I have to thank NetGalley and Headline for this Advance Reader's Copy.

I wanted to read this book for a long time now and it didn't disappoint! Hannah Orenstein has a quirky style of storytelling which I enjoyed very much about this book. I mean when you have have no fiance but your followers think you do because you accidentally posted a pic wearing a huge rock while cursing your ex is bound to set stage for an entertaining read. Atleast it was for me I can't say for all of you. What happens next is anybody's guess but you can expect yourself to enjoy this hilarious predicament that Eliza finds herself in when a twist is added to the story in the name of a possible love interest who is not the perfect fake fiance she had to find to satisfy her 100,000 followers. As I said it's a chaotic situation lol. But I enjoyed the story and if you like romantic comedies/ women's fiction books then its definitely for you. Feel free to immerse yourself in Eliza's suddenly very complicated love life which will lead to this question -

WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO FAKE THE PERFECT LOVE LIFE?

I liked the answer to that. I think a lot of readers will too. Hope you all like it as much as I did.

Happy reading!

I wanted to like this so much more and I actually deliberated between 2 and 3 stars. I am giving 3 because the author writes well and it flows in an easy to read way. At the time I picked it I just wanted escapism and nothing too taxing - it served this purpose.

The premise sounded cute and turned the romantic comedy concept on its head. What I liked was that the girl prioritises her career, and her love life is almost an after thought or vehicle for her career to succeed - this is not often the case in this genre, obviously, as romance is the crux. I expected a strong heroine who rocked life, and wasn't traipsing around town solely in search of a perfect man, but would find him anyway.

However, Eliza is just horrible, she uses Blake every step of the way and then shows no remorse for how she has treated him. She is so self absorbed and only worries about how things affect her. Even Blake's behaviours feel inauthentic. Add in her sister asking for a huge chunk of money from an already struggling business and the whole situation just felt unbelievable.

It's a bit like Sex and the City for the modern age - the characters have these idealised lives (even when they are going wrong) and have lives we are all supposed to covet. None of her friends are appealing either. The only decent character, and the only one who felt even remotely realistic, was Raj.

It also didn't seem to fit that Eliza thinks her jewellery business is the perfect fit for Blake and his business, but his business is super successful and a household name, yet her business is struggling to survive. They don't seem to co-exist in the same sphere so I don't understand why Blake would want to associate his business with hers?

By the end everything felt a bit too neat, perfect and sickly sweet.

I do like the author's writing though so would be prepared to read another as she has good concepts. I feel this one just lacked in the execution and characterisation.

Thanks to Netgalley and Headline for the opportunity to read this ARC.

I received an ARC of this book via Headline and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Description

WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO FAKE THE PERFECT LOVE LIFE?

Eliza Roth and her sister Sophie co-own a jewelry shop in Brooklyn. One night, after learning of an ex’s engagement, Eliza accidentally posts a photo of herself wearing a diamond ring on that finger to her Instagram account beloved by 100,000 followers. Sales skyrocket, press rolls in, and Eliza learns that her personal life is good for business. So she has a choice: continue the ruse or clear up the misunderstanding. With mounting financial pressure, Eliza sets off to find a fake fiancé.

Fellow entrepreneur Blake seems like the perfect match on paper, and in real life he shows promise too – if only Eliza didn’t feel also drawn to someone else. But Blake doesn’t know Eliza is ‘engaged’; Sophie asks Eliza for an impossible sum of money; and Eliza’s lies start to spiral out of control. Now she can either stay engaged online – or fall in love in real life.

My thoughts

Though I will happily read anything, I’m not ashamed to admit that I definitely have a soft spot for romance novels. Love at First Like is a love story with a difference – it’s all a lie…until it isn’t!

Love at First Like uses the fake relationship trope I’m used to reading, except- this time – it’s not just about one-upping an ex and “winning the break up”, it’s to help a business. It took me a long while to get behind the relationship, and to like the two characters involved, but I did (at least partly).

