Working at Bliss, Sarah Harrison deals with all sorts of—interesting clientele. Yet no one sparks her interest more than Jared Gaines, the ultra-rich, ultra-sexy businessman who frequents her shop, buying delicate little “gifts” for the women in his life.But one day, Jared sends her a gift from Bliss. Then another—and another. So when Sarah walks into his office demanding to know why he can’t … he can’t stop sending her gifts, he makes her an offer she somehow can’t refuse: be his fake girlfriend for the weekend while attending his brother’s engagement party.
Next thing Sarah knows, she’s in San Francisco, pretending to be in love with Jared. Not that it’s a hardship. Once you get the man away from the office, he’s much more relaxed. Sweet. Funny. Even…thoughtful? Oh, and sexier than ever, of course.
Their pretend relationship feels very real, very quickly. Soon Sarah’s in over her head. Could what she and Jared share turn into something real? Or is it all actually…fake?
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“Jared lifts his gaze to mine, his dark eyes practically smoldering. I remain fixed in my chair, my breath catching in my throat the longer we stare at each other.”
Sarah wonders what the heck is happening. “Mr. Gaines”, aka Jared, aka arrogant ass womanizer is throwing sparks her way. He must have a lot of women since he spends so much money on lingerie at the store Sarah works. She is trying to resist him, knowing this. But it is becoming more and more difficult.
Jared can’t help but be intrigued by Sarah Harrison. She is not making it easy to get close. A perfect opportunity arises for them to be together. What could go wrong?
This is a perfect story of fake turns real romance. I love the story and the characters!
This is my first book by this author and I requested it because of the cute cover. I didn’t realize that it was as the second book in the series but I had no problems following along and never felt lost. Oh man was Jared a little rough personality wise. I mean, he totally came off like a big ole dick a time or two. I really liked Sarah, she had no problems calling him out on it. She definitely held her own against him. It certainly made for some interesting chemistry between them, so that was kinda fun. Overall I thought it was an enjoyable read and I think I’ll grab the next book that comes out about his sister, I really liked her.
I was surprised by this story. On the surface it’s a billionaire romance but as I got to peel back the layers, I met two amazing characters that deserved to find love yet wouldn’t allow themselves. Sarah suffered an incredible tragedy but she stepped up to raise her teenage sister with the help of her younger brother. They had to forge a new family without their parents. She works at Bliss selling lingerie and has a most interesting client, Mr. Jared Gaines, who comes in to buy lingerie for his many mistresses. The one problem she finds him very attractive and struggles to maintain her professionalism then one visit, Jared, gets more personal. Jared is an up-tight, jerk, at least that is what he portrays. He had his heart broken several years ago shortly after his mom died so he decided to ban all emotions and not let anyone in. When he meets Sarah, she causes a shift inside him and he finds himself visiting Bliss more frequently. When his brother wants him to attend his engagement party, he takes advantage of this opportunity and convinces Sarah to be his fake date. Now these two had been doing the ultimate tap dance around their feelings, will a weekend together as a fake date force them to realize something real is possible? I enjoyed their journey. Jared gave Sarah a stability she didn’t know she needed and Sarah pushed Jared to deal with his grief. I voluntarily read an ARC of this book and this is my honest review.
Fake Date is the second book in the Dating series, and if you’re familiar with the Fake Relationship trope you’re going to enjoy this light hearted, low-angst romance. It features a handsome billionaire and poor salesgirl and with an enemies-to-lovers vibe, these two MC start their relationship by getting along like oil and vinegar. Lucky for us, they realize they have more things in common than not.
Sarah Harrison was left with the responsibility of raising her two younger siblings after their parent’s tragic death. She loves working at Bliss Lingerie, an upscale boutique in Carmel-By-The-Sea, CA frequented by wealthy clients, including a certain billionaire playboy customer who always requests Sarah’s assistance. He comes in regularly to purchase expensive gifts and she’s convinced they’re for his girlfriends/lovers, or as she calls them, ‘mistresses’. Yes, plural. She dislikes waiting on him and not just because she thinks he’s a manwhore, but because he acts like an entitled, rude, and pampered jerk.
“We’ve been hate-flirting for the past six months, every time I saw her at Bliss. We just finally got around to actually doing something about it.”
Jared Gaines is a regular customer of Bliss, but not for the reason Sarah thinks. She has no idea he’s attracted to her, he’s never let on or acted on it. Not until he begins to send Sarah gifts she would never be able to afford, and are hard to say no to. Jared has his reasons for being so standoffish and cold; he’s been burned before and is a little wary of being hurt again. When he asks Sarah for her help, he needs a date for his brother’s engagement party, she agrees to accompany him. Sarah soon finds out how wrong she was about Jared. And the reason he needed a date.
“If I give in to him, then he’ll just toss me aside like he does with all of his other women.”
Once they begin to share a little bit about themselves, they soon begin to trust a little more. With a cast of amazing secondary characters, including her besties and his little sister, this story is a fun and quick read.
“Women tend to just fall at my feet and do whatever I want, whenever I want it.”
Her delicate brows shoot straight up. “Ego much?”
I ignore her little jabs. “They don’t ever play hard to get.”
“Really? Well, I’m pretty sure I do,” she says with the faintest hint of triumph.
“Yes,” I agree. “You do.” And that’s what I like the most about her.”
Sarah is a young woman who works at Bliss, a luxury lingerie store, where the price of labels is relative to the size of the beauty of the pieces. After the death of her parents, she took responsibility for the family, and raised her two siblings. Having to work to survive, she was unable to go to college, and hopes that as soon as her younger sister graduates, she will have time to devote to herself.
With her hard work, she was getting better opportunities in her job, and now she takes care of exclusive sales, with scheduled appointments and VIP customers. And it is one of those customers who will test her patience. As well as pique her interest.
Jared is handsome, successful and rich. And rude. With an endless list of affairs, his lingerie fetish takes him to Bliss, where his shopping becomes increasingly frequent. All thanks to the beautiful saleswoman. But if the salesperson / customer relationship is professional, at the same time it is tense, carried by Sarah’s sarcastic comments and Jared’s teasing tone.
When unusual gifts begin to be sent to Sarah, she knows that only one person can be behind it. In confronting him, she never expected the proposal she would hear.
Jared is attracted to Sarah. But he avoids relationships at all costs. Proposing a no strings attached affair is the only thing he can offer. But given her hesitation, he ends up inviting her to be his date to his brother’s engagement party. Until a misunderstanding elevates her to the status of fake girlfriend.
With a fake relationship in play, they will be forced to get to know each other and spend more time together, and soon Sarah will realize that Jared is much more than the frowning facade he shows. But as much as she wants to help him, the lengths of his secrets are bigger than she thinks.
The book is an upside-down novel, where the protagonists live a love-hate relationship filled with much chemistry and sexual tension. What was supposed to be just physical ends up deepening, and as they get to know each other and open up, they begin to see that maybe what they have can be real. A bit of drama and misunderstanding happens in the final part, making Jared rethink what he really wants.
A good plot, light, fun, with a more sensual spark and full of beautiful lingerie. Jared and his fetish meet a worthy opponent.
Fake Date by Monica Murphy
5 Stars
What another sexy, charming, and entertaining read! Love the witty conversations and the chemistry between the characters! I really did enjoy and love this book!
“I want to fight for you,” he says, his voice soft. I will always fight for you.”
“I always give up on myself. She made me realize I don’t have to do that every time something good comes into my life and I’m scared I’ll lose it.”
“We hold each other, absorbing each other’s warmth.”
Such a fun read as it kept me smiling throughout. Highly recommend.
Where do I even start?
From the beginning of the book, I was hooked. Jared and Sarah’s “relationship” is strange from the get-go… He kind of gets on her nerves and she has to be ultra professional around him. The dynamic really had me cracking up. And then as the story goes on, I just grew to love them even more. I’ll admit that Fake Relationship stories aren’t ones that I normally gravitate towards but I read Save the Date in this series and got a kick out of the characters, so I thought I would give this one a try and I am really glad that I did. I could feel the tension between these two throughout the whole story and I enjoyed every bit of it.
