Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

#Love Wins #1

Fake the Date

Rate this book
Needed: Fake boyfriend for destination wedding

I came out to my parents when I was fifteen. Sadly, this has never stopped my mother from finding lovely young women for me to date. My sister suggests I bring my own date to her destination wedding. Problem is, I don't know how to find dates. The only man I've spoken to recently is my roommate. My way too hot--straight--roommate. My sister says I should ask him to play my boyfriend. It'll be fun, she says.

Now I'm sitting next to him on a plane and I constantly have to adjust myself so he doesn't notice that I'm into him.

In a few hours we'll be at our hotel, sharing the only bed in the room.

I don't know how I'll survive this wedding without exploding.

I do know I'll never listen to my sister again.

Fake the Date is a 60,000 word standalone m/m romance with little angst and lots of laughter, featuring a tropical island paradise, a not-so-fake relationship, bisexual awakening, a sassy dog and happy endings. Buy now if you need a vacation!

255 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 19, 2020

227 people are currently reading
536 people want to read

About the author

Ana Byrde

10 books74 followers

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
392 (28%)
4 stars
514 (37%)
3 stars
365 (26%)
2 stars
85 (6%)
1 star
25 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 185 reviews
Profile Image for chantel .
95 reviews19 followers
January 19, 2021
This was really sweet, but it kind of lost me around 75%. I still really enjoyed, but a few personal niggles got in the way.

The first sex scene was unrealistic and lacklustre. Come on guys, make prep just as good as the sex! When there’s one paragraph of prep, it leaves a sour taste in my mouth. My goodness, he was a virgin! You can’t just easily stick a few fingers in and then your dick, and there was no pain and discomfort for him whatsoever! Ugh. I mean, I’m not a man, but still. I enjoy reading about the before-moments and prep sometimes more than the sex itself. That’s just my personal preference.

Overall, it made me smile. This is a perfect vacation book that you can lose yourself in. I would’ve liked to see more chemistry between the characters. I loved Toto the dog. I didn’t like all the Instagram talk.

I also wasn’t buying them “falling” for each other in such a short amount of time. They weren’t really THAT close as roommates.

I enjoyed most parts. But I don’t have the urge to finish it. I don’t care enough about their “relationship” to read the ending. That’s sad. Oh well, you win some, you lose some.
Profile Image for Demon.
208 reviews53 followers
June 1, 2021
Felt like I was reading a book written by a teenager...
Profile Image for Meep.
2,171 reviews230 followers
July 30, 2021
Switch your brain off, don't look too close and the first half is a light amusing read. But it gets worse.

It's all very teenage, not just the characters (21) but the writing and attitudes of the book. The big moralle is freeing yourself of your parents, oh but not too quickly. Flying business class instead of first class/private jet is sacrifice enough. The adults are all written as being very childish in manner.

They rescued a dog without a home inspection or the shelter telling them the dog was deaf?

Evan who is sofa surfing applies to be roommate in a luxury apartment despite (ignore the pesky Trust fund, principles matter more than not mooching off people) only having an income from Instagram! Oh but it's free lodge..

Ben's parent's are super mean and controlling because they set him up with women, although he's never complained about this before and lives in luxury thanks to their money. Reading 'but then he might have to get a job, he didn't know how to get a job' REALLY doesn't endear me to a cute ever blushing 21yr old character when I'm fresh home from a long busy night shift and reading to unwind.

The true relationship here is between Evan and Instagram. Yes I'm old, I survive without Instagram, I can eat, drink and $£@& without sharing it. He goes from straight to gay to gay sex guru, mainly thanks to google with no self question, possibly some Instagram question.

The ultimate test to whether your straight fake boyfriend is actually gay is to get him drunk and blow him. That is not OK Ben.

Characters are introduced, get a brief scene then are forgotten; aunty aka crazy lady who'll die and leave them money yay?/awww?, and the ex-girlfriend who said at least two words.

So yeah, throw off your parents and money isn't everything...except that it is, I mean the cute quiet 'plain' wedding was on a private island, even if it wasn't the main resort private island and you'd need a whole lot of money to get it arranged even if you didn't wear a fancy dress. And the money for a few years of learning to care for cute animals would also have come from them....

By the end I found the characters and scenario incredibly annoying. Two stars as the first half was unrealistic but amusing. Do wonder if the author is a teenager.
Profile Image for Ed Davis.
2,920 reviews101 followers
August 1, 2021
This was a fun read. It’s light with very low angst. The main characters are cute and sweet.
Profile Image for the kevin (vaguely alive).
972 reviews178 followers
January 23, 2021
This ended up being more on the meh side for me.

1. the relationship

This started as a fake relationship between a gay guy (with unrequited crush) and his straight roommate. It changed very very rapidly, mainly on the sexuality side. Like pretty much instantly. This really dialed down the fake relationship tension, since Evan was pretty much gung-ho on the physical stuff immediately, even if he questions his orientation a little.

2. social media and reddit

Evan is apparently a social media influencer, specifically on Instagram. For using this as his livelihood, he seems remarkably incompetent with both managing his brand and actually utilizing platforms. The instagram portion kind of comes and goes from the story. Reddit though...how does he not know to use a throwaway account? An old account isn't the same as a throwaway, babies know these things. It (possibly unreasonably) irked me, especially since that was a main plot instigator point.

It really annoyed me that Evan couldn't manage to do any damage control whatsoever when someone pseudo-outed his fake relationship. He just faffed about until someone else leaked the chat transcripts from reddit, and then all was sunshine and daisies. I thought they'd do like an instagram live explaining them going from fake to real, bc instagram followers would probably love that. but no.

3. the external plot

The external/non-relationship plot felt fairly random, and all over the place. The worries about Evan leaving to couch surf in SF, the dual family drama, the random gay but closeted cousin, Ben's future career things, etc. It was just a little too much for me. Oliver (closeted) felt...unnecessary, mostly as a tool to have Ben jumpstart the physical relationship with Evan. A token presence. Oh and I suppose he brought Jenny (Evan's high school ex) into the picture, though she also seemed to only be present to deliver a single line to Evan.

Evan sort of reconnecting with his sister after being incommunicado for years felt tacked on. Same with the little scene with his parents, just to show they were dicks. It made sense to show Ben's parents being dicks since that was a central plot point here, but the hissy fit for Evan's family didn't fit for me.

Maybe some of the issues here was just a lack of connection between the scenes. I know it was mentioned how these things came about, but it ...still didn't feel like it fit. At the end of the book it felt like random scenes being dropped in.

4. where did aunt whoever go

I forgot her name already but she was probably the best character. I wish she'd been around more in the plot, especially with what she did at the end. Felt a little fairy-godmother-ish which isn't as fun as a present-snark aunt.

5. the characters

Ben fell into the blushing-stammering-insecure mold, which is really starting to grate on my nerves. Obviously the wide usage of this character build isn't the authors fault, but it makes for pretty boring reading. A cookie cutter character. Blushes non stop, can't form sentences around crush, very clumsy around crush, etc.

Evan didn't really have much of interest going for him. I knew about him, but he felt a little cardboard to me.

Overall, not terribly exciting or inspired, a little too busy on the plot and subplots, fake relationship lost tension immediately. Meh.
Profile Image for Leslie.
1,190 reviews305 followers
Read
October 28, 2020
DNF. Had potential but did not feel developed enough. A tad too insta love for my liking. But I know there are fans of that out there so this might be a plus for you!
Profile Image for Paige (TheBookVulture).
341 reviews64 followers
July 24, 2021
I don’t know. Reading that blurb I thought this book would be right up my alley. But it was just… bad. Really bad. Infuriatingly bad.

I genuinely got furious with all the “I’m not gay” “why do I like this I’m not gay” “I’m straight as a ruler” “let me google how to have gay sex” bullshit. Like seriously? It’s literally insane the amount of times the word ‘gay’ is used. Barely even used terms like ‘bisexual’ or even *gasp* anal sex. Nope. Just gay this, gay that, and gay sex. Fucking infuriating.

Aunt something was probably the most interesting character and she was only in one scene. I’m not kidding. She didn’t even get a mention during the wedding festivities. That’s why I can’t remember her name.

All the important/mildly interesting scenes were so rushed. I mean, the whole story was rushed (yay instalove /s) but yeah any scene that I actually kind of wanted to see play out was squished into a tiny work count and just became boring and rushed.

Also side note, what kind of shelter doesn’t disclose that an animal is deaf/have some other kind of disability or illness at the time of adoption?
Profile Image for drew.
216 reviews118 followers
November 30, 2020
love this trope but the writing left a lot to be desired quite frankly.
Profile Image for Ali.
2,100 reviews18 followers
October 29, 2020
I really enjoyed this story. Ben is such an introverted sweetheart and when faced with his parents he does what is easiest, he just suffers through. When his sister puts the idea of bringing his roommate as his date he can’t seem to stop thinking about it. Evan readily agrees to help his shy roommate but starts to realize that he wants to protect him and maybe do even more with him. I thought Ben’s attempt to seduce Evan was entertaining as there was no seducing needed. I thought these two were adorable and I adore Ben’s aunt and what she did for him.

I received a copy of this book and am giving an honest review
Profile Image for T.H. Compton.
Author 11 books65 followers
March 26, 2021
5⭐️ Story
5 ⭐️ Audio- John Solo

The fake boyfriend troupe is not usually one I’ve gravitated towards, but this book was just what I needed. Ben is so adorably awkward and Evan was just such a good guy. This was a sweet story that just made me feel good. Normally the fake boyfriend/straight guy falling for the gay friend is sort of over the top, but these two were already close and Evan already looked out for Ben. The relationship that blossomed between these two just flowed and made sense. I really enjoyed the duo of Ana Byrde and John Solo. They definitely didn’t disappoint.
Profile Image for Julia (bookish.jka).
952 reviews305 followers
October 24, 2020
I loved it! Fake boyfriend, gfy trope (which is one of my faves) with a HEA - what’s not to love?💕

4.5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Profile Image for rayy ♡.
105 reviews23 followers
December 29, 2023
Wow! It's been FOREVER since I've read fake dating! I didn't realize how much I've made it missed it.

This book is not perfect. I think the writing could be better but it did its job. It made me giggle and the characters are so likeable. Evan has zero toxicity in his body and I love that man so much. Ben's also pretty amazing. It was a nice low-angsty experience.
Profile Image for ButtonsMom2003.
3,832 reviews32 followers
January 3, 2021
Audiobook Review:
Overall – 5
Performance – 5
Story – 5

Great Fake Boyfriend Story!

Fake the Date is the first book I’ve read by Ana Byrde and I really liked the story a lot. The fake boyfriend trope is one I really enjoy and she did a great job with this one.

John Solo’s excellent performance of the story had me hanging on every word and I listened to it straight through once I started it.

This may be my first book by Ana Byrde but it won’t be my last.

A complimentary copy of this audiobook was provided to me but my review was voluntary and not influenced by the author and/or narrator.
Profile Image for Hemmel M..
806 reviews53 followers
January 9, 2021
This story was ruined by the performance. J Solo choose to give Ben such a whiny, squirming, wavering voice, I did not last more than an hour. I like male adults to sound like male adults.
Profile Image for Penumbra.
1,204 reviews19 followers
September 7, 2023
Fake the Date is the first book in the ‘Love Wins’ series. It stars Ben and Evan. This is told in first person from both Ben and Evan’s povs.

2.5 Stars

This is a fluffy, quick read about a fake boyfriend at a destination wedding. The blurb does a basic job of explaining what the plot is about. Pretty much it’s about the sexual tension between Ben and Evan, overbearing parents, and a subplot of hidden treasure that is just filler for the story. Ben has a crush on Evan, but Evan is straight or so Evan insists.

A few things I didn’t like about the writing, was it was simplistic, more like a New Adult, rather than Adult, read. There was too much monologue, and both men’s voices sounded the same. The only way to tell them apart was by their mannerisms. Numerous times I had to go back and check the title designation which told whose pov the chapter was in. There was a lot of repetitive dialogue on Ben and Evan’s part. Ben reminding himself he shouldn’t fall for a straight guy, and Evan would never want an ordinary guy like him. Evan kept insisting he was straight to himself, to Ben and to people on Instagram. The repetition could have been removed and made the book flow better. There was also this strange habit of while in either Ben or Evan's pov, they'd mention how they knew what the other person was thinking and then explaining it. There's no way they'd know that. It was used as a crutch by the author to convey information by 'telling' instead of showing the information. There was too much telling so I couldn't emphasize with the MC's. Ben’s mother was the typical b****h in an M/M story which I don’t like. There wasn’t any nuance to her character.

As to Ben and Evan. Evan has an Instagram account on fitness. He also seems to like attention and talks too much about personal stuff involving Ben. Evan insists he’s straight but eventually realizes he’s bi. I got the feeling that he didn’t necessarily like that idea. If he could be straight, he’d have preferred that, but because he was attracted to Ben, he was bi, but never had sex with a man. Evan struck me as superficial, but more confident and extroverted than Ben. He did stand up for Ben, which was a good trait Evan had. Ben was an introvert, a virgin, and acquiesced to his parents’ demands. He liked the money his parents gave him to live on, but didn’t like the lack of freedom making his own decisions. Once Ben and Evan got together, Ben grew more confident and finally stood up to his mother. That was a good influence Evan had on Ben. I couldn’t believe in the two as a pair. The writing felt forced to make them a couple.

Overall, Fake the Date was an okay read. I liked their dog, Toto, Ben’s sister Charlie, along with Aunt Rosy, the best. Which says something if I don’t care that much for the main characters and prefer the side characters. I’d like to give this story 2.5 stars, but since I can’t, I’ll give it, 3 Stars, but I wouldn’t recommend it, nor would I read it again.
Profile Image for Mere Rain.
Author 31 books34 followers
Read
August 2, 2021
This is a pretty classic fake-date romance with a large dollop of friends-to-lovers.
Cute and sweet. I was glad that the author didn't go for a .
Profile Image for sky.
652 reviews80 followers
December 4, 2020
2.5

started off good but i got bored around 70% 🤧🤧 low angst no relationship drama just outside drama (parents being a dick, etc)
Profile Image for Emma.
906 reviews58 followers
August 28, 2021
DNF - normally I give a dnf one star because I finish mist books unless they are truly dreadful. This is a rare exception. I liked the beginning but got progressively more bored and at 80% just never felt like picking it up again.
Profile Image for E.Muddle.
1,408 reviews22 followers
October 22, 2020
This is a very sweet and fluffy fake boyfriends/friends to lovers story. It is just what I needed at this time - two adorable guys who fall head over heels in love with each other. Ben is adorable and shy, and has had a hopeless crush on his straight roommate, Evan, since the moment they met. Evan is, of course, completely clueless, although he does feel a strong pull towards Ben, and a need to be there for him. I really liked Evan's character and everything he did for Ben was just so swoon-worthy and sweet. The evolution of realising his feelings was handled well, and it is refreshing how he embraced his attraction. Although not always realistic, it the perfect read for some sweet, steamy fun, with a lovely HEA.
37 reviews1 follower
December 18, 2020
Only giving it a star at all because I have to. I'm all for the fake boyfriend trope, but this was just baaaaaaad. None of the characters behaved like real people. And also, trying to get someone drunk so you can mess around with them is just gross.
Profile Image for Tj.
1,727 reviews20 followers
April 27, 2021
Cute lighthearted entertainment. Ben’s parents are homophobic snobs who treat their children like objects they own. Ben finds love and the courage to stand up against the hate.

Hilarious part is the family fortune is built on toilet paper.

Profile Image for Susi June.
277 reviews1 follower
November 18, 2025
It was okay. It was a relatively cute insta-love story between a fitness himbo and a super shy guy.

That description of a book would sound perfect for me normally but I didn't fully vibe with this one. The attraction came totally out of left field, no real build up. He went from totally straight to sexually interested and in love fairly quick.

The book started with a fucking hook up between an mc and a random woman. Okay they didn't hook up but the intention was there and that was enough to sour the book for me. It's a huge book red flag for me. I get why she was introduced, so you have a vindictive bitch but ugh still I HATE IT.

Some things were mentioned that I disliked too. One mc said how stupid gay terms were like bear, Twink etc. and I just don't think a female author has the right to say something like that. Another comment was something like 'they made a cute couple even if she was taller than him in heels'. I'm just so bored with these types of statements. Appreciate a short king.
I hate it when basically everybody ignores bisexuality in sexual awakening books.

Overall it was not a bad book. A very easy read with fast paced chapters. A great palette cleanser.
Profile Image for Ashley D.
1,358 reviews11 followers
July 31, 2022
Ben needs a date for his sisters destination wedding, but he is so shy that there is no way he could possibly find a guy before the wedding. His sister suggest he brings his roommate Evan. Evan agrees to go, because how hard could it be to fake being guy. Evan starts to realize that he really likes Ben, especially once they are around Ben's family and all Evan wants to do is protect him.

This was a really sweet book, both Ben and Evan wore adorable. For me Ben's aunt stole the show, she was fun and just let the boys be who they were.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 185 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.