What do you think?
Rate this book
Taste of Port Andrea #1
Fake It
To spark interest in Avery’s restaurant, and to revitalize Holly’s image, a fake relationship is the answer to both their problems. And the start of a pressing new falling in love. Avery Lindt finally opened her dream restaurant—and there’s no customers. She’s staying optimistic, she’s confident she can fake it till she makes it, roll with the punches, and find a way to save her luxury restaurant, Paramour. But it gets harder when she gets restaurant mogul and star chef Mike Wallace angry, and finds herself on the other end of a campaign to shut down Paramour. Celebrity chef Holly Mason’s show is in people are bored with her routine of helping struggling restaurants. Worse, her ex-boyfriend Mike Wallace is making backdoor deals trying to steal the starring role. Luckily, Holly’s agent Tay has a ditch her show plans for the season, throw their lot in with luxury restaurant Paramour against Mike Wallace’s racketeering operation of a restaurant partnership. The cherry on top? A fake relationship between Holly and Avery to stir up drama. It would already be a mess if Holly and Avery weren’t already struggling to hold back their attraction for one another. Despite their promise not to date, the lines between acting and reality get awfully blurry sometimes. Fake It is an 80,000-word fake-dating celebrity romance between a disillusioned TV cooking star and a bright-eyed restaurant owner who’s sure she can manifest a solution to her hard times if she believes hard enough. Features an agent named Tay who calls their brilliant ideas “inspir-Tay-tion,” plenty of descriptions of food that made me hungry while I wrote the book, and a cute bisexual trans girl who gets to fall in love. Content warnings for open-door sex scenes that get a little bit kinky, a gross man who won’t stop calling his ex-girlfriend babe , and sapphics getting in the way of their own feelings, like they always do.
462 pages, Paperback
First published August 6, 2021
80 people are currently reading
1100 people want to read
About the author
Lily Seabrooke
37 books336 followersLily Seabrooke is a lesbian, trans woman, and author of sapphic romance that stars food, because odds are, at any given time, she's hungry.
Her interests include eating food, thinking about food, writing novels about food, and drinking coffee.
Her interests include eating food, thinking about food, writing novels about food, and drinking coffee.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 113 reviews
August 4, 2021
I think this story is the first romance I read with a trans MC. I’ve encountered a few secondary trans characters but, as far as I can remember, never a main character, never the woman who gets to find the love of her life.
Fake it till you make it is Avery Lindt’s motto and it usually works out for her. She moved to Port Andrea to open her restaurant but despite her optimism, the future doesn’t look so good, and it gets worse when she gets into an argument with Mike Wallace, a very powerful restaurant owner and Youtube celebrity. Holly Mason’s TV show Kitchen Rescue needs rescuing as much as the restaurants she features on her show, in part due to a smear campaign orchestrated by no other than Mike. When Holly’s agent tricks her into faking a romance with Avery in order to expose Mike’s wrongdoings, both women first refuse then come to see his point. An actual mutual attraction shouldn’t be a problem since neither feels in the right place for a relationship anyway. What starts as a fake relationship turns into friends with benefits turns into more because that’s how these things go, right?
This is my third book by Lily Seabrooke and if there’s one thing I’ve come to expect from her, it’s characters you’ll want to root for. Avery is adorable and self-conscious and much more willing to believe in magic teleportation than beautiful, self-assured Holly being attracted to her. Holly knows exactly how to make Avery blush and, when the time comes, she knows how to make Avery do a lot more than blush.
I mentioned Avery being trans. I love how it’s a huge part of her story but not a huge part of the story. The story is the romance between Avery and Holly. But who Avery is is fundamental to the story.
The author is a trans woman herself, who has already written many sapphic romance novels and Avery is her first trans lead. I sure hope she – and others – keeps writing trans characters as lovely (or not) as Avery. I’d love to remember this sweet – and hot – romance as my first one with a trans lead, and not as the only one.
There’s a lot of food and a lot of (incredibly hot) sex in Fake It, and I’m not complaining about either. I really enjoyed the taking-the-villain-down part as well. Despite a few editing issues, there’s an energy to Seabrooke’s writing that makes me want to keep reading and spend more time with the characters.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Fake it till you make it is Avery Lindt’s motto and it usually works out for her. She moved to Port Andrea to open her restaurant but despite her optimism, the future doesn’t look so good, and it gets worse when she gets into an argument with Mike Wallace, a very powerful restaurant owner and Youtube celebrity. Holly Mason’s TV show Kitchen Rescue needs rescuing as much as the restaurants she features on her show, in part due to a smear campaign orchestrated by no other than Mike. When Holly’s agent tricks her into faking a romance with Avery in order to expose Mike’s wrongdoings, both women first refuse then come to see his point. An actual mutual attraction shouldn’t be a problem since neither feels in the right place for a relationship anyway. What starts as a fake relationship turns into friends with benefits turns into more because that’s how these things go, right?
This is my third book by Lily Seabrooke and if there’s one thing I’ve come to expect from her, it’s characters you’ll want to root for. Avery is adorable and self-conscious and much more willing to believe in magic teleportation than beautiful, self-assured Holly being attracted to her. Holly knows exactly how to make Avery blush and, when the time comes, she knows how to make Avery do a lot more than blush.
I mentioned Avery being trans. I love how it’s a huge part of her story but not a huge part of the story. The story is the romance between Avery and Holly. But who Avery is is fundamental to the story.
The author is a trans woman herself, who has already written many sapphic romance novels and Avery is her first trans lead. I sure hope she – and others – keeps writing trans characters as lovely (or not) as Avery. I’d love to remember this sweet – and hot – romance as my first one with a trans lead, and not as the only one.