I love Monica Murphy’s books! This series though may just be my favorite of them all! Readers who are fans of fake relationships, and couples who are complete opposites are going to fall head over heels for this one! It’s funny, charming, and absolutely addicting! I love the reason that Sara and Jared connected in the first place (it made me SWOON HARD) even if Sara had completely different ideas in the beginning. Monica knows how to write in these cute little quirks and scenes that just make the book magical and this part my friends is one of them! I can’t say what because I don’t want to spoil it but I think readers are going to be gushing! All in all, this book is a MAJOR winner and Monica won over my heart. I can’t wait to read the next one!
PS: Aren’t these covers the absolute cutest?
Monica Murphy
This was a really entertaining read. I loved Sarah’s inner monologue about Jared. I laughed out loud a lot.
Fake Date by Monica Murphy is a well-written novel. The two main characters, Sarah Harrison and Jared Gaines, have AMAZING chemistry and their road to forever twists and turns quite a few times. Sarah works for Bliss Lingerie, an extremely upscale sexy undergarment boutique in Monterey, California. She is a good salesperson and many the store’s clients request her personal expertise. At the ripe old age of twenty, Sarah lost both her parents to a tragic car accident. Overnight, she took on the role of caregiver to her younger brother and sister. Jared Gaines is a very successful businessman. He is a rich workaholic and is always dressed to the nines. Ten years ago, his fiance broke off their engagement only a few months before the big day, and as a result, he prefers a fling to any kind of relationship. He even keeps his family a safe distance away from his heart. Jared is a man of few words, in fact, most people find him intimidating. However, Sarah has the rare ability to coax him out of his shell.
Jared is a Bliss client and Sarah is the only person he trusts to assist him with his purchases. Over the past six months, their clever banter has become flirtatious and a bit hot. When Jared needs a plus one for his brother’s engagement party, he asks Sarah to accompany him and pretend to be his very much in love girlfriend. Their fake date evolves into lust and love.
I truly enjoyed this book. Sarah is a wonderful character, and it was easy to get to know her. Her devotion to her family is inspiring, and the awesome girlfriends she surrounds herself with help keep her grounded. Jared is his own worst enemy and his cantankerous attitude is a bit hard to take. Basically, Sarah and Jared are two opposites that attract. Their sexy times are hot, both in and out of the bedroom. This is the second book from the author’s Dating series and it can read as a standalone.
Complimentary copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley.
Fake Date by Monica Murphy is book 2 in the Dating Series. This is the story of Sarah Harrison and Jared Gaines. I haven’t yet read the previous book, so for me this was a standalone book.
Sarah works at Bliss a lingerie shop where Jared seems to frequent to by a women in his life gifts. They usually have a heated discussion / flirt session. But then the gifts he buys he starts to give to Sarah. Sarah confronts him about this and he tells her that he needs her to be his fake date to his brother’s wedding. Of course the falseness starts to feel real but will they actually do it.
This was a fun hot read.
This story was fun. At first you think Sarah and Jared are too different people to work as a couple. Sarah works at Bliss, a lingerie shop and has huge responsibilites since she cares for her brother and sister. Jared is rich and was very hard to read in the beginning and most of the story. He shops for lingerie and requests Sarah as his personal shopper. When he asks about her size – I was like – what??? Then the story starts with first a gift to Sarah from Bliss to other gifts. Soon the banter and chemistry take off. If you like fake relationship stories you will like this one.
Sarah has worked at Bliss for several years now, going from working part-time and just opening boxes and sorting product, to now a sales associate taking on private customer sales. With those private client sales, she is always requested by a handsome guy in an expensive suit, who is flirting one minute to being shut off and rude the next. She doesn’t know what to think of this guy. So when six months down the line from always being requested by the guy, she gets a package at her home, which contains the same exact lingerie set the gentleman purchased earlier that day. Now she definitely doesn’t know what to make of him.
