I’ve wanted to do this series for a very long time, but never had enough books to talk about. However, I’ve read enough fake dating books now to have this series be sustainable. They will be very spread out though.

If you have any great fake dating book recommendations please let me know, it’s my favourite trope.

Chain of Iron by Cassandra Clare

This is a slightly weird choice because this book isn’t about the fake dating trope, however, it is included within the plot. Well, it’s more a marriage of convenience but the only reason why they’d get married is because of the time period. I’m going to say it’s fake dating though because this is my post and I can do what I want. 

Seriously though, James and Cordelia very quickly became one of my favourite book pairings during this book. It’s just so good.

Synopsis: Cordelia Carstairs seems to have everything she ever wanted. She’s engaged to marry James Herondale, the boy she has loved since childhood. She has a new life in London with her best friend Lucie Herondale and James’s charming companions, the Merry Thieves. She is about to be reunited with her beloved father. And she bears the sword Cortana, a legendary hero’s blade.

But the truth is far grimmer. James and Cordelia’s marriage is a lie, arranged to save Cordelia’s reputation. James is in love with the mysterious Grace Blackthorn whose brother, Jesse, died years ago in a terrible accident. Cortana burns Cordelia’s hand when she touches it, while her father has grown bitter and angry. And a serial murderer is targeting the Shadowhunters of London, killing under cover of darkness, then vanishing without a trace.

Together with the Merry Thieves, Cordelia, James, and Lucie must follow the trail of the knife-wielding killer through the city’s most dangerous streets. All the while, each is keeping a shocking secret: Lucie, that she plans to raise Jesse from the dead; Cordelia, that she has sworn a dangerous oath of loyalty to a mysterious power; and James, that he is being drawn further each night into the dark web of his grandfather, the arch-demon Belial. And that he himself may be the killer they seek.

Better than the Movies by Lynn Painter

This also isn’t really about fake dating, Wes “pretends” to like Liz to make her seem more desirable to the boy she likes. However, this is one of my favourite romance books and it’s pretty much the fake dating trope. If you’ve been living under a rock and haven’t read Better than the Movies, or any other Lynn Painter books, you absolutely need to. They’re some of my all-time favourites.

Synopsis: Perpetual daydreamer Liz Buxbaum gave her heart to Michael a long time ago. But her cool, aloof forever crush never really saw her before he moved away. Now that he’s back in town, Liz will do whatever it takes to get on his radar – and maybe snag him as a prom date – even befriend Wes Bennet.

The annoyingly attractive next-door neighbor might seem like a prime candidate for romantic-comedy fantasies, but Wes has only been a pain in Liz’s butt since they were kids. Pranks involving frogs and decapitated lawn gnomes do not a potential boyfriend make. Yet, somehow, Wes and Michael are hitting it off, which means Wes is Liz’s in.

But as Liz and Wes scheme to get Liz noticed by Michael so she can have her magical prom moment, she’s shocked to discover that she likes being around Wes. And as they continue to grow closer, she must reexamine everything she thought she knew about love – and rethink her own ideas of what happily ever after should look like.

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Like this post? Why not read this one too: Book Review: Spell Bound by Gretchen Rue