There’s a lot of food and a lot of (incredibly hot) sex in Fake It, and I’m not complaining about either. I really enjoyed the taking-the-villain-down part as well. Despite a few editing issues, there’s an energy to Seabrooke’s writing that makes me want to keep reading and spend more time with the characters.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
July 11, 2021
So anyone that has paid a bit of attention to my book reviews or just heard me talk about lesfic knows how much I want more trans visibility in our preferred genre of books. Since I began reading primarily lesbian fiction I've read hundreds of romance novels but I can count on my hands how many feature trans women. And as a trans woman who loves romance novels, and is in a long term relationship with a cis woman- I crave reading about a relationship that looks like mine, as the opportunity just does not come very often. So when I was given the opportunity to be one of the first people to read and review Fake It by Lily Seabrook, a trans woman writing lesbian fiction, releasing her first novel featuring a trans lead, I absolutely jumped at it and skipped the line of other books I'm planning on reading. Plus, I'm a fan of Seabrooke's in general so it's not like it was a hardship.
This book is about Avery Lindt and Holly Mason. Avery has just opened up a fine dining restaurant named the Paramour, and while things are a little slow slow to get of the ground, the food is excellent and the building and views are great. So success is sure to eventually come. Until Avery ends up on the wrong side of restaurateur and entrepreneur Mike Wallace, who holds a vendetta against Avery after she rebuffs his over to take over her restaurant- so he begins to sabotage her. Holly Mason is a celebrity chef and ex-girlfriend of Mike Wallace. Holly is feeling some major burnout of her cooking show where she helps failing restaurants get back on their feet. When Holly hears about what is happening to the Paramour, especially as it is Mike causing it, she decides to get involved and help. But when news gets released that Holly and Avery are also dating, they decide to steer into the skid and see how it helps raise both of their profiles. If only they could actually keep their eyes off each other too...
Outside of this book meaning a lot to me for personal reasons I really enjoyed it too! This was a fun little fake dating story with a lot of food and a bad guy to take down.
The characters were really interesting and fleshed out. Avery is very passionate about many things, but most importantly she believes in manifesting your vision and goals and they will happen for you. And Holly is really interesting as well, as she is a famous chef- but hasn't had the easiest time getting there and hasn't had real passion in a while and needs to find it again. I really liked watching these characters come together and grow together.
I enjoyed the minor characters as well. Liv, Avery's friend and server at the Paramour was really great and I loved Avery taking Liv under her wing. Liv is straight and cis in the book, but in trans communities there is the concept of trans parenthood where an older trans person helps you along your beginning transition struggles. And while it's not an apples to apples comparison, I saw a lot of that in this relationship between Avery and Liv.
I also really enjoyed Tay, Holly's agent. They were a hoot to read about and how if Tay wanted something done, it happened. And Mike Wallace was a villain you just love to hate.
I also really associated with Avery on a personal level. In the book Avery talks about how she found her passion for fine dining at a similar time as she was going through her transition and rebuilding her life, and that just really hit home for me. After I graduated with my undergrad degree, I got a job in my career field working in a church. But I (obviously) lost that job when I came out and knew I needed to transition if I was ever going to be happy. And when that started I worked in restaurants for several years trying to find my own way. And while I have a new career that I love, and didn't find a passion for fine dining like Avery did, I really did feel the association of working with food can be a way to really find yourself and give you an opportunity to build yourself up. This is of course anecdotal and I doubt many others will get that personal connection with this book that I did, but this did really hit me.
I'm realizing as I'm writing this review that I'm talking about trans based elements of this book, and that's interesting as while it is a part of this book, it's actually relatively minor point all things considered. The plot points with the fake relationship, the TV show, the Paramour's struggles, and Mike's underhanded dealings all have larger direct rolls in the plot of this book. I guess the trans parts are sticking out in my brain more.
The plot of this book was pretty fun. This is a fake dating book and those are always pretty enjoyable, and the way they stumbled into being in a scenario where they pretended to date was pretty funny. And watching the two of them try so hard not to flirt with each other was a delight.
If I were to have any critiques, I would have liked to see more of what was going on in the show Avery and Holly were filming together, the filming got talked about a fair amount, but we rarely got to see what was actually happening- especially as The Paramour's problems weren't really food related but external problems. Seeing the plans to solve them might have been fun. Also things could be a tad cheesy at times, but this is a romance novel about food- cheese is to be expected.
I really enjoyed this book. I think Seabrooke continues to improve as a writer. It's fun, it was meaningful to me, and all of the food references made me as a Taurus very hungry. 4.5/5
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This book is about Avery Lindt and Holly Mason. Avery has just opened up a fine dining restaurant named the Paramour, and while things are a little slow slow to get of the ground, the food is excellent and the building and views are great. So success is sure to eventually come. Until Avery ends up on the wrong side of restaurateur and entrepreneur Mike Wallace, who holds a vendetta against Avery after she rebuffs his over to take over her restaurant- so he begins to sabotage her. Holly Mason is a celebrity chef and ex-girlfriend of Mike Wallace. Holly is feeling some major burnout of her cooking show where she helps failing restaurants get back on their feet. When Holly hears about what is happening to the Paramour, especially as it is Mike causing it, she decides to get involved and help. But when news gets released that Holly and Avery are also dating, they decide to steer into the skid and see how it helps raise both of their profiles. If only they could actually keep their eyes off each other too...
Outside of this book meaning a lot to me for personal reasons I really enjoyed it too! This was a fun little fake dating story with a lot of food and a bad guy to take down.
The characters were really interesting and fleshed out. Avery is very passionate about many things, but most importantly she believes in manifesting your vision and goals and they will happen for you. And Holly is really interesting as well, as she is a famous chef- but hasn't had the easiest time getting there and hasn't had real passion in a while and needs to find it again. I really liked watching these characters come together and grow together.
I enjoyed the minor characters as well. Liv, Avery's friend and server at the Paramour was really great and I loved Avery taking Liv under her wing. Liv is straight and cis in the book, but in trans communities there is the concept of trans parenthood where an older trans person helps you along your beginning transition struggles. And while it's not an apples to apples comparison, I saw a lot of that in this relationship between Avery and Liv.
I also really enjoyed Tay, Holly's agent. They were a hoot to read about and how if Tay wanted something done, it happened. And Mike Wallace was a villain you just love to hate.
I also really associated with Avery on a personal level. In the book Avery talks about how she found her passion for fine dining at a similar time as she was going through her transition and rebuilding her life, and that just really hit home for me. After I graduated with my undergrad degree, I got a job in my career field working in a church. But I (obviously) lost that job when I came out and knew I needed to transition if I was ever going to be happy. And when that started I worked in restaurants for several years trying to find my own way. And while I have a new career that I love, and didn't find a passion for fine dining like Avery did, I really did feel the association of working with food can be a way to really find yourself and give you an opportunity to build yourself up. This is of course anecdotal and I doubt many others will get that personal connection with this book that I did, but this did really hit me.
I'm realizing as I'm writing this review that I'm talking about trans based elements of this book, and that's interesting as while it is a part of this book, it's actually relatively minor point all things considered. The plot points with the fake relationship, the TV show, the Paramour's struggles, and Mike's underhanded dealings all have larger direct rolls in the plot of this book. I guess the trans parts are sticking out in my brain more.
The plot of this book was pretty fun. This is a fake dating book and those are always pretty enjoyable, and the way they stumbled into being in a scenario where they pretended to date was pretty funny. And watching the two of them try so hard not to flirt with each other was a delight.
If I were to have any critiques, I would have liked to see more of what was going on in the show Avery and Holly were filming together, the filming got talked about a fair amount, but we rarely got to see what was actually happening- especially as The Paramour's problems weren't really food related but external problems. Seeing the plans to solve them might have been fun. Also things could be a tad cheesy at times, but this is a romance novel about food- cheese is to be expected.
I really enjoyed this book. I think Seabrooke continues to improve as a writer. It's fun, it was meaningful to me, and all of the food references made me as a Taurus very hungry. 4.5/5
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
August 26, 2021
I love Lily's writing! Her books just make me so happy. Celebrity romance and fake dating are two of my favorite tropes, and Fake It didn't disappoint. This is also the first book I've read with a trans lead, which I so enjoyed. Overall, a delightful book!
dnf
August 11, 2021DNF @ 73% - I dunno guys I just lost interest in the story at about the 70% mark so instead of forcing it, I am moving on to a new book. No rating, cuz I think it's just me.
May 27, 2022
This was really cute (and hot). I’ve wanted to read this one for a while and I blasted right through it. Both leads were very likeable, and the romance was fun and steamy and sweet all at the same time. It’s my first from this author but it won’t be the last.
November 6, 2021
"Fake It" is my first book by Lily Seabrooke. It's a great, entertaining read with diverse characters and an interesting plot. It's well written and funny at times. I will definitely read more from this author.
January 9, 2022
How in the world was I supposed to not fall in love with her? How? How was this friends-with-benefits arrangement simultaneously the most wonderful and the most painful thing to ever happen to me?
SO cute! This was an adorable, sexy, sorta foodie, fake dating romance. Avery is the owner of a new, but struggling luxury restaurant, and Holly is the star of a restaurant renovation/fix it show. With a rival restaurant owner both trying to buy up Avery's place and take over Holly's show, they end up in a fake dating scheme to drum up interest in both Avery's business and the show.
There's always something easy and breezy about the way Seabrooke writes, especially the way she builds relationships. The writing is light, but from the beginning we get such a good foundation and build-up for their romance. There's so much great tension and chemistry between them, and it stretches out just long enough. I LOVE it in romance books when people cook for their love interests, and since both these ladies are chefs... 👌🏿 Avery is freaking adorable, an absolute sunshine girl. Holly is my favourite kind of book girlfriend: caring, likes to tease, but gets really intense in the bedroom. I liked the subplot with the villain (though he was a little one-note) and how Avery being trans wasn't a huge part of the story, but how it nevertheless tied into her confidence and optimism about life.
I had a few nit-picks; it's never the best sign when I find myself wanting to edit a book while I read it. Nothing major, just some overused words/terms and some awkward phrasing. It was a very easy read, but it could have used some more polish. Like I said, the villain was a little one dimensional, and it made the story a little simplistic? But I'm not mad at the way it all turned out. This is a celebrity romance, which I generally don't really like, but honestly, half the time I forgot that Holly was famous, and I was grateful for that. I'm just never really a fan of conversations about fame, and when they did come up in this book, I liked how it was handled.
This was just a delight; reading it just made me real happy! I could read 200 more pages of these ladies.
It felt like a sigh of relief deep inside me every time our lips met, and I needed it to never stop.
September 11, 2021
This was my second Lily Seabrooke book, and it certainly won't be the last! I really enjoyed this book and loved how incidental the trans rep was. I will say I connected with Avery's POV more than Holly's, but I still did really like Holly as well.
November 26, 2021
4.25 stars. Cuuuute!! Love our sunshine girl Avery and I can’t wait to read more from Seabrooke!
August 2, 2021
I‘m a huge fan of Lily‘s books and I am so happy she finally wrote her first story with a trans lead. It’s actually also the first trans story for me and again so happy about it.
I fell in love with Avery right away. Her situation with her restaurant looks so hopeless from the outside and she actually knows as well that not much goes in her favour. But what I love so much about her she doesn’t show it on the outside (at least most of the time). Even if she gets hurt over and over again, she keeps on fighting. And how she does it with a feistiness and sassiness is not only amazing it’s also quite hot.
Holly the TV star and celebrity chef doesn’t know what hit her when she meets Avery for the first time. While she only wanted to see who the woman is that stood up against her horrible ex, she didn’t expect this instant attraction. Which goes both ways.
When Holly‘s agent Tay (I love them so much 😍) has the perfect idea (another great inspirTAYtion) that Holly brings her show in Avery‘s restaurant and they start fake dating the big fun begins. Not that the story wasn’t already funny before because it totally was. But witnessing them spending more and more time together is just even better. Especially because they both try to keep their distance which of course is a lost cause.
And oh my god I think some scenes were actually the most erotic and hottest I have ever read from Lily. Huge compliment for that. I mean Lily always writes the sweetest stories and she totally did that again. But this was a new level together with this heat. I definitely needed to cool down for quite a bit. ☺️
I won’t say more about what happens next because right you just have to read the book. It’s another wonderful read by Lily with characters I loved. And I don’t only mean Holly and Avery. No also Tay is just amazing and hilarious. If you are ever looking for the perfect friend it would be them. 😍 and then there is Liv Avery‘s work colleague but also friend. She definitely will surprise you at some point in the book. And I was amazed once more by Avery how she reacts to this surprise.
And of course because this is book 1 in the Taste of Port Andrea series I‘m already looking forward to the next book. I’m secretly hoping that Liv will find her happiness there.
I received an ARC of this book via booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I fell in love with Avery right away. Her situation with her restaurant looks so hopeless from the outside and she actually knows as well that not much goes in her favour. But what I love so much about her she doesn’t show it on the outside (at least most of the time). Even if she gets hurt over and over again, she keeps on fighting. And how she does it with a feistiness and sassiness is not only amazing it’s also quite hot.
Holly the TV star and celebrity chef doesn’t know what hit her when she meets Avery for the first time. While she only wanted to see who the woman is that stood up against her horrible ex, she didn’t expect this instant attraction. Which goes both ways.
When Holly‘s agent Tay (I love them so much 😍) has the perfect idea (another great inspirTAYtion) that Holly brings her show in Avery‘s restaurant and they start fake dating the big fun begins. Not that the story wasn’t already funny before because it totally was. But witnessing them spending more and more time together is just even better. Especially because they both try to keep their distance which of course is a lost cause.
And oh my god I think some scenes were actually the most erotic and hottest I have ever read from Lily. Huge compliment for that. I mean Lily always writes the sweetest stories and she totally did that again. But this was a new level together with this heat. I definitely needed to cool down for quite a bit. ☺️
I won’t say more about what happens next because right you just have to read the book. It’s another wonderful read by Lily with characters I loved. And I don’t only mean Holly and Avery. No also Tay is just amazing and hilarious. If you are ever looking for the perfect friend it would be them. 😍 and then there is Liv Avery‘s work colleague but also friend. She definitely will surprise you at some point in the book. And I was amazed once more by Avery how she reacts to this surprise.
And of course because this is book 1 in the Taste of Port Andrea series I‘m already looking forward to the next book. I’m secretly hoping that Liv will find her happiness there.
I received an ARC of this book via booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
August 18, 2021
I really enjoyed reading this romance. I have read a few other books with a trans lead and so far this is the one I have enjoyed the most. I really do hope that Lily Seabrooke continues to write more of them.
October 14, 2021
What I really like about this book is
July 11, 2023
I picked up this book because I needed a book for a reality tv prompt and I am counting this kitchen rescue show! I also had a friend who has rec'd this one multiple times on instagram (cough Aster that was you, thanks)!
Fake It follows two chefs: Avery, a new restaurant owner who has crossed the wrong powerful man in town; and Holly, renowned celebrity chef famous for her kitchen rescue show. Holly has been lacking passion for her show and it's on the verge of being taken over by Mike, the asshole who Avery told to shove it. If the two were to team up, maybe they could take Mike down for once and all.
This book surprised me in the best way possible. It was spicy, it had fake dating and two very amazing leading ladies. I really loved the romance between Avery and Holly! I am very curious what the rest of the series will be about! Also Taylor is the best meddling manager ever, I loved them a lot.
Once I started this one, I couldn't put it down. I needed answers more than I wanted to stop reading. I had a big stupid smile on my face the entire time. Avery is a trans woman and I need more trans women in romance books ASAP!! Her can do attitude was one of my favorite parts of the book. I loved seeing her trying to manifest happiness into her life and it just happening. She deserves all the good things 😭. Plus her optimism with Holly's unflappable demeanor was a match made in heaven. I love them together!!
Also did I mention this was spicy!!!! SO SPICY!!
Rep: white sapphic (i think lesbian coded) trans female MC, white bisexual cis female MC (dominant), white nonbinary SC, BIPOC SC, various queer SCs.
CWs: sexual content including BDSM themes, mentions of dysphoria and transphobia, misogyny, sexism.
Fake It follows two chefs: Avery, a new restaurant owner who has crossed the wrong powerful man in town; and Holly, renowned celebrity chef famous for her kitchen rescue show. Holly has been lacking passion for her show and it's on the verge of being taken over by Mike, the asshole who Avery told to shove it. If the two were to team up, maybe they could take Mike down for once and all.
This book surprised me in the best way possible. It was spicy, it had fake dating and two very amazing leading ladies. I really loved the romance between Avery and Holly! I am very curious what the rest of the series will be about! Also Taylor is the best meddling manager ever, I loved them a lot.
Once I started this one, I couldn't put it down. I needed answers more than I wanted to stop reading. I had a big stupid smile on my face the entire time. Avery is a trans woman and I need more trans women in romance books ASAP!! Her can do attitude was one of my favorite parts of the book. I loved seeing her trying to manifest happiness into her life and it just happening. She deserves all the good things 😭. Plus her optimism with Holly's unflappable demeanor was a match made in heaven. I love them together!!
Also did I mention this was spicy!!!! SO SPICY!!
Rep: white sapphic (i think lesbian coded) trans female MC, white bisexual cis female MC (dominant), white nonbinary SC, BIPOC SC, various queer SCs.
CWs: sexual content including BDSM themes, mentions of dysphoria and transphobia, misogyny, sexism.
July 25, 2021
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I love fake dating and I love celebrity romance, and this combines the two! Avery is optimistic and opening her dream restaurant, and Holly is a burnt out celebrity chef who is losing popularity.
I enjoyed both characters, individually and together. They balanced each other well, and I was nice to read their story and see them grow together.
Tay was a good secondary character, and Mike was a decent villain! Seabrooke brings a lot of fun to her characters, and Fake It is no different.
Check it out! And her other books!
I love fake dating and I love celebrity romance, and this combines the two! Avery is optimistic and opening her dream restaurant, and Holly is a burnt out celebrity chef who is losing popularity.
