Faking Christmas by Kerry Winfrey Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads
Synopsis:
Laurel Grant is playing house for the holidays—complete with a fake husband and kids—in this delightful, charming rom-com by Kerry Winfrey.
Laurel Grant works as the social media manager for Buckeye State of Mind, an Ohio tourism magazine and website. She most definitely does not run a farm . . . but one tiny misunderstanding leads her boss, Gilbert, to think she owns her twin sister Holly’s farm just outside of Columbus. Laurel only handles the social media for the farm, but she’s happy to keep her little white lie going if it means not getting fired—she cannot be jobless again.
And keep it going she must when Gilbert, recently dumped by his wife, invites himself over for the farm’s big Christmas Eve Eve dinner (as advertised on Meadow Rise Farm’s Instagram, thanks to Laurel herself). Laurel immediately goes into panic mode to figure out how she can trick Gilbert into thinking she’s basically the Martha Stewart of rural Ohio and keep her job in the process.
Laurel and Holly come up with the perfect plan—all Laurel has to do is pretend to own the farm for one dinner. But Laurel shows up at the farm to find an unwelcome guest is waiting: Max Beckett, her nemesis since Holly’s wedding. The annoyingly attractive man she hates will be posing as Laurel’s husband just for the evening, but when a snowstorm traps them all for the entire weekend, Laurel is going to have to figure out how to survive with her job and dignity intact. Whatever the case, this promises to be the most eventful Christmas in ages. . . .
Review:
Faking Christmas was a fake dating romance that had a sprinkling of enemies to lovers. If you’re looking for a holiday book that is set on a farm, with snow falling in the background, yummy food filling the pages, and adorable kids that add so much heart to a story, then this book is for you!
“Did you come out here to yell at me about how I’m doing everything wrong?”
“No, I came out here to help you, but I don’t know why I bothered.”
Laurel never corrected her boss’ assumption about living on a farm, which ultimately led to her also being married and having kids. She desperately wanted to keep her job, so she lied about living her twin sister’s life. So when her boss mistook her words again as an invitation for Christmas eve eve dinner, how could she back paddle from that when her boss was a crying, blubbering mess?! Thankfully with the help of her sister’s family and her brother-in-law’s best friend Max Beckett as her pretend husband, she was going to try her best to live out her lie for one night. And I couldn’t wait to watch everything unfold!
I know this is a game he’s playing, one that I asked him to play, but what am I supposed to think when he’s saying these words? That I’m the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen? What the hell?
Laurel told us all the reasons she hated Max, but I loved Max from the moment we met him! He tried his best pretending to be her husband, his past will break your heart, I loved watching how helpful he was, and kindness radiated out of him. Yet he wasn’t a fan of Christmas, which I could overlook. All the while, Laurel was rude and short with him. The hate she held on to stemmed from words Max spoke years ago. And while I usually don’t mind the miscommunication trope, I did struggle here. Max wanted to talk about the issue between them, yet Laurel shut him down time and again. So while I adored Max, I struggled with Laurel. I never connected with her and had issues with her lying and how she treated situations and people around her. The romance between them was slow burn and ended with happiness for all ♥.
I try to avoid looking at Max, focusing on the food or the twins, but when I can’t stop myself from glancing at him, I catch him looking right at me. And when he gives me a smile—one of the big ones, one of the smiles I never thought would be directed toward me— I can’t help smiling back.
With Christmas music playing and festivities in the air, the book had so much Christmas spirit! My absolute favorite moment was the speech at the end which had me laughing way too hard! I will be trying another book from this author, and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it’s a better fit for me. So if you pick this one up, good luck trying not to be caught humming or singing Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want for Christmas’ long after you close this book! The twins loved that song!
*I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this publisher, provided by the author. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*
