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Bad Mom-iverse #1-2.5
The Absolute Worst Fake Fiancé
She's living a life that has no room for a man.
Maggie Weston is a single mom who is always tired, always busy, and always trying to avoid her mother's phone calls. Her stress is at an all time high after she and her eight-year-old move to a "good" town with "good" schools that she can barely afford. He's living a life that has no room for a woman.
Augustus "Bugs" Sloane is an entomologist who is trying eradicate disease and death. He might look like a player, but his brain is 100% nerd and his social skills are 95% awkward as he focuses on all things mosquitos.
But then they're forced to make room for each other.
When Maggie finds herself having to come up with a fake fiancé she made up to keep her mother off her back, she reluctantly agrees to be matched to Augustus Sloane. (A match that may or may not come with a very slight brush of magic.)
The Absolute Worst Fake Fiancé takes Maggie, her Smurf-loving daughter Roxie, and their absentminded "Bugs" Sloane through a year of Mother's Day brunches, sorority glamping trips, electricity-killing blizzards, and class reunion shenanigans.
Through it all, Maggie and Bugs take three steps forward and two steps back as they reluctantly start to like each other even if they will never admit they need each other.
This is a complete, stand-alone story, based on the year in the life of Maggie and Bugs (and of course Roxie!).
This title first was published as a series of stories and then as a compilation of those stories under the Bad Mom Rents a Mother's Day; Bad Mom Rents a Glampfest; Bad Mom Rents a Snowed In; and Bad Mom Rents a The Complete Zany Story.
Maggie Weston is a single mom who is always tired, always busy, and always trying to avoid her mother's phone calls. Her stress is at an all time high after she and her eight-year-old move to a "good" town with "good" schools that she can barely afford. He's living a life that has no room for a woman.
Augustus "Bugs" Sloane is an entomologist who is trying eradicate disease and death. He might look like a player, but his brain is 100% nerd and his social skills are 95% awkward as he focuses on all things mosquitos.
But then they're forced to make room for each other.
When Maggie finds herself having to come up with a fake fiancé she made up to keep her mother off her back, she reluctantly agrees to be matched to Augustus Sloane. (A match that may or may not come with a very slight brush of magic.)
The Absolute Worst Fake Fiancé takes Maggie, her Smurf-loving daughter Roxie, and their absentminded "Bugs" Sloane through a year of Mother's Day brunches, sorority glamping trips, electricity-killing blizzards, and class reunion shenanigans.
Through it all, Maggie and Bugs take three steps forward and two steps back as they reluctantly start to like each other even if they will never admit they need each other.
This is a complete, stand-alone story, based on the year in the life of Maggie and Bugs (and of course Roxie!).
This title first was published as a series of stories and then as a compilation of those stories under the Bad Mom Rents a Mother's Day; Bad Mom Rents a Glampfest; Bad Mom Rents a Snowed In; and Bad Mom Rents a The Complete Zany Story.
- GenresRomanceContemporary
568 pages, Paperback
First published April 9, 2019
3 people are currently reading
31 people want to read
About the author
Sydney Strand
11 books21 followersSydney Strand has been writing novels for the last nine years. This is her first independently published book. Previously, she wrote young adult novels, written under another name, which were published by a Big Name Publisher.
She currently lives in New England with her husband, children, and two moody cats. She enjoys all that Colonial America has to offer. Namely, craft shows and pie festivals. She hopes to one day enter an apple pie contest because, as she's been told, she has an apple pie recipe to die for. Literally. It has three sticks of butter in it.
You can Friend, Pin, Tweet, or Instagram her, as well as visit her website for her monthly reader contest, Oh Goody, Goody GOODIES!
She currently lives in New England with her husband, children, and two moody cats. She enjoys all that Colonial America has to offer. Namely, craft shows and pie festivals. She hopes to one day enter an apple pie contest because, as she's been told, she has an apple pie recipe to die for. Literally. It has three sticks of butter in it.
You can Friend, Pin, Tweet, or Instagram her, as well as visit her website for her monthly reader contest, Oh Goody, Goody GOODIES!
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
December 11, 2025
It’s a big book but goes by quickly. I probably could’ve finished this faster if it wasn’t for life. Love that the chapters are pretty short. If you’re looking for smut this isn’t it. The most that happens are kisses.
Grumpy MMC, who is just very focused on work, always honest. Driven single mom, trying to get by, focused on work and her daughter.
Trigger warnings: Dementia with a parent.
The dementia parts were a bit hard to read for me.
I feel like both are most likely neurodivergent and it made me happy. I also like how the author is most likely neurodivergent because she repeats a quick explanation of who the characters are, and it was helpful to me since I tend to forget. 😆
Grumpy MMC, who is just very focused on work, always honest. Driven single mom, trying to get by, focused on work and her daughter.
Trigger warnings: Dementia with a parent.
The dementia parts were a bit hard to read for me.
I feel like both are most likely neurodivergent and it made me happy. I also like how the author is most likely neurodivergent because she repeats a quick explanation of who the characters are, and it was helpful to me since I tend to forget. 😆
Displaying 1 of 1 review