I enjoyed both characters, individually and together. They balanced each other well, and I was nice to read their story and see them grow together.
Tay was a good secondary character, and Mike was a decent villain! Seabrooke brings a lot of fun to her characters, and Fake It is no different.
Check it out! And her other books!
December 6, 2024
A sweet restauranteur story with a cartoonish villian. I only discovered Seabrooke this year but she is becoming on of my favorite lesfic writers. Her humor and general chaos make her reads lots of fun.
The big drama was also very reasonable for the characters and resolved itself in a natural way that felt satisfying for the reader.
If you are looking for a read with a trans woman where the drama is not centered around her being trans you may quite enjoy this!
The big drama was also very reasonable for the characters and resolved itself in a natural way that felt satisfying for the reader.
If you are looking for a read with a trans woman where the drama is not centered around her being trans you may quite enjoy this!
February 17, 2022
I don't know, didn't quite tick the boxes to make this a really good book - dominated by a 'baddie who was always a one dimentional person and the need to succeed in show business- the romance took a bit of a back seat.
July 12, 2021
I am running out of ways of saying, "Lily Seabrooke has done it again," and honestly, it's a great problem to have. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to receive an ARC of Seabrooke's newest book, Fake It (coming 06 August 2021) and I devoured it in a single three hour sitting. It was wonderful.
Avery Lindt has come to Port Andrea to open her dream restaurant. She's confident, optimistic, and ready to make it work, except no one's coming in. Customer patronage has slowed to a crawl and Avery isn't sure how to make it work, she's only sure that she's going to try, despite a sleazy buyout offer from local YouTube celeb and restaurant owner, Mike Wallace. This is Avery's dream, and she's not about to give that up for a man and his overinflated ego.
Holly Mason's career is starting to stagnate. She's bored with her television show of helping floundering restaurants, and the audience can see it. As her popularity drops, her agent cooks up a scheme to help get her re-inspired, or at least add a little excitement to the show: helping Avery's restaurant back into the black AND adding a smidge of Avery and Holly fake dating to rehab Holly's cold and distant reputation.
What follows is a sweet, romantic, and steamy journey from friendship to more than that. Both characters come with their own history, their own depth, and Seabrooke takes us through how Holly and Avery navigate it all, being open and honest (mostly) about their pasts, ideas for the future, and whether or not things will work out between them.
Seabrooke's writing is, as always, an engaging mix of flirtatious and serious. Both main characters are fully fleshed out, and the secondary characters around them all have lives of their own, sometimes much to the surprise of the main characters!
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, and I highly recommend this and all of Seabrooke's writing. If you've never read before, it's a great place to start, and if you're already a fan of her books, then you'd be silly to miss this one.
Note: I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Avery Lindt has come to Port Andrea to open her dream restaurant. She's confident, optimistic, and ready to make it work, except no one's coming in. Customer patronage has slowed to a crawl and Avery isn't sure how to make it work, she's only sure that she's going to try, despite a sleazy buyout offer from local YouTube celeb and restaurant owner, Mike Wallace. This is Avery's dream, and she's not about to give that up for a man and his overinflated ego.
Holly Mason's career is starting to stagnate. She's bored with her television show of helping floundering restaurants, and the audience can see it. As her popularity drops, her agent cooks up a scheme to help get her re-inspired, or at least add a little excitement to the show: helping Avery's restaurant back into the black AND adding a smidge of Avery and Holly fake dating to rehab Holly's cold and distant reputation.
What follows is a sweet, romantic, and steamy journey from friendship to more than that. Both characters come with their own history, their own depth, and Seabrooke takes us through how Holly and Avery navigate it all, being open and honest (mostly) about their pasts, ideas for the future, and whether or not things will work out between them.
Seabrooke's writing is, as always, an engaging mix of flirtatious and serious. Both main characters are fully fleshed out, and the secondary characters around them all have lives of their own, sometimes much to the surprise of the main characters!
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, and I highly recommend this and all of Seabrooke's writing. If you've never read before, it's a great place to start, and if you're already a fan of her books, then you'd be silly to miss this one.
Note: I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
September 20, 2021
This was wonderful. Hadn’t read anything by Seabrooke before, but she’s on my radar now - especially since book two of the “Taste of Port Andrea” series is out later this month. I have already preordered it.
Avery is such a sweet wholesome optimistic person that you cannot help but love her. She doesn’t always (or ever) have a realistic PLAN for achieving her dreams, but, “fake it ‘til you make it” and everything will work out, right? Except her brand new restaurant is failing to launch. Does it have anything to do with telling off sleazy Mike Wallace and refusing to join his restauranteur pyramid scheme? Surely just a coincidence that problems ratchet up for her after that.
Holly is burned out at work and so not into a relationship now, but when her agent tricks her and Avery into trying a public fake romance to energize her career and perhaps save Avery’s restaurant, she and Avery go for it.
They could hardly expect things to get real, right?
Loved the story, loved the secondary characters, loved the romance.
Also quite enjoyed this as the first I’d read with a trans woman as one of the leads. And I was surprised at how sizzling hot the sex scenes were. I had no idea how that would work, and it opened my eyes. Since Seabrooke is a trans woman, I am sure she got it perfect.
As I mentioned, book two in the series - food in the fictional Port Andrea - is coming out later this month. I already have it cued up. This author has my attention.
Avery is such a sweet wholesome optimistic person that you cannot help but love her. She doesn’t always (or ever) have a realistic PLAN for achieving her dreams, but, “fake it ‘til you make it” and everything will work out, right? Except her brand new restaurant is failing to launch. Does it have anything to do with telling off sleazy Mike Wallace and refusing to join his restauranteur pyramid scheme? Surely just a coincidence that problems ratchet up for her after that.
Holly is burned out at work and so not into a relationship now, but when her agent tricks her and Avery into trying a public fake romance to energize her career and perhaps save Avery’s restaurant, she and Avery go for it.
They could hardly expect things to get real, right?
