Adam I’ve got it bad for my best friend, but he’s only had eyes for my sister since we were kids. I don’t know what I’ll do if they hook up — especially after a drunken kiss West doesn’t seem to remember. Seeing them together just might kill me, so why I offer to help him hone his dating skills, I’ll never know. FML. West Ever since a drunken kiss we haven’t talked about, I’ve been seeing Adam … been seeing Adam in a new light. Trouble is, he thinks I want his sister. This whole bisexual awakening thing is scary, and I don’t want to risk our friendship by moving too fast. But when Adam mocks my dating skills, I come up with a genius plan: Five Fake Dates. Adam thinks he’s helping me, and I get to test the waters without risking our friendship. Win-win!
A few fake dates, increasingly real kisses, and a tiny deception between friends. What could go wrong?
Five Fake Dates was originally written for a promotional giveaway to fans. It has been expanded to approximately 27,000 words and now has a little more spice and a bonus epilogue with HEA!
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I actually listened to this one as narrated by Darcy Stark rather than reading it. I selected this because I needed a “palate cleanser” after reading several darker, more serious titles.
Two buddies who’ve been college room mates for a year, after growing up next-door to each other, sounded like just the ticket. The fact that one was openly gay and one was straight-identified, but both of whom were harboring deeper feelings for each other, promised some minor but entertaining drama and hopefully some comedy. Turns out it was a great choice!
Adam is the one who’s come out to friends & family, but Adam is continually over-thinking things… and crushing on his best friend, who, a few years back, admitted to crushing on Adam’s sister.
While Adam has recognized but been hiding his feelings for his “straight” buddy, West is beginning to realize that maybe it’s NOT Adam’s sister he’s interested in. Perhaps he’s Bi-sexual.
West’s never been one to take things too cautiously. This time he impulsively suggests that he and Adam go on five “fake dates” with Adam acting as his dating coach. That ruse doesn’t last long for either of them.
Narrator Darcy Stark does a great job of voicing both guys but seemed a bit tentative when first voicing the over-analytical Adam. As soon as I heard him voicing West, I assumed that West’s voice was Darcy’s normal voice and Adam was a character voice that he was, perhaps, over-acting a bit. With that in mind, by chapter two, both voices were fine. Imagine my surprise when in listening to the end credits it became clear that I was mistaken in my assumption and Adam’s voice is Narrator Darcy’s real voice.
Confusion aside, the book is light-hearted and a fun read though there were a few points at which I wanted to slap the overly anxious Adam. Yes, West may have caused most of the real problems in this tale, but sort of in the way that a playful puppy does.
That two life-long friends could make their lives this complicated through miscommunication does stretch one’s credulity a bit, but overall, the book accomplished the goal I had for it, to entertain.
This book does contain some sexual scenes but they’re mostly on the light side and not terribly graphic. And while West claims to be bi-sexual, there’s no real evidence of it here.
***Note: I am voluntarily reviewing this after receiving a complimentary copy ***
Two cute characters, lots of banter, best friends to lovers college story. This one is a true gem! Loved everything about the story, including the dash of angst that made it all the more enjoyable!
You’re hot for your best friend (and roommate) but decide to repress it because he’s straight and you don’t want to lose him as a friend. Your friend kisses you on a dare and thinks he might not be as straight as he thought and wants to figure it out by going on fake dates with you, but tells you instead that he needs dating practice so he can ask your sister out. Sound like a great premise? Hell, yeah! The heat factor was perfect, and I really liked how Adam and West navigated the relationship waters as they figured things out. The story ticked all of my boxes… Five real stars for this one!
Audiobook review:
Story – 5
Performance – 5
I loved this so much!
I did a beta read of Five Fake Dates for DJ Jamison back in December when the e-book was released. I really loved it; her new adult stories are some of my favorites. I’m not sure how I dropped the ball but I never did a review of it – anywhere, let alone on this blog. Now that I’ve finished listening to the audiobook, I couldn’t wait to do a review.
I’ve listened to several audiobooks that Darcy Stark has performed and I’ve loved all of them. I think his voice is perfect for this kind of story and he did a fantastic job with Five Fake Dates.
Friends-to-lovers is one of my favorite romance tropes and this one really touched my heart. The blurb is really good so take a look at it. I can tell you that I smiled a lot while reading this but it also really made me feel things.
Adam is in love with his best friend and college roommate, West. Adam believes that West is straight because he’s been crushing on Adam’s sister forever. When West finally realizes that he feels more than friendship for Adam the fake dating he proposes has some really funny things happening.
But it’s not all light and funny as there are some serious moments, too. I love how it all worked out for Adam and West and the epilogue that DJ wrote for their story was wonderful. I loved reading how they were doing together 3 years down the road.
***Reviewed for Xtreme-Delusions dot com***
OK, I thought about it a long time before adding this bit and decided I couldn’t resist. I’m in my mid-60’s and I loved the fun and campy Batman TV series when I was young. Every time I wrote Adam and West for this review it made me giggle a bit. For the younger crowd: Adam West played Batman on TV.
I admire how DJ Jamison can create emotional characters with just a few words, making a sweet love story, romantic and spicy, so easy to read and perfect to enjoy a nice afternoon reading. West and Adam’s story is the perfect BFF to lovers after 5 amazing fake dates. Loved it!
I got this wonderful short in a giveaway and this is my honest opinion.
I love reading DJ’s books. They are hit the spot love books. West and Adam’s story just made me want to love the world. Best friends since grade school. They always had each others backs. Adam came out when he was 14 and West supported him. West always seemed to be feeding a crush he had on Adam’s older sister, Hannah. Then they were room mates in college and loving life, though Adam loved West in silence… but then one day events took a turn at a party. In a drunken stupor dare West kissed Adam. He never meant for it to be anything else, but it did, confusing West even more so than Adam. The games began, hence the book title, on the pretense of prepping West to ask out Hannah… but it meant different things to both of them. We are then lead through the dates and the book just gets cuter. Feelings develop and the pretense is confronted. Reading West and Adams story as it progressed just filled me with joy… not all MM books have to be filled with angst, sometimes they are just meant to put a smile on our faces.