HeathIt’s a classic story: Boy meets girl, girl breaks boy’s heart, boy pretends to be gay to get back at girl, girl outs boy to everyone on Facebook… pretend to be dating my gay best friend, Declan.
And when she outs me on Facebook and everyone I know sees it, there’s still only one option: keep pretending to be dating Declan.
And when Declan and I have to kiss to keep up the ruse and it turns out there’s actually a spark between us (more like a blazing inferno, if truth be told) there’s once again only one option…
Warning: this book is not appropriate for anyone who doesn’t like laughing, anyone who doesn’t like dogs, or anyone who doesn’t like hot men having a lot of sex…with each other.
*Happily Ever After included
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Heath and Declan have been friends since college. Heath’s ex is back in town and she’s engaged. Heath asks Declan to be his pretend boyfriend but after one kiss they wonder if it’s fake or something more. I really enjoyed this book.
Extremely entertaining, captivating and interesting sexy read. I could not put it down. Wonderfully written with strong, intriguing characters. I want to read more from this author.
I really enjoyed the whole story, but I felt like the plot got a little convoluted towards the end. The characters are interesting, and I think the story would have unfolded a little better if there was more back story for the two main characters.
I enjoyed this book enough that I will certainly explore more of this series.
Joel Leslie does a good job of narrating, and each character has a distinct voice.
**********Contains Spoilers**********
Man, I loved this book. This is the first book that I’ve read by Isla Olsen and I’m now hooked. I loved Dec & Heath’s relationship right from the start but was even better as it grew into love. The moment when they ran into Allison while at the coffee shop and saw her engagement ring and Heath decided to make up the whole Dec and him being together totally cracked me up. I loved the Kelly family conversations, their group chats and Dec and Heath’s inner monologues. Wow, did Heath take to being bi like a pro. I love all the Kelly’s and can’t wait to read the next books especially after reading the bonus scene. I’d definitely recommend this book, series and author to everyone.
#mm #bestfriendstolovers #fakerelationship
4.75 stars
Totally hilarious. I loved it. Sweet ending. I do think it was a little weird that they are best friends and didn’t communicate and had that bit of drama 3/4 of ths way in but it was still a great quick read.
I listened to the audio and Joel Leslie is great. His voice is pleasant. He does great character specific voices really well. Esp female voices and the elderly uncle. The 2 MCs voices are different with one being a New Yorker and one having his family accent. He keeps a good pace and expresses emotions well and gives a fantastic performance. Made me enjoy the book even more. I have listened to this multiple times and it never gets old.
I love the book!! Declan and Heath are best friends and they are perfect for each other. The story is funny, entertaining and hot. I can’t wait to read the next book in this serie!
If you love best friends to lovers, fake boyfriend, GFY troupe and with a lot of sexy times this is for you!
This is the 1st book in the series. MM fake boyfriend / friends-to-lovers romance.
Heath and Declan’s relationship is a little over the top, but hot! At the beginning I pictures Heath as the straight jock and Declan as his reserved gay best friend but once things get “intimate” all bets are off which was a surprise.
Dec’s is one of eleven children and their group phone chats are hilarious!!
The only part of the book that I did not get was Dec being a sperm donor. It weirded me out. If it is set up for something in future books great, but if not, I think the story could have done without it.
Overall, I loved the book. I have already read the 2nd book in the series and am looking forward to the next!
All in all, I had a good time with this little novel. I said little because I read it very quickly. In two or three hours I had finished it. This is also for me, the weak point of this book. It is too short and events are linked too quickly for my taste to seem a credible minimum. The rhythm is really strong and the romance between Declan and Heath is linked without progressiveness. This point could have been easily arranged with a few additional chapters and events.
I found it a shame because the relationship between the two men is really interesting and the author managed to bring out the chemistry that is between them. Through the pages, we discover the connection that exists between the two best friends. I liked the naturalness that we feel in their interactions as well as their little verbal jousting.
Speaking of verbal jousting, one point that I loved in this title is the transcription of exchanges via SMS and WhatsApp. Those between the two lovers are good and bring a little more to the story, but then the exchanges between the Kelly family are of a whole new level. We are certainly lost with the first names, but my god that this Irish family is crossed out.
Overall, Fake it ’til you make out, although with some weaknesses is a nice little title to discover and a good introductory volume for a series. I liked the basics and the decor that the author planted and I liked the author’s pen. Love and luck is for me a series that has potential and that can only improve. I just hope that the author will offer us more extensive titles in the future because the smallness of this title is a big black point for me.
This is the first book I’ve read by this author and I have to say that I will look forward to reading more of her work. This starts out as your typical fake boyfriend trope but it quickly becomes apparent that this is a new twist on the old trope.
Heath meets up with his ex-girlfriend who is now engaged and in order to save face and not look pathetic he tells her that he and his gay best friend Declan are involved. As is typical in these stories they end up falling for each other but the interesting part here is how the author navigates it. Unlike so many of these types of stories Declan has not been pining for his friend. There’s no unrequited love angle here. Declan is as shocked by developments as Heath is. That makes for a fresh spin on a common trope.
The families are a hysterical element of the story and there is an interesting twist with Declan’s ex that provides fodder for the crisis point.
The story does a good job of pointing out and dismissing stereotypes and Heath’s acceptance of his new sexual identity is refreshing in the telling. This is a fresh take on a tale we see told often. I totally enjoyed it. There’s humor, snark, real emotion, steamy scenes and cute dogs! Strongly recommend.
*I voluntarily read an ARC and this is my objective review *
Heath Caplin runs into his ex and while they are talking he tells he that he is happy with his boyfriend. Declan Kelly has been in love with Heath for the last several years but Heath is not gay so they have just remained best friends. Heath gets woke up by his mother congratulating him on his relationship with Declan. While he boys are pretending to be in a relationship everyone thinks it is real. While out in public the boys start kissing and then the hands start wandering. What will happen when Heath and Declan are alone in the room together? Will Heath freak out and not want to be friends anymore? Will Heath and Declan take the relationship to the next level?
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
4.5 hilariously unfiltered stars!
I’m a huge fan of the fake relationship and friends-to-lovers tropes so I was already pretty sold on the premise alone, but I was definitely not expecting to love it as much as I did. There were a couple points that really bothered me, but on the whole it was the banter, the sexiness, the acceptance, the love that won me over so completely.
Oh geez. Those texts!! I think I died a few times with all the hilarious back-and-forth between everyone. The sexy times were filled with both passion and humor and Heath constantly surprised me with how much openness he had toward his sudden enlightenment. I have a harder time with the angst that comes with self-judgment due to attraction outside of monogamous heterosexual leanings because it often quickly slides into a blind judgment of everyone that doesn’t fit archaic societal views of sexual normality because they refuse to accept themselves being anything other than that. Heath was a little shocked, a whole lot interested, and accepted himself without prejudice. A lot of that was because of who he was experiencing everything with.
Declan wasn’t the stereotypical best friend that secretly harbors lust or love that has to be denied in order to keep the friendship. He’s a happy, mostly settled, gay male that just hasn’t found his person yet. When he finally sees that Heath is his person, he’s surprised that they took so long to get together, but still took most things in stride. I really enjoyed that aspect of this story. But how he handled the Joel situation was bad. Knowing Heath and what drove him to fabricate the relationship in the first place should have immediately gave Declan pause. He didn’t have to share Joel’s situation, but to at least give Heath some kind of heads up instead of flat out lying? Hell to the no. The denials and secrets were absolutely unnecessary.
I wish so much that the Big Mis hadn’t preyed on Heath’s insecurities, but I will concede that the question brought up about trusting Dec because of who Dec is and what they’ve had together for most of their lives, even before romance entered the picture was appropriate. And the reunion scene, while mildly humorous with the full-body tackle, was a picture I don’t think Heath needed to walk in on because, from his perspective and what he saw both previously and here, no matter the reasoning, was misleading enough that Declan should have made more of an effort to be the friend more than the miffed lover.
Other than that pretty glaring thing that really frustrated me, I loved this story. Heath and Declan had great chemistry both in and out of the bedroom and their families were awesome…how could I not fall head over heels for everything? And with so many siblings that are other-than-straight, I’m looking forward to a whole lot more awesome from this series!
I loved this book! I am a sucker for dual first person POV and while that is a plus it wasn’t what really made me really enjoy this book.
Not only did I really fall in love with the characters as individuals but as a unit as well. The many facets of their relationship was well developed. You first get to see their actual friendship it is legitimately platonic. Then the fake relationship starts and it is still not an insta-love it develops!
I highly recommend this it is a fun, entertaining, truly enjoyable read.
When Heath ends up running into his ex-girlfriend, he spots the huge rock on her finger and panics. He doesn’t want her back, he just doesn’t want her to think he is pathetic. When his best friend gives him a life line and goes along with the little lie that they are a couple, he doesn’t think anything of it. Just a quick little white lie, that is until it’s announced on Facebook and now it seems like everyone knows the good news. Heath decides that just to save face, they need to keep up the appearance just until they can break up. He never imagined that they would have chemistry and that a little kiss of proof would end with sparks. Now, he has to figure out if the line of friendship is worth crossing. Did I mention that his best friend also happens to be a guy?
I really enjoyed this story; Heath and Dec were so much fun to read about! A bit of drama, some really funny bits, and some super hot ones as well. I am really hoping for more of Dec’s family, they were a hoot! I give this 5 stars.
This book was right up my alley.
* Fake boyfriends – check!
* Best friend to lovers – check!
* Bisexual awakening – check!
Fake it ’til you make out is a low angst, funny, snaky, witty, seriously hot, easy to read book.
I thoroughly enjoyed watching Declan and Heath negotiate social media in this light hearted story.
This is a new to me author and I will certainly be keeping a look out for more titles from them.
4 Stars!
Heath and Declan were adorable and just perfect for one another, if only Heath weren’t straight, or isn’t he? Heath turned out to be bi, but that’s really a non-issue because even if he was a bit of a manwhore before getting together with Dec, once they did, girls were a thing of the past for Heath.
I loved that this was a fairly original take on the fake boyfriend trope, and that while Heath had a bit of a freak out for a moment once things started to change for him and Dec, he just went with it. Seeing as Heath was a more of a go-with-the-flow kind of guy, his reaction was very realistic and in character. Heath was my favorite of the two, but Dec was very likable, too. I just felt like I got to know Heath better. Anyway, the chemistry between the two of them was undeniable, their banter was hilarious and I just couldn’t get enough of them, so I hope this isn’t the last we’re seeing of them in the series.
This was such a fun and cute story, with just a tiny dash of angst and a fantastic set of characters, both main and secondary. I’m already looking forward to the next book in the series.
*** Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie for my reading pleasure, a review wasn’t a requirement. ***
Funny and cute!
My understanding is that Fake it ’til You Make Out is Isla Olsen’s first foray into writing MM romance but she’s not really a new author as she writes YA Fantasy under a different pen name. Still, as a first effort at an MM book it’s not bad.
I pretty much took this book with a grain of salt and accepted it for what I think it is: a funny, friends-to-lovers romp that you just have to suspend belief in reality to enjoy. I do love a good friend-to-lovers story but this one was kind of over-the-top. That was OK with me though, because sometimes you just want to read a book with pretty low angst that makes you laugh. And this story did make me laugh more than once. On top of the laughs there were also some very hot, sexy scenes.
It will be interesting to see what kind of book Isla Olsen comes up with next. I give this one 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.
A copy of this book was provided to me but my review was voluntary and not influenced by the author.
***Reviewed for Xtreme-Delusions dot com***
3.5 stars-
Fake It ‘til You Make Out was my first book by this author and overall a pleasant read. I’m a big fan of the fake relationship trope and enjoy romantic comedies, so I was excited about finding a new author to try out. This quick, easy read had a fun vibe right from the start, frequently putting a smile on my face.
I liked both main characters and felt the chemistry immediately. Declan and Heath make an adorable couple and the humor was fun and fit the characters and book’s energy well. As far as natural, believable transitions in the gay-for-you trope, it did feel a bit more convenient and almost too easy, but low angst is sometimes just what I need and this was a fun, flirty escape with a fair bit of heat. Unfortunately, the latter part of the book was marred in my eyes by the dreaded miscommunication plot point. Honestly, I would have preferred the novel continue on with the relaxed, easy love vibe than fall back on the conflict and breakup fueled by a main character keeping secrets path. That’s never my favorite but in a best friends to lovers romance, it feels especially brutal. This was heightened by the conflict carrying on longer than felt necessary and some reactions that didn’t quite seem to fit the characters. All that said, Fake It ‘til You Make Out was a sexy, easy read I think fans of low angst reads may like, especially if they aren’t quite as thrown off by miscommunication as I am.
*eARC received via GRR*
Heath and Declan…when you get caught in a lie so you continue the lie…until …
I enjoyed this read from a new to me author. I enjoyed how their was no angst in oh maybe I am gay and it just all sort of flowed.
Declan and Heath were laugh out loud hilarious. This light hearted story about two best friends pretending to be boyfriends was sweet and fun and hot! The secondary characters were just as animated as Declan and Heath which made the story that much more fun. I highly recommend this romance if you need a quick break from everyday life.
This is a fun read with humorous, believable characters.
There is a great supporting cast and the story is well written and developed.
I will certainly be adding Isla to my favourite authors list.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.