Loved the story, loved the secondary characters, loved the romance.
Also quite enjoyed this as the first I’d read with a trans woman as one of the leads. And I was surprised at how sizzling hot the sex scenes were. I had no idea how that would work, and it opened my eyes. Since Seabrooke is a trans woman, I am sure she got it perfect.
As I mentioned, book two in the series - food in the fictional Port Andrea - is coming out later this month. I already have it cued up. This author has my attention.
August 11, 2021
Lily Seabrooke has not only crafted a wonderful story, but has crafted such a story with a strong, compassionate, intelligent, and all-around wonderful trans main character. Avery might just be one of my favorite main characters of all time. Here's why: 1. She saw the world around her filled with amazing possibilities. 2. She was brave by not only transitioning into the person she was born to be but was brave enough to step out of her comfort zone and open up a luxury restaurant in her favorite city. 3. She was able to be vulnerable on many occasions throughout the book. 4. She saw the good in people despite their flaws (except Mike Wallace and her nasty ex). 5. She was able to make all of her dreams manifest. 6. She overcame obstacles but didn't let them stop her from being persistent. 7.
She was hot!
The dialogue in this book sets it apart from so many others in this genre. While some authors tend to write stale or boring dialogue, Lily Seabrooke wrote this dialogue in a witty and charming manner. Sometimes it was like watching a tennis match between Avery and Holly as they would volley sass back and forth to one another. This book was just a delight to read. There wasn't any unnecessary drama and angst. Just a great story of two women meeting, then working with one another for a common goal, and falling in love along the way.
She was hot!
The dialogue in this book sets it apart from so many others in this genre. While some authors tend to write stale or boring dialogue, Lily Seabrooke wrote this dialogue in a witty and charming manner. Sometimes it was like watching a tennis match between Avery and Holly as they would volley sass back and forth to one another. This book was just a delight to read. There wasn't any unnecessary drama and angst. Just a great story of two women meeting, then working with one another for a common goal, and falling in love along the way.
August 8, 2021
Fake It feels like peak Lily Seabrooke in the best way: a charming small town, two leads with blistering chemistry trying to figure out how to relationship, a couple of sleazy exes who get their comeuppance in the end, quirky side characters. I was ready to love this book from the second I heard it was about fake dating, and it did not disappoint. Everything, from the way Holly and Avery went from allies to devoted girlfriends, to the drool-worthy food scenes, was so lush and satisfying. I had to take a bunch of breaks while reading, the better to savor the experience.
But I really have to say, Avery is the absolute standout in this book. She is a ray of sunshine, but the book really goes into detail about how hard she worked to become an optimistic person and how hard she tries to stay that way. And though the other characters, especially Holly, are definitely skeptical of her positive attitude, in the end, she's proved right, and it made me SO HAPPY.
But I really have to say, Avery is the absolute standout in this book. She is a ray of sunshine, but the book really goes into detail about how hard she worked to become an optimistic person and how hard she tries to stay that way. And though the other characters, especially Holly, are definitely skeptical of her positive attitude, in the end, she's proved right, and it made me SO HAPPY.
June 4, 2024
I adore this book.
First, Lily is excellent with setups and pacing, and how the relationship develops with the characters pulls you in as the chemistry builds. Not to mention that the characters are cleverly written to be quickly endearing.
Lily is also not afraid of spice, which for this book feels particularly important. As one-half of the pair is trans, the working through coming out and navigating that forms an important piece of the relationship. Also, let's be honest, the spice here is hot.
This is also the first book in the Port Andrea series. It's a great kick-off for the series, and sets up recurring themes, characters, settings, and more than show up later in the series.
First, Lily is excellent with setups and pacing, and how the relationship develops with the characters pulls you in as the chemistry builds. Not to mention that the characters are cleverly written to be quickly endearing.
Lily is also not afraid of spice, which for this book feels particularly important. As one-half of the pair is trans, the working through coming out and navigating that forms an important piece of the relationship. Also, let's be honest, the spice here is hot.
This is also the first book in the Port Andrea series. It's a great kick-off for the series, and sets up recurring themes, characters, settings, and more than show up later in the series.
August 15, 2021
Wow I loved this book. Avery Lindt’s newly opened restaurant is struggling and things get worse when she stands up to local restaurant mogul Mike Wallace who starts a smear campaign against her.
Enter Holly Mason, a celebrity chef and Star of “Kitchen Rescue”. Holly already knows Mike Wallace is crooked and decides helping Avery can help her revamp her own image.
This was the fake relationship trope done right. I loved the building tension and their chemistry was off the charts. They were HOT HOT HOT together.
Don’t hesitate reading this one.
Enter Holly Mason, a celebrity chef and Star of “Kitchen Rescue”. Holly already knows Mike Wallace is crooked and decides helping Avery can help her revamp her own image.
This was the fake relationship trope done right. I loved the building tension and their chemistry was off the charts. They were HOT HOT HOT together.
Don’t hesitate reading this one.
August 21, 2021
I love food and WLW romances so this was a match for me.
Lily Seabrooke is an author to follow. Seabrooke writes such fun stories with characters who aren't shallow. I find myself caring about even the side characters.
Jae's SRC
ice queen character
grumpy and sunshine
age gap romance
character rocks a power suit
character works in the food industry
bisexual or pansexual character
part of a series
character is a business owner
Unicorn - character is a sapphic trans woman
Lily Seabrooke is an author to follow. Seabrooke writes such fun stories with characters who aren't shallow. I find myself caring about even the side characters.
Jae's SRC
ice queen character
grumpy and sunshine
age gap romance
character rocks a power suit
character works in the food industry
bisexual or pansexual character
part of a series
character is a business owner
Unicorn - character is a sapphic trans woman
November 4, 2021
4.5/5
I loved this book! Celebrity/normal person, fake dating, grumpy/sunshine, dual POV, fancy food, women taking down a gross man who still calls his ex “babe”?! My favorite sapphic romance of the year. I’m so glad Olivia Waite recommended it in the NYTimes!
