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Harvest Ranch Romance #6

Her Small-Town Fake Fiance: The Fake Fiance Holiday Collection

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What if you were fake-engaged to a man... only he didn't know it? Bridgett's company wants to move her to a larger market.But her sister's in Harvest Ranch and she's the only family Bridgett has left.So Bridgett tells a tiny white lie--that she's secretly engaged to the elementary school principal. It's hard to keep a secret in a small town, but if she wants to keep her job, that's what she'll have to do.William Westbrook is tired of women who play games with his heart. When he meets Bridgett, he thinks he's finally found someone real. She’s the one, he knows it with every jingle of the bells this Christmas season.For Bridgett, falling for her fake fiancé is a big problem. It was one thing to be fake engaged to him and another to want him more than anything under her Christmas tree.Will she do the right thing, even though it means she'll have to leave Harvest Ranch and her family behind? Or will she play this one through and get away with it?Find out in this funny holiday romance that's a great Christmas escape.

146 pages, Paperback

Published November 5, 2020

174 people are currently reading
1116 people want to read

About the author

Lucy McConnell

189 books1,594 followers
Please hit the follow button. I'd love to keep in touch!

Lucy McConnell loves romance, chocolate, Christmas, horses, music, crochet, and fun!

She believes that romance books should:

Keep you up past your bedtime.

Make you laugh out loud.

Have happy endings.

With that in mind, she's written over 200 novels full of fun and flirty characters who navigate the turbulent waters of romance with open hearts and creativity.

If you enjoy closed-door romance, follow her on Goodreads.♥️

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5 stars
150 (61%)
4 stars
65 (26%)
3 stars
23 (9%)
2 stars
5 (2%)
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1 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 62 reviews
Profile Image for Ellie Thornton.
Author 27 books903 followers
January 30, 2021
This was an adorable page turner. I read it in one sitting. The twist on the fake-fiancé trope was seriously so clever and hilarious but also wonderfully cringeworthy at times. Haha! Seriously can’t recommend it enough.
Profile Image for Tina Loves To Read.
3,453 reviews1 follower
December 25, 2021
This is a Christmas Small Town Romance Novella, and this is the 6st book in the Harvest Ranch Romance series. This is a short and fast read, but I really enjoyed reading this cute and fast romance book. I found the characters in this book fun and cute, and I also loved the Grandmother in this book even if she only is in this book a little bit. I find some of the characters that is in the back of the story the greatest characters in the book. The romance in this book is very fast moving, but it is also so cute and fun. If you are looking for a fast read that is cute and fun you should check this book out. I won a kindle edition of this book from a Goodreads Giveaway, but this review is my own feelings about the book.
Profile Image for Kaye.
7,177 reviews69 followers
November 10, 2020
❄️❄️ONE BREATHTAKING THRILL❄️❄️
Blasting blizzards rudolph! Lucy cranks this puppy up with all the bells, bows and trinkets, handing out some hard lessons, holiday cheer and whistling delight, hooking you from the start and reeling you in for the duration, propelling this jewel to staggering heights. Toss in captivating drama, riveting intrigue, disarming tattles, thrilling tingles, swirling ardor and intense situations you have one heart soaring experience, blasting this baby to life brilliantly. Mishaps and mayhem descend in a flurry of serendipity, broken barriers and dissolved perimeters, limitations are amplified and tested, secrets confessed, revelations unmasked and promises made, exhibiting the arduous struggles and breathtaking triumphs, showcasing the soaring ups and agonizing downs, putting our characters through their paces, fusing this gem together seamlessly. The attraction and chemistry builds as each layer is peeled back baring incredibly deep emotions and an intense bond, binding them to one another beautifully. The characters are complex, genuine and realistic with traits and qualities that balance and blend, with amazing depth and diversity with enough spice to add an extra kick to the mix. The scenes are strikingly sharp with abundant details and descriptions creating a colorful backdrop that makes the storyline pop. Remarkable job Lucy, thanks for sharing this awesome little gem with us.
Profile Image for Michelle Ferrari-Johnson.
1,559 reviews39 followers
May 17, 2021
Saved By A Christmas Angel

Just when you think it can't get any cuter, another story comes along....