I liked the way this book used social media, and included the idea of influencers and the fanfare around them. Of course posting a picture of a ring on that finger is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard and that started my annoyance at 90% of the main character’s decisions, but it made the book exciting and funny.

I liked Orenstein’s writing style, full of contemporary references and commentary on social media and business.

The only thing I wasn’t keen on was Eliza’s character. I had a love-hate relationship with her, really. Her narrative was still interesting to read and I did want a happy ending for her but I just found myself frustrated by her on a whole.

Love at First Like by Hannah Orenstein will be published on 6th August 2020.

Love at First like by Hannah Orenstein
3.5/5

Eliza is an entrepreneur as a co-owner of a jewelry shop in Brooklyn. After seeing an Instagram announcement that her ex recently got engaged, she accidentally posts a photo of her wearing a diamond on her ring finger. What begins as an innocent mistake causes sales to increase at her jewelry shop, and she decides to keep up appearances that she is engaged. Now she must find a fiancé.

I could not fully enjoy the story since I disliked the protagonist. Eliza makes a multitude of bad choices throughout the novel and seems to have a one-track mind. While this bilndsidedness is a part of her character, and what makes her a wonderful and independent female entrepreneur, her lack of care and empathy disappointed me. Her motives were rash and questionable in my opinion, and in general I was frustrated by her actions and treatment of others.

I did enjoy the writing style of Orenstein and found it interesting to read about someone I could fully not relate to. There were many references and commentaries on the world of social media and its influences, as well as dating in the 21st century, which were insightful and intriguing.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Headline Eternal for the e-book!

A sincere thank you to the publisher, author and Netgalley for providing me with an ebook copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This is not my usual genre, I’m more into crime/thriller books and even psychological thrillers too so I am extremely pleased and grateful to them for opening up my mind to something totally different.

Honestly this book was not what I thought it would be. Enjoyed it but it didn't really grab my attention! Will probably pick it up again at some point and give it another chance. But overall not impressed

Love at First Like by Hannah Orenstein a crazy likeable five-star read. This was exactly what I needed, I was light and funny and just made my face ache from smiling so much. Its my first read by this author, but it wont be the last as I adore the writing style it was light and funny, but not all glossy, there was a nice underlying realness to the story. I mean Eliza should definitely be locked up by the men in white coats, but at some point in all of our lives I’m sure that could be said as we all have the capability to do something stupid, admittedly most of us would about turn and make it right, but not all of us, some of us do an Eliza and just keep making more mistakes and going deeper and deeper, it does have a tendency to make life more interesting at least. But if you take this as a dramatic story that will entertain you, make you a little crazy and make you ponder social medias power, then you will enjoy it. If you go into this expecting light, classy and no crazy then you will be disappointed. I personally loved it, but I love me some crazy.

Not your typical romance book - but enjoyable nonetheless! The main character will frustrate you no end and you will want to give her a good shaking, but you can’t stop reading. Gripped by what will happen next and if her plan will pan out!

I fell in instant dislike of the main character in this book. Not in a love-to-hate way, but in an exasperated come-on way. She is so taken aback by the engagement of a boyfriend she broke up with 4 years ago, that she decides to stage an engagement social media post of her own (without intending to actually post it). As if that's not strange enough, she does this regularly, when she's feeling down because of her single status. But that's not all! She also keeps a Word document, where she has kept track of all the men that she's gotten involved with, chronologically, detailed down to whether she slept with the guy, whether she liked him, and whether he was a boyfriend (or merely a date). But, get this, she thinks the guys are pathetic. No sense of irony whatsoever. Now the post goes viral and what's a girl to do, but exploit the situation while bemoaning the fact that people are so superficial that they are happy for her (fake) engagement. She sees herself as a victim of the pressures of society on women, no personal insight or responsibility. Nope, I can't with this woman.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

the concept seemingly is the trope of dreams. a NYC jewellery shop owner mistakenly leads her massive Instagram followers to believe she is engaged - except she doesn’t have a boyfriend let alone a fiancé.

