← All tropes

Fake Dating romance books

It's all pretend — the hand-holding, the longing looks, the way the heart won't stop racing.

Fake Dating runs on the genre's favorite delicious lie: two people agree to pretend to be a couple for some perfectly practical reason — a wedding date, a green card, a publicity stunt, a scheme to make someone jealous — and then discover the feelings refuse to stay fake. The arrangement gives them permission to act on an attraction neither would admit to, and the performance keeps blurring into the real thing.

The joy is the slow collapse of the pretense. Every staged touch becomes charged, every rehearsed line starts to mean something, and the gap between what they're pretending and what they're feeling becomes unbearable. The fake relationship is a safe container for real vulnerability — until it isn't, and they have to face what's actually grown between them.

One of the most beloved tropes in the genre, this one ranges from sparkling rom-com to slow-burning ache