Upon learning that the higher ups are planning to relocate an employee, Bridget pretends to be engaged to Billy Westbrook, her niece's school principal.

Billy is certainly enjoying his time dating and getting to know Bridget. Just as he thinks she is the one and only for him, he learns she made up a lie. How could he have missed this deception and will all his dreams come to a halt?~
Profile Image for L E.
272 reviews14 followers
December 18, 2020
Thank you Goodreads for the free copy. This was a sweet Christmas romance. Just what I was looking for a week before Christmas.
Profile Image for Jenni.
32 reviews9 followers
December 20, 2020
Received this for free in a giveaway. It was an easy, cheesy read, but I kept getting distracted by all of the spelling errors.
Profile Image for Kristen Lewendon.
8,429 reviews63 followers
December 4, 2022
Oh my gosh! That was so very adorable. It’s not your typical fake fiancée story in that Bridgett is trying so hard to make sure that no one else finds out that she’s claimed to be engaged. It was also really easy for me to get invested in her attempts to keep the secret because it was obvious how bad the fallout would be if and when it came to light. Billy was pretty adorable. Except for the grudge he was still holding onto for what his ex had done, he might be my new book boyfriend gold standard. And I just have to say I’m in shock at how quickly I consumed this book. It felt a little like I blinked and I was at the end, but I think a lot of that is simply a product of how deeply into it I was.
Profile Image for Jessie.
1,477 reviews87 followers
November 9, 2020
A Different Kind of Fake Fiancé

I couldn’t imagine how Lucy McConnell was going to pull off a fake engagement where the man doesn’t know about it. It was fantastic! Bridgett is told that she’s going to be transferred. She wants to stay in Harvest Ranch to be near her sister, but only a husband will keep her in the local office. So she claims a secret engagement.
I loved the chemistry between Bridgett and Billy, especially their rock climbing date. They were simply adorable together. This is a book I want to read again and again!
Profile Image for Jessica.
1,129 reviews2 followers
September 7, 2022
Wanted the chance to make a home with someone someday.

“There’s no such thing as normal, but there is exception.”

“I mean, you’re dating the man you told your boss you’re engaged to. Wait-is this for show. Like did you talk him in to pretending to be your fake fiancé?”
“No!” Bridgett jerked up, aghast. “This isn’t a Hallmark Christmas movie.”

He reached over and grabbed her face, pulling her to him in a hot kiss. He couldn’t help himself. She was his match. His woman. His better half. Whatever you wanted to call her, she was his everything. He branded her with that kiss, at least in his mind and he hoped in hers. He wanted her to feel all the intense feelings building inside of him-all of them centered around her.

“Love is hard. It takes work and it takes humility and it takes forgiveness. Large doses of all of them-constantly and without fail.”

What if you were fake-engaged to a man…only he didn’t know it?
Bridgett’s company wants to move her to a larger market. But her home and family is in Harvest Ranch.
So Bridgett tells a tiny white lie-that she’s secretly engaged to the elementary school principal. It’s hard to keep a secret in a small town, but if she wants to keep her job, that’s what she’ll have to do.
William Westbrook is tired of women who play games with his heart. When he meets Bridgett, he thinks he’s finally found someone real. She’s the one, he knows it with every jingle of the bells this Christmas season.
For Bridgett, falling for her fake fiancé is a big problem. It was one thing to be fake engaged to him and another to want him more than anything under her Christmas trees.
Will she do the right thing, even though it means she’ll have to leave Harvest Ranch and her family behind?
Or will she play this one through and get away with it?

This was a twist on the fake fiancé trope. The other half of the fake fiancé, didn’t know about it. I enjoyed this story. The falling in love timeline was just way too quick for me. But overall, 3.5 stars.
Profile Image for Harmony.
417 reviews7 followers
April 1, 2021
I always love revisiting Harvest Ranch and this book didn't disappoint. This is a different take on the fake fiancé plot device since he doesn't even know about it.

I liked Bridgett, she's such a great sister and aunt. She willingly uprooted her whole life to be there for her family. I understood why she would lie to try and not get transferred. It was horrible that her company put her in that position.

I struggled with their relationship a little. Romance novels deal in insta-love and I expect it. If the characters are well-written and likable, I'm more than willing to overlook this and buy 100% into the romance of it all. I just had a hard time getting there with this book, I think Billy's ex cast too heavy of a shadow over their story and it prevented me from getting that loopy "OOO it's so romantic!" feeling.

Their rock climbing date was inventive! I've never seen one like that in a book before, kudos to the author for bringing something new to the table (at least for me) in a book.

4-star rating because I adored Bridgett, her sister, and her niece. I love that little family unit and how supportive they are. I also liked Billy, when he wasn't bogged down in angst over his ex. Plus, Harvest Ranch! I'm so tempted to scour Virginia to find the inspiration for this fictional town.

This is a clean romance with no swearing and no sex. It's a charming and heartwarming story with a great HEA.
Profile Image for Cathy.
1,951 reviews69 followers
November 16, 2020
Christmas fiction is one of my favorite things to read. Add a fake fiancé and it’s even better! I loved the way Lucy McConnell did this one. Not only was it a fake fiancé, but the love interest didn’t even know about it! Making the plot so funny.

I loved Bridgett. She’s the kind of girl that her sister can depend on to take care of her daughter anytime she’s needed. They live in the same small town, so that makes things easy. Until Bridgett is about to get transferred. That’s when she decides that she’s got to have a fiancé. And she picks the main who her sister has been wanting her to date anyway. Her daughter’s principal, Billy Westbrook.

It’s really fun that the reader sees things through both character’s eyes. That makes it kind of funny when the reader knows what Bridgett has been telling people, well really only her boss, about being engaged. Billy is a great principal, always looking out for the kids. I loved everything about these two together.

Except for when Billy found out about her deception. That was kind of sad. But…the way things got fixed was so fun, it was worth it.

This is a fun Christmas story that you won’t want to put down!

I was sent an e-copy of Her Small Town Fake Fiancé as a gift from the author. All opinions are my own.
204 reviews
December 28, 2020
Thank you to Goodreads for the ARC of Her Small-Town Fake Fiance by Lucy McConnell. Lucy McConnell's books are very easy to read and hard to put down. Her Small-Town Fake Fiance is the story of Bridgett who moves to a small town in Virginia to live near her sister and niece. Her sister thinks it is a good idea to fix her up with the school principal. Bridgett's first encounter with the principal is a little awkward so Bridgett decides not to pursue him. But when Bridgett finds out that she may be relocated to a different real estate agent office, she tells her boss that she is secretly engaged to the principal in order to stay at the current location. Bridgett and the principal, Billy, do run into each other again and they decide to go on a date. Bridgett actually really likes Billy but of course, there is the small lie that she told her boss. The story is funny and cute as things change and Bridgett begins to hope that she could really become engaged to Billy. I have not read the Harvest Ranch Romance series, but I did not have any problems reading this book.
Profile Image for Vibliophile.
1,591 reviews130 followers
January 4, 2021
Adds new meaning to chocolate lovers, lol!

So Bridgett, in a moment of impulsive desperation at work, claims that she's engaged to her niece's elementary school principal that her sister was trying to set her up with because headquarters wants to transfer the unencumbered single employee where she's more needed. Bridgett doesn't want to be split up from the sister who needs her, and the only family she has left.