I loved this book! Celebrity/normal person, fake dating, grumpy/sunshine, dual POV, fancy food, women taking down a gross man who still calls his ex “babe”?! My favorite sapphic romance of the year. I’m so glad Olivia Waite recommended it in the NYTimes!
July 12, 2022
bought this for my library after reading about it in LJ and saw that it had a trans main character. when it came in i was a little worried because it was self published but it's a cute and engaging story that i think is worth a read.
November 11, 2021
rep: bi trans mc, bi mc, nonbinary side character
August 6, 2021
I am so glad I read this book! It was simply wonderful.
Holly and Avery were both very complex characters and their development throughout the book was evident and well developed. The decisions they made never once seemed out of character or forced into the story for the sake of conflict.
Speaking of Avery and Holly, their chemistry was evident from the moment they met. Their banter was delightful to read. This is the first time I read a book with such a clear emphasis on consent, which is great. I think the way their relationship progressed might be my new favorite.
Let’s talk about the villain, shall we? I absolutely hated Mike. Every time he appeared on page, I wanted to punch him in the face just to make him stop talking, which made it feel all that much better when bad things happened to him. Bravo! It’s been a long time since I’ve last read such an unlikeable person.
Tay was an absolute delight. They cracked me up multiple times throughout the book and they had a very solid presence on the page. Liv and the progression of her character were also interesting to read about. Their existence was not trivial to the story but at the same time they did not overwhelm Avery and Holly. Even smaller characters who only appeared a few times got a reaction out of me.
The story itself was well paced -- there was quite a lot of plot outside the relationship of the characters, even if it was important to the progression of events.
Both Avery and Holly also felt very distinct on the page which is very important as the story is in first person. I think that I could distinguish between them even if we were not signaled as to who’s point of view it was. The only complaint I have is that in Avery and Holly’s dialogue there was a phrase that appeared a few times too often and eventually became a bit annoying.
Port Andrea was very clear in my head – I could easily visualize the different places that the story took place in. The descriptions of food were amazingly done, I was hungry approximately 90% of the time while reading this book.
An overall enjoyable book!
Holly and Avery were both very complex characters and their development throughout the book was evident and well developed. The decisions they made never once seemed out of character or forced into the story for the sake of conflict.
Speaking of Avery and Holly, their chemistry was evident from the moment they met. Their banter was delightful to read. This is the first time I read a book with such a clear emphasis on consent, which is great. I think the way their relationship progressed might be my new favorite.
Let’s talk about the villain, shall we? I absolutely hated Mike. Every time he appeared on page, I wanted to punch him in the face just to make him stop talking, which made it feel all that much better when bad things happened to him. Bravo! It’s been a long time since I’ve last read such an unlikeable person.
Tay was an absolute delight. They cracked me up multiple times throughout the book and they had a very solid presence on the page. Liv and the progression of her character were also interesting to read about. Their existence was not trivial to the story but at the same time they did not overwhelm Avery and Holly. Even smaller characters who only appeared a few times got a reaction out of me.
The story itself was well paced -- there was quite a lot of plot outside the relationship of the characters, even if it was important to the progression of events.
Both Avery and Holly also felt very distinct on the page which is very important as the story is in first person. I think that I could distinguish between them even if we were not signaled as to who’s point of view it was. The only complaint I have is that in Avery and Holly’s dialogue there was a phrase that appeared a few times too often and eventually became a bit annoying.
Port Andrea was very clear in my head – I could easily visualize the different places that the story took place in. The descriptions of food were amazingly done, I was hungry approximately 90% of the time while reading this book.
An overall enjoyable book!
June 30, 2022
If only 🙏
I want to begin by answering the question, “what criteria do I use when rating a book?”
The simple approach would be….
Did I enjoy reading it? Yes
Did I find the characters interesting and believable?
Yes.
Did I learn from the story? Yes.
But, the Port Andreas series requires us to do the following: (this is based on my reading 3 of the series)
1. Accept the almost idyllic environment that this locale presents as its setting.
2. Accept the fact that this small town includes an unusually vast assortment of high profile restaurants per capita, and a huge assortment of supporting dining experience ranging from coffee house, ice cream parlors, and small dining establishments.
It is not a stretch of the imagination to believe that local residents consume prodigious amounts of calories daily… and yet almost all the characters and customers are fit and trim.
3. And lastly, one of the psychologically and emotionally healthy lesbian communities imaginable. Also with a vibrant economy owned and employed by lesbians.
Accepting the above, allows us to truly enjoy the quirky, witty, unique and pleasurable cast of characters that a good author can provide.
Of course there are villains and obnoxious characters too, who will, of course, meet with there well deserved justice. It’s not about if, but rather when and how. This is the basis for the HEA RomCom drama.
One thing about this story that caught my attention greatly, was the author’s choice of making one of the two main character TRANS.
I am not sure how accurately this subject was portrayed. However, I was intrigued by the fact that this was presented, not as the crux of the story or the obstacle that needed fixing for the story to reach its resolution, but more as a fact of life that two lovers need to accept before moving forward with their relationship.
I look forward to reading the rest of this series and want to compliment Ms. Seabrooke on her creations.
I want to begin by answering the question, “what criteria do I use when rating a book?”
The simple approach would be….
Did I enjoy reading it? Yes
Did I find the characters interesting and believable?
Yes.
Did I learn from the story? Yes.
But, the Port Andreas series requires us to do the following: (this is based on my reading 3 of the series)
1. Accept the almost idyllic environment that this locale presents as its setting.
2. Accept the fact that this small town includes an unusually vast assortment of high profile restaurants per capita, and a huge assortment of supporting dining experience ranging from coffee house, ice cream parlors, and small dining establishments.
It is not a stretch of the imagination to believe that local residents consume prodigious amounts of calories daily… and yet almost all the characters and customers are fit and trim.
3. And lastly, one of the psychologically and emotionally healthy lesbian communities imaginable. Also with a vibrant economy owned and employed by lesbians.
