Single Sundays: Fauxmance by Cookie O’Gorman

Single Sundays: While this blog may be focused on reviewing book series as a whole, we can’t forget about the good ole’ standalone novel! On Sundays, I will review a novel that is considered to be a standalone novel. Here is this week’s offering:

Synopsis for Fauxmance (from Goodreads):
Fauxmance (foh-mans): Term for a romantic relationship that is fake. Real feelings, like love, are strictly prohibited. See also: Why would anyone enter a fake relationship?

Eighteen-year-old Magnolia believes in true love.

Or she did.

When her boyfriend dumps her the day before her sister’s wedding, Maggie is devastated—but her broken heart is only part of the problem. Maggie is the maid of honor, and her sister insists: Every member of the bridal party must have an escort. No exceptions.

Thank goodness for Hayden Davenport.

Sarcastic, cocky, a surprisingly good listener and self-professed player, when Maggie gets stuck in an elevator with the handsome stranger, she thinks she’s found the perfect wedding date. Unfortunately, Hayden hates weddings. Like really hates them.

But one soul-shattering kiss changes everything.

Maggie needs a fake boyfriend. Hayden wants to prove he’s changed his playboy ways. Faking it should be easy. The hard part?

Remembering it’s all pretend and not falling in love for real.

This book features two opposites with sizzling chemistry, a sweet, hopeless romantic and a cynical bad boy who’ll steal your heart. Elevators, fake romance, and weddings, oh my! Get ready to swoon, laugh, and say ‘I do’ to this heartfelt YA romance.

SERIESous’ Top Picks: Favourite Author
Author: Cookie O’Gorman
Genre: Young Adult/New Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Heat Rating: cool
Point of View: First Person, Single
Publication Date: April 28, 2022
Source & Format: Author–ARC

Why I Picked it Up / My Expectations:

I’ve read all of Cookie O’Gorman’s books with the exception of one (and that one is just because it fell of my radar during a reading slump). She’s my go-to author for swoon worthy YA romance. And when I read that this book was going to be a fake romance (my favourite romance trope!) I was SUPER excited to start it!

The Plot:

I loved the fun plot line. I’ve read many fake romance novels but I enjoyed the “be my fake wedding date” scenario. There were also quite a few twists I didn’t see coming that had me going “oh, that’s a good spin!”.

If life didn’t get in my way, I would have read this in one sitting!

The Characters:

I think Hayden is my new book boyfriend. Cookie has a great talent for writing swoon worthy book boyfriends but also making them believable as well. It gives me hope that my Hayden is out there somewhere and is just as wonderful as the book version is.

Magnolia was a fantastic lead. I loved her confidence. She reminded me that being a strong heroine doesn’t mean that nothing ever bothers you or gets you down. It also means that you can show your vulnerability and I think Magnolia had a great balance of that.

The rest of the cast was a blast! I know I would definitely read more books about Hayden’s bandmates!

The Romance:

While the romance seems “quick” in the sense that the story only takes place over a couple of weeks, it was easy for me to see why these two would be drawn together. They definitely had an instant spark when they first meet and that just ignites anytime they share a scene together.