Unlike most traditional fake fiance stories, Billy doesn't realize that she has told her employers this. Instead they sort of accidentally on purpose end up spending time together.

It's still fairly predictable, but it's well enough done that when you want a "classic" Hallmark style trope with lots of positive messages on family, you'll enjoy this heartwarming happily-ever-after

*Romance level: passionate kisses, nothing graphic

*A few more editing misses than average (I really wish the author would find a better editor) but tolerable to all but the most uptight grammar nazis
Profile Image for Heather Kelley.
415 reviews6 followers
June 18, 2024
They are made for each other!

This is book 5 of the series, and starting in book 4 you have side characters from the previous books all the way back to book 1, so I recommend reading them in order. If you like Hallmark movies, you’ll like this series. Harvest Ranch is a small town where everyone knows each other and most of them have lived there their whole life. Bridgett has only lived in Harvest Ranch with her sister and niece for a year but she already knows she wants to stay there forever. So when her boss tells her he’s going to have to transfer her bc she’s single and her coworker has a wife and kids, she blurts out she’s secretly engaged to the school principal who her sister wants to set her up with. Billy was born and raised in Harvest Ranch and his extended family is half the population. He can tell that Bridgett’s sister is trying to set them up so he’s super short and rude when they meet. This story will have you turning the pages to get to the rest of the story. I read this in just a few hours.
139 reviews
January 14, 2023
I'm engaged - I sure hope he doesn't find out!

From the book, "... What if you were engaged to a man... only he didn't know it? ... Harvest Ranch had taken the two sisters in as if they were long-lost family..."

Now, Bridgette told somebody she's engaged! He doesn't know she said she's engaged to him. Now what? Will Bridgette go on with the engagement, or will she break it off before he finds out?

That she decide to move away from harvest Ranch after they took her and Lori in? Some good questions that the only answers will be found in the pages of this book!

After all,"...Grandma Westbrook said it best when she said, “We all need Jesus.”...".

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
697 reviews8 followers
November 9, 2020
Bridgett just couldn’t move away from Harvest Ranch because her only family in the world, a sister and niece, lived there and they needed each other. But her company planned to relocate her unless she was married or engaged and could show it would be a hardship for her to move. So in desperation she claimed she was engaged to Billy. The only problem? Billy didn’t know anything about it. Ooops! This sweet romance was filled with all the warmth of a big loving family and had swoony kisses between two very appealing characters. It’s the perfect Christmastime read! Highly recommend! I was entrusted with a copy of this book by the author and this is my voluntary and honest review.
2,870 reviews11 followers
November 10, 2020
The introduction of the main characters, Bridget and Billy, starts off to a slow pace. The pace picked up nicely after that but so did the tension which ratcheted up so much a little passed the middle that I found myself taking a break. Waiting for the other shoe to drop is not something that I do well. I finally decided to push past my discomfort as I can expect it to end well: so can you.

Entertaining. Happily Ever After. Romantic. Tear-jerker. Wonderful characters.

I received a copy of this book as a gift from the author. This is my honest review.
2,536 reviews46 followers
January 10, 2022
Cute fake relationship trope. I love those. Hilariously, he has no idea he was ever part of a fake relationship. It is very much insta-love when they do get together and no one seems to mind that at all. I loved the Grandma particularly with all her wisdom. Entertaining Christmas read. However, I can't quite get the picture out of my mind of Bridgett getting stuck trying to go down a chimney. Don't worry. It doesn't happen but the book put the picture in my head.

No sex, language or violence
Profile Image for Merry Jelks-Emmanuel.
13.2k reviews154 followers
December 7, 2022
Even their names make this story adorable and one that was fun to read. Billy and Bridgett warmed my heart and had me cheering them to get their chance of finding happiness. Her job wants to move her to a larger market but her only family is in the town where she is now. To stay she comes up with a fake fiancé who happens to be the school principal. Billy is tired of the game's women plays and when he connects with Bridgett sparks ignite. Will their fake relationship turn into the real deal?

