What happens when your love life becomes the talk of the town?
As birthdays go, this year’s for radio producer Everly Dean hit rock-bottom.
Worse than the “tonsillectomy birthday.” Worse than the birthday her parents decided to split (the first time). But catching your boyfriend cheating on you with his assistant?
Even clichés sting.
But this is Everly’s year! She won’t let her anxiety hold her back. She’ll pitch her podcast idea to her boss.
There’s just one problem.
Her boss, Chris, is very cute. (Of course). Also, he’s extremely distant (which means he hates her, right? Or is that the anxiety talking)?
And, Stacey the DJ didn’t mute the mic during Everly’s rant about Simon the Snake (syn: Cheating Ex).
That’s three problems.
Suddenly, people are lining up to date her, Bachelorette-style, fans are voting (Reminder: never leave house again), and her interest in Chris might be a two-way street. It’s a lot for a woman who could gold medal in people-avoidance. She’s going to have to fake it ‘till she makes it to get through all of this.
Perhaps she’ll make a list: The Ten Rules for Faking It.
Because sometimes making the rules can find you happiness when you least expect it.
Release Date: Jan 5, 2021
Heat Level: Sensual
Publisher: Macmillan
Imprint: St. Martin’s Press
Price: $10.99
Each year, Everly Dean is plagued by some traumatic experience on her birthday. This year, she happens to walk in on her boyfriend having sex with his assistant. She knew she should have stayed home! To make matters worse, she just blurted the whole ordeal to her best friend who forgot to mute the live mic on the radio station they both work at. Now everyone knows she had a bad birthday and the phone lines are ringing off the hook.
Everly is on the verge of losing her job because of ratings and dead air time when she is approached by her station manager, whom she thinks is cute but standoffish. She is thrown in to a dating pool to see which guy will be her match. Everly finds herself stepping into the dating world with the guidance of her friends and boss. The problem is that she realizes she may just want her boss.
I didn’t like the slow effect of the slow burn in this story. It takes entirely too long for the characters to acknowledge their feelings for one another. While I do appreciate the author’s attempts to show readers that Chris is interested in Everly early on, it didn’t help to build a connection. He is constantly in his head around her, unsure of what to say or do. I need him to be more confident in himself.
Another thing that I take issue with is that Chris is so in love with Everly early on in the story but the readers learn that he doesn’t really know anything about her. The insta love with the slow burn makes for an offbeat story. He only started to discover who she really is through her series of dates. The chemistry is way off in this book and the storyline is just not memorable.
I enjoyed the side characters and how they played a major role in the story development. I think they kept my interest more than anything.
Overall, if you want a light, easy and fast read, then I recommend Ten Rules to Faking It.
~ Samantha
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