Fake Fiancee is a lesbian romance written by Clara Reese. I read this for both Romanceopoly and the January Smutathon for a couple of prompts.
Dawn recently inherited a chalet from her uncle. She decided to turn the building into a shelter for women. Having been in an abusive relationship in the past herself, she understands how important this is. Gina is the contractor that Gina hired to help her with the chalet.
One of my goals for 2020 is to read more LBGT romances with a focus on lesbian and bisexual (women loving women) romances. So I was excited to pick up this book this month. It also has one of my favorite romance tropes - fake dating or fake marriage.
Dawn’s lawyer discovers that in order for her to keep the chalet, she has to get married within a year. Unfortunately, they only found out about this stipulation just now which means Dawn has to get married within about a month. She asks Gina to marry her because why not? She can’t deny there’s something between them. Gina initially declines but ends up accepting Dawn’s offer when Dawn agrees to help pay for Gina’s brother’s medical bills.
And so the fake engagement begins!
Of course, this is a romance so Dawn and Gina end up realizing they both have real feelings for each other but not before dealing with family drama and an ex-girlfriend.
Despite the story stating that Dawn was in an abusive relationship, it does not go into too much detail. The couple run into Dawn’s ex-girlfriend at a party and Dawn remembers how her ex treated her. The reader sees her thoughts on the past relationship but Dawn never really discusses things with Gina. Perhaps, Dawn had already moved on by this point. I would have liked to have seen Dawn share this part of herself with Gina but we really only see Dawn remembering and coming to terms with it in her own mind. There were a few descriptions of what her ex-girlfriend did to her but I don’t recall the content being particularly detailed or triggering.
Dawn and Gina also have to deal with Dawn’s family. While Gina’s mother is supportive of her daughter dating women, Dawn’s family is not. They straight up refer to Dawn’s sexuality as a phase and encourage her to end this and have a proper marriage.
So, if you’re sensitive to that kind of thing, just know it is in the book briefly near the end.
Aside from those two points, this was overall a cute lesbian or women loving women romance. As the two women get to know each other, meet Gina’s family and Dawn’s friends they start to develop honest feelings for each other.
This was a quick read and one I would recommend. It is available on Kindle Unlimited as well. Even with the scenes featuring Dawn’s ex-girlfriend and Dawn’s family, I would still recommend this book.
Dawn is pretty independent by this point in her life so her past or her family do not bother her. While it might have been nice to see Dawn overcome how her ex-girlfriend treated her, it was not necessary for this story or this part of Dawn’s life. That’s why I call this a cute romance overall. Most of the scenes were focused on Gina and Dawn and they were definitely cute together.
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