A review by bladebailey
Faking with Benefits by Lily Gold

emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Wildly successful lingerie designer Layla really sucks at the whole dating thing but wishes she didn't. When her three best friends who run a relationship advice podcast volunteer to coach her in how to flirt, date, etc. she decides that she can't afford to say no. 

When I realized that Luke, Josh, and Zack all run a podcast together I got the *instant* ick and, while it's still not my favorite profession for a male romance lead, I actually wound up tolerating them all fine. They seem to understand consent and communication and all of the other things that men with microphones tend to willfully ignore, so I wound up enjoying the book a decent amount. Layla thrives professionally but struggles with men and relationships because she was viciously bullied during school in sxually aggressive ways, so it takes the boys some time to build trust and realize that she's not actually bad at relationships, she's just traumatized. Rugby player Zack, podcast runner Josh, and ex-teacher (Layla's, in fact) Luke all join together to help Layla... until they realize that they'd like to keep her for themselves.
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