4.5⭐️

The FMC Nora is a well-known model that does campaigns for her families company, but aspires to be a fashion designer. In an attempt to win a fashion contest she moves to New York and hopes to start fresh as well as to escape her stalker. But to no avail since he followed her to NY, therefore her brother insists his best friend West keep an eye on her. To increase Nora’s safety, West has her move into his estate- the one he’ll lose if he doesn’t get married before turning 30.

I really enjoyed this book since it was a fast read and had a good pace overall.
Since Nora is a chronic people-pleaser and has a lot of insecurities West makes it his mission to teach her to put herself and her needs first (by literally banging it into her).
I liked their banter and the healthy relationship they both build together as well as the way West always made sure that Nora felt safe and comfortable.
The only thing that I disliked was the way the stalker situation got resolved. It felt very rushed and anti-climatic which wasn’t what I was expecting since it was a major part of the plot and I thought it would end differently.

Wonderful! Wonderful! Wonderful! I just loved The Faking Game by Olivia Hayle. The storyline could have turned punchy and contrite, but it was emotional and quite endearing. The love these two characters have for each other is so real but they fight it because of some dumb rule made by the boys when they were younger and dumb. Because of this rule wasted years for both MCs that instead of love, they fought with each other, almost cruelly so. Just to keep the other at arms length. But not any more. Thanks to a stalker, they are pushed together and forced to fake date. At first, it was torture for both, but over time there walls started to crumble. And boy was it fun to watch the change in each character. I LOVED the minor characters in this book. They were hilarious and perfectly imperfect. Supportive and just there through the fallout. The Faking game is a great romance with a pain in the butt mystery, throughout. This is an angst, slow burn romance, with some spice. It will make you laugh, cry, and want to pull your hair out. It’s impossible not to love both of the MCs.

I received a eARC of #TheFakingGame from #NetGalley in lieu of my honest review of the book.

Ahhh I adored this book! West & Nora were absolutely precious together. I can already tell this series is going to be everything.

Nora is the little sister of West’s best friend, so they’ve known each other forever. When she moves to New York to kick off her fashion design career, she ends up with West and his team as her security detail, thanks to a stalker situation that started back when she was living in France. No one’s sure if the stalker followed her to the U.S., but when flowers show up at her new studio, West steps in. His solution? Move her into his estate and fake date her to scare the creep off. Cue the tension, the sweetness, and West offering to give Nora a little “guidance” on relationships… and more.

This was my first Olivia book and I am so hooked. Can’t wait to dive into the rest of the series and get completely swept away!

Nora’s world just got a whole lot more complicated. Forced out of her apartment by a stalker, she ends up safe, but stuck, with West Calloway, her brother’s rich, arrogant best friend who never liked her back. When West suggests they fake date to keep the paparazzi and danger at bay, Nora agrees on one condition: he helps her learn how to date for real. What starts as a convenient arrangement turns into secret late-night lessons, stolen kisses, and moments that feel far too real to be practice. West’s cold facade is melting fast, and Nora’s not sure if she can keep pretending when every look and touch says otherwise.

Fun, quick read with lots of spice and entertainment.

The dedication was beautiful, and I connected with it so much; I think that’s really what drew me into this.

I resonated with Nora so much; reading this made me feel so seen as a people pleaser myself. I liked Nora a lot; I connected with her a little too much, in a depressing sort of way. She reminds me of a younger version of myself when I didn’t realize how much of a people pleaser I had been, and it just made me want to hug her because I understood her predicament more than I’d like.

I love overprotective men, but there’s such a thing as being too overprotective, and that’s exactly what our MMC, West, was, unfortunately. Like… please just let the girl LIVE; you don’t have to be up her ass all of the time, dude. It felt more controlling than protective at times, which I had STRONG opinions about (that I’m better off not saying). It was giving narcissistic. He was so hot but such an ick at the same time… how is that possible?! I want to both have his babies and run him over with my nonexistent car.

The tension was so steamy I was genuinely swooning SO HARD, literally kicking my feet and squealing like a middle schooler whose crush just sent them a snap. West loves Nora unconditionally; it makes my heart burst. Sure, he could be a bit much at times, and it pissed me off, but in the long run you get to see how much he loves and appreciates her, and that makes up for his shortcomings.

The stalker storyline was unnecessary and off putting, wayyy over dramatic. I wish it wasn’t a thing at all.

Overall, this read had its blips, but I did enjoy it more than I thought I would!

3.1 ★

𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙉𝙚𝙩𝙂𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙮 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘼𝙍𝘾!

I’m obsessed! The story was soo good!! I love the tropes in this book so much and I can’t wait to read the next book in the serie!

5 ⭐️
Tropes: fake dating, brothers best friend, dual POV, forced proximity, coaching romance, praise k!nk, dating lessons, protecting MMC, billionaire romance

OBSESSED! 😍 This has now taken one of my top spots for favorite reads of the year 🤩 I loved everything about it! Not going to lie when I saw the page count for this I was like that’s a bit much….BUT I ate it up and ended up being so thankful it was as long as it was!

Wes is one of Nora’s brother’s best friends, she nursed a school girl crush on him but that was extinguished when she realized he only saw her as that and nothing more - and went as far as to vocalize to another friend that he would never date someone like her. Little did she know he was lying….

“The sight makes my teeth grind together. Should be like a sister. But she’s not. I’ve never been able to see her that way.”

Nora finds herself with a stalker and for her safety she is forced to stay at Wes’s estate. As much as she can’t stand Wes she agrees to live there and accept his help. They come to an agreement that is mutually benefiting while also hopefully luring out her stalker.
1. Nora will get to practice: dating, flirting, and most importantly learn how to set boundaries
2. Wes will get his mother to stop throwing women at him to marry: to comply with his grandfathers will

“I've been afraid of ruining her, but here she is, ruining me. Lesson by lesson and day by day.”

Wes and Nora have undeniable chemistry and I couldn’t get enough of them. Nora’s character development was absolutely amazing and I loved how Wes was genuinely supportive and helped her find her own voice.

"I will always welcome your fire, Nora.
Burn me with it when I deserve it.

He was patient and understanding when she struggled with things but he also pushed her to overcome things that scared her. He was a true gentleman the entire time (ok he was most of the time 😈) and I SWOONED!

“She's Rafe's little sister. She's mine to protect and mine to teach how to date, but she's not mine in any other sense. She's definitely not mine to taste.” 👅

He really did try not to be selfish with her but his efforts were useless and he didn’t stand a chance - we was helpless when it came to her.

This was my first book by Olivia Hayle and I’m so happy to see she has a ton of other books already out, which I will be adding to my TBR 🤩 HIGHLY recommend this book! Can’t wait for the second book in the series 😍

Thank you to NetGalley and Olivia Hayle for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Yes. I am so ready for this to be a new series. And I am hooked already and absolutely ready for Rafe’s book. This was the perfect first book in a series, with really natural feeling character development.

What to expect:
- billionaire romance
- brother’s best friend
- lessons…
- fake dating
- spicy

Olivia Hayle has my number, folks. She plays tropes beautifully without making them feel over done. The tension between West and Nora was REAL and I loved that their road to love was intertwined with a mystery/thriller storyline. After reading and loving The Faking Game I’m eager to dig into Hayle’s backlist and find more gems!

The Faking Game Review
"To all the people-pleasing girls who grew into women afraid of setting boundaries.
May you find the courage to draw them, and the love that says yes to you anyway."

When this is the dedication 🥺🥺 I swear this dedication healed something deep inside of me.
Brothers best friend AND fake dating?! Those are two of my FAVORITE tropes!!! I LOVED the beginning; it was so fun!! Somewhere in the middle though it started dragging (like honestly still not sure the book needed to be as long as it was), had some weird parts that I didn't really like, and I started to lose my connections with the characters (probably just because they weren't communicating and I was getting annoyed with them lol). The ending was really good though and now I NEED Rafe's book!!! 😍 Marriage of convenience; sign me up!!
Overall a fun read for sure!!
Thank you to Net Galley for the ARC!
#netgalley #thefakinggame #oliviahayle

This book was amazing! If you love rich boy vibes, summery feels, fake dating, and brothers best friends you need this book!

I found The Faking Game to be a fun, enjoyable read- even though billionaire romances aren't really up my alley.
The plot was interesting an immersive and the characters were all likeable except for the FMC Nora whose personality grated on me throughout the story.
Thankyou to Olivia Hayle and Net galley for an early ARC of this book.

4⭐️I absolutely LOVED Nora and West together. I’m a sucker for a brothers best friend romance book and I think this one was done really well. My only issue is that I feel like the resolution to the stalker subplot was somewhat out of nowhere and maybe a bit unlikely to actually occur. To me, it would have made more sense to have someone stalking Nora due to her own fame instead of this. But I really enjoyed reading this book and I’m looking forward to picking up the rest in the series when they come out!

Thank you to NetGalley, Victory Editing, and Olivia Hayle for the opportunity to read this book!

*review posted on goodreads*

Even though I feel awful DNFing ARCs I just wasn't enjoying myself. I feel like it might be mostly a me problem as I think I've outgrown billionaire romances. However, I do have to point out that the writing felt very stilted and could definifinetly have benefited from a few more rounds of editing.

Unfortunately, I have had to dnf The Faking Game at 44% of the way through. The beginning was so good but as it progressed, it started to become slow and my attention drifted away. The hot and coldness of West towards Nora began to bother me as I got further into the book. I wish this could have been a better review.

Rating: 5⭐️/5

So good from start to finish. West and Nora both come from insanely wealthy families with an old vs new money vibe. All of my favorite tropes in one: enemies to lovers, fake dating and a slowwwww burn 🔥. The chemistry between them is insane and I loved every second of it.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

It took a few chapters for me to get into this book, but I ended up really enjoying it.

He is your brother's best friend? Okay, so that's an obstacle.
But he is rich and very willing to protect you? Obstacle has been knocked down at this point, because your brother can have another best friend and go kiss some rocks if he thinks that factor will stop you from being with West. I'm just saying!

This story has suspense, but also romance!! Suspense because the FMC has a stalker and at various occurrences, I leaned into the book curious to know if the stalker would appear right then and how would that direct the story/plot. Romance because of what I literally just said about West, plus what is in the synopsis.

I do know that I stated the brother can have another best friend and go kiss some rocks, but I will admit that I am interested in reading Rafe's story!! Because with the way this story ended, yes I want to know what takes place for him.

DNF
I had to DNF this book sadly, it was not bad at all, there were some mistakes in the writng but besides that it wasn't bad. For me it was just too long for what it was, and it has so much potential so I may come back and read later but as of right now I am choosing to soft dnf this one!

ARC copy - Honestly, I admit that the beginning took a little while to get going, but after getting past a quarter of the way through the book, we're really into it! I'd never read any of this author's books, and it was honestly a great discovery✨

Despite a few slow moments at the end of the novel, I loved the story and the relationship between Nora and West 🥹🥹seriously, West?? Damn that man 🫦🫦

As for the characters themselves, I really liked Nora; she's truly a character you can relate to, and I really liked her development throughout the novel, but I won't say anything... It's up to you to discover.

The plot keeps us on the edge of our seats throughout the story, and despite the stalker story, it's a refreshing, good-vibe read! So go read it!!!

Many thanks to net galley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinions.