy Who’d Have Thought on Amazon

0

The Wrong McElroy Review | K.L. Hughes | Is It Worth Reading?

★★★★★★★★★★ 3.8 / 5

Overall[8]Romance[7.8]
Characters[8.4]Writing[7.2]
Emotion[6.8]Heat[6.2]
Ending[6.4]Re-read value[5.8]

A fake girlfriend, a boisterous Arkansas family, and one Christmas weekend that goes sideways the moment Fiona meets exactly the wrong McElroy sibling.

If you love holiday-set rom-coms, big loud found-family chaos, and a fake dating premise with an unexpected twist, The Wrong McElroy by K.L. Hughes belongs on your list. It is especially suited to readers who want a fast, funny, single-weekend romance over a slow-building epic.

Our take: this is a quick, funny holiday read carried by strong sibling banter and instant chemistry, though the short timeframe, a large ensemble cast, and an abruptly placed love scene won’t work for every reader.

Quick Facts

AuthorK.L. Hughes
PublisherYlva Publishing
Publication dateOctober 29, 2019
Pages194
LanguageEnglish
SeriesStandalone
Series orderN/A
GenresContemporary Lesbian Romance, Holiday Romance
FormatKindle, Paperback, Audiobook
ISBN978-3963242632
ASIN3963242639 (Paperback) / B082495ZR8 (Audiobook)

Reader Match

Perfect for readers who…

  • ✓ Love holiday-set rom-coms with big, chaotic families
  • ✓ Enjoy a fake dating setup with an unexpected twist
  • ✓ Want fast-paced flirtation and banter over a slow burn
  • ✓ Like found-family humor mixed with some real family tension
  • ✓ Appreciate a short, festive read perfect for the holiday season

Avoid If

Skip this if you want…

  • A slow burn (this romance develops fast, over a single long weekend)
  • No on-page bigotry (an elderly family member makes racist and homophobic remarks that are challenged but present)
  • Heat that builds gradually (the one sex scene arrives abruptly, right after a tense family moment)
  • A longer, fully fleshed-out novel (this is a quick, novella-length read at roughly 194 pages / 64,000 words)

Book Synopsis

Fiona Ng agrees to pose as her best friend Michael’s girlfriend for his family’s Christmas gathering in Arkansas, hoping a few days of harmless pretending will finally get his relatives off his back about his love life.

The plan unravels almost as soon as Fiona meets the rest of the sprawling, competitive McElroy clan, especially Michael’s sharp, magnetic younger sister Lizzie, who makes it very hard for Fiona to remember whose girlfriend she is supposed to be pretending to be.

As the holiday weekend fills up with family traditions, old rivalries, and a grandmother who doesn’t hold back her opinions, Fiona has to decide whether to keep playing it safe or risk something real with exactly the wrong McElroy.

My Review

The Wrong McElroy’s biggest asset is its cast: Hughes fills the McElroy household with enough competitive, funny siblings that the group scenes crackle even when the central romance takes a back seat.

The chemistry between Fiona and Lizzie is charged and playful from the start, closer to instant sparks catching than a patient burn. Readers should go in expecting a fast-moving few days rather than a long courtship: the flirting escalates quickly, and the real feelings sneak up on Fiona almost immediately once Lizzie is in the room.

Where opinions split most is pacing and placement. Several readers have noted that the large, competitive family and an unrepentant, prejudiced grandmother eat up a lot of page space, and the book’s one sex scene lands at a moment many found jarring rather than earned, arriving right on the heels of a tense family confrontation.

Still, for a short holiday read, it delivers real laughs, a likeable central pairing, and a satisfying, low-angst happy ending that has made it an easy yearly reread for some fans of the genre.

Romance Profile

RelationshipFake Dating, Holiday Romance, Family Gathering, Opposites Attract
Age GapNone indicated
Slow BurnNo, a fast-developing single-weekend romance
Forced ProximityYes (staying under the same roof for the holiday)
HeatMedium (one explicit scene)
EndingHEA
RepresentationLesbian, POC leads
Dual POVNo, single POV (Fiona)
Steam[Add rating]

Emotional Profile

  • Funny
  • Swoony
  • Angsty
  • Hopeful

Content Warnings

Not officially published by the author or publisher; compiled from reader reviews and should be verified by sensitive readers before purchasing.

  • Racist and homophobic remarks from an elderly family member, challenged but present on the page
  • Family pressure around coming out and staying closeted around relatives
  • Brief on-page marijuana use
  • One explicit sex scene

Book DNA

Main TropesFake Dating, Holiday Romance, Family Gathering, Opposites Attract
Relationship DynamicsBest friend’s little sister vs. reluctant fake girlfriend, flirtation hiding in plain sight
Emotional JourneyGuarded restraint to swept-up attraction to earned happiness
Reader MoodsAmused, Swoony, Angsty, Hopeful
ThemesFamily expectations vs. authentic self, chosen partners vs. pretend ones, holiday togetherness
ToneLight, funny, and fast-moving, with pockets of real family tension
HeatMedium
EndingHEA
RepresentationLesbian, POC leads

Similar Books

For more similar books visit: Sapphic holiday romance books

About the Author

K.L. Hughes is an American poet-turned-novelist who began writing as a child growing up in a small town and has spent her career since writing across genres, from contemporary sapphic romance to literary fiction and poetry. Her other novels include Popcorn Love, The Art of Us, and The Sea.

Read more K.L. Hughes reviews →

FAQ

Is The Wrong McElroy spicy?

It sits at a medium heat level. There is one explicit love scene, which arrives fairly abruptly late in the story.

Does The Wrong McElroy have a happy ending?

Yes. The book ends with an upbeat HEA for Fiona and Lizzie.

Can The Wrong McElroy be read as a standalone?

Yes. It is a standalone novel and not part of a series.

Is The Wrong McElroy slow burn?

No, it is a fast-developing romance that unfolds over a single holiday weekend rather than a long, patient burn.

Is there an age gap in The Wrong McElroy?

No significant age gap is indicated between the leads.

Who narrates the audiobook?

The audiobook is narrated by Nicole Blessing.

Is The Wrong McElroy a fake dating romance?

Yes. The central hook is Fiona posing as her best friend Michael’s girlfriend for his family’s Christmas visit.

Does The Wrong McElroy use dual POV?

No, the story is told from Fiona’s perspective only.

Final Verdict

Who should read it: fans of holiday rom-coms, big rowdy family stories, and fake-dating setups with an unexpected twist.

Who shouldn’t: readers who want a slow burn, a longer novel-length romance, or a story free of on-page bigoted remarks from a family member.

Final score: 8.6/10

Affiliate Disclosure

This post may contain an affiliate link. If you purchase through it, Lesbian Romance Reads may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Buy The Wrong McElroy on Amazon

 

0

Breaking Character Review | Lee Winter | Is It Worth Reading?

★★★★★★★★★★ 4.3 / 5

Overall[9.2]Romance[8.8]
Characters[8.6]Writing[6]
Emotion[6.2]Heat[7.8]
Ending[6]Re-read value[5.2]

A closeted ice-queen actress and the sunshine co-star she can’t stand suddenly have to play girlfriends off-camera too—and only one of them is entirely faking it.

If you love Hollywood-set sapphic romance, grumpy/sunshine pairings, and a slow burn that earns every inch of its tension, Breaking Character by Lee Winter belongs on your list. It is especially suited to readers who want banter-heavy slow burns with genuine character depth over high heat or fast pacing.

Our take: this is a whip-smart, character-driven romance with some of the best dialogue in the genre, though the deliberate pacing and a polarizing jealousy subplot won’t work for every reader.

Quick Facts

AuthorLee Winter
PublisherYlva Publishing
Publication dateNovember 20, 2018
Pages334
LanguageEnglish
SeriesStandalone
Series orderN/A
GenresContemporary Lesbian Romance, Hollywood Romance
FormatKindle, Paperback, Audiobook
ISBN978-3963241130
ASIN3963241136 (Paperback) / B07QDP8YVM (Audiobook)

Reader Match

Perfect for readers who…

  • ✓ Love a slow burn built on banter and mutual respect rather than instant chemistry
  • ✓ Enjoy a fake dating setup between co-stars forced together by their careers
  • ✓ Want a Hollywood/celebrity romance with a closeted-actress storyline
  • ✓ Like an ice-queen/sunshine dynamic where the “ice queen” is secretly just guarded, not cruel
  • ✓ Appreciate romances with no third-act miscommunication breakup

Avoid If

Skip this if you want…

  • Fast pacing (this is a patient, 334-page slow burn that takes time to ignite)
  • High heat (the heat lands on the lower-medium side, with one late, relatively brief explicit scene)
  • No jealousy subplots (a recurring secondary “other woman” character causes real friction)
  • Minimal workplace/industry conflict (closeted-in-Hollywood pressures run through the whole book)

Book Synopsis

Elizabeth Thornton is the most-hated woman on American television, playing the villain in a hit medical drama and privately dreading the day her closeted life collides with her public one. When a clumsy on-set mishap with her new co-star Summer Hayes sparks tabloid rumors that the two are secretly dating, Elizabeth’s first instinct is to shut the story down.

Instead, a prestige film role dangles just out of reach, offered by a director who wants to meet Elizabeth’s “girlfriend” before he’ll commit. Suddenly the fake romance Elizabeth was so eager to kill becomes the only way to get what she wants, and Summer, still smarting from being publicly shunned, has every reason to say no.

What follows is a slow-building partnership of matching public appearances and private truce, as two women who assumed they had nothing in common start to realize the version of each other they built in their heads was never the real thing.

My Review

Breaking Character’s greatest strength is its dialogue. Winter writes banter that lands somewhere between combative and flirtatious long before either woman admits what’s happening, and both leads are given distinct, fully realized inner lives rather than one being a simple foil for the other.

The pacing is deliberate. This is not a book that rushes its central relationship: the fake dating premise does not even begin until well into the story, and the shift from mutual wariness to real affection happens in small, earned increments rather than one big turning point. Readers who want their slow burns to actually burn slowly will likely find this satisfying; readers hoping for an early spark may find the opening stretch slower going.

Where reader opinion splits most is the subplot involving Grace, a secondary “other woman” figure whose presence is meant to raise the stakes between the leads. Some readers find her a well-drawn source of real tension; others feel she pulls focus from the central romance and adds friction that the book didn’t need.

Overall, this is a book that rewards patience: the character work and dialogue are exceptional, the heat is lower and later than some readers may want, and the ending delivers a clear, well-earned happy ending with an epilogue.

Romance Profile

RelationshipFake Dating, Ice Queen/Sunshine, Hollywood Romance, Forced Proximity
Age GapYes, approximately 9 years
Slow BurnYes
Forced ProximityYes (co-stars on the same TV show)
HeatMedium (one explicit scene, late in the book)
EndingHEA
RepresentationLesbian
Dual POVYes
Steam[Add rating]

Emotional Profile

  • Funny
  • Swoony
  • Angsty
  • Hopeful

Content Warnings

Not officially published by the author or publisher; compiled from reader reviews and should be verified by sensitive readers before purchasing.

  • Closeted/coming out pressure tied to fame and public image
  • Jealousy and “other woman” conflict from a recurring secondary character
  • Tabloid intrusion and public scrutiny of the characters’ private lives

Book DNA

Main TropesFake Dating, Hollywood Romance, Ice Queen/Sunshine, Slow Burn, Forced Proximity
Relationship DynamicsGuarded ice queen vs. relentlessly warm sunshine co-star, public “showmance” vs. private truce turned real
Emotional JourneyMutual wariness to grudging respect to real, patient affection
Reader MoodsAmused, Swoony, Angsty, Hopeful
ThemesPublic persona vs. private self, the cost of staying closeted in the spotlight, choosing intimacy over image
ToneWitty and banter-driven, with a patient emotional undercurrent
HeatMedium
EndingHEA
RepresentationLesbian

Similar Books

For more similar books visit: Sapphic fake dating romance books

About the Author

Lee Winter is an Australian author and former newspaper journalist who spent years covering courts, crime, and news before turning to fiction full-time. She has been a Lambda Literary Award finalist and has won multiple Goldie Awards from the Golden Crown Literary Society for her sapphic romance and thriller novels. She lives in Australia with her longtime partner.

Read more Lee Winter reviews →

FAQ

Is Breaking Character spicy?

It sits at a medium heat level. There is one explicit love scene, positioned late in the book, that leans more emotional than graphic.

Does Breaking Character have a happy ending?

Yes. The book ends with a clear HEA for Elizabeth and Summer, plus an epilogue.

Can Breaking Character be read as a standalone?

Yes. It is a standalone novel and not part of a series.

Is Breaking Character slow burn?

Yes, it is a patient slow burn; the fake dating premise itself doesn’t begin until well into the book.

Is there an age gap in Breaking Character?

Yes, approximately nine years, treated as a minor detail rather than a source of conflict.

Who narrates the audiobook?

The audiobook is narrated by Angela Dawe and published by Tantor Audio.

Is Breaking Character a fake dating romance?

Yes. The central hook is a director-arranged fake relationship between two co-stars trying to protect their careers.

Does Breaking Character use dual POV?

Yes, the story alternates between Elizabeth’s and Summer’s perspectives.

Final Verdict

Who should read it: fans of Hollywood/celebrity romance, ice queen/sunshine pairings, banter-forward slow burns, and closeted-in-the-spotlight storylines.

Who shouldn’t: readers who want high heat, fast pacing, or a romance without a jealousy-driven secondary conflict.

Final score: [Add score]

Affiliate Disclosure

This post may contain an affiliate link. If you purchase through it, Lesbian Romance Reads may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Buy Breaking Character on Amazon

 

0

Kiss Her Once for Me Review | Alison Cochrun | Is It Worth Reading?

★★★★★★★★★★ 3.8 / 5

Overall[8.8]Romance[8.6]
Characters[6.2]Writing[7.8]
Emotion[7.8]Heat[4.7]
Ending[9]Re-read value[6]

A meet-cute for the ages, a fake engagement, and one seriously awkward family holiday—this rom-com asks how long you can keep pretending before your heart gives you away.

If you love festive, ensemble-cast rom-coms, fake dating that gets complicated fast, and a mistaken-identity reunion between two people who already fell for each other once, Kiss Her Once for Me by Alison Cochrun belongs on your list. It is especially suited to readers who want a big, funny supporting cast and Hallmark-adjacent charm rather than a slow-burn character study.

Our take: this is a book that lives and dies on its side characters and set pieces rather than its central couple. Cochrun nails the anxious, self-deprecating voice of Ellie and stacks the deck with a genuinely funny cast (Andrew, the grandmas, Jack’s best friend Dylan), but the romance itself leans hard on insta-love and family-engineered proximity that not every reader will buy.

Quick Facts

AuthorAlison Cochrun
PublisherAtria Books (print/ebook); Simon & Schuster Audio (audiobook)
Publication dateNovember 1, 2022
Pages368
LanguageEnglish
SeriesStandalone
Series orderN/A
GenresContemporary Lesbian Romance, Holiday Romance
FormatKindle, Hardcover, Paperback, Audiobook
ISBN978-1982191139
ASINB09RX41673 (Kindle) / B09XRG94Q6 (Audiobook)

Reader Match

Perfect for readers who…

  • ✓ Love a festive, ensemble-cast holiday rom-com
  • ✓ Enjoy fake dating / marriage-of-convenience setups
  • ✓ Want a queer found-family Christmas story
  • ✓ Are fine with insta-love as the central romantic premise
  • ✓ Like anxious, self-deprecating narrators paired with a big, funny supporting cast

Avoid If

Skip this if you want…

  • A slow burn (this is close to the opposite: insta-love that reunites a year later)
  • A small, tightly focused cast (this leans on a big ensemble family and lots of set pieces)
  • Minimal contrivance (several key moments rely on family engineering to force the leads together)
  • A completely low-angst holiday read (reader consensus points to real emotional stakes and a rocky third act)

Book Synopsis

Ellie Oliver moved to Portland with big plans and an even bigger sense of independence, until a single Christmas Eve derailed all of it. She spent one unforgettable night with a stranger she met at a bookstore, a night that felt like the start of something, only to wake up to a painful betrayal and, soon after, the loss of the animation job she had built her life around. A year later, Ellie is scraping by at a Portland coffee shop, isolated, broke, and still quietly haunted by the woman whose name she never even learned.

