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Rules for Fake Girlfriends
Rom-com obsessed but perpetually single Avery Blackwell abandons her plans to attend Columbia in favor of spending her freshman year at her recently deceased mother’s alma mater in a seaside town in England. On the train, Avery makes a deal straight out of one of her beloved romance books with a charming local girl named Charlie: if Avery will pretend to be her girlfriend to make her ex jealous, Charlie will help Avery solve the scavenger hunt her artistic, free-spirited mother left behind on campus decades ago.
As their quest takes them all over Brighton, Avery finally starts to connect with the mother she always loved but never really understood. Before long, pretending to be Charlie’s girlfriend starts to feel like more than just an illusion. But when long-hidden secrets come to light, Avery grapples with an uncertain future and whether or not love is worth the risk.
As their quest takes them all over Brighton, Avery finally starts to connect with the mother she always loved but never really understood. Before long, pretending to be Charlie’s girlfriend starts to feel like more than just an illusion. But when long-hidden secrets come to light, Avery grapples with an uncertain future and whether or not love is worth the risk.
297 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 2, 2025
194 people are currently reading
16624 people want to read
About the author
Raegan Revord
1 book518 followersRAEGAN REVORD starred in the CBS hit series Young Sheldon and its spinoff, Georgie and Mandy’s First Marriage, in the breakthrough role of Missy Cooper. Raegan is a dedicated writer and avid reader who launched the hugely popular book club, Read With Raegan, in 2022. A San Diego native, Raegan now lives in Los Angeles with five rescue pets.
source: Amazon
source: Amazon
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October 23, 2025Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced readers copy (arc)
Dnf at 38%
TW: grief of a parent.
All though the book was enjoyable to pick up when I had nothing else to do, it seemed to be super slow paced. I don’t think enough time was spent working on the character building because I really just didn’t care about the FMC enough to be intrigued while reading the book. The writing was good for a debut novel and I do want to try to read it again at some point. I’m a major mood reader, so that might be why it wasn’t easy to binge.
The romance seemed to be more of a subplot which I found to be strange because the main genre is supposed to be romance. The two girls were enjoyable characters but I didn’t know really anything about them. I’m sure if I finished the book I’d be able to connect with the two more and because of that I do want to read it again when it comes out.
The book reminded me a lot of the book Love and Gelato. Personally I liked love and gelato, but it’s similar to this book in the way that it’s hard to get into.
I’d recommend trying it out when the release day rolls around because it was fun to read. Also, keep in mind that I get distracted easily and the writing was easy to read, so it’s likely that this book could be your thing it just didn’t seem to be what I needed while I was reading it.
Dnf at 38%
TW: grief of a parent.
All though the book was enjoyable to pick up when I had nothing else to do, it seemed to be super slow paced. I don’t think enough time was spent working on the character building because I really just didn’t care about the FMC enough to be intrigued while reading the book. The writing was good for a debut novel and I do want to try to read it again at some point. I’m a major mood reader, so that might be why it wasn’t easy to binge.
The romance seemed to be more of a subplot which I found to be strange because the main genre is supposed to be romance. The two girls were enjoyable characters but I didn’t know really anything about them. I’m sure if I finished the book I’d be able to connect with the two more and because of that I do want to read it again when it comes out.
The book reminded me a lot of the book Love and Gelato. Personally I liked love and gelato, but it’s similar to this book in the way that it’s hard to get into.
I’d recommend trying it out when the release day rolls around because it was fun to read. Also, keep in mind that I get distracted easily and the writing was easy to read, so it’s likely that this book could be your thing it just didn’t seem to be what I needed while I was reading it.
August 17, 2025
•*⁀➷ 4.75 ✰’s
♪ 𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙣- 𝙛𝙖𝙮𝙚 𝙬𝙚𝙗𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧
𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭:
𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘸𝘩𝘰, 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩, 𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘪𝘢 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘰𝘯, 𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥. 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘧𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘹-𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘫𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘣𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳.
𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝘀/𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗿𝗲𝘀:
𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨-𝘢𝘥𝘶𝘭𝘵
𝘳𝘰𝘮-𝘤𝘰𝘮
𝘧𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨
𝘓𝘘𝘉𝘛𝘘+ 𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦
𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺
𝘁𝘄:
𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘧
𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵
𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳
𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴
𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧-𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘮
𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘣𝘪𝘢
𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬𝜗𝜚⋆₊˚
this was such a fun, adorable, fast-paced romance, and a great debut novel. i really enjoyed the aspect of the scavenger hunt and i thought that was super fun as well as the fake dating too! i loved all the characters so much, they were amazing. i also loved the character development between each character throughout the novel. i also really liked the titles to each chapter, i thought it was unique and cute at the same time!
(e.g. from chapter 1)
“𝒓𝒐𝒎-𝒄𝒐𝒎 𝒓𝒖𝒍𝒆 #1: 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒕𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒃𝒂𝒈𝒈𝒂𝒈𝒆.”
though, the only thing that bothered me is at times, the scavenger hunt would be forgotten about at points in the story, and i too would end up forgetting about it, and also the ending felt rushed, but at the same time not? i feel as though the novel could’ve been a tiny bit longer to fill it in.
but overall, this is definitely-hands down-a new, fav read of mine, and definitely gonna reread when it releases!💗
“𝒎𝒚 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚,…”
𝟮𝟰/𝟴/𝟭𝟮 - 𝟮𝟰/𝟴/𝟭𝟲
𝐩𝐫𝐞-𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝:
𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘎𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺 (𝘥𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭-𝘢𝘳𝘤) 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸!
i’m finally going to get through all my arcs (so many of them release soon ahhh). but i’m kinda hyped for this one, cause like… fake dating you say?🤭 the cover is so cute, and in general, this seems like such a fun read!
♪ 𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙣- 𝙛𝙖𝙮𝙚 𝙬𝙚𝙗𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧
𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭:
𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘸𝘩𝘰, 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩, 𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘪𝘢 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘰𝘯, 𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥. 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘧𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘹-𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘫𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘣𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳.
𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝘀/𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗿𝗲𝘀:
𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨-𝘢𝘥𝘶𝘭𝘵
𝘳𝘰𝘮-𝘤𝘰𝘮
𝘧𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨
𝘓𝘘𝘉𝘛𝘘+ 𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦
𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺
𝘁𝘄:
𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘧
𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵
𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳
𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴
𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧-𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘮
𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘣𝘪𝘢
𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬𝜗𝜚⋆₊˚
this was such a fun, adorable, fast-paced romance, and a great debut novel. i really enjoyed the aspect of the scavenger hunt and i thought that was super fun as well as the fake dating too! i loved all the characters so much, they were amazing. i also loved the character development between each character throughout the novel. i also really liked the titles to each chapter, i thought it was unique and cute at the same time!
(e.g. from chapter 1)
“𝒓𝒐𝒎-𝒄𝒐𝒎 𝒓𝒖𝒍𝒆 #1: 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒕𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒃𝒂𝒈𝒈𝒂𝒈𝒆.”
though, the only thing that bothered me is at times, the scavenger hunt would be forgotten about at points in the story, and i too would end up forgetting about it, and also the ending felt rushed, but at the same time not? i feel as though the novel could’ve been a tiny bit longer to fill it in.
but overall, this is definitely-hands down-a new, fav read of mine, and definitely gonna reread when it releases!💗
“𝒎𝒚 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚,…”
𝟮𝟰/𝟴/𝟭𝟮 - 𝟮𝟰/𝟴/𝟭𝟲
𝐩𝐫𝐞-𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝:
𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘎𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺 (𝘥𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭-𝘢𝘳𝘤) 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸!
i’m finally going to get through all my arcs (so many of them release soon ahhh). but i’m kinda hyped for this one, cause like… fake dating you say?🤭 the cover is so cute, and in general, this seems like such a fun read!
Want to read
May 28, 2025this looks so cute! i love the cover….. also fake dating??
May 5, 2025
Special thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing an advanced digital copy in exchange for an honest review
I'm really so sad about this. This book started off SO strong. I was reading it at work when I wasn't supposed to because I was invested from the very first page. The scavenger hunt, the meet cute, the clever chapter titles were all just SO MUCH FUN. I really loved the diversity among all of Avery's new friends, and I thought this was going to be a slam dunk of a story.
But around the 36% mark, it started to become very apparent this was not a book written by a seasoned author. There were many repetitive phrases, and Avery's pining was just the same words over and over for quite a few chapters. This book could easily be 100 pages shorter, and still tell the exact same story without feeling like anything is missing.
By the 50% mark, the scavenger hunt was pretty much abandoned and forgotten, and the plot starts focusing on MANY other things. There was too much going on, and considering my investment was with the scavenger hunt, this started to become a chore to read now that it wasn't front and center to the plot.
I think this book has so much potential if it just goes through another round of edits. There's some typos and weird moments with pronouns (that isn't affecting my review at all, since this is an arc and most likely not the final copy that will hit the shelves when it officially publishes in September, but I felt it was worth mentioning).
