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A review by tyras_bookshelf
The Fake Boyfriend Fiasco by Talia Hibbert
adventurous
dark
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This one is super British, I like it.
Aria is a hot, tattooed RBF type with a deep need for affection, recovering from romantic trust issues and betrayal (way more seriously than I thought when I first opened this book).
Nik is a hot, rich sl*t recovering from his own hubris, a busted knee ensuring in a career change and a lifestyle of apoiled behaviors.
Basically the whole book is love at first sight, “he falls first” and spends the book lying and wooing her with his loveable, vulgar friends. The conflict and ending were (as one expects in a contemporary romance) predictable.
*spoliers*
I guess I don’t believe in love at first sight though so it was hard to suspend my disbelief for that. The “love” of it all felt kinda shallow, especially since Hibbert skipped the 6 weeks of courting I would have wanted to see as it was the reason Nik felt like he wanted Aria forever.
I know I read romance for the unbelievable storyline (though as Kennedy Ryan points out, a person treating you with love, honor and respect should not be so far-fetched) but still. I was hooked by the foot kicking, precious-ness of it but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to see the falling.
The 🌶️ of this one was unreal. Seriously my jaw dropped. Anyway, I will not be discussing but wow. It’s a…wow.
I appreciated that Nik was finally honest and that the break up didn’t come from his secret being revealed. I personally don’t see Nik’s lie as that bad, but I do see how Aria will felt betrayed with her trust issues and previous trauma.
I do wish Talia had done something with Shenker though so that that drama was worth it. That just felt like a thread we didn’t resolve other than Aria telling him off. He seemed like he was going to be a bigger problem, though I guess he was a catalyst for Aria’s acceptance of her feelings. And maybe a foil of Nik to make his more desirable.
Talia did the “beast inside him” thing too much for this not to be a fantasy. That took me from the story a bit too. I was, early on, expecting him to grow some fur and fangs with all that “mine” business.
I’m really really glad that Aria got her HEA and that the epilogue was so far in the future. It’s a nice deviation from Hibbert’s usual epilogue pacing. That said, it definitely needed more detail and flavor to be worth the addition. It scratched the itch but I would have like more backstory if we were going to have such a big time jump.
And more story overall really. This was a quick, novella type but she certainly could have lain into the details more.
But Hibbert did what she always does; crushed it and I loved it. Though comparing this book to the Brown sisters universe, it’s lower on my list of favorites.
Aria is a hot, tattooed RBF type with a deep need for affection, recovering from romantic trust issues and betrayal (way more seriously than I thought when I first opened this book).
Nik is a hot, rich sl*t recovering from his own hubris, a busted knee ensuring in a career change and a lifestyle of apoiled behaviors.
Basically the whole book is love at first sight, “he falls first” and spends the book lying and wooing her with his loveable, vulgar friends. The conflict and ending were (as one expects in a contemporary romance) predictable.
*spoliers*
I guess I don’t believe in love at first sight though so it was hard to suspend my disbelief for that. The “love” of it all felt kinda shallow, especially since Hibbert skipped the 6 weeks of courting I would have wanted to see as it was the reason Nik felt like he wanted Aria forever.
I know I read romance for the unbelievable storyline (though as Kennedy Ryan points out, a person treating you with love, honor and respect should not be so far-fetched) but still. I was hooked by the foot kicking, precious-ness of it but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to see the falling.
The 🌶️ of this one was unreal. Seriously my jaw dropped. Anyway, I will not be discussing but wow. It’s a…wow.
I appreciated that Nik was finally honest and that the break up didn’t come from his secret being revealed. I personally don’t see Nik’s lie as that bad, but I do see how Aria will felt betrayed with her trust issues and previous trauma.
I do wish Talia had done something with Shenker though so that that drama was worth it. That just felt like a thread we didn’t resolve other than Aria telling him off. He seemed like he was going to be a bigger problem, though I guess he was a catalyst for Aria’s acceptance of her feelings. And maybe a foil of Nik to make his more desirable.
Talia did the “beast inside him” thing too much for this not to be a fantasy. That took me from the story a bit too. I was, early on, expecting him to grow some fur and fangs with all that “mine” business.
I’m really really glad that Aria got her HEA and that the epilogue was so far in the future. It’s a nice deviation from Hibbert’s usual epilogue pacing. That said, it definitely needed more detail and flavor to be worth the addition. It scratched the itch but I would have like more backstory if we were going to have such a big time jump.
And more story overall really. This was a quick, novella type but she certainly could have lain into the details more.
But Hibbert did what she always does; crushed it and I loved it. Though comparing this book to the Brown sisters universe, it’s lower on my list of favorites.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence and Sexual content
Moderate: Biphobia and Kidnapping