I love Fake relationships but I could not explain to you why. It could be the angst factor (so much angst), it could be the slow slide from fake to real or it just could be because all of all the secret longing that goes on. Whatever the reason, I think I’ve read at least a 100 of these tropes and always am on the lookout for more.
I’ve decided that Green-Card marriages and business arrangements fall under this umbrella too … these are relationships that are a front for something else
Below is a few of my favourites (Although I have so many more recs!). Have I missed any classics? Should I add just more??
Genre Tags : #UF, #KateDanielSeries #Magic #enemiestolovers
Content Warnings : Violence, Murder, Child Murder, Hero who was a past murderer, animal sacrifice
I adore this book and cannot WAIT for the next. Elara and Hugh marry as a business arrangement and quickly become enemies. They have to band together to face a common threat and all that co-operation allows them to see a different side to each other ….
No day is ordinary in a world where Technology and Magic compete for supremacy…But no matter which force is winning, in the apocalypse, a sword will always work.
Hugh d’Ambray, Preceptor of the Iron Dogs, Warlord of the Builder of Towers, served only one man. Now his immortal, nearly omnipotent master has cast him aside. Hugh is a shadow of the warrior he was, but when he learns that the Iron Dogs, soldiers who would follow him anywhere, are being hunted down and murdered, he must make a choice: to fade away or to be the leader he was born to be. Hugh knows he must carve a new place for himself and his people, but they have no money, no shelter, and no food, and the necromancers are coming. Fast.
Elara Harper is a creature who should not exist. Her enemies call her Abomination; her people call her White Lady. Tasked with their protection, she’s trapped between the magical heavyweights about to collide and plunge the state of Kentucky into a war that humans have no power to stop. Desperate to shield her people and their simple way of life, she would accept help from the devil himself—and Hugh d’Ambray might qualify.
Hugh needs a base, Elara needs soldiers. Both are infamous for betraying their allies, so how can they create a believable alliance to meet the challenge of their enemies?
As the prophet says: “It is better to marry than to burn.”
Hugh and Elara may do both
Genre Tags : #own-voices #autistic-heroine #fake-relationship #male-prostitute
Content Warnings : Ableism, prostitution.
I have read this book a million and one times and I adore it. Michael is the sweetest hero I have ever read about and he is perfect man for Stella. Their fake relationship covers up Stella’s dating lessons ….I laughed, I cried and I swooned…
A heartwarming and refreshing debut novel that proves one thing: there’s not enough data in the world to predict what will make your heart tick.
Stella Lane thinks math is the only thing that unites the universe. She comes up with algorithms to predict customer purchases — a job that has given her more money than she knows what to do with, and way less experience in the dating department than the average thirty-year-old.
It doesn’t help that Stella has Asperger’s and French kissing reminds her of a shark getting its teeth cleaned by pilot fish. Her conclusion: she needs lots of practice — with a professional. Which is why she hires escort Michael Phan. The Vietnamese and Swedish stunner can’t afford to turn down Stella’s offer, and agrees to help her check off all the boxes on her lesson plan — from foreplay to more-than-missionary position…
Before long, Stella not only learns to appreciate his kisses, but to crave all the other things he’s making her feel. Soon, their no-nonsense partnership starts making a strange kind of sense. And the pattern that emerges will convince Stella that love is the best kind of logic…
Genre-tags : #PNR #Bear-shifter #tiger-shifter #violence #female-assasin #so-funny-my-stomach-hurts
Content Warnings : Violence, foster-care, child abuse (emotional)
I adore this book. I’ve read it so many times I could quote it. The characters are ridiculous and the humor is so over the top it makes me cry. These two have a fake relationship sloley so Dee doesn’t get set up and I have NO idea why Crush goes along with it … I am so glad he does.
He’s big, burly, and way smarter than your average shapeshifting bear. He’s also about to get trapped by own his game. . .
Lou Crushek is a reasonable, mellow, easygoing kind of guy. But once someone starts killing the scumbags he works so hard to bust, that really gets under his fur. Especially when that someone is a curvy she-tiger with a skill set that’s turning Crush’s lone-bear world upside down–and bringing his passion out of hibernation. . .
As a member of an elite feline protection unit, Marcella Malone has no problem body-dropping anyone who hunts her kind. But Crush is proving one major pain in her gorgeous tail. The only reason she’s joined forces with him is to track down the wealthy human who’s got her entire species in his ruthless sights. It sure isn’t because Crush’s stubborn and contrary attitude is rubbing Cella in all the right ways.
Genre Tags : #FF #greencard-marriage #romantic-drama #First-POV
Content Warning : Eating Disorder, Neglect,
This is a beautiful, angsty novel about a woman who gets involved in a green-card marriage to pay off some debts and ends up falling for her new room-mate. I adored it – you shoud read it. I will warn you that it is a shortie but a goodie 🙂
My name is Rachel. I’m straight . . . I think. I also have a mountain of student loans and a smart mouth. I wasn’t serious when I told Pari Sadashiv I’d marry her. It was only party banter! Except Pari needs a green card, and she’s willing to give me a breather from drowning in debt.
My off-the-cuff idea might not be so terrible. We get along as friends. She’s really romantically cautious, which I find heartbreaking. She deserves someone to laugh with. She’s kind. And calm. And gorgeous. A couple of years with her actually sounds pretty good. If some of Pari’s kindness and calmness rubs off on me, that’d be a bonus, because I’m a mess — anorexia is not a pretty word — and my little ways of keeping control of myself, of the world, aren’t working anymore.
And, if I slip up, Pari will see my cracks. Then I’ll crack. Which means I gotta get out, quick, before I fall in love with my wife.
Genre-tags : #hero-to-dislike #contemporay #enemies-to-lovers #funny
Content Warnings : None I can remember
Ahh, I love this entire series but this one has a special place for me. Mainly as Richard is actually misunderstood rather than an arse.
Richard is a man who everyone hates … and that needs to be changed (I thought he was hilarious…). In steps Lainie as his fake girlfriend to make him more appealing to the public. It is a job she doesn’t want, and doesn’t really enjoy, but maybe it will all turn out OK…..
This just in: romance takes center stage as West End theatre’s Richard Troy steps out with none other than castmate Elaine Graham
Richard Troy used to be the hottest actor in London, but the only thing firing up lately is his temper. We all love to love a bad boy, but Richard’s antics have made him Enemy Number One, breaking the hearts of fans across the city.
Have the tides turned? Has English rose Lainie Graham made him into a new man?
Sources say the mismatched pair has been spotted at multiple events, arm in arm and hip to hip. From fits of jealousy to longing looks and heated whispers, onlookers are stunned by this blooming romance.
Could the rumors be right? Could this unlikely romance be the real thing? Or are these gifted stage actors playing us all?
Genre-tags : #Big-brothers-friend-romance, #unrequitedlove
Content-warning : None remembered
I really enjoyed this book as it crossed two tropes I love ; Older-brothers friend romance and fake relationship trope! This was a fake relationship for one event that becomes so much more….
Mia Sosa returns with another fun, flirty romance in her critically-acclaimed Love on Cue series!
For Hollywood agent Julian Hart, representing his best friend—megastar Carter Williamson—means it’s nearly impossible to keep his personal life and career separate. To make matters worse, Carter’s younger sister has been starring in Julian’s wildest fantasies more often than he’d care to admit. He knows she’s off-limits, but when Ashley shows up on his doorstep, needing a place to crash… suddenly his greatest temptation is sleeping down the hall.
Free-spirited Ashley Williamson doesn’t do commitment. Jobs, apartments, men… why let herself be tied down? But she’s had a crush on her older brother’s best friend for years and she’s committed to making Julian want her, one towel-clad midnight encounter at a time. But just as things start heating up, their steamy flirtation is interrupted by Carter’s east coast wedding. Ashley has no desire to go home and face her reputation as the family disappointment. But living with—dare she say dating?—a successful, sexy film agent could give them something else to talk about.
Julian can’t believe he agreed to fake a relationship with the one woman he can never have. And it’s going to take more than a little willpower to remember it’s all pretend. Or is it?
I have a few other honourable mentions … I’m going to link to their GR to see if you fancy them!
- Rocky Mountain Angel by Viv Arend – A grumpy, grumpy cowboy starts a fake relationship with a grieving heroine in this angsty, deliscious book
- Taking a Knee by Sean Ashcroft – A MM fake-romance featuring Roller derby players!! It is fab
- A Lot Like Love by Julie James – An undercover FBI starts a fake relationship with a heiress to catch a criminal. It is AMAZING.
I enjoy this trope and have read a few from your list.
Bear Meets Girl is one of my favorites too. I just finished a new one that was lots of fun—The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren. It also hinges on a fake relationship. You’re right, these stories are particularly appealing. They don’t depend so much on terrible parents or lethal threats to create and sustain a romantic tale.