Fake Dating Romance Books
Pretend dates, faux engagements… What could go wrong? Check out this list of fake relationship books worth reading!
Faking with Benefits
by Lily Gold
➥ Contemporary Romance
Tropes:
- fake dating romance
- reverse harem
- friends to lovers
Blurb:
WANTED: Three fake boyfriends. Must be tall, ripped — and willing to teach me how to kiss.
My name is Layla Thompson, and I am undateable.
Seriously. I’m twenty-eight and I’ve never had a boyfriend. And with my thirties rapidly approaching, I’m starting to lose patience.
Lucky for me, I have three overprotective best friends who are all-too-eager to help hone my dating skills.
There’s Zack, the huge rugby player with the cheeky grin and rippling biceps.
Josh, the boy-next-door with the sculpted jaw and calculating stare.
And Luke, the silver-haired divorcee… who also happens to be my old professor.
After a bad date leaves me crying on their shoulders, the three men are determined to help me find a guy. Together, they agree to be my ‘practice boyfriends’, and come up with a lesson plan packed with fake dates, make out sessions, and classes on flirty texting. In return, I just have to make an appearance on their relationship advice podcast once a week. Easy.
But as my lessons become more and more intense, we soon find ourselves getting in too deep. Every butterfly-inducing touch lingers a little too long, and every molten kiss ends in fireworks. It’s not long before I realise that their friendship isn’t enough for me anymore. I want more.
The guys have been teaching me how to get a boyfriend, and now it’s time I put their lessons to the test.
Three times over.
Faking With Benefits is a sizzling fake dating romance featuring multiple love interests, tons of molten fake relationship heat, and a whole lot of heart. No cheating, and an ultra-sweet HEA guaranteed!
Scoring the Player
by Rebecca Jenshak
➥ New Adult
Series:Campus Wallflowers #3
╰⪼ reads as standalone
*·˚ Each book in this series features a different couple and can be read as a standalone, but for maximum enjoyment, follow the recommended reading order ˖*°
Tropes:
- fake dating romance
- opposites attract
- college sport romance
- football
Blurb:
Valley U’s hottest QB has heard in detail how I want to climb him like a tree.
One viral video and my life as a wallflower is over.
Felix Walters knows exactly how I feel about him—so does everyone else on campus.
It was supposed to be a private conversation between friends.
Now I’m the butt of every joke and everywhere I turn all eyes are on me.
It’s every shy girl’s nightmare.
Except now the hottest guy on campus wants to be my fake boyfriend.
Six weeks. Just pretend.
I’m a wallflower fake dating Valley U’s hottest player.
Wrecking Ball
by P. Dangelico
➥ Contemporary Romance
Series: Hard to Love #1
╰⪼ reads as standalone
*·˚ Each book in this series features a different couple and can be read as a standalone, but for maximum enjoyment, follow the recommended reading order ˖*°
Tropes:
- fake dating romance
- curvy heroine
- boss & employee
- grumpy hero
- sports romance
- football
- slow burn
Blurb:
Cam DeSantis’ life is a mess. How else would you describe losing your husband, your job, and your money all at once? Desperate times call for desperate measures. So when salvation comes in the form of one intolerable jerk, she has no choice but to accept his offer as a nanny for his eight year old nephew. Now all she has to do is find a way to ignore him for the next three months. Which is easier said than done.
NFL quarterback Calvin Shaw has zero interest in women. It’s not that he doesn’t like women. In fact, he loves women. He just doesn’t want anything to do with them. What he needs to do is focus on winning another Super Bowl before he retires. Problem is, the woman living in his house is a major distraction. And he doesn’t know what’s worse, that he promised to be civil, or that he’s attracted to her.
Best laid plans are going to get wrecked when a reclusive football star is forced to live with a reluctant nanny.
For Never
by Aurora Rose Reynolds
➥ Romantic Comedy
Tropes:
- fake dating romance
- workplace
- forced proximity
- one bed
- billionaire
- family dynamics
Blurb:
From New York Times & Wall Street Journal bestselling author Aurora Rose Reynolds comes a brand new romantic comedy about a girl who understands how short life is, and a man who quickly learns there are things way more important than money.
I had no idea that taking a temp job for the summer would send my life into a tailspin, but that’s exactly what happened when I started working for Jace Ellis.
One day I was his secretary and the next I was sitting on his private plane, wearing an obnoxiously large engagement ring, after he asked me if I would pretend to be his fiancé for one week.