I wasn't familiar with who Raegan Revord was when I received this arc, and if I was rating solely based on the fact that this is their debut novel while only being 17, this would be 5 stars easy. I think it's a great start for someone adventuring into the publishing world. I just think the lack of experience came into play a bit too much for me, and I couldn't enjoy this as much as I really wanted to. Honestly, I think teens will eat this right up and fall in love with everything about it. It unfortunately just wasn't the story for me.
I hope Raegan continues writing though, because I have no doubt that any future stories they come up with will be amazing once they have a little more experience under their belt.
I'm really so sad about this. This book started off SO strong. I was reading it at work when I wasn't supposed to because I was invested from the very first page. The scavenger hunt, the meet cute, the clever chapter titles were all just SO MUCH FUN. I really loved the diversity among all of Avery's new friends, and I thought this was going to be a slam dunk of a story.
But around the 36% mark, it started to become very apparent this was not a book written by a seasoned author. There were many repetitive phrases, and Avery's pining was just the same words over and over for quite a few chapters. This book could easily be 100 pages shorter, and still tell the exact same story without feeling like anything is missing.
By the 50% mark, the scavenger hunt was pretty much abandoned and forgotten, and the plot starts focusing on MANY other things. There was too much going on, and considering my investment was with the scavenger hunt, this started to become a chore to read now that it wasn't front and center to the plot.
I think this book has so much potential if it just goes through another round of edits. There's some typos and weird moments with pronouns (that isn't affecting my review at all, since this is an arc and most likely not the final copy that will hit the shelves when it officially publishes in September, but I felt it was worth mentioning).
I wasn't familiar with who Raegan Revord was when I received this arc, and if I was rating solely based on the fact that this is their debut novel while only being 17, this would be 5 stars easy. I think it's a great start for someone adventuring into the publishing world. I just think the lack of experience came into play a bit too much for me, and I couldn't enjoy this as much as I really wanted to. Honestly, I think teens will eat this right up and fall in love with everything about it. It unfortunately just wasn't the story for me.
I hope Raegan continues writing though, because I have no doubt that any future stories they come up with will be amazing once they have a little more experience under their belt.
April 26, 2025
Many thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I loved this so much!!! This book is perfect for fans of Alice Oseman and Casey McQuiston (especially I Kissed Shara Wheeler). I lived for all the queer joy and found family that Avery made through out the book. My only complaint is that I want more! I would love a sequel for Avery and Charlie. Overall a fantastic debut novel and I can’t wait to see what Revord writes next.
I loved this so much!!! This book is perfect for fans of Alice Oseman and Casey McQuiston (especially I Kissed Shara Wheeler). I lived for all the queer joy and found family that Avery made through out the book. My only complaint is that I want more! I would love a sequel for Avery and Charlie. Overall a fantastic debut novel and I can’t wait to see what Revord writes next.
May 28, 2025
Edit: although this book has not been released yet, i received an advanced readers copy through netgalley, so i have actually read the book. second, all of my opinions are my own, meaning that you do not have to agree with them. yes, i disliked this book, but i still respect the author and hope that she continues her writing journey because she definitely has potential.
1 ⭐️ yay for the first 1 star of 2025
thank you to the publisher and netgalley for providing me with an arc
okay. well. we have a lot to get through, so buckle up and welcome back to one of the best parts of my life, rating everyone's favorite book one star and writing my favorite review of the year 😁
firstly. when i saw this on net galley, nearly all of the reviews said this was like alice oseman and casey mcquiston, with a special emphasis on I Kissed Shara Wheeler. if you want to know one thing about me, i am an alice oseman STAN and also your Resident Shara Wheeler Expert™. I have it on good authority that this book does not deserve to be in the vicinity of those titles and names.
so. what went wrong?
i really want the author to be prepared to take this step in her writing journey, and don't think she's ready for publication. her prose was juvenile and basic, with odd sentence structure and so much repetition i wanted to pull every single hair out of my head. the characters appeared sparsely, or were mentioned once 75% of the way through and then were bffs with the mc for the rest of the book. half of the scenes had no relation to the main plot, and the dialogue was unbelievably cringey. it was just obvious to me that the author wasn't a seasoned writer, which makes me sad that nobody has invested in helping her learn how to create what could have been an amazing book!
NEXT. i understand that this was an arc, but there were some pretty...basic? obvious?...errors that i feel like should have been changed by this point. or i at least hope they get changed before publication. there was one character that had one set of pronouns for the entirety of the book and then randomly changed to another. which then gave me the ick. if you're going to promote diversity in your story, then don't make it feel like you just found-and-replaced every instance of she/her and changed it to they/them and forgot to modify the word after so there are several instances of they does or she are.......
ANYWAY i do not want to sound like i'm harping on the author so i will say that the premise reminded me of lynn painter, love and gelato, and, maybe, a slight touch of alice oseman. but the execution was no where near. if you are planning on reading this maybe just keep in mind that the quality was not the priority for the writer or the publisher.
i still want to say that the author clearly has some great ideas for her books, so i would still encourage her to continue to write in hopes that her next book is better.
1 ⭐️ yay for the first 1 star of 2025
thank you to the publisher and netgalley for providing me with an arc
okay. well. we have a lot to get through, so buckle up and welcome back to one of the best parts of my life, rating everyone's favorite book one star and writing my favorite review of the year 😁
firstly. when i saw this on net galley, nearly all of the reviews said this was like alice oseman and casey mcquiston, with a special emphasis on I Kissed Shara Wheeler. if you want to know one thing about me, i am an alice oseman STAN and also your Resident Shara Wheeler Expert™. I have it on good authority that this book does not deserve to be in the vicinity of those titles and names.
so. what went wrong?
i really want the author to be prepared to take this step in her writing journey, and don't think she's ready for publication. her prose was juvenile and basic, with odd sentence structure and so much repetition i wanted to pull every single hair out of my head. the characters appeared sparsely, or were mentioned once 75% of the way through and then were bffs with the mc for the rest of the book. half of the scenes had no relation to the main plot, and the dialogue was unbelievably cringey. it was just obvious to me that the author wasn't a seasoned writer, which makes me sad that nobody has invested in helping her learn how to create what could have been an amazing book!
NEXT. i understand that this was an arc, but there were some pretty...basic? obvious?...errors that i feel like should have been changed by this point. or i at least hope they get changed before publication. there was one character that had one set of pronouns for the entirety of the book and then randomly changed to another. which then gave me the ick. if you're going to promote diversity in your story, then don't make it feel like you just found-and-replaced every instance of she/her and changed it to they/them and forgot to modify the word after so there are several instances of they does or she are.......
ANYWAY i do not want to sound like i'm harping on the author so i will say that the premise reminded me of lynn painter, love and gelato, and, maybe, a slight touch of alice oseman. but the execution was no where near. if you are planning on reading this maybe just keep in mind that the quality was not the priority for the writer or the publisher.
i still want to say that the author clearly has some great ideas for her books, so i would still encourage her to continue to write in hopes that her next book is better.
May 7, 2025
3,5 * — Cute debut! I definitely want to read more from this author in the future!
❥ The story was fun! I enjoyed both storylines (the fake-dating and the scavenger hunt), though I think sometimes the scavenger hunt was kind of forgotten about. Also, the scavenger hunt was sometimes too easy. Like, they’d just conveniently find someone who knew Avery’s mum and could help them find the next clue. They’d stumble upon a clue that, somehow, nobody had found in 25 years, even though it was in a publicly accessible place and not very well hidden. Idk, it was a little too easy at times.
❥ The fake-dating was quite silly. But the characters acknowledged how silly it was, which I really appreciated. The book was really self-aware in that way!
❥ A couple of things sometimes happened off-page, which was a little… :/ Nothing major, but it happened enough times that I noticed (and wished I had seen those things happen).
❥ I reeeeally liked the chapter titles!!! Bring back fun chapter titles yessss!!!!!!!!!!
❥ The MC was well-written and I enjoyed her arc. Seeing her deal with her mother’s passing and her father clamming up was interesting. Charlie was a cute LI and I like that her and Avery became friends first. And I also liked the SCs (and lowkey wish we’d spent more time with them). They were all quite nice and well-rounded.
❥ The character descriptions were inconsistent. Avery was described as having hazel eyes, then later her eyes are described as blue. Charlie’s eyes are light brown, then dark brown, then hazelnut, then hot cocoa. Charlie’s hair is described as honey-brown, then strawberry-blond, then hazelnut. Charlie has tan skin, but later pale skin. Avery’s mum is described as having pale blond hair, then auburn-brown.
❥ There were also a handful of typos (and, towards the end, Maddi goes from using they/them to she/her…. I’m assuming it was also a mistake?). Overall, this book definitely needs another round of editing.
ARCs available for everyone to download on Netgalley. (review written on 07/05/2025)
❥ The story was fun! I enjoyed both storylines (the fake-dating and the scavenger hunt), though I think sometimes the scavenger hunt was kind of forgotten about. Also, the scavenger hunt was sometimes too easy. Like, they’d just conveniently find someone who knew Avery’s mum and could help them find the next clue. They’d stumble upon a clue that, somehow, nobody had found in 25 years, even though it was in a publicly accessible place and not very well hidden. Idk, it was a little too easy at times.
❥ The fake-dating was quite silly. But the characters acknowledged how silly it was, which I really appreciated. The book was really self-aware in that way!
❥ A couple of things sometimes happened off-page, which was a little… :/ Nothing major, but it happened enough times that I noticed (and wished I had seen those things happen).
❥ I reeeeally liked the chapter titles!!! Bring back fun chapter titles yessss!!!!!!!!!!
❥ The MC was well-written and I enjoyed her arc. Seeing her deal with her mother’s passing and her father clamming up was interesting. Charlie was a cute LI and I like that her and Avery became friends first. And I also liked the SCs (and lowkey wish we’d spent more time with them). They were all quite nice and well-rounded.
❥ The character descriptions were inconsistent. Avery was described as having hazel eyes, then later her eyes are described as blue. Charlie’s eyes are light brown, then dark brown, then hazelnut, then hot cocoa. Charlie’s hair is described as honey-brown, then strawberry-blond, then hazelnut. Charlie has tan skin, but later pale skin. Avery’s mum is described as having pale blond hair, then auburn-brown.
❥ There were also a handful of typos (and, towards the end, Maddi goes from using they/them to she/her…. I’m assuming it was also a mistake?). Overall, this book definitely needs another round of editing.
ARCs available for everyone to download on Netgalley. (review written on 07/05/2025)
August 20, 2025
⋆｡°✩ 𝕣𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 ⋆｡°✩
4.25 stars | a cute and heartfelt sapphic romance | 0.5/3 spice, 0/3 violence, mild profanity, trigger warnings such as self harm and eating disorders | cute romance, cool setting, and interesting subplot!
*:･ﾟ✧♡ 𝕝𝕚𝕜𝕖𝕤 *:･ﾟ✧♡
Characters: the characters didn’t particularly stand out to me, as someone who really appreciates well written characters, however I really liked how much representation we had in this book. Gay, non-binary, disability, trans, and self harm were all portrayed (incorrect grammar I know) and it sort of flowed well; it didn’t feel too forced, if you know what I mean? But everything was addressed and made to feel real, again, if you know what I mean, and I really liked that.
Setting: setting was probably my favorite part; Brighton was just so cool, and it wasn’t explained in super detail but I still really liked the vibes we got.
Plot: the plot was pretty good; I liked the fake dating and the slow burn, but I don’t really have much to say about it.
Also, can I just say that Avery was pretty relatable? Except for the few times where her absolute obliviousness drove me mad, I really sympathized with her about a lot. Reading, writing, friends; I felt all of that. Except for relationships. Couldn’t be me. XD
But in seriousness, Charlie and Avery were so cute, and the whole of the concert was just so swoon worthy. I love them.
‧₊˚❀༉‧₊˚. 𝕕𝕚𝕤𝕝𝕚𝕜𝕖𝕤 ‧₊˚❀༉‧₊˚.
First, at some points the pacing felt a little disjointed. The passing of time wasn’t super natural, like there were time skips where there shouldn’t have been and weren’t time skips where there should have been you know? So that sort of took away from the plot.
And the plot. In regard to Avery and Charlie’s relationship, I think it was focused on a lot more in the beginning of the book rather than towards the end. It was from a romance book to a story about grief and loss and back again, and while these are all important parts of the story, I wish they had been incorporated a bit more naturally.
* ੈ✩‧₊˚ 𝕨𝕣𝕒𝕡-𝕦𝕡 * ੈ✩‧₊˚
Overall, this was a really cute book, with a diverse cast of characters and interesting fake dating. If you’re looking for aforementioned fake dating or just a cute book, I’d recommend this!!!
⋆˚⚡︎˖° 𝕣𝕖𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕖 ⋆˚⚡︎˖°
Rules for Fake Girlfriends releases September 2, 2025!!!
˙⋆.˚𐙚 𝕡𝕣𝕖-𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕕 ˙⋆.˚𐙚
Thank you so much to the publisher, Wednesday Books, and to NetGalley for giving me a free e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review!
All thoughts are my own :D
4.25 stars | a cute and heartfelt sapphic romance | 0.5/3 spice, 0/3 violence, mild profanity, trigger warnings such as self harm and eating disorders | cute romance, cool setting, and interesting subplot!
*:･ﾟ✧♡ 𝕝𝕚𝕜𝕖𝕤 *:･ﾟ✧♡
Characters: the characters didn’t particularly stand out to me, as someone who really appreciates well written characters, however I really liked how much representation we had in this book. Gay, non-binary, disability, trans, and self harm were all portrayed (incorrect grammar I know) and it sort of flowed well; it didn’t feel too forced, if you know what I mean? But everything was addressed and made to feel real, again, if you know what I mean, and I really liked that.
Setting: setting was probably my favorite part; Brighton was just so cool, and it wasn’t explained in super detail but I still really liked the vibes we got.
Plot: the plot was pretty good; I liked the fake dating and the slow burn, but I don’t really have much to say about it.
Also, can I just say that Avery was pretty relatable? Except for the few times where her absolute obliviousness drove me mad, I really sympathized with her about a lot. Reading, writing, friends; I felt all of that. Except for relationships. Couldn’t be me. XD
But in seriousness, Charlie and Avery were so cute, and the whole of the concert was just so swoon worthy. I love them.
‧₊˚❀༉‧₊˚. 𝕕𝕚𝕤𝕝𝕚𝕜𝕖𝕤 ‧₊˚❀༉‧₊˚.
First, at some points the pacing felt a little disjointed. The passing of time wasn’t super natural, like there were time skips where there shouldn’t have been and weren’t time skips where there should have been you know? So that sort of took away from the plot.
And the plot. In regard to Avery and Charlie’s relationship, I think it was focused on a lot more in the beginning of the book rather than towards the end. It was from a romance book to a story about grief and loss and back again, and while these are all important parts of the story, I wish they had been incorporated a bit more naturally.
* ੈ✩‧₊˚ 𝕨𝕣𝕒𝕡-𝕦𝕡 * ੈ✩‧₊˚
Overall, this was a really cute book, with a diverse cast of characters and interesting fake dating. If you’re looking for aforementioned fake dating or just a cute book, I’d recommend this!!!
⋆˚⚡︎˖° 𝕣𝕖𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕖 ⋆˚⚡︎˖°
Rules for Fake Girlfriends releases September 2, 2025!!!
˙⋆.˚𐙚 𝕡𝕣𝕖-𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕕 ˙⋆.˚𐙚
Thank you so much to the publisher, Wednesday Books, and to NetGalley for giving me a free e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review!
All thoughts are my own :D
July 16, 2024
I can't wait for this to come out!!!
September 16, 2025
Thank you to NetGalley + the publisher for providing me with an arc copy of this book!
~~~~~
1 star.
~~~~~
It took me 3 months to read this book. If that doesn't tell you something, I don't know what will!
Disclaimer: when I first saw that Raegen Revord had a book being published, I was super excited for and proud of her! The title made me think that this book was about the general concept of fake girlfriends, not two girls who were fake dating each other. Plus, in the description, there's Avery and Charlie, which is super easy to think that one of those people is a guy, and the other is a girl! As a Christian, I do not support the LGBTQ+ community. However, that does not mean I removed any stars for this book as a result. The reason I gave it the lowest rating is because of all the other issues, including but not limited to:
- Plot holes
- Grammar errors
- Spelling errors
- Slipping in and out of different tenses (past and present)
- Inconsistent writing style
- Rushed writing
~~~~~
So first, I'm going to talk about the LGBTQ+ aspect of the book. I am not hating on the community in any way, I just want to point a few things out.
I genuinely do not think someone has this many friends that are a part of that community. Let me quickly list you every single LGBTQ+ person mentioned in the book:
- Lesbian main character
- Lesbian love interest
- Lesbian ex-girlfriend
- A mentioned gay man
- A mentioned non-binary person
- Another mentioned non-binary person
- Non-binary side character
- Brief appearance of a non-binary character
- A mentioned lesbian woman
- A transgender side character
- Probably a few more that I missed.
Look at that list for a second. Do you know that many people apart of the community? No. I believe that Raegen was trying so hard to be inclusive that she lost sight of what is actually normal and regular in today's culture. Honestly, there wasn't a single chapter where an LGBTQ+ member was mentioned, and that's just unrealistic.
There was a brief but rather graphic description of someone's experience with top surgery, and frankly, it broke my heart. I don't think we need that in books, people.
I'm not sure whether or not this is a grammar or LGBTQ+ problem, but there were several inconsistencies with someone's gender identity. This person is named Maddi, and she identifies as non-binary, from what I could figure out. But, when someone mentioned her in the book, they said (back to back quotes), "they does," and, "they needs." I'm not an expert on the whole pronouns thing, but I'm pretty sure that that's not how that works. And then, later in the book, people start referring to Maddi as 'she' here and there. Once again, could be a grammatical error, could be an LGBTQ+ error. And I realize that Maddi might just use she/they pronouns, but people didn't start calling her 'she' until the last 20% of the book. And I don't remember her stating that she was changing her pronouns!
~~~~~
Second, I'm going to briefly touch on the topic of self-harm. One of the side characters, Maddi, clearly has scars from when she self-harmed. And as someone who has a family member who used to self-harm, I think Avery (the main character) said the completely wrong thing to her, trying to show support. She basically said something along the lines of, "oh, and if you want to talk about your self-harm scars, I'm here." While I'm sure there was no ill-intent, it was definitely insensitive. It was harsh, and the last thing someone struggling with mental health needs is something that sounds, honestly? Completely nasty.
~~~~~
Third, the grammar/spelling issues. I already covered the majority of them in my LGBTQ+ section, but there were more. For instance, there was one section of the book where one sentence was stated twice, word for word, back to back. At the very end of the book, the main character says, "If I'm were to brag." These are just two minor issues that I found. Honestly, they were all over the book. And I also found lots of typos, but also just incorrect spellings of words. For example, 'except,' instead of, 'accept.' I get that this is Raegen's debut novel, and I should give her more grace, but I'm 15 and I've written several books, making sure that I get lots of feedback before I jump to publishing. I think Raegen should have hired a better editor, if one at all.
~~~~~
Fourth, the relationships. I didn't really feel any sort of connection to any of the characters, or connection of characters to other characters. I really didn't feel any of the love or friendship. And Avery's relationship with Charlie is so obvious--she's constantly talking about the grief of her mother, and it's so incredibly obvious that she's looking for a woman to fill that void that was created when her mom died! Avery isn't looking for a girlfriend...she's looking for a mom. And that's exactly how she treated Charlie--like a mom. She was constantly over-relying on her, and getting upset when she let her down. Parents don't usually do that, and that's why Avery was so distraught every time it happened, because subconsciously, Charlie was a mom to her.
~~~~~
Fifth, generally the plot and the pacing of the book. Leeeeettttttt'sssss gooooo sloooowwwwww aaaaaannnddddd maaaakkkkeeeee ouuurrrr reeeeaaaadddeeerrrrssss boooorreeeeddddd AND-HERE-WE-GO-WE'RE-UP-AND-WE'RE-GOING-AROUND-LONDON-AND-WE'RE-DOING-THIS-THAT-AND-THE-OTHER-THING. That's how the entire book felt! Books are supposed to have their different slower and faster moments, yes. But those moments in this book just dragged and dragged. It was slow for a quarter of the book, and then it was fast for a quarter of the book. That's not how pacing works. And the ending felt so rushed. Goodness gracious, I was barely keeping up with how fast everything was going! I missed so much because of the rushed writing, and I didn't get to enjoy the closure because I was still so confused about things from 5 chapters ago. And the chapters were way too short. I know plenty of authors who can make short chapters feel very nicely laid-out, and sadly, Raegen isn't one of those authors. All of her chapters felt like the end of the book--rushed. You would be deep into a meaningful conversation, and all of a sudden, "whoops, bye!" It was so abrupt and made me confused the whole time.
~~~~~
All in all, the general idea of the book was cute. And Raegen did do a good job in some areas, but unfortunately, they did not outshine the areas where she needs help. I hope to see her write more books someday, and I'm proud of her for pursuing the career of an author!
~~~~~
1 star.
~~~~~
It took me 3 months to read this book. If that doesn't tell you something, I don't know what will!
Disclaimer: when I first saw that Raegen Revord had a book being published, I was super excited for and proud of her! The title made me think that this book was about the general concept of fake girlfriends, not two girls who were fake dating each other. Plus, in the description, there's Avery and Charlie, which is super easy to think that one of those people is a guy, and the other is a girl! As a Christian, I do not support the LGBTQ+ community. However, that does not mean I removed any stars for this book as a result. The reason I gave it the lowest rating is because of all the other issues, including but not limited to:
- Plot holes
- Grammar errors
- Spelling errors
- Slipping in and out of different tenses (past and present)
- Inconsistent writing style
- Rushed writing
~~~~~
So first, I'm going to talk about the LGBTQ+ aspect of the book. I am not hating on the community in any way, I just want to point a few things out.
I genuinely do not think someone has this many friends that are a part of that community. Let me quickly list you every single LGBTQ+ person mentioned in the book:
- Lesbian main character
- Lesbian love interest
- Lesbian ex-girlfriend
- A mentioned gay man
- A mentioned non-binary person
- Another mentioned non-binary person
- Non-binary side character
- Brief appearance of a non-binary character
- A mentioned lesbian woman
- A transgender side character
- Probably a few more that I missed.
Look at that list for a second. Do you know that many people apart of the community? No. I believe that Raegen was trying so hard to be inclusive that she lost sight of what is actually normal and regular in today's culture. Honestly, there wasn't a single chapter where an LGBTQ+ member was mentioned, and that's just unrealistic.
There was a brief but rather graphic description of someone's experience with top surgery, and frankly, it broke my heart. I don't think we need that in books, people.
I'm not sure whether or not this is a grammar or LGBTQ+ problem, but there were several inconsistencies with someone's gender identity. This person is named Maddi, and she identifies as non-binary, from what I could figure out. But, when someone mentioned her in the book, they said (back to back quotes), "they does," and, "they needs." I'm not an expert on the whole pronouns thing, but I'm pretty sure that that's not how that works. And then, later in the book, people start referring to Maddi as 'she' here and there. Once again, could be a grammatical error, could be an LGBTQ+ error. And I realize that Maddi might just use she/they pronouns, but people didn't start calling her 'she' until the last 20% of the book. And I don't remember her stating that she was changing her pronouns!
~~~~~
Second, I'm going to briefly touch on the topic of self-harm. One of the side characters, Maddi, clearly has scars from when she self-harmed. And as someone who has a family member who used to self-harm, I think Avery (the main character) said the completely wrong thing to her, trying to show support. She basically said something along the lines of, "oh, and if you want to talk about your self-harm scars, I'm here." While I'm sure there was no ill-intent, it was definitely insensitive. It was harsh, and the last thing someone struggling with mental health needs is something that sounds, honestly? Completely nasty.
~~~~~
Third, the grammar/spelling issues. I already covered the majority of them in my LGBTQ+ section, but there were more. For instance, there was one section of the book where one sentence was stated twice, word for word, back to back. At the very end of the book, the main character says, "If I'm were to brag." These are just two minor issues that I found. Honestly, they were all over the book. And I also found lots of typos, but also just incorrect spellings of words. For example, 'except,' instead of, 'accept.' I get that this is Raegen's debut novel, and I should give her more grace, but I'm 15 and I've written several books, making sure that I get lots of feedback before I jump to publishing. I think Raegen should have hired a better editor, if one at all.
~~~~~
Fourth, the relationships. I didn't really feel any sort of connection to any of the characters, or connection of characters to other characters. I really didn't feel any of the love or friendship. And Avery's relationship with Charlie is so obvious--she's constantly talking about the grief of her mother, and it's so incredibly obvious that she's looking for a woman to fill that void that was created when her mom died! Avery isn't looking for a girlfriend...she's looking for a mom. And that's exactly how she treated Charlie--like a mom. She was constantly over-relying on her, and getting upset when she let her down. Parents don't usually do that, and that's why Avery was so distraught every time it happened, because subconsciously, Charlie was a mom to her.
~~~~~
Fifth, generally the plot and the pacing of the book. Leeeeettttttt'sssss gooooo sloooowwwwww aaaaaannnddddd maaaakkkkeeeee ouuurrrr reeeeaaaadddeeerrrrssss boooorreeeeddddd AND-HERE-WE-GO-WE'RE-UP-AND-WE'RE-GOING-AROUND-LONDON-AND-WE'RE-DOING-THIS-THAT-AND-THE-OTHER-THING. That's how the entire book felt! Books are supposed to have their different slower and faster moments, yes. But those moments in this book just dragged and dragged. It was slow for a quarter of the book, and then it was fast for a quarter of the book. That's not how pacing works. And the ending felt so rushed. Goodness gracious, I was barely keeping up with how fast everything was going! I missed so much because of the rushed writing, and I didn't get to enjoy the closure because I was still so confused about things from 5 chapters ago. And the chapters were way too short. I know plenty of authors who can make short chapters feel very nicely laid-out, and sadly, Raegen isn't one of those authors. All of her chapters felt like the end of the book--rushed. You would be deep into a meaningful conversation, and all of a sudden, "whoops, bye!" It was so abrupt and made me confused the whole time.
~~~~~
All in all, the general idea of the book was cute. And Raegen did do a good job in some areas, but unfortunately, they did not outshine the areas where she needs help. I hope to see her write more books someday, and I'm proud of her for pursuing the career of an author!
September 3, 2025
This was a really solid YA Sapphic romance debut!!! I was not expecting the emotional depth and the amazing story that I got with this coming of age book that has a teenager set on Med school taking a break from her plans to spend her freshman year of college to go to her dead mother's alma mater in England where she's left clues and nine postcards with time capsules for her to discover.
On the train to school Avery gets roped into posing as a strange local girl's girlfriend and their fake dating continues over the first few months of school as Charlie helps Avery retrace her mother's steps.
Along the way the two grow close and the fake feelings turn very real only for Avery's world to be rocked once again when she discover's Charlie's been keeping a big secret from her.
Great on audio read by the actress/author herself and perfect for fans of John Green or Leaving the station by Jake Maia Arlow. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!
CW: side character with EDS, love interest with congenital kidney disease (organ transplant surgery), death of a parent from cancer, parent with depression
On the train to school Avery gets roped into posing as a strange local girl's girlfriend and their fake dating continues over the first few months of school as Charlie helps Avery retrace her mother's steps.
Along the way the two grow close and the fake feelings turn very real only for Avery's world to be rocked once again when she discover's Charlie's been keeping a big secret from her.
Great on audio read by the actress/author herself and perfect for fans of John Green or Leaving the station by Jake Maia Arlow. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!
CW: side character with EDS, love interest with congenital kidney disease (organ transplant surgery), death of a parent from cancer, parent with depression
April 26, 2025
Thank you NetGalley and Wednesday Books for this ARC!!!
I’ve been so excited to read this one and when I found out it was available on NetGalley I RAN to download it! I’m a big fan of Raegan Revord from Young Sheldon, but I also love how she has a book club and is an avid reader!
Avery abandons her plans to go to Columbia for college and instead heads to her recently deceased mother’s alma mater in Brighton, England. While on a train, Avery meets Charlie and they make a deal—Avery agrees to fake date Charlie to make her ex jealous if Charlie helps Avery with a scavenger hunt her mom left her.
I really loved this book!! Both the characters and the plot were great! It was a mix of emotions/heavier topics and fun. I love a good scavenger hunt, PLUS fake dating is one of my favorite tropes!!
The way the topic of grief was handled in this book was done really well! It felt very realistic, both from Avery’s perspective as well as her dad’s. I also appreciate how her friendship was Amira was done, because growing apart from your childhood friends in college is definitely realistic.
The cast of characters is great in this book! The main group is a queer friend group and all of them are really fleshed out and have distinct personalities! I won’t lie- sometimes I was annoyed that they were there because it took time away from the romance, but by the end I really appreciated and liked them all lol
I definitely recommend this book! It made me cry/tear up a few times, but mostly it made me smile and laugh. It was written very well and I really hope Raegan writes more books in the future!
If you’re a fan of Rachael Lippincott, Jennis Voris, Lynn Painter, or Sophie Gonzales, you will love this book!!
I’ve been so excited to read this one and when I found out it was available on NetGalley I RAN to download it! I’m a big fan of Raegan Revord from Young Sheldon, but I also love how she has a book club and is an avid reader!
Avery abandons her plans to go to Columbia for college and instead heads to her recently deceased mother’s alma mater in Brighton, England. While on a train, Avery meets Charlie and they make a deal—Avery agrees to fake date Charlie to make her ex jealous if Charlie helps Avery with a scavenger hunt her mom left her.
I really loved this book!! Both the characters and the plot were great! It was a mix of emotions/heavier topics and fun. I love a good scavenger hunt, PLUS fake dating is one of my favorite tropes!!
The way the topic of grief was handled in this book was done really well! It felt very realistic, both from Avery’s perspective as well as her dad’s. I also appreciate how her friendship was Amira was done, because growing apart from your childhood friends in college is definitely realistic.
The cast of characters is great in this book! The main group is a queer friend group and all of them are really fleshed out and have distinct personalities! I won’t lie- sometimes I was annoyed that they were there because it took time away from the romance, but by the end I really appreciated and liked them all lol
I definitely recommend this book! It made me cry/tear up a few times, but mostly it made me smile and laugh. It was written very well and I really hope Raegan writes more books in the future!
If you’re a fan of Rachael Lippincott, Jennis Voris, Lynn Painter, or Sophie Gonzales, you will love this book!!
August 19, 2025
This book is really for the romcom lovers. I picked this up with my only understanding of the plot coming from the title because I am a fan of Raegan Revord, and I’m so glad I did! This book is self aware in a way that many romcoms aren’t and I think that’s what makes it so fun. Also, I’m a sucker for fun chapter titles, so I was happy to see those featured in this.
Rules for Fake Girlfriends follows Avery as she tries to find herself after a big change and experiences many firsts along the way. Revord put so much love and depth into Avery that I really appreciated; she’s not a perfect character, she makes mistakes that are appropriate for her circumstances, she experiences emotions the same way many her age would, and she grows in a way that is satisfying but doesn’t make it feel like she did a complete one eighty. Besides Avery, all of the friends she makes have their own stories that you get sucked into, wanting everyone to have their own success story.
I really enjoyed both of the main plots in this story, obviously the romance, and the journey Avery goes on in this new place. This was such a fun read, and I loved seeing some of my favorite romcoms mentioned and the tropes that are always present being called out (in a good way, of course). There is amazing LGBTQ+ and disability representation, and overall this is such a sweet debut novel from Revord and I can’t wait to follow their journey as an author. If you’re a romcom fan, you definitely need to check this one out on September 2nd!
*Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press | Wednesday Books for this ARC!*
Rules for Fake Girlfriends follows Avery as she tries to find herself after a big change and experiences many firsts along the way. Revord put so much love and depth into Avery that I really appreciated; she’s not a perfect character, she makes mistakes that are appropriate for her circumstances, she experiences emotions the same way many her age would, and she grows in a way that is satisfying but doesn’t make it feel like she did a complete one eighty. Besides Avery, all of the friends she makes have their own stories that you get sucked into, wanting everyone to have their own success story.
I really enjoyed both of the main plots in this story, obviously the romance, and the journey Avery goes on in this new place. This was such a fun read, and I loved seeing some of my favorite romcoms mentioned and the tropes that are always present being called out (in a good way, of course). There is amazing LGBTQ+ and disability representation, and overall this is such a sweet debut novel from Revord and I can’t wait to follow their journey as an author. If you’re a romcom fan, you definitely need to check this one out on September 2nd!
*Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press | Wednesday Books for this ARC!*
December 29, 2025
3.75/5
Rules for fake girlfriends is a sweet rom-com about Avery who decides to spend her freshman year of college at her mother's alma mater in England a few months after her death. During her train ride to the small town in England, she meets Charlie who requests her to pretend to be her girlfriend during the trip in order to make her ex jealous. She later finds out that Charlie will also be attending the same school and they embark on a journey to uncover more about the life that Avery's mom left behind when she decided to marry Avery's dad and move to the US. The story had many sad moments as we see how Avery and her dad choose to grief and the many secrets and obstacles Avery faces while she is in a different country.
Thank you St. Martin's Press and Wednesday Books for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
Rules for fake girlfriends is a sweet rom-com about Avery who decides to spend her freshman year of college at her mother's alma mater in England a few months after her death. During her train ride to the small town in England, she meets Charlie who requests her to pretend to be her girlfriend during the trip in order to make her ex jealous. She later finds out that Charlie will also be attending the same school and they embark on a journey to uncover more about the life that Avery's mom left behind when she decided to marry Avery's dad and move to the US. The story had many sad moments as we see how Avery and her dad choose to grief and the many secrets and obstacles Avery faces while she is in a different country.
Thank you St. Martin's Press and Wednesday Books for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
October 10, 2025
overall a really cute and heartfelt YA romance. I definitely would’ve loved it if I were a teenager, as it has that perfect mix of self-discovery, grief, and fake-dating fun that younger readers will connect with.
around chapter 11 the pacing started to drag for me. it wasn’t boring exactly, but it felt like the book suddenly introduced a lot of new plot threads all at once (side stories, secrets, emotional subplots) and it became a bit cluttered.
still, the characters are sweet, the setting is cozy, and the emotional message about grief and finding yourself lands nicely. not my favorite, but I can see how it’ll be a comfort read for younger YA fans.
around chapter 11 the pacing started to drag for me. it wasn’t boring exactly, but it felt like the book suddenly introduced a lot of new plot threads all at once (side stories, secrets, emotional subplots) and it became a bit cluttered.
still, the characters are sweet, the setting is cozy, and the emotional message about grief and finding yourself lands nicely. not my favorite, but I can see how it’ll be a comfort read for younger YA fans.
April 29, 2025
Many thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This is a great debut novel! Super cute premise and I love fake dating tropes! There was a lot of great queer representation, character growth, and modeling of healthy friendships and relationships. The book did go off on a bit of a tangent trying to cover a few too many things, but I still really enjoyed it and look forward to what comes next!
This is a great debut novel! Super cute premise and I love fake dating tropes! There was a lot of great queer representation, character growth, and modeling of healthy friendships and relationships. The book did go off on a bit of a tangent trying to cover a few too many things, but I still really enjoyed it and look forward to what comes next!
November 12, 2025
cute concept, though the pacing was far too fast and the character development was nearly non-existant… can definitely tell this was written by a teenager, but can also tell that raegan has a passion for books and writing, so their work can only get better :)
June 17, 2025
Avery decides to move to Brighton where her mother went to college in an effort to complete a scavenger hunt she'd left for her and shortly upon getting there she meets Charlie, a girl she decides to pretend to be a fake girlfriend for.
This book really disappointed me. It started out very strong, I was intrigued by the scavenger hunt, Avery's relationship with both her father and her late mother and how the whole fake dating thing was going to go. The pacing just felt so off though. Things would be repeated like one chapter later, or things would be contradictory where like for example Avery said she texted her best friend to visit but then that was never addressed again. The next convo her friend asked about meeting for lunch. Also at one point Avery was worried about what Charlie would think about something she'd done but they'd already seen each other since that happened so it felt very delayed and confusing.
I didn't let this part affect my review score because it could change in the published copy but I felt it was worth noting, there's some issues with pronoun usage that felt very clunky. Avery's roommate Maddi was misgendered multiple times when it was clear that they only used they/them pronouns. There were also several typos throughout the entire book.
Another thing I did like was the effort to be inclusive. I liked that there was a trans character, a couple nonbinary characters, of course lesbian characters, a character with ehlers danlos syndrome. Seeing people deal with different things not often shown was appreciated.
Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the ARC to review.
This book really disappointed me. It started out very strong, I was intrigued by the scavenger hunt, Avery's relationship with both her father and her late mother and how the whole fake dating thing was going to go. The pacing just felt so off though. Things would be repeated like one chapter later, or things would be contradictory where like for example Avery said she texted her best friend to visit but then that was never addressed again. The next convo her friend asked about meeting for lunch. Also at one point Avery was worried about what Charlie would think about something she'd done but they'd already seen each other since that happened so it felt very delayed and confusing.
I didn't let this part affect my review score because it could change in the published copy but I felt it was worth noting, there's some issues with pronoun usage that felt very clunky. Avery's roommate Maddi was misgendered multiple times when it was clear that they only used they/them pronouns. There were also several typos throughout the entire book.
Another thing I did like was the effort to be inclusive. I liked that there was a trans character, a couple nonbinary characters, of course lesbian characters, a character with ehlers danlos syndrome. Seeing people deal with different things not often shown was appreciated.
Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the ARC to review.
Want to read
April 19, 2024101% reading this when it releases!
i'm an avid reader (esp queer books) and also a huge fan of raegan revord <3
when an e-arc or a preorder be out?
i'm an avid reader (esp queer books) and also a huge fan of raegan revord <3
when an e-arc or a preorder be out?
November 15, 2025
I have both so much to say and yet nothing to say. I wanted to like this more than I did. It had some moments but one of my main issues was that it wasn’t what it was marketed as. The blurb markets this as your classic fake-dating romance - which , in reality, was B plot at most. Since it’s YA I wasn’t surprised that the major arc of the book was emotional growth and character development for Avery, the FMC. I was just under the impression, based off of the blurb, that the emotional development would have to do more with the romance itself. The romance was B- plot which is perfectly fine, but since it was marketed as a romance and the blurb gives no real hints into what the other aspects of the story are, I felt mislead. Which then made me like the book less. If the blurb had been more accurate to the story, I think it would’ve set me up to like the book more.
My other thing outside of this was that a lot of it just fell flat, especially in the actual romance parts. And you could attribute that to the fact that I read this in very small spurts every few days. You could attribute that to the fact that I prefer adult romance over YA, though I do read YA. There were just multiple moments that it felt like I as an audience member was being tugged on a leash to feel a certain way about certain things. There were times where I felt very clear how the author wanted the reader to feel about a situation or character in, what felt like, a forced way. I wanted to be able to reach those conclusions myself, but it felt like the story at time was pushing me to try to feel a certain way or to try and root for a specific thing instead of letting me get there naturally myself. I wish the story had more faith in me as a reader sometimes. It was the romance that was the most disappointing part. Which extra sucks because this is marketed primarily as a romance.
Also did not realize until reading the ending acknowledgements that is was written by a teen actress from young sheldon. with all the love in my heart, that makes the way this was written make more sense. In as neutral a way I can say it, it makes sense that it was written by a teenager.
Giving it two stars because I didn’t hate it and I want to give props where props are due and publishing a book, especially as a teenager already in the spotlight is ballsy, and I respect that.
My other thing outside of this was that a lot of it just fell flat, especially in the actual romance parts. And you could attribute that to the fact that I read this in very small spurts every few days. You could attribute that to the fact that I prefer adult romance over YA, though I do read YA. There were just multiple moments that it felt like I as an audience member was being tugged on a leash to feel a certain way about certain things. There were times where I felt very clear how the author wanted the reader to feel about a situation or character in, what felt like, a forced way. I wanted to be able to reach those conclusions myself, but it felt like the story at time was pushing me to try to feel a certain way or to try and root for a specific thing instead of letting me get there naturally myself. I wish the story had more faith in me as a reader sometimes. It was the romance that was the most disappointing part. Which extra sucks because this is marketed primarily as a romance.
Also did not realize until reading the ending acknowledgements that is was written by a teen actress from young sheldon. with all the love in my heart, that makes the way this was written make more sense. In as neutral a way I can say it, it makes sense that it was written by a teenager.
Giving it two stars because I didn’t hate it and I want to give props where props are due and publishing a book, especially as a teenager already in the spotlight is ballsy, and I respect that.
September 3, 2025
2.5 ⭐️
Sometimes a book is exactly what it’s meant to be: light, fun, a little swoony, and just a touch messy. Rules for Fake Girlfriends was that for me—a cute debut that delivered the rom-com beats, even if they didn’t always land as cleanly as I’d hoped for.
After her mother’s passing, Avery trades Columbia for Brighton, determined to walk in her mother’s footsteps and uncover pieces of the past her mum left behind. On the train, she meets Charlie, and in true rom-com fashion, one spur-of-the-moment “fake girlfriend” act snowballs into a full-fledged arrangement. What begins as a ploy to make an ex jealous soon grows into something riskier: the possibility of real feelings. And with that comes every twist, turn, and misstep that make fake-dating stories intriguing.
It’s a setup with so much charm, and there were elements I genuinely enjoyed. The scavenger hunt tied to Avery’s mother was touching, and Amira’s friendship with her felt the most authentic relationship in the book—layered, messy, and full of the natural ebb and flow that comes with being young. The “rules” chapter headings were clever, and the coastal British backdrop had all the right ingredients for a breezy summer rom-com.
That said, the execution sometimes stumbled. The narrative juggled a few too many threads, with key elements slipping in and out of focus before being revived later on. While the multiple threads made for lively storytelling, at times it felt overstuffed, leaving me wishing some pieces had been pared back for richer development. The romance, though sweet, felt more rushed than earned, leaning a bit too heavily on telling rather than showing. And while the twist meant to drive conflict served its purpose, it arrived a little abruptly, leaving me wishing for more depth and foreshadowing because it held no weight to the storyline—less a storm brewing, and more a plot device arriving on cue. The YA writing style wasn’t always my personal cup of tea, but Revord’s underlying talent and voice shone through regardless.
Still—there’s heart here. Revord writes with warmth, wit, and a clear love for the rom-com genre. She captures the whirlwind of young adulthood, the ache of loss, and the sweetness of first love. This was an easy, breezy read that balanced humour and heartache, and while it wasn’t perfect for me, I can easily see it hitting all the right notes for younger readers and fans of trope-filled romances that are quick, cute, and tinged with grief and hope.
**Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.**
Sometimes a book is exactly what it’s meant to be: light, fun, a little swoony, and just a touch messy. Rules for Fake Girlfriends was that for me—a cute debut that delivered the rom-com beats, even if they didn’t always land as cleanly as I’d hoped for.
After her mother’s passing, Avery trades Columbia for Brighton, determined to walk in her mother’s footsteps and uncover pieces of the past her mum left behind. On the train, she meets Charlie, and in true rom-com fashion, one spur-of-the-moment “fake girlfriend” act snowballs into a full-fledged arrangement. What begins as a ploy to make an ex jealous soon grows into something riskier: the possibility of real feelings. And with that comes every twist, turn, and misstep that make fake-dating stories intriguing.
It’s a setup with so much charm, and there were elements I genuinely enjoyed. The scavenger hunt tied to Avery’s mother was touching, and Amira’s friendship with her felt the most authentic relationship in the book—layered, messy, and full of the natural ebb and flow that comes with being young. The “rules” chapter headings were clever, and the coastal British backdrop had all the right ingredients for a breezy summer rom-com.
That said, the execution sometimes stumbled. The narrative juggled a few too many threads, with key elements slipping in and out of focus before being revived later on. While the multiple threads made for lively storytelling, at times it felt overstuffed, leaving me wishing some pieces had been pared back for richer development. The romance, though sweet, felt more rushed than earned, leaning a bit too heavily on telling rather than showing. And while the twist meant to drive conflict served its purpose, it arrived a little abruptly, leaving me wishing for more depth and foreshadowing because it held no weight to the storyline—less a storm brewing, and more a plot device arriving on cue. The YA writing style wasn’t always my personal cup of tea, but Revord’s underlying talent and voice shone through regardless.
Still—there’s heart here. Revord writes with warmth, wit, and a clear love for the rom-com genre. She captures the whirlwind of young adulthood, the ache of loss, and the sweetness of first love. This was an easy, breezy read that balanced humour and heartache, and while it wasn’t perfect for me, I can easily see it hitting all the right notes for younger readers and fans of trope-filled romances that are quick, cute, and tinged with grief and hope.
**Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.**
August 20, 2025
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!
To start off I gave this book 3 stars. While I did enjoy multiple aspects of this book, there were some parts that felt really repetitive.
Some things I really loved:
• Disability Representation: There was a character in this book who has EDS and was frequently in a wheelchair or using a cane. As I don’t normally read to many book with a disability rep it was great to see. There were some other characters with disabilities and chronic illnesses as well.
• Similarly there was also a lot of different representation regarding their sexuality identities, and it can be hard to find books with representation of different sexuality’s.
• Every character had a unique personality: They also all had a hobby or something of interest to them giving depth to the characters.
•The chapter titles: This was something I hadn’t seen in a while and it was really fun to read all the quirky chapter titles. It gave a cute heads up as to what was about to come in the chapter, while also adding an extra layer and touch to the book.
Some things I disliked:
•It felt like the two major plot points were interchangeable. There was times when the scavenger hunt was totally forgotten about and they would go chapters without talking about it. Also the scavenger hunt felt almost too easy, the main character (Avery) would come across a challenge and it would be solved the next day. Also whenever she showed up to a new place, she would immediately get the next clue, there was no actual searching.
• The book was in need of an edit: I do know this is not the final copy of the book, so I will not judge too hard. However, there was a lot of repetition and occasionally there would be different descriptions of the same character. The author would refer to one of the characters having blond hair then suddenly the same character would be described as having brown hair. Knowing that the author is seventeen and it’s their debut novel, the writing is something that could be easily overlooked and that I’m sure in time the author will grow into their writing.
Overall, this book could use some work, but it was by no means bad. I look forward to seeing what they write next.
To start off I gave this book 3 stars. While I did enjoy multiple aspects of this book, there were some parts that felt really repetitive.
Some things I really loved:
• Disability Representation: There was a character in this book who has EDS and was frequently in a wheelchair or using a cane. As I don’t normally read to many book with a disability rep it was great to see. There were some other characters with disabilities and chronic illnesses as well.
• Similarly there was also a lot of different representation regarding their sexuality identities, and it can be hard to find books with representation of different sexuality’s.
• Every character had a unique personality: They also all had a hobby or something of interest to them giving depth to the characters.
•The chapter titles: This was something I hadn’t seen in a while and it was really fun to read all the quirky chapter titles. It gave a cute heads up as to what was about to come in the chapter, while also adding an extra layer and touch to the book.
Some things I disliked:
•It felt like the two major plot points were interchangeable. There was times when the scavenger hunt was totally forgotten about and they would go chapters without talking about it. Also the scavenger hunt felt almost too easy, the main character (Avery) would come across a challenge and it would be solved the next day. Also whenever she showed up to a new place, she would immediately get the next clue, there was no actual searching.
• The book was in need of an edit: I do know this is not the final copy of the book, so I will not judge too hard. However, there was a lot of repetition and occasionally there would be different descriptions of the same character. The author would refer to one of the characters having blond hair then suddenly the same character would be described as having brown hair. Knowing that the author is seventeen and it’s their debut novel, the writing is something that could be easily overlooked and that I’m sure in time the author will grow into their writing.
Overall, this book could use some work, but it was by no means bad. I look forward to seeing what they write next.
October 16, 2025
3.5/5 stars
eARC provided by NetGalley
This book is great for a debut! It was an interesting read and I do recommend it! I would say fun but the main theme of this book was grief soooo not fun. But I do think it is a good start! There is a lot going on in the story that at times felt like too much or just was not fully joggled in the story in the best way. The side characters also had more depth in my opinion then our main love interest. We never actually learn about her as a person. It felt like the main character did but we never got to see that so it was hard for me to believe in their relationship lasting. The twist I felt was predictable but I just read too much. It was well done and the main character's reaction was valid in my opinion. I honestly think she was too hard on herself about how she handled a lot of things. I kind of wish that the romance would have been more of a subplot (which while reading it felt like) instead of it being a "main" plot point. I wish we would have instead focused just on the main character and her grief. All and all I just felt that we tried to do too much in this book and probably should have focused on specific plot points (in my opinion the ones around her mom & dad) instead of having so many storylines going at once.
eARC provided by NetGalley
This book is great for a debut! It was an interesting read and I do recommend it! I would say fun but the main theme of this book was grief soooo not fun. But I do think it is a good start! There is a lot going on in the story that at times felt like too much or just was not fully joggled in the story in the best way. The side characters also had more depth in my opinion then our main love interest. We never actually learn about her as a person. It felt like the main character did but we never got to see that so it was hard for me to believe in their relationship lasting. The twist I felt was predictable but I just read too much. It was well done and the main character's reaction was valid in my opinion. I honestly think she was too hard on herself about how she handled a lot of things. I kind of wish that the romance would have been more of a subplot (which while reading it felt like) instead of it being a "main" plot point. I wish we would have instead focused just on the main character and her grief. All and all I just felt that we tried to do too much in this book and probably should have focused on specific plot points (in my opinion the ones around her mom & dad) instead of having so many storylines going at once.
August 18, 2025
✉️ : Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for allowing me to have a copy of this arc.
I do look forward to reading more by Raegan in the future, this was a cute read
I fell in love with this book pretty much right away, in a way it reminded me of Love & Gelato, which was also a really good read.
I really loved the characters, the meet cute, and especially the scavenger hunt, which was fun. ─Though I wish there was more of that, at times I felt like it was forgotten─
I do feel like some parts of the book felt a little rushed but it was still great.
The characters had tons of diversity and the friend group was fun and they had pretty good development.
I 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 when chapters have names, so this was adorable (e.g. 𝙍𝙤𝙢-𝘾𝙤𝙢 𝙍𝙪𝙡𝙚 #1: 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙃𝙚𝙧𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝙃𝙖𝙨 𝘼 𝙏𝙤𝙣 𝙊𝙛 𝘽𝙖𝙜𝙜𝙖𝙜𝙚, 𝙍𝙤𝙢-𝘾𝙤𝙢 𝙍𝙪𝙡𝙚 #7: 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙤-𝙉𝙤𝙩-𝘼-𝘾𝙤𝙪𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙁𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙢𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙫𝙚𝙨 𝙄𝙣 𝘼 𝙏𝙤𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙐𝙣𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙘 𝙎𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙒𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙉𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙃𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙣 𝙄𝙣 𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙡 𝙇𝙞𝙛𝙚, 𝙍𝙤𝙢-𝘾𝙤𝙢 𝙍𝙪𝙡𝙚 #14: 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙁𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙆𝙞𝙨𝙨 𝙄𝙨 𝘽𝙚𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙙 𝙀𝙥𝙞𝙘, etc.) It's always such a fun addition to a book and I wish more books would have them.
For a debut novel this is really good, the writing is nice though not perfect. Some bits felt a little repetitive but it wasn't to the point to where it was unbearable.
Fake dating is a favorite trope of mine, Charlie and Avery were really cute, I do wish there was more communicating though.
I did want to point out the fact that Maddi, goes by they/them pronouns, nothing wrong with that of course, but at a few times in the book (I think only at the end, or at least for the most part) I did notice that she/her was used for Maddi.
Also the descriptions of the characters got changed up from time to time, Avery was said to have hazel eyes, and later blue eyes, same happened with a few other characters multiple times too.
This is still an arc (though the book gets published in 15 days, I don't think there's time for some stuff to be changed but🤷♀️)
I do look forward to reading more by Raegan in the future, this was a cute read
I fell in love with this book pretty much right away, in a way it reminded me of Love & Gelato, which was also a really good read.
I really loved the characters, the meet cute, and especially the scavenger hunt, which was fun. ─Though I wish there was more of that, at times I felt like it was forgotten─
I do feel like some parts of the book felt a little rushed but it was still great.
The characters had tons of diversity and the friend group was fun and they had pretty good development.
I 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 when chapters have names, so this was adorable (e.g. 𝙍𝙤𝙢-𝘾𝙤𝙢 𝙍𝙪𝙡𝙚 #1: 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙃𝙚𝙧𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝙃𝙖𝙨 𝘼 𝙏𝙤𝙣 𝙊𝙛 𝘽𝙖𝙜𝙜𝙖𝙜𝙚, 𝙍𝙤𝙢-𝘾𝙤𝙢 𝙍𝙪𝙡𝙚 #7: 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙤-𝙉𝙤𝙩-𝘼-𝘾𝙤𝙪𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙁𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙢𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙫𝙚𝙨 𝙄𝙣 𝘼 𝙏𝙤𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙐𝙣𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙘 𝙎𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙒𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙉𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙃𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙣 𝙄𝙣 𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙡 𝙇𝙞𝙛𝙚, 𝙍𝙤𝙢-𝘾𝙤𝙢 𝙍𝙪𝙡𝙚 #14: 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙁𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙆𝙞𝙨𝙨 𝙄𝙨 𝘽𝙚𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙙 𝙀𝙥𝙞𝙘, etc.) It's always such a fun addition to a book and I wish more books would have them.
For a debut novel this is really good, the writing is nice though not perfect. Some bits felt a little repetitive but it wasn't to the point to where it was unbearable.
Fake dating is a favorite trope of mine, Charlie and Avery were really cute, I do wish there was more communicating though.
I did want to point out the fact that Maddi, goes by they/them pronouns, nothing wrong with that of course, but at a few times in the book (I think only at the end, or at least for the most part) I did notice that she/her was used for Maddi.
Also the descriptions of the characters got changed up from time to time, Avery was said to have hazel eyes, and later blue eyes, same happened with a few other characters multiple times too.
This is still an arc (though the book gets published in 15 days, I don't think there's time for some stuff to be changed but🤷♀️)
August 13, 2025
Thank you to Netgalley and Raegan Revord for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!!
Hmm. I’m not sure how to feel about this book. I’m a big fan of Raegan Revord’s acting, however this book just didn’t hit home for me. I felt as thought I was reading a Wattpad fan fiction almost the entire book. I appreciated the nods to other romance books such as “Red, White and Royal Blue” or “Love Actually”, but it just didn’t hit like I thought it would.
Let’s start with the good things!
- The descriptions the author provided were pretty good. I love reading about the castle towards the end of the novel, or the outfits specifically Charlie was wearing throughout.
- The characters had such diversity and were really easy to relate to. I really loved Maddi’s story, and I think Colin’s EDS mention was awesome as someone who has EDS in my family!
- The emotions Avery went through during her first year at Brighton were very consistent with a freshman in college.
- There was a cat!! Need I say more? We need more Circe content.
The middle:
- The writing is consistent with a 17 year old. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing or a good thing, I think it’s definitely up to the reader!
- It was fast. Like REALLY FAST. I couldn’t keep up at times!
The bad:
- Why did Avery abandon the hunt at the end? To me, she didn’t seem like a character who would’ve done that. I think we lost a lot of plot there.
- There were some points where I had to go back and reread a few paragraphs. I was a little confused during some conversations and interactions.
- It was cliche and predictable. Of course, many romance novels are, however I could’ve predicted the ending as soon as we met Charlie.
- As I mentioned earlier, this felt very much like a Wattpad fan fic. I can’t get that thought out of my head.
Overall, I thought it was cute but I probably wouldn’t pick it up again. It was lackluster for me.
Hmm. I’m not sure how to feel about this book. I’m a big fan of Raegan Revord’s acting, however this book just didn’t hit home for me. I felt as thought I was reading a Wattpad fan fiction almost the entire book. I appreciated the nods to other romance books such as “Red, White and Royal Blue” or “Love Actually”, but it just didn’t hit like I thought it would.
Let’s start with the good things!
- The descriptions the author provided were pretty good. I love reading about the castle towards the end of the novel, or the outfits specifically Charlie was wearing throughout.
- The characters had such diversity and were really easy to relate to. I really loved Maddi’s story, and I think Colin’s EDS mention was awesome as someone who has EDS in my family!
- The emotions Avery went through during her first year at Brighton were very consistent with a freshman in college.
- There was a cat!! Need I say more? We need more Circe content.
The middle:
- The writing is consistent with a 17 year old. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing or a good thing, I think it’s definitely up to the reader!
- It was fast. Like REALLY FAST. I couldn’t keep up at times!
The bad:
- Why did Avery abandon the hunt at the end? To me, she didn’t seem like a character who would’ve done that. I think we lost a lot of plot there.
- There were some points where I had to go back and reread a few paragraphs. I was a little confused during some conversations and interactions.
- It was cliche and predictable. Of course, many romance novels are, however I could’ve predicted the ending as soon as we met Charlie.
- As I mentioned earlier, this felt very much like a Wattpad fan fic. I can’t get that thought out of my head.
Overall, I thought it was cute but I probably wouldn’t pick it up again. It was lackluster for me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 6, 2025
Thank you netgalley and Raegan Revord for the arc. I love the concept of this book and found it to be a great read for vacation! When I saw the book took place in London I knew I had to read it on my trip. While I thoroughly enjoyed it there were small plot holes in the book leaving out minor details.
Avery Blackwell has given up her dream of going to Columbia to go to the college her mother went to. After receiving a post card from her mother before her death she set off for London to find one last scavenger hunt from her mom to feel her connection.
Avery Blackwell has given up her dream of going to Columbia to go to the college her mother went to. After receiving a post card from her mother before her death she set off for London to find one last scavenger hunt from her mom to feel her connection.
April 23, 2025
I can’t wait for this to come out i bet it will be the best book ever written!!!!!
June 12, 2025
This book started out very strong. I found the first half so gripping, but around the second half wasn't as interesting to me. In my opinion it could have used more editing, but it's still great.
This ARC has an insane number of typos. More than I've seen in any ARC I've ever read. I assume that the copy/editor is going to review it before it hits shelves.
This ARC has an insane number of typos. More than I've seen in any ARC I've ever read. I assume that the copy/editor is going to review it before it hits shelves.
December 15, 2025
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this book!
Anyone who knows me knows i’m a huge fan of the fake dating trope, so this book had me hooked right away!
The characters were incredibly diverse and relatable, with different backgrounds, identities, and personal stories that kept me engaged. The portrayal of grief, especially through Avery and her dad, felt very real, especially from my perspective of someone who could relate so heavily, and I appreciated the realistic depiction of growing apart from childhood friends, like Avery and Amira.
This book is full of queer joy and found family, perfect for fans of Alice Oseman or Casey McQuiston (Heartstopper and Red White & Royal Blue References I see you). I absolutely loved it and only wish there was more! Definitely hoping for a sequel about Avery and Charlie.
An impressive debut from Raegan, and I can't wait to read more from them. Highly recommend! It made me laugh, cry, and smile.
Anyone who knows me knows i’m a huge fan of the fake dating trope, so this book had me hooked right away!
The characters were incredibly diverse and relatable, with different backgrounds, identities, and personal stories that kept me engaged. The portrayal of grief, especially through Avery and her dad, felt very real, especially from my perspective of someone who could relate so heavily, and I appreciated the realistic depiction of growing apart from childhood friends, like Avery and Amira.
This book is full of queer joy and found family, perfect for fans of Alice Oseman or Casey McQuiston (Heartstopper and Red White & Royal Blue References I see you). I absolutely loved it and only wish there was more! Definitely hoping for a sequel about Avery and Charlie.
An impressive debut from Raegan, and I can't wait to read more from them. Highly recommend! It made me laugh, cry, and smile.
June 28, 2025
I was very grateful to receive an Advance Reader Copy of this book!
This was a very quick and easy read! The story itself was super relatable, but the characters could have used a little more developing to feel more of a connection to each of them. A few scenes were a bit rushed and I was left feeling like the author could have spent a little more time developing them to draw me in and make me feel more invested. However, overall I really enjoyed the story and by the end I was really rooting for Avery and Charlie!
This was a very quick and easy read! The story itself was super relatable, but the characters could have used a little more developing to feel more of a connection to each of them. A few scenes were a bit rushed and I was left feeling like the author could have spent a little more time developing them to draw me in and make me feel more invested. However, overall I really enjoyed the story and by the end I was really rooting for Avery and Charlie!
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