A review by gabs_parr
The Fake Out by Stephanie Archer

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing 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? It's complicated

5.0

Loved this book more than the first. This couple was more relatable to me than the first couple because Hazel’s passionate but kind personality is so similar to mine. The way she behaves in her relationship though, anxious-avoidant, snarky, while also being deeply loyal, protective, and supportive- and secretly caring more than she’s willing to admit even to herself at first… for better and for worse, was like watching myself in a mirror. It was sweet to see a girl like us get a happy ending. 

This book also improved in the first. Every problem that I had with the first book was addressed in this book to at least some degree. My biggest issue with the first book was that the main characters didn’t have friendships outside of each other and I thought that was weird. In this book, Hazel has a slightly deeper relationship with her sister than was shown in the first book and Rory’s relationship with Jamie has healed so that friendship is a shown, along with some blossoming casual relationships with other men on The Storm, including Hayden and Coach. 

This book also contains a better balance of romance, friendship, and … love scenes than the first book did. A much, much better balance. The ones that were included fit into the story much better and they were still just as well done as the ones in the first book. Another improvement I loved to see. 

I really loved the storylines with their parents in this book. All 3 of them. Very well done. 

I would recommend this book to any romance reader looking to get into the sports romance genre. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings