I’ve read and loved Bellefleur’s previous series Written in the Stars so I was so excited for this one. A marriage of convenience with strangers who are united by a love of romance books? Keep reading this book review for my full thoughts.
Summary
Tansy Adams’ greatest love is her family’s bookstore, passed down from her late father. But when it comes to actual romance… Tansy can’t get past the first chapter. Tired of her stepfamily’s questions about her love life, Tansy invents Gemma, a fake girlfriend inspired by the stunning cover model on a bestselling book. They’ll never actually meet, so what’s the harm in a little fib? Yet when real-life Gemma crosses Tansy’s path, her white lie nearly implodes.
Gemma van Dalen is a wild child, the outcast of her wealthy family, and now the latest heir to Van Dalen Publishing. But the title comes with one tiny condition: she must be married in order to inherit. When Gemma discovers a beautiful stranger has been pretending to date her for months, she decides to take the charade one step further—and announces their engagement.
Gemma needs a wife to meet the terms of her grandfather’s will and Tansy needs money to save her struggling bookstore. A marriage could be mutually beneficial, if they can fool everyone into thinking it’s a love match. Unexpected sparks fly as Tansy and Gemma play the role of affectionate fiancées, and suddenly the line between convenient arrangement and real feelings begins to blur. But the scheming Van Dalen family won’t give up the company without a fight, and Gemma and Tansy’s newfound happiness might get caught in the fallout…
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
I love marriage of conveniences and fake relationships. So when I heard about The Fiancée Farce I knew I had to read it. And if you love those, then you have to pick this one up. While the whole marriage was established way faster than I thought – and it did throw me for a loop for a bit – by the end I was fully sold. Before we’ve even truly figured out their attraction to each other, they’ve all of a sudden become fiancées!
But as The Fiancée Farce continues, Bellefleur sinks into the characters. To allowing them to get to know each other. I adored Gemma’s confidence and their whole contract. A good marriage contract always gets me. And throughout The Fiancée Farce, I loved witnessing Gemma and Tansy getting to know each other. To see the ways they misjudged each other, their banter, and their secrets. Another amazing aspect was I got to listen to some of it on audiobook and adored how Lauren Sweet gives both Tansy and Gemma such life and differing personalities.
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I think my only reservation is that since they got together so quickly, I lacked a good sense of who they were as characters beforehand. They didn’t have a lot of time to establish themselves as individuals before they were together. But I think throughout the book, we are introduced to them and watch them unfold, and fall in love. Full of heart, this was a charming romance with heart. Find The Fiancée Farce on Goodreads, Storygraph, Amazon, Bookshop.org, Blackwells, Libro.fm, and Google Play.