Then when she keeps getting more gifts from him, she demands to know why he is doing this. But when he presents her with an offer she would be crazy to say no to, she finds herself falling even more for this guy. But she can’t keep the fake and the real separate for long.
I really enjoyed this book. It was a great prequel to the first book, even though the characters in the first book didn’t really make an appearance, but with that this book can totally be read as a standalone and you wouldn’t miss anything!
I think the only thing that kept me from giving it 5 stars would be the characters personalities. I just couldn’t really relate to them. I found them at times to act way younger than their ages would act, and normally it wouldn’t be an issue for me but I just couldn’t get into the characters.
Otherwise, the story line was great and I loved the plot and the way it ended.
The moment you meet Sarah and Jared the feels are all there. The story is inevitable but just so gorgeous you have to read in. Their ‘fake’ romance will give you laughs and tears. Sarah’s insecurity makes her real, Jared’s pride makes you wanna flick his ears but both together…irresistible.
This is a great feel good, HEA and doesn’t need to be read with Save the Date.
Thank you Monica for the chance to read this and to continue the friends dating journeys x
I loved this charming, sexy and incredibly entertaining story. I had a blast reading it and I fell completely in love with Sarah and Jared. It was such a fun read and it left me with a huge smile on my face.
I loved their interactions. Such great Hate-Flirt. Such sizzling chemistry. Sarah walks a fine line when she has to deal with Jared at her job, she doesn’t take any of his rude, demanding behavior without giving it right back to him. But what she doesn’t know is that she is the reason he comes into Bliss. So when he starts sending her some gifts, and then asks her on a fake date she is totally thrown for a loop. Will their chemistry lead to more? You need to read this to enjoy all the juicy details.
Fake date is engaging, steamy, emotional and romantic, and it delivers a sublime happy-ever-after with all the feels.
Fake Date by Monica Murphy is the second book in the Dating Series. This delightful contemporary series takes place in Carmel-by-the Sea, California, an upscale seaside small town. This series features a group of young, dynamic women working in the designer boutique shops and cafe’s finding love at the most unexpected moment in their lives.
Sara Harrison has worked for Bliss Lingerie, a high end boutique for years. She has worked her way up to becoming a personal shopper for some of their upscale clients. One of those clients is Jarod Gaines, a wealthy businessman buying gifts for the women in his life. He makes her uncomfortable but also gives her goosebumps at the same time. When he starts sending her gifts and flowers she feels like he’s crossing the line. When he propositions her to be his fake date it’s almost impossible to refuse.
Her impressions of Jared change as she gets to know the closed off man beneath the surface. There’s more to his story. Sure he might be the biggest jerk that hit the planet. He may be a bit creeper/ stalkerish, but underneath the surface is a clueless man who just needs to bring down the walls that hold the real Jarod prisoner.
I going to be absolutely honest, at first I absolutely hated Jarod. He creeped me out in many ways until he started letting his guard down. Then once he did it was obvious he’s a clueless man that doesn’t deal well with his emotions. What kept me invested in the book was Sara and her girlfriend posse. Their dating advice and texting codes reminded me of how wonderful girlfriends are in the scary world of dating. They are the sound boards, protectors, instigators, cheerleaders, drinking buddies, and therapist all wrapped up in margarita’s and chocolate at the perfect moment.
In the end I fell for Jordan and realized he was just a guy who needed love.
I can’t wait for Jarod’s baby sister Candice to get her story in the upcoming book Holidate. Holidate by Monica Murphy will release on October 15, 2019.
I absolutely loved Fake Date! Sarah and Jared have so much tension going on between them as you read you are just waiting for the moment of explosion and see which way these two will go. Sarah had been use to the behaviors of Jared when he shops at the store she works at, but has a hard time just admitting that Jared is hot to her friends. Jared is use to the reactions he gets from Sarah while shopping and enjoys their interactions. Then fate intervenes and Jared is requesting Sarah to be his fake date. While these two put up a front for everyone else, is there more going on between these two or is it just all fake? Sarah and Jared take you on a fun, flirty, tension-filled adventure that has you turning the pages to find out if it all was fake or not? You won’t be disappointed with this fantastic read!