Her boss’s brother, Andrew, offers an unlikely lifeline: if Ellie agrees to a fake engagement, he unlocks a family inheritance, and she gets financial stability and a place to belong for the holidays. It is a transactional arrangement between two people who like each other well enough as friends, so spending Christmas at his family’s cabin performing happy-couple duties should be easy. Then Andrew introduces his fake fiancée to his sister Jack, and Ellie realizes the mysterious woman from that one magical night a year ago has been standing in the family photos the whole time.

What follows is a holiday stuffed with matchmaking grandmothers, snowball fights, a very meddling extended family, and increasingly impossible-to-ignore chemistry between Ellie and Jack, all while Ellie is contractually, publicly engaged to Jack’s brother. Ellie has to reckon with why she keeps insisting she is not the kind of woman who falls for strangers or risks a comfortable arrangement for the possibility of something real, especially when that something real could cost her the family she has just started to feel like she belongs to.

As the ruse gets harder to maintain and Jack’s feelings become impossible to hide, Ellie is forced to choose between the safety of a plan that is working exactly as designed and the risk of admitting that the version of herself who fell in love in one night might have been onto something. Kiss Her Once for Me builds its central question, whether Ellie can trust herself enough to reach for real love instead of a manageable substitute, against a backdrop of Christmas cookies, family traditions, and the particular chaos of pretending to marry the wrong sibling.

My Review

Cochrun’s biggest strength here is voice and supporting cast. Ellie’s anxious, self-deprecating narration is drawn with real specificity, particularly in how it captures social anxiety, and her scenes with Andrew crackle with an easy, low-stakes friendship that is often funnier than the central romance. Reader consensus consistently singles out the extended family, the bickering grandmothers, and Andrew himself as the book’s most purely enjoyable elements.

The central romance is where opinion splits hardest. Ellie and Jack’s connection is built almost entirely on a single, magical night a year before the story begins, and several readers have noted that this insta-love foundation makes the present-day relationship harder to invest in, since the two women spend most of the book being pushed together by family engineering, convenient accidents, and holiday tradition rather than earning their moments organically. It is a deliberate structural choice, closer to a Hallmark-style holiday romance than a patient slow burn, and whether that lands will depend heavily on what a reader wants from the trope.

The third-act conflict, triggered when Jack discovers the fake engagement, has proven divisive in reader discussion. Some feel the fallout and blame placed on Ellie feels disproportionate given Jack’s own complicated behavior throughout the book, and a widely referenced mistletoe scene in front of the unknowing family has been flagged by multiple readers as the story’s most uncomfortable set piece. On the more positive side, reader discussion also highlights the book’s handling of on-page intimacy, particularly its attention to verbal consent, as a genuine strength.

Taken as a whole, Kiss Her Once for Me is best approached as a cozy, ensemble-driven holiday rom-com rather than a slow-burn character study. Readers who go in expecting Hallmark-adjacent charm, a big swoony cast, and a premise that leans fully into its own contrivance tend to have the best time with it.

Romance Profile

RelationshipFF
TropeFake Dating / Marriage of Convenience, Insta-Love, Holiday Romance, Forced Proximity, Mistaken-Identity Reunion
Age GapNo
Slow BurnNo (insta-love)
Forced ProximityYes (family holiday gathering and shared cabin)
HeatMedium
EndingHEA
RepresentationLesbian
Dual POVSingle POV (Ellie)
Steam[Add rating]

Emotional Profile

  • Funny
  • Angsty
  • Nostalgic
  • Hopeful
  • Cozy / Festive

Content Warnings

Not officially published by the author or publisher; compiled from reader reviews and should be verified before use. Please add or adjust after reading.