I can admit that greed got the best of me. But the money he offered in exchange for my lie would help not only me, but my mom out tremendously.
I just had no idea what I was actually getting myself into.
I didn’t think about the fact that we would be sharing a bed, that we would have to pretend to like each other, and I sure didn’t know that I would be surrounded by his entire family at their annual family reunion.
But if the guy want’s a fiancé, I’m going to be the best one he’ll ever have.
I just hope I can remember that this isn’t forever; it’s for never.
The Spanish Love Deception
by Elena Armas
➥ Contemporary Romance
Series: Spanish Love Deception #1
╰⪼ reads as standalone
*·˚ Each book in this series features a different couple and can be read as a standalone, but for maximum enjoyment, follow the recommended reading order ˖*°
Tropes:
- enemies to lovers
- multicultural
- fake dating romance
- workplace
- slow burn
Blurb:
Catalina Martín desperately needs a date to her sister’s wedding. Especially since her little white lie about her American boyfriend has spiralled out of control. Now everyone she knows—including her ex and his fiancée—will be there and eager to meet him.
She only has four weeks to find someone willing to cross the Atlantic and aid in her deception. New York to Spain is no short flight and her raucous family won’t be easy to fool.
Enter Aaron Blackford—her tall, handsome, condescending colleague—who surprisingly offers to step in. She’d rather refuse; never has there been a more aggravating, blood-boiling, and insufferable man.
But Catalina is desperate, and as the wedding draws nearer, Aaron looks like her best option. And she begins to realize he might not be as terrible in the real world as he is at the office.
The Deal
by Elle Kennedy
➥ New Adult
Series: Off-Campus #1
╰⪼ reads as standalone
*·˚ Each book in this series features a different couple and can be read as a standalone, but for maximum enjoyment, follow the recommended reading order ˖*°
Tropes:
- fake dating romance
- college sports romance
- hockey
- friends to lovers
- curvy heroine
- funny
- slow burn
Blurb:
She’s about to make a deal with the college bad boy… Hannah Wells has finally found someone who turns her on. But while she might be confident in every other area of her life, she’s carting around a full set of baggage when it comes to sex and seduction. If she wants to get her crush’s attention, she’ll have to step out of her comfort zone and make him take notice…even if it means tutoring the annoying, childish, cocky captain of the hockey team in exchange for a pretend date. …and it’s going to be oh so good!
All Garrett Graham has ever wanted is to play professional hockey after graduation, but his plummeting GPA is threatening everything he’s worked so hard for. If helping a sarcastic brunette make another guy jealous will help him secure his position on the team, he’s all for it. But when one unexpected kiss leads to the wildest sex of both their lives, it doesn’t take long for Garrett to realize that pretend isn’t going to cut it. Now he just has to convince Hannah that the man she wants looks a lot like him.
The Right Move
by Liz Tomforde
➥ Contemporary Romance
Series: Windy City #2
╰⪼ reads as standalone
*·˚ Each book in this series features a different couple and can be read as a standalone, but for maximum enjoyment, follow the recommended reading order ˖*°
Tropes:
- fake dating romance
- sports romance
- basketball
- rich hero
- funny
- multicultural.
Blurb:
RYAN
She’s a distraction, that’s what she is.
I’m the newest Captain of the Devils, Chicago’s NBA team, and the last thing I needed this year was for Indy Ivers, my sister’s best friend, to move into my apartment. She’s messy, emotional, and way too tempting.
But when the team’s General Manager vocalizes his blatant disapproval of my promotion to Captain, referring to me as an unapproachable lone wolf with no work-life balance, I can’t think of a better way to convince him otherwise than pretending to date my outgoing roommate.
The only problem? Faking it feels far too natural.
Having a fake girlfriend wasn’t supposed to be messy but having Indy under my roof and in my bed is complicated, especially when she wants all the romantic parts of life that I could never give her.
INDY
I never imagined I’d be living with my best friend’s brother, NBA superstar Ryan Shay. Even more unbelievable? He needs me to act as his loving girlfriend who’s suddenly changed him into a friendly and approachable guy.
Because, well…he’s not. He’s controlling of his space and untrusting of others.
Our arrangement isn’t one-sided, though. I’m in a wedding coming up, one where every one of my childhood friends, including my ex-boyfriend, will be in attendance, and there’s no better date than my ex’s celebrity hero.
Blurred lines make it almost impossible to separate real from fake. Falling for my roommate was never part of the deal, especially when Ryan is quick to remind me that he doesn’t believe in love.
I’m a romantic and can’t help fantasizing that he’ll change, but soon enough, I find myself questioning if sharing a roof with my best friend’s brother was the right move after all
Faking Ms. Right
by Claire Kingsley
➥ Romantic Comedy
Series: Dirty Martini Running Club #1
╰⪼ reads as standalone
*·˚ Each book in this series features a different couple and can be read as a standalone, but for maximum enjoyment, follow the recommended reading order ˖*°
Tropes:
- fake dating romance
- grumpy hero
- rich hero
- boss & employee
Blurb:
“When I kissed you last night, I wasn’t pretending.”
Everly Dalton is a walking, talking, martini-drinking dating disaster. Forget kissing frogs. She can’t even get past the first date. But at work, she’s a badass—the longest-running assistant billionaire Shepherd Calloway has ever had. Her coworkers wonder how she handles the big bad wolf—and never gets bit.
Shepherd Calloway isn’t interested in being anyone’s sugar daddy. Tired of women who only want him for his money, he swears off dating, determined to focus on running his empire. Until his gold-digging ex hits him where it hurts, putting him in a difficult position.
His solution—to have Everly pose as his live-in girlfriend—is obviously crazy. But the timing is uncanny. It just so happens Everly needs a favor from her boss—a big and awkward one—and this could ensure everyone gets what they want.
Besides, Everly can totally survive a few months of faux romance. Except there’s a problem. Shepherd is supposed to be a single-minded, unemotional robot boss. Not an actual human with a heart and morning wood. Between the awkward bed-sharing and tingly fake dates, lines are blurring. And as Everly gets to know the real Shepherd, she discovers there’s more to the man behind the bank account.
And faking it gets all too real.
Faking Ms. Right is a hot, STAND-ALONE romantic comedy.
Hard Sell
by Lauren Layne
➥ Contemporary Romance
Series: 21 Wall Street #2
╰⪼ reads as standalone
*·˚ Each book in this series features a different couple and can be read as a standalone, but for maximum enjoyment, follow the recommended reading order ˖*°
Tropes:
- fake dating romance
- friends to lovers
- grumpy X sunshine
Blurb:
He’s a Wall Street wolf. She’s been hired to tame him. From New York Times bestselling author Lauren Layne comes a wildly sexy novel of business and pleasure.
Twenty-eight and filthy rich, Matt Cannon is the youngest broker on Wall Street. He may be a “boy wonder,” but he’s every inch a man. Ask any woman—any night. But when Matt’s latest fling makes scandalous headlines, his clients get anxious, and his bosses at Wolfe Investments level an ultimatum: keep his assets zipped, get a “real” girlfriend, and clean up his act. Only one woman can help Matt with something this hard.
For PR genius Sabrina Cross, the best fixer in Manhattan, playing Matt’s steady is going to be a challenge, even if it’s just for show. They already have an explosive history, she can’t stand the cocky party boy, and worse—she can’t stop thinking about him. So who’ll dare to break her “no touching” rule first? Because when that happens, Matt and Sabrina’s game of let’s pretend will get so hot it could set both their reputations on fire.
The Bodyguard
by Katherine Center
➥ Contemporary Romance
Tropes:
- fake dating romance
- workplace
- forced proximity
- actor hero
- slow burn
Blurb:
She’s got his back. He’s got her heart. They’ve got a secret. What could possibly go wrong?
Hannah Brooks looks more like a kindergarten teacher than somebody who could kill you with her bare hands. But the truth is, she’s an elite bodyguard and she’s just been hired to protect a superstar actor from his stalker.
Jack Stapleton’s a Hollywood heartthrob – captured by paparazzi on beaches the world over, rising out of the waves in clingy board shorts and glistening like a Roman deity.
When Jack’s mom gets sick, he comes home to the family’s Texas ranch to help out. Only one catch: He doesn’t want his family to know about his stalker. Or the bodyguard thing. And so Hannah – against her will and her better judgment – finds herself pretending to be Jack’s girlfriend as a cover.
Protecting Jack should be easy. But protecting her own heart? That’s the hardest thing she’s ever done…
Four Day Fling
by Emma Hart
➥Contemporary Romance
Tropes:
- fake dating romance
- sassy heroine
- sports romance
- hockey; funny
Blurb:
A standalone romantic comedy of epically awkward proportions, from New York Times bestselling author, Emma Hart.
Imagine this. You’re ready to leave after a one-night stand, and you’re figuring out how to—shock horror—leave your number and ask him to be your fake boyfriend for your sister’s wedding this weekend. When he wakes up. Well, that happened to me. And over coffee and omelets, I found myself a date.
Which was how I ended up arriving at the wedding with a guy I knew nothing about. I didn’t know his last name, or how we met, or how long we’d been dating. I didn’t know where he grew up, what he’d majored in in college, or how many siblings he had. I sure as hell didn’t know he was Adam Winters, hotshot hockey player—and not only my father’s favorite player, but my little nephew’s freakin’ idol. Which means I’m in trouble. Big, big trouble. My mother is suspicious, my sister is bridezilla on crack, and my grandpa will tell anyone who’ll listen about his time in Amsterdam’s Red Light District. Four days. I have to keep this up for four days, and then Adam and I can return to our regular lives, where we don’t have sex whenever we’re alone and my family aren’t interrogating him over his intentions with me.
At least, that’s the plan. And we all know what happens to those.
The Bet
by Rachel Van Dyken
➥ Romantic Comedy
Series:The Bet #1
╰⪼ reads as standalone
*·˚ Each book in this series features a different couple and can be read as a standalone, but for maximum enjoyment, follow the recommended reading order ˖*°
Tropes:
- fake dating romance
- sassy heroine
- bad boys
- rich hero
- childhood friends
- funny
Blurb:
“I have a proposition for you.” Kacey should have run the minute those words left Seattle millionaire Jake Titus’s mouth. It’s been years since Kacey’s seen her childhood friend Jake, but the minute Jake mentions his ill grandmother, Kacey is ready to do anything for the sweet old woman. And if that means pretending they’re engaged for her sake-so be it.
But Kacey wasn’t counting on Jake’s older brother Travis still being there. She calls him “Satan” for a reason: she’s never forgotten the way he teased and taunted her. Yet when they meet again, Travis’s gorgeous smile is a direct hit to her heart . . . and Kacey’s more confused than ever. As the days pass, only one thing starts to become alarmingly clear-she never should have accepted Jake’s deal . . .
Pretend You’re Mine
by Lucy Score
➥ Contemporary Romance
Tropes:
- fake dating romance
- military; friends to lovers
- small town
- alpha male
- possessive hero
- take-charge heroine
Blurb:
I only wanted to protect you…
Luke Garrison is a hometown hero, a member of the National Guard ready to deploy again. He’s strong, sexy, broody. The last thing he’s looking for is a woman to ruin his solitude. When the wildly beautiful Harper stumbles into his life, though, he realizes that she’s the perfect decoy. A fake girlfriend to keep his family off his back until he’s deployed.
So what if kissing her sends his mind to wicked places? He can control himself. Can’t he?
Harper was on her way to starting a new life… again. But something about Luke makes her want to settle down in this small town and make his house a home. When she’s in his arms, she finally knows what it’s like to feel safe. Protected.
One night of sharing a bed turns into something much, much more… and soon Luke can’t keep his mind off Harper’s wide gray eyes or his hands off her luscious curves. He never thought he’d feel this way about a woman again. But he knows that he can’t tell her the truth about his dark past. And she can’t reveal what she’s running from.
At least this isn’t a real relationship. It’s only for a month. It’s only pretend. Until it isn’t…
The Upside of Falling
by Alex Light
➥ Young Adult
Tropes:
- fake dating romance
- friends to lovers
- sports romance
- football
- funny
Blurb:
A fun, flirty teen debut from Wattpad phenom Alex Light about a fake relationship and real love. Perfect for Jenny Han fans.
It’s been years since seventeen-year-old Becca Hart believed in true love. But when her former best friend teases her for not having had a boyfriend, Becca impulsively pretends she’s been secretly seeing someone.
Brett Wells has it all. As captain of the football team and one of the most popular guys in his school, he should have no problem finding someone to date, but he’s always been more focused on his future than who to bring to prom.
When he overhears Becca’s lie, Brett decides to step in and be the mystery guy. It’s the perfect solution: he gets people off his back for not having a meaningful relationship and she can keep up the ruse that she’s got a boyfriend.
Acting like the perfect couple isn’t easy, though, especially when you barely know the other person. But with Becca still picking up the pieces from when her world was blown apart years ago and Brett just barely holding his together now, they begin to realize they have more in common than they ever could have imagined.
When the line between what is pretend and what is real begins to blur, they’re forced to answer the question: Is this fake romance the realest thing in either of their lives?
Funny Story
by Emily Henry
➥ Romantic Comedy
Tropes:
- roommates
- opposites attract
- forced proximity
- friends to lovers
- sort of fake dating romance
- exes getting revenge
- found family
Blurb:
A shimmering, joyful new novel about a pair of opposites with the wrong thing in common, from #1 New York Times bestselling author Emily Henry.
Daphne always loved the way her fiancé, Peter, told their story. How they met (on a blustery day), fell in love (over an errant hat), and moved back to his lakeside hometown to begin their life together. He really was good at telling it… right up until the moment he realized he was actually in love with his childhood best friend Petra.
Which is how Daphne begins her new story: stranded in beautiful Waning Bay, Michigan, without friends or family but with a dream job as a children’s librarian (that barely pays the bills), and proposing to be roommates with the only person who could possibly understand her predicament: Petra’s ex, Miles Nowak.
Scruffy and chaotic—with a penchant for taking solace in the sounds of heart break love ballads—Miles is exactly the opposite of practical, buttoned-up Daphne, whose coworkers know so little about her they have a running bet that she’s either FBI or in witness protection. The roommates mainly avoid one another, until one day, while drowning their sorrows, they form a tenuous friendship and a plan. If said plan also involves posting deliberately misleading photos of their summer adventures together, well, who could blame them?
But it’s all just for show, of course, because there’s no way Daphne would actually start her new chapter by falling in love with her ex-fiancé’s new fiancée’s ex… right?
The Dixon Rule
by Elle Kennedy
➥ New Adult
Series:Campus Diaries #2
╰⪼ reads as standalone
*·˚ Each book in this series features a different couple and can be read as a standalone, but for maximum enjoyment, follow the recommended reading order ˖*°
Tropes:
- fake dating romance
- college sports romance
- hockey
- sassy heroine
- enemies to lovers
- frenemies with benefits
- next door neighbors
Blurb:
The second book in the steamy, hilarious Campus Diaries series by New York Times bestselling author Elle Kennedy, set in the same world as Off Campus and Briar U.
“I told them I had a girlfriend.”
I start to laugh. “This is the greatest day of my life.”
“Oh, it gets better, Dixon. I told them it was you.”
Diana Dixon has a lot going on this summer. She’s rehearsing for a ballroom dance competition, juggling two jobs, and dealing with an ex-boyfriend who can’t take the hint it’s over. Yet despite all that, she still has plenty of time and energy to tell Shane Lindley to screw off.
Shane just moved into her apartment building and seems dedicated to sleeping his way through her entire cheerleading squad. Sure, he’s a tall, gorgeous hockey player, but he’s messing with her turf. This calls for some ground rules: no parties in her apartment, leave her teammates alone, and—most importantly—leave her alone.
What Diana doesn’t realize is that Shane’s sick of hookups and tired of being on the rebound after his long-term girlfriend called it quits. He wants a relationship. And when his ex comes back into the picture, he pretends he has one to make her jealous…and who better to play the girlfriend role than his sassy new neighbor?
Despite Diana’s reluctance to break her rule, a fake relationship is the perfect solution for her own ex issues, and soon she can’t deny something is sizzling between her and Shane. Something hot and completely unexpected.
And it might just be getting a little too real.
CONTENT WARNING: This book contains on-page depictions of physical abuse and past dating violence.
Playbook
by Rebecca Jenshak
➥ New Adult
Series: Jo Holland Brothers #2
╰⪼ reads as standalone
*·˚ Each book in this series features a different couple and can be read as a standalone, but for maximum enjoyment, follow the recommended reading order ˖*°
Tropes:
- fake dating romance
- reverse grumpy x sunshine
- reformed playboy
- found family
- sports romance
- football
Blurb:
From USA Today bestselling author Rebecca Jenshak comes a standalone fake dating sports romance. This steamy, grumpy / sunshine football romance delivers a swoony and emotional happily ever after.
Brogan Six’s fan mail has been filling my mailbox for weeks. With every lipstick covered letter I receive, my irritation with him grows. And let’s not talk about the time I accidentally opened one of the packages to find someone had sent him their panties. Gross.
When I come face-to-face with my new nemesis, I expect to give him a piece of my mind and we’ll go our separate ways. Me to an empty mailbox and him to sift through his panty collection.
That is not what happens.
I don’t know if it was the booze, his clever wit, or if I was tricked (I’m sure I was tricked), but now I’m fake dating the Mavericks’ hot new rookie.
And I might just be the next woman to lose her panties to Brogan Six.
Playbook is a standalone fake dating, grumpy/sunshine sports romance with banter, found family, spice, and a guaranteed happily ever after.
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