Fake Date is the second book in the Dating series. Characters from the first one do appear in this one, but it’s still a standalone. It’s a contemporary romance with a fake relationship trope. However, this is not your usual fake relationship trope. It doesn’t follow the usual storyline for that, and there are several parts they make fun of romance movies and specifically fake relationship tropes. It was refreshing, different, and quite creative.
Sarah was a great character. She is raising her younger siblings, always does the right thing, and is responsible and mature for her age. Also, all of the girls in the book were nice and supportive of each other, even the one you would assume would be horrible. This is so rare in books and I loved this so much.
I did struggle with Jared’s character a lot. He came off as an entitled jerk. He had very few redeeming qualities in my opinion. Therefore, I really thought Sarah deserved better than him and didn’t like them together at all. Although, he does get slightly less jerky with Sarah trying to make him into a better person.
Overall, I thought it was a creative, entertaining take on a fake relationship trope and I would recommend this.
* I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
This is my first book by Monica Murphy and I can’t wait to read more from her.
Sarah works at Bliss Lingerie, which is where she was introduced to her most challenging client. Jared Gaines is a man of few words. He’s cold, rude, and Sarah is more than intrigued. Coming in to buy gifts for the women in his life gets to Sarah and she can’t help having digs about his ‘mistresses’ just so she can poke the bear and get a reaction from him. I loved how easily they riled each other up! So when she receives a gift from Jared it throws her. Not quite sure how to react Sarah isn’t seeing that Jared is interested in more than the lingerie she sells. She’s not like the other women Jared is usually interested in. She’s a genuinely good person, she’s raising her younger siblings, she’s responsible and mature for her age and extremely easy to like so why would he keep sending her gifts when nothing about her says she’s looking for any kind of relationship? Only one way to find out and that’s to confront him.
I loved Jared. He’s a bit of a jerk at times, he doesn’t really have a lot of redeeming qualities to begin with but I still loved him. He’s not used to been challenged and I loved that Sarah kept him on his toes and wasn’t afraid to call him out when he was been a jerk. What starts off as a fake date to a family function soon gets complicated as the chemistry between them gets harder to ignore and Sarah realises that there’s a fun, sweeter (and sexier) side to the usually grumpy Mr Gaines.
I didn’t realise when I started this that it was book two in a series but it can definitely be read as a stand-alone and you won’t feel like you’re missing anything. I love a fake romance and this was definitely one of my favourites. The characters are great together, the push and pull, the banter, the chemistry, everything about this book is exactly what I like in a book. I can’t wait to read more from Monica Murphy.
Good-hearted and sweet comedy. This fluffy romance is so easy to enjoy.
The fake relationship trope is a sure way to get fun banter and intimacy flashes early on. In this novel, it happens in a very enticing context. The hate-to-love hero makes emboldened advances in the shape of expensive lingerie, which he happens to buy at the shop where the heroine works. Cheeky fellow! I loved that. He is grumpy and demanding and so handsome, whereas she is the epitome of responsibility, cute as a button, and puts up a food fight that is bound to crumble against his tempting determination.
That part is lovely and exciting. Though they don’t interact much beyond the realm of seduction, it sets a very warm mood. Here, Sarah shares her misgivings with her circle of friends, and we get meaningful clues about both characters in terms of family and fears. When the fake relationship theme pops up, the real bond sizzles in all its charm. And potential disaster.
The second part is brimming with family affairs, new relationship excitement, a couple of steamy times that are wonderful, and a bomb of hidden trauma. I am not sure I liked what transpired there. Jared is upset about his past, but admits it was for the best. On the other hand, Sarah gets too offended by some omissions when actually she doesn’t really know Jared that deeply. I am sorry to say that he never actually redeems himself, he is not really a swoony hero. That’s why the first part of the book is better.
Anyway, rejection and honesty and a true intention to fight for what’s worthy tinges the last pages. What I loved most apart from the happily ever after is the shop itself, its cute personality and how Sarah finally finds her future thanks to it, both in terms of love and creativity.