  • On-page depiction of an emotionally manipulative parent relationship (Ellie’s mother)
  • Job loss and financial insecurity
  • On-page sexual content between women; some readers note it runs more explicit than expected for a cozy holiday read
  • A public, family-orchestrated pressure scene (a mistletoe moment) that multiple readers flagged as uncomfortable given the fake-engagement context

Book DNA

Main TropesFake Dating, Insta-Love, Holiday Romance, Forced Proximity, Mistaken-Identity Reunion
Relationship DynamicsGuarded heroine and effusive, mistaken-identity love interest; found-family holiday chaos
Emotional JourneyIsolated and self-protective to open, connected, and willing to risk something real
Reader MoodsSwoony, Amused, Nostalgic, Hopeful
ThemesFound family, coming home to yourself, love versus self-protection, chosen vulnerability
ToneWarm, comedic, and festive, carried by an anxious, self-deprecating narrative voice
HeatMedium
EndingHEA
RepresentationLesbian

Similar Books

For more similar books visit: Sapphic fake dating romance books

About the Author

Alison Cochrun teaches high school English near Portland, Oregon, and writes contemporary queer romance in whatever time is left over. Her debut novel, The Charm Offensive, introduced her now-signature mix of anxious, big-hearted narrators and cozy ensemble comedy, and Kiss Her Once for Me followed as her festive, fake-dating follow-up. The book went on to win the Lambda Literary Award for Best LGBTQ+ Romance and was named a favorite new holiday romance by outlets including PopSugar and BuzzFeed. Cochrun has since expanded her backlist with titles such as Here We Go Again and Every Step She Takes, continuing to build a reputation for funny, emotionally grounded sapphic rom-coms with strong supporting casts. Outside of writing, she keeps busy grading essays, planning travel itineraries, and keeping up with reality dating shows. Readers can find her on Instagram or at her author website.

Read more Alison Cochrun reviews →

FAQ

Is Kiss Her Once for Me spicy?

Reader consensus places it at a medium heat level, with on-page intimacy between the two leads.

Does Kiss Her Once for Me have a happy ending?

Yes. Reader reviews confirm Ellie and Jack reunite by the end, despite a rocky third act.

Is Kiss Her Once for Me a fake dating romance?

Yes. A fake, family-inheritance-driven engagement between Ellie and Andrew is the central setup.

Is Kiss Her Once for Me slow burn?

No. Reader consensus points to insta-love: Ellie and Jack fall for each other over a single night before reuniting a year later.

Who narrates the audiobook?

Natalie Naudus narrates the unabridged Simon & Schuster Audio edition.

Can Kiss Her Once for Me be read as a standalone?

Yes. It is a standalone holiday romance and not part of a series.

Did Kiss Her Once for Me win any awards?

Yes. It won the 2023 Lambda Literary Award for Best LGBTQ+ Romance.

Is there an age gap in Kiss Her Once for Me?

No. Reader consensus does not indicate an age-gap dynamic between Ellie and Jack.

Final Verdict

Who should read it: fans of festive, ensemble-cast rom-coms, fake dating/marriage-of-convenience premises, and anxious-but-lovable narrators who do not mind insta-love.

Who shouldn’t: readers who want a slow burn, minimal family-engineered contrivance, or a tightly focused two-hander romance.

Final score: [Add score]

Affiliate Disclosure

This post may contain an affiliate link. If you purchase through it, Lesbian Romance Reads may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Buy Kiss Her Once for Me on Amazon

 

0

Casting Lacey Review | Elle Spencer | Is It Worth Reading?

☆ (Star rating and rating badge to be added by editor)

Overall [8.8] Romance [8.6]
Characters [6.2] Writing [7.8]
Emotion [7.8] Heat [6.9]
Ending [9] Re-read value [6]

Coming out is easier when you have someone standing next to you. That is the calculation hyper-private TV star Quinn Kincaid makes when her publicist pitches a fake relationship as the safest way to control her own story. What she does not plan on is actually falling for the woman hired to play her girlfriend.

