Sometimes what starts out as fake can get all too real.Things started out innocently enough. Put on the spot by my sister about going on a blind date, I mention I’m already dating someone else. But then she wants to meet him. Better yet, she wants me to bring him to our upcoming family gathering so he can meet everyone. Which would be a fantastic idea if he wasn’t a complete work of fiction.My … work of fiction.
My best friend, Julian, suggests I bring a fake date, and it sounds like a good plan. What could go wrong? We’ll go home, spend the weekend with my family, and they’ll stop setting me up on blind dates. No one gets hurt and no one has to know. Easy peasy, right?
But then there’s Jackson. And it’s no coincidence that his last name is Sparks.
Maybe one day I’ll learn that listening to Julian is always a recipe for disaster. Someday I’ll remember that he talks faster than he thinks, and any idea out of his mouth is probably a bad one. Until then, let me explain how I got into this mess. My name is Avery Jane, and I’m about to show you what happens when a fake relationship gets all too real.
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I really enjoyed this book, this is a new author for me and I did enjoy her writing so I am pretty sure that I will read more from her. So we meet Avery who was dumped by her fiance who was also her best friend, he is now engaged to his TA so Avery is pretty sure that he cheated on her. She is summoned to come home for her fathers birthday and she hasn’t been home for a while, her mother had died and she couldn’t understand how her father could just move on. So her sister badgers her and wants to set up blind dates so she makes up a boyfriend. To not be ridiculed and to show that she has indeed moved on her best Julian convinces her to take his brother Jackson, whom she has a had crush on for years but didn’t even want to admit it to herself. That my friends is when the fun begins..I loved Jackson, did not care for Adam and enjoyed Avery’s family. I hope we get more either on Julian or Avery’s brother..Enjoy!
Rcvd an ARC At no cost to author..(netgalley) Voluntarily left my own thoughts and opinions
S.E. Harmon is one of my people. We’ve never met. I know nothing about them/her/him/it. Like nothing, except that our sense of humor were created for each other so clearly…S.E. Harmon is my person. All of my snark loving, inappropriate comments prepared me for this read. I am in my happy place.
Love Is…
Bitter lemonade
Swill peddling social media platforms
Murderers and serial killers
Truckloads of snark
Beer privileges to an enchanted brew
And selfish marshmallow hogs
It’s also sweet, sexy, and full of love. It’s about second chances and experiencing life. It’s about growing as a person and facing fears. Whether you want to or not…It’s also about having theme songs for the shower. Lol. I had an absolute blast reading this book and I look forward to learning more about the author while I begin my stalking campaign on everyone’s favorite swill peddling social media platform…
With an ex who has clearly moved on and a family who thinks she hasn’t, Avery Jane is in a bind. She doesn’t want her ex back but she’s trying so hard to prove she’s happy staying single that she’s not sure if she’s pretending to be happy or keeping herself too busy to think of the alternative. So when her loving but incredibly pushy sister threatens her with blind dates, Avery takes the easy way out and makes up a fake boyfriend. Except by doing that and committing to come to their father’s birthday party she now has to find someone to play the part. Her best friend has a solution and even if she knows being attracted to the playboy lawyer with a hot ass and a wicked sense of humor shouldn’t play a factor, it does. It might also crumble her walls and make her fall in love. But how do you know it’s love when you’re not sure what love really is? She’ll have to figure it out sooner rather than later or she’ll lose it all before she ever really has it.
The snark, wit, banter, and playfulness was superb. I loved Jackson and Avery Jane’s interplay while they were getting to know one another. When it moved into the bedroom it became so much more, instead of being the focus of their relationship it became merely a facet of something that was growing, changing, and deepening. While I was definitely not a fan of how often Avery was avoiding her feelings I could feel where she was coming from.
Avery was so conflicted having not truly grieved for her mother’s passing and watching her father move on, her brother move away, and her sister become the over-achiever she’s realizing she’s stuck in the past and doesn’t know how to move forward. She’s completely successful and brilliant in her own right but she has no idea what she really wants her life to look like. When she suspects she’s falling for Jackson she pushes him away as well as her thoughts regarding him because avoidance is always easier than the harsh introspection of hurt feelings. Once she sorts it all out, though, her realization of what love truly is for her is stunning. After having the conversation with her father that was a long time coming she was able to come to terms with what she feels and who she feels all of it for. Now she just has to get him to take her back.
I so wish we had Jackson’s POV. I wanted to see his feelings for her and see how he viewed her struggle. But honestly, this story wasn’t just a romance novel, it was about Avery’s emotional journey through grief, avoidance, self-worth, and coming to terms with all of it so she could not only see herself clearly, but see her future too. The story took kind of a long time to get to her point of awakening but that annoyance was pretty minor overall. I grew to both love and be frustrated with Avery as I would have if she were a very real person in my life. I loved her sense of humor, her vulnerability, and her inner strength. I was frustrated with her constantly running away and avoiding the one person who could see all of her clearly and loved her for it. Her story is funny, sexy, annoying, and triumphant all at the same time and I enjoyed just about every moment.
Oh My God I have never laughed so hard in my life. This book is so funny. I love meddling family members because I have them and they make me laugh with their antics and Avery is just the same. Her family wants her to go out on dates until she finds the right one but she is content being lonely.
With her father’s upcoming birthday party Avery’s sister wants to set her up on a blind date but Avery tells her she has a man even though she doesn’t. So she turns to her best friend Julian who hooks her up with his older brother Jackson. Soon Avery wonders why she listened to Julian in the first place because this is crazy and the more time she spends with Jackson the more she likes him.
Jackson is a funny character doing everything right in front of her family and he shows Avery that there are good men out there if she just look for the right one. Jackson and Avery are funny together and the ending I just loves the ending so much! This is a must read love story.
Love is……
“I guess love is wanting to be there for someone no matter what. Calling that person when something happens, good or bad, because you want them to share all your moments.”
“Love is feeling like your world is ending because you don’t get to see that person anymore,”
“Love is hurting when that person is hurting, just because his pain is your pain, and his joy is your joy.”
“It’s not a single, showy act, but a collection of little things that you do for one another every day. Love is getting wet in the rain because you want her to stay dry. Rubbing her feet while you’re watching TV. Making him breakfast in bed, just because. Going out of your way to buy his favorite coffee and delivering it to his office.”
These quotes from the book are what we live through this book. AJ takes awhile to come to all this and to get past her fear but what a journey we experience