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
59 reviews
November 14, 2020
I will recommend any Lucy McConnell Christian fiction book. She writes the best romances that are sweet and clean. I am enjoying this series by McConnell and other authors. If you are wanting a series to get you in the mood of fall and winter or to enjoy the holidays, then, do yourself a favor and read this series. The characters are great, they are believable. They have to go through life with the ups and downs that we do too.
Profile Image for Shanna Johnson.
546 reviews23 followers
February 20, 2021
I truly adore fake fiance/relationship stories they make me laugh, smile, and happy cry so much. The twist that Lucy McConnell took with the fake fiance in this one was so creative and clever, and definitely a first for me. I highly reccomend this, you will love it!!

Once I began reading I couldn't put it down, I had to finish it all in one sitting. This entire series has kept be hooked, entertained, and smiling. I look forward to the next round from these amazing authors in the series.
2,974 reviews16 followers
May 12, 2022
loved it !! love this series !! love Bridget and Billy... this is their story.. a fast paced shorter story... Bridget doesn't want to leave Harvest Ranch.. the higher ups plan to transfer her away.. so, she lies... she tells them that she is secretly engaged to Billy the Principle...of course he doesn't know... they start dating and spending time together... they start falling... will he forgive her ?.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Profile Image for Heidi Morrell.
1,372 reviews17 followers
December 18, 2020
This was a Goodreads giveaway. I couldn't even read the first few pages before I made the decision to quit reading. I just can't read another book about someone who divorced their husband and is trying to raise their child on her own. I thought the book would be an inspirational, light-hearted, and fun Christmas read. I'm sorry I wasn't able to give this a try.
Profile Image for K.E..
Author 1 book
December 27, 2020
Not my normal cup of tea but...

I don't usually read romance. I rarely read cozy fiction. I never read Christian lit. So how is it this cozy Christian romance has me squee-ing like an idiot and feeling all the warm fuzzies?!

I don't know. But I liked this story. It was a perfect read for a cold winter night.
Profile Image for Alisa.
793 reviews44 followers
February 4, 2021
When Bridgett's sister wants to set her up with the elementary school principal, Bridgett wants nothing to do with it. But when she finds herself needing a fake fiance, his name comes out. But she really doesn't even know him yet - she doesn't even know his first name! And he definitely has no clue about the "engagement." This was a fun twist on the fake fiance theme!
1,298 reviews
August 28, 2021
A good fake fiance book

Bridget hasn't even gone on a date with the school principal, Billy, but she tells her boss that they are secretly engaged so she doesn't get transferred out of Harvest Ranch. What will happen when Billy hears? And now they really are dating and she's falling in love with him. Will she lose him?
1,915 reviews8 followers
May 14, 2022
This is the fifth book in this series, Bridgett does not want to leave the town since her sister lives there. So, she says she is engaged, to William, the high school principal. When the fake couple starts to feel a little to real, what will they do?.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Profile Image for Robin.
Author 3 books29 followers
November 22, 2022
3.75 Stars - Hyper-Sweet Romance

I'd classify this story as a Hallmark-ish sweet romance. The MCs are fairly young and I didn't like the hero that much. There were a few typos, but they didn't destroy the plot. It was a cute story, though, and if you enjoy easy-to-read, sweet, clean romance, give it a try.
2,228 reviews12 followers
November 11, 2020
Fun Christmas book

Really enjoyed reading about Bridget and Billy. Lucy McConnell gave us an entertaining story with a twist on the fake relationship genre. I especially liked the light hearted banter between Bridget and Billy.
113 reviews
November 12, 2020
Wonderful Christmas Romance

Loved this book ! This is what I call a realistic romance. Love that it has some humor mixed in the story. Billy’s family sounds like one we would all want to be a part of. It got me in the Christmas spirit.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 62 reviews

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