Reviews

Faking It with #41 by Piper Rayne

clooney161's review against another edition

2.0

2.75⭐️ 1.75

getcremebrulaid's review against another edition

4.0

4 STARS ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I jumped straight into the series with book 3 but didn’t feel like I missed anything. I love standalones as it is, but appreciate them even more when they catch you up on who all the characters are without spoiling anything that happens in their story. So I feel like jumping backwards to find out more from the books is skipped would be just as fun as this read.

This is a classic single father fake engagement storyline. The premise is that Ford Jacob’s is a irresponsible playboy who finds out that he’s a father. Of course it’s not an easy transition, seeing as his baby mama dumps the baby and runs off. He has to change his ways quickly for the sake of his daughter. Though he is actually making small strides, the public still views him as only one thing.

In efforts to help his public image, his father sets him up with the perfect fake fiancé. Only his fathers choice is not someone who will take Ford’s crap. Enter Lena Boyd. Cue the classic enemies to lovers formula. Will they find common ground or burst into flames?


•
•
•
•

Flames. Flames for sure. These two were a hot mess. They bicker nearly the entire book but dang was it entertaining. Both main characters could benefit from some therapy, but that’s totally not important. So put on your rose colored glasses and read this book! It’s an incredibly quick read. There’s a blink and you’ll miss it conflict at the end. So if you enjoy fast paced drama, this is a great book. There are a few heartfelt moments that made me a liiiittle weepy, but it’s not an overly emotional read. It’s mostly light and fluffy. And don’t forget a little spicy

multicoloredbookreviews's review against another edition

3.0

Rating 3.5⭐

Bookbub has been very kind to me lately! I’ve come across so many titles by authors that are new to me that have been smashing successes. I couldn’t be happier. For the longest time, I kept deleting the emails without even opening them to see what free titles were available that day (in case you don’t know, Bookbub sends daily emails with book deals, from freebies to books that are on sale in the genres you’ve selected as being interested in). And now I’m low key kicking myself thinking of all the amazing books I may have missed out on.



Nothing to do about it now though, so let’s just move right on along to the review.

I really enjoyed Faking It with #41. Ford and Lena were both interesting, likable characters and their banter was *chef’s kiss*. Right from their very first scene together I knew they had great chemistry. The fake relationship trope is always a great set-up for some good sexual tension, and in this case it was made all the better by also throwing the enemies-to-lovers trope into the mix.



One of the aspects that stood out to me the most was how Anabelle, Ford’s baby, was actually a true part of the story. I really loved that a lot. I don’t often come across single-parent-to-a-baby books, but the few times I have, the babies have seldom been little else that props, hanging out in the background and only brought forth when the plot demanded it. That always felt disingenuous to me. Why write a single parent story, where the kids should be an integral, intrinsic part, only to completely forget about them for the majority of the novel? So, in that sense, this book absolutely rocked.



Another aspect that was tackled better than I often see it done was how it was hinted at that both of Ford’s friends/teammates had their own books without hitting the reader over the head with it, or making things confusing. I’ve lost count of the times I’ve been happily reading along only to come to a screeching halt when some random character showed up spouting random things that were clearly a reference to something that had happened in some other book of which I was 100% ignorant.



I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, it’s awfully presumptuous of authors to believe readers have read all of their work and are familiar with the stories of all their characters. That’s a huge pet-peeve of mine. Especially when authors decide to bring together characters from completely different series. Either don’t do it or give sufficient context to know who these strangers are and how they fit into the current story. Kudos to Piper Rayne for insinuating enough about Aiden and Maxsim’s stories to spark my curiosity and make me want to read their books while keeping things clear by not diving into specific events that occurred in their own plots.



Back to the meat of the book, I thought the sort of gradual reveal of Lena’s backstory was done very well to justify her hang-ups and trust issues when it came to Ford. But I must say the execution of them getting over the last hurdle towards their happily ever after was messy. There was quite a bit of back and forth and the same conversation was had seemingly multiple times, which ended up being very confusing for me. I’d think they’d talked things through and were finally on the same page only to learn that wasn’t the case. That was the one thing that slightly put me off and why I docked half a star off of what would otherwise have been a 4 star rating.

In any case, this was still a super fun and entertaining book and for me, an introduction to what seems like an awesome series and two fantastic writers that make up a great writing duo, so I can confidently say I’ll be checking out more by Piper Rayne.

tamtam's review against another edition

lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

kfriend's review against another edition

5.0

Just when I think I couldn't love the Hockey Hotties series even more, Piper Rayne unleash the full swooniness of Ford upon me and wow me with my favorite book in the series yet! The banter, the heat, the tender feels- I simply adored Faking it with #41. With every passing page, I fall more and more in love with the series- I just can't get enough of these Hockey Hotties!

Ford Ford Ford. I love a sexy single dad story- especially when said single dad is a arrogant playboy who finds himself unexpectedly solo parenting a baby girl. But the rebellious #41’s rich and powerful father wants to save his image, so he decides control the narrative in the form of a fake fiancé to minimize the fall out- and the family's PR guru Lena ends up being the perfect woman for the job. The only issue is these two have a love hate relationship- or perhaps, more of a hate-lust dynamic. What a yummy dynamic- and Piper Rayne brings all the humor and steam as this very fake engagement becomes very real.

Ford ending up winning me over completely- not just because of his relationship with Lena but because of the adorable ways he leaned into his new role as a father. I was practically keeling over with my swooning over him and his daughter Annabelle. And I loved Lena- she’s got a caring heart, a ton of patience, and admirable fortitude and drive. She helps us discover the magic in Ford as she discovers it herself- how he too is caring, strong, and very loving.

Ford cleans up and reforms fast- all out of love for his little girl. And we find out more about just what has made Ford who we’ve seen in the prior stories, his complicated family dynamics that have prompted his rebellious streak. Of course, his disgust with his family’s control and manipulations doesn’t help his relationship at first with Lena, whom he sees as yet another attempt from his father to meddle in his life. And the last thing Lena wants to do is babysit a rebellious manchild, and his actual child. But being together constantly soon had them building a sweet, emotional and sexy connection with ample enchanting chemistry to keep me turning the pages.

This series has fast become a favorite Piper Rayne series- as they tackle the sports romance genre with their trademark wit and steam. Looking forward to the next hotties to come!

excel_spreadsheet_book_nerd's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

alisonb's review against another edition

5.0

Loved this book!

scarlettk's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes

3.0

rinaryel's review against another edition

3.0

Faking it with baby- daddy didn't held a lot of mystery but it was definitely a great book. Ford, the cocky & arrogant hockey player came along nicely after his easy going life turned upside-down when he became a full time daddy after a one night stand.

catwithbooks's review

4.0

Die Hockey Hotties liebe ich mittlerweile sehr und habe mich schon auf Band 3 gefreut.
Bei den Männern ist nicht immer so wie alles scheint und so verhält es sich auch teilweise.
Ford ist kein Kind von Traurigkeit, womit er oberflächig betrachtet als ziemlicher Frauenheld da steht. Aber was seine Tochter angeht, da gibt er 100% und viel trauen es ihm nicht zu, wobei man dann überrascht wird. Er ist ein wahrer liebevoller Vater.
Ford liefert sich hier frech und starke Wortgefechte mit Lena. Sie ist die PR Beraterin seiner Familie und seine Familie ist der Meinung, dass diese benötigt wird. Schließlich ist Fords Tochter an Hand eines One Night Stands entstanden.
Und wie heißt es so schon, was sich liebt das neckt sich, aber dafür müsst man erstmal an seinen Gefühlen kratzen. Etwas was beiden unangenehm hier ist. Schließlich haben ja beide jeweils eine Meinung zum anderen.
Die Handlung war wieder locker, leicht und einfach zum genießen.
Ford und Lena sind beide sympathisch und haben mir sehr gefallen. Die reihe ist perfekt zum Abschalten und macht einfach Spaß zu lesen. 
Mit Bücher von Piper Rayne macht man einfach nichts verkehrt. Sie sind immer witzig und fürs Herz.