Accepting the above, allows us to truly enjoy the quirky, witty, unique and pleasurable cast of characters that a good author can provide.
Of course there are villains and obnoxious characters too, who will, of course, meet with there well deserved justice. It’s not about if, but rather when and how. This is the basis for the HEA RomCom drama.
One thing about this story that caught my attention greatly, was the author’s choice of making one of the two main character TRANS.
I am not sure how accurately this subject was portrayed. However, I was intrigued by the fact that this was presented, not as the crux of the story or the obstacle that needed fixing for the story to reach its resolution, but more as a fact of life that two lovers need to accept before moving forward with their relationship.
I look forward to reading the rest of this series and want to compliment Ms. Seabrooke on her creations.
August 24, 2021
Hot, adorable, and satisfying.
I have to say that I'm not surprised that I loved this book, though I am surprised at exactly how much. I've loved everything I've read from Lily Seabrooke but this might be my favorite of hers...so far anyway.
While I usually might complain with a book like this that I want more fleshed out side characters, in Fake It I was so busy rooting for and being totally enamored of the main pairing that I forgot I cared about such things. This story was sweet, achingly so sometimes, with low angst but a ton of depth. I loved the sex scenes, and this coming from someone who usually skims sex scenes (I'm ace and often averse, but I'm also aro and love the romance genre so 🤷🏾), I was quite pleased in every way.
Fake relationships aren't a new concept, and I came into the book based on the author's name alone, not having even read the premise. There are only a handful of author's I'll do this with. Still, the name of the book gives away much of the plot, or so you'd think. The story isn't just about two people faking love then falling into it, the story doesn't even pretend we don't all know where it's going with that plotline, but it kept me engaged as it followed self development, friendship, conflicting world views, and taking down the most irritating antagonist I've ever loved to despise, who's downfall was a pleasure, because lezbi honest, we've all known *that* guy and dreamed of such vindication.
If your reading this review wondering if you should take the time to read this book, please do. It's so, so satisfying.
Did I mention the sex scenes were well written. Hot yes, but also adorable.
I have to say that I'm not surprised that I loved this book, though I am surprised at exactly how much. I've loved everything I've read from Lily Seabrooke but this might be my favorite of hers...so far anyway.
While I usually might complain with a book like this that I want more fleshed out side characters, in Fake It I was so busy rooting for and being totally enamored of the main pairing that I forgot I cared about such things. This story was sweet, achingly so sometimes, with low angst but a ton of depth. I loved the sex scenes, and this coming from someone who usually skims sex scenes (I'm ace and often averse, but I'm also aro and love the romance genre so 🤷🏾), I was quite pleased in every way.
Fake relationships aren't a new concept, and I came into the book based on the author's name alone, not having even read the premise. There are only a handful of author's I'll do this with. Still, the name of the book gives away much of the plot, or so you'd think. The story isn't just about two people faking love then falling into it, the story doesn't even pretend we don't all know where it's going with that plotline, but it kept me engaged as it followed self development, friendship, conflicting world views, and taking down the most irritating antagonist I've ever loved to despise, who's downfall was a pleasure, because lezbi honest, we've all known *that* guy and dreamed of such vindication.
If your reading this review wondering if you should take the time to read this book, please do. It's so, so satisfying.
Did I mention the sex scenes were well written. Hot yes, but also adorable.
November 11, 2021
THIS BOOK IS SO GOOD!
I devoured it all in one day.
I have followed Lily for a while on Twitter, and she recently shared that Fake It was reviewed in The New York Times and so I immediately bought myself a copy on Kindle.
Life etc meant that I didn't get to read it right away, but yesterday afternoon after spending too long staring at screens and being on day 1 of my bleed, I wanted to snuggle up with a cosy read.
This did not disappoint.
I laughed out loud, I cried. It had humour, and sex, and a villain, and brilliant little tag lines. I was desperate to see where Holly and Avery would go with their relationship, which was obviously filled with chemistry from the get go, and what would happen with the restaurant andf Mike.
I just absolutely loved it and I now just want to read more by Lily. It was that kind of easy going book that just warmed my heart and is so fun, it flows, it drew me in and I couldn't put it down until I had been on the whole adventure with Avery and Holly.
I loved that one of the MCs was a trans woman and that this isn't a big deal, it just is. Her trans-ness is just a small part of the story, normalising her as a beautiful, human multi-dimensional character, not fetishising or diminishing her based on her gender expression.
I love that a side character is NB and again, not a big deal, it just is. I want more of this in literature! People of all gender expressions exist in the world, and seeing them represented shouldn't feel unusual, it should be as normal as a cis man or woman being a character in a book. It was refreshing.
Wonderful book by Lily. 5*. Can't wait to read more by her!
I devoured it all in one day.
I have followed Lily for a while on Twitter, and she recently shared that Fake It was reviewed in The New York Times and so I immediately bought myself a copy on Kindle.
Life etc meant that I didn't get to read it right away, but yesterday afternoon after spending too long staring at screens and being on day 1 of my bleed, I wanted to snuggle up with a cosy read.
This did not disappoint.
I laughed out loud, I cried. It had humour, and sex, and a villain, and brilliant little tag lines. I was desperate to see where Holly and Avery would go with their relationship, which was obviously filled with chemistry from the get go, and what would happen with the restaurant andf Mike.
I just absolutely loved it and I now just want to read more by Lily. It was that kind of easy going book that just warmed my heart and is so fun, it flows, it drew me in and I couldn't put it down until I had been on the whole adventure with Avery and Holly.
I loved that one of the MCs was a trans woman and that this isn't a big deal, it just is. Her trans-ness is just a small part of the story, normalising her as a beautiful, human multi-dimensional character, not fetishising or diminishing her based on her gender expression.
I love that a side character is NB and again, not a big deal, it just is. I want more of this in literature! People of all gender expressions exist in the world, and seeing them represented shouldn't feel unusual, it should be as normal as a cis man or woman being a character in a book. It was refreshing.
Wonderful book by Lily. 5*. Can't wait to read more by her!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 113 reviews