If you love Hollywood-set sapphic romance, fake dating that slowly stops being fake, and two leads who trade barbs before they trade feelings, Casting Lacey by Elle Spencer belongs on your list. It is especially suited to readers who want a slow burn with real friction rather than a misunderstanding that clears up in one conversation.

Our take: this is a funny, banter-forward romance with a genuinely affecting emotional core, though the back half leans harder into angst than some readers will expect going in. It is worth reading, particularly if you know that shift is coming.

Quick Facts

Author Elle Spencer
Publisher Bold Strokes Books
Publication date July 2, 2018 (originally self-published December 28, 2017)
Pages 376
Language English
Series Standalone
Series order N/A
Genres Contemporary Lesbian Romance, Hollywood Romance
Format Kindle, Paperback, Audiobook
ISBN 978-1635554113
ASIN B07F78QH68 (Kindle) / B07CS3F5JG (Audiobook)

Reader Match

Perfect for readers who…

  • ✓ Love a slow burn with real friction, not just a misunderstanding
  • ✓ Enjoy fake dating and marriage-of-convenience setups
  • ✓ Want a Hollywood/celebrity romance with a coming-out storyline
  • ✓ Are fine with an age gap that is treated as a non-issue between two adults
  • ✓ Like witty, sarcastic banter that eventually softens into real vulnerability

Avoid If

Skip this if you want…

  • Fast pacing (this is a patient, 376-page slow burn)
  • High spice (heat lands on the medium side, with one explicit scene)
  • Lighthearted romance with minimal conflict
  • No angst (the third act leans hard into emotional conflict and miscommunication)

Book Synopsis

Quinn Kincaid has spent years building a career, and a life, around never letting anyone get too close. As the star of the hit legal drama Jordan’s Appeal, she has kept her personal life locked down so tightly that even her closest colleagues do not know she is gay. When her publicist proposes a solution, a very public, very manufactured relationship that lets Quinn control the pace and framing of her own coming out, it sounds clinical and manageable. Then her publicist introduces the candidate for the job: Lacey Matthews, a sharp-tongued soap actress who agrees to the arrangement for reasons that have nothing to do with romance and everything to do with her own stalled career.

What starts as a business transaction, complete with talking points, paparazzi-friendly outings, and a carefully worded contract, does not stay that way for long. Quinn and Lacey needle each other from the first meeting, and that friction turns out to hide a genuine spark neither of them planned for. A sudden accident forces them into far closer, far more domestic territory than either bargained for, and the walls both women have spent years maintaining start to crack in ways that are inconvenient for their carefully staged romance and increasingly hard to ignore.

As the fake relationship starts to blur into something real, both women have to decide how much of themselves they are willing to risk when the entire arrangement was built on the premise that none of it was supposed to matter. Family pressure, industry politics, and old defense mechanisms complicate a bond that keeps deepening even as both leads try to keep it contained. Told from both women’s perspectives, Casting Lacey follows two guarded, funny, occasionally infuriating women as they figure out whether a relationship that started as a performance can become the realest thing in either of their lives.

My Review

Casting Lacey’s biggest strength is its dialogue. Spencer writes banter that actually sounds like two quick, defensive people sparring rather than the more common romance-novel version of “witty” back-and-forth, and that voice carries the first half of the book almost entirely on its own. Quinn and Lacey are drawn with real specificity, an ice-queen control freak and a mouthy, self-protective sarcasm machine, and watching those particular defenses fail against each other is more satisfying than a lot of enemies-to-lovers setups manage, even though this is closer to rivals-to-reluctant-allies than true enemies.

The pacing rewards patience. This is a slow burn in the literal sense: the earned tenderness in the middle third, especially once caregiving forces Quinn and Lacey into the same physical space, is where the book is at its best. The chemistry reads as lived-in rather than instant, built out of proximity and small moments rather than a single dramatic spark.

Where opinion splits, and where our own enthusiasm cooled slightly, is the last act. Several readers have flagged a late-book conflict that escalates faster and harder than the story’s earlier, more grounded stakes, and we agree that the shift in tone is noticeable. It does not undo the goodwill built in the first two-thirds, but it does mean the ending’s emotional payoff has to work a little harder to feel earned. The HEA lands, and the epilogue-style closing beats are satisfying, but readers who want angst kept at a low simmer throughout should go in with adjusted expectations.

Overall, this is a book that succeeds on voice and character chemistry first, plot mechanics second, which is exactly the trade-off most fans of banter-driven sapphic romance are happy to make.

Romance Profile

Relationship FF
Trope Fake Dating / Marriage of Convenience, Hollywood Romance, Age Gap, Slow Burn, Forced Proximity
Age Gap Yes, approximately 13 years
Slow Burn Yes
Forced Proximity Yes (caregiving after an accident)
Heat Medium (one explicit scene)
Ending HEA
Representation Lesbian
Dual POV Yes
Steam [Add rating]

Emotional Profile

  • Funny
  • Angsty
  • Hopeful
  • Healing

Content Warnings

Not officially published by the author or publisher; compiled from reader reviews and should be verified before use. Please add or adjust after reading.

  • Family health crisis / injury requiring caregiving
  • Outing and coming-out pressure tied to fame
  • On-page depictions of miscommunication and codependent conflict patterns

Book DNA

Main Tropes Fake Dating, Hollywood Romance, Age Gap, Slow Burn, Forced Proximity/Caregiving
Relationship Dynamics Rivals-to-allies banter, protector/protected dynamic during recovery, public “showmance” vs. private feelings
Emotional Journey Guarded to vulnerable; learning to trust after fame-related betrayals
Reader Moods Swoony, Angsty, Amused, Hopeful
Themes Coming out on your own terms, identity vs. public persona, chosen intimacy vs. performance
Tone Witty, banter-driven, with a sincere emotional undercurrent
Heat Medium
Ending HEA
Representation Lesbian

Similar Books

For more similar books visit: Sapphic fake dating romance books

About the Author

Elle Spencer is an American author of contemporary sapphic romance. She debuted in 2017 with Forget Her Not, and Casting Lacey, released the same year, became one of her best-known books for its banter-heavy voice and Hollywood setting. Several of Spencer’s novels have been published through Bold Strokes Books, and her backlist includes titles such as 30 Dates in 30 Days, The Road to Madison, Waiting for You, The Holiday Treatment, A Long Way to Fall, Give in to Me, Unforgettable, and Private Equity. Readers consistently point to her dialogue and slow-burn pacing as her signature strengths. Spencer is active with readers online and continues to publish new sapphic romance titles.

Read more Elle Spencer reviews →

FAQ

Is Casting Lacey spicy?

It sits at a medium heat level. There is one explicit love scene, positioned at a point in the relationship where it feels earned rather than gratuitous.

Does Casting Lacey have a happy ending?

Yes. Despite a rocky third act, the book ends with a clear HEA for Quinn and Lacey.

Can Casting Lacey be read as a standalone?

Yes. It is a standalone novel and not part of a series.

Is Casting Lacey slow burn?

Yes, it is a patient slow burn that builds through proximity and banter before either woman admits what she feels.

Is there an age gap in Casting Lacey?

Yes, roughly thirteen years, treated in the story as a non-issue between two consenting adults.

Who narrates the audiobook?

The audiobook is narrated by Melissa Moran and published by Tantor Audio.

Is Casting Lacey a fake dating romance?

Yes. The central setup is a publicist-arranged, marriage-of-convenience-style fake relationship that becomes real.

Does Casting Lacey use dual POV?

Yes, the story alternates between Quinn’s and Lacey’s perspectives.

Final Verdict

Who should read it: fans of Hollywood/celebrity romance, fake dating, slow burn banter, and age-gap pairings written as a non-issue.

Who shouldn’t: readers who want a low-angst comfort read, fast pacing, or minimal miscommunication-driven conflict.

Final score: [Add score]

Affiliate Disclosure

This post may contain an affiliate link. If you purchase through it, Lesbian Romance Reads may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Buy Casting Lacey on Amazon

 

1

Powered by WordPress.com.

Up ↑