The fake relationship trope normally grabs me but this one just didn’t draw me in. The book is well written however I just didn’t feel the chemistry between the characters.

In Hannah Orenstein's "Love at First Like", a NYC jewellery shop owner mistakenly leads her massive Instagram followers to believe she is engaged - and then decides to keep up the game since the fake engagement encourages popularity and great increase in sales. There is one little problem - she does not have a fiance or even a boyfriend!

It seems stories about online world, Instagram scams and influencers are very popular right now ("the Fyre festival", Anna Delvey story). This cultural fascination is curious if not somewhat scary. The book brushes on this topic and, even though the actual story of the novel is quite predictable with almost zero surprises (okay, zero surprises), it still was an enjoyable read. Especially after a very high-brow critically acclaimed novel I struggled to read before this one.

Great holiday read. It's a classic rom com chick lit fiction. If you know it and still think of getting it - then get it.

I thought this book was going to be a laugh out loud rom com but I was disappointed.

Unfortunately this just did not grab me and keep my attention and DNF at 40%

Sorry

I enjoyed this book, though I didn't think it was much of a romantic comedy! The character of Eliza will probably annoy and anger you with the way she carries out the whole fake engagement, however, I still wanted to know how it was all going to end so I was glued to it. A solid read!

Not your average love story... 💘 Great Read with humour 💍

Eliza and her sister Sophie, co-own their own jewelers in Brooklyn. One night after a few drinks, Eliza wakes to find she unintentionally posted a photo of her hand with a ring on it... 💍 soo much interest, increase in sales and followers, Eliza doesn't correct followers but eventually decides to find the right man to fill the grooms shoes.

Love at first like, is an easy light hearted read, with humour. Times aren't always easy for Eliza, but she wants to stick with it because of what potentially is at stake. Whilst in pursuit of her groom, she doesn't see the perfect match, in plain sight. What will she do choose real love or Blake?..

Really enjoyed reading this book, only disappointment for me was when I got to the end... I was hoping it would've continued further.

This was always going to be a difficult read. I started this book immediately after Anna Bell’s ‘We Just Clicked’ which is about a woman whose Instagram profile is her main priority. She fakes an Instagram relationship to increase her followers and follow her dream to being a full time influencer. The book was well written and characters were very likeable.

Then I started this book!

Love at First Like was not as enjoyable as my previous read, mainly because the main character was pretty unlikeable. As soon as I disconnect from the main character in any romance/romcom I lose interest - and that’s what happened here. I struggled in with the rest of the book but wasn’t overly engaged.

I liked the concept of the book and the blurb pulled me in. Thank you NetGalley for my advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review 📚

A laugh out loud romance about finding love online. Filled with likeable and relatable characters who you cheer for. The perfect read for summer.

Thank you to Headline for the arc of Love at First Like by Hannah Orenstein.

This book is about a women called Eliza who owns a jewellery business in Brooklyn with her sister. One day she sees that her ex has got engaged so, in a drunken haze, she decides to post a picture onto social media of her wearing an engagement ring, From there she has to fake an entire wedding and within 6 months has to find a man who is willing to marry her!

To start off with I struggled with the main character as she is essentially a catfish who is looking for money and attention for her business and because of this; made it difficult to like her and see her point of view of situations. Whilst I didn't agree with the decisions she made and how she went about doing certain things, I found the story to be gripping and intriguing as we see Eliza continue to dig a deeper hole.

On the other hand, the second half of this book was much better as we see Eliza dealing with new and surprising consequences which made me see her in a different light and by the end of the book, I was enjoying reading about her blunders and her spontaneous personality.

Rating: 4/5 stars

An engaging love story that kept my interest the whole time. The storyline was exceptional and the characters engaging and believable.

Eliza is faking an engagement on social media - it started out as a mistake, but when she realises it is going he help out her business she keeps up the facade. Now all she needs to do is find a groom for the wedding she is organising!

I enjoyed the book, but would ahve liked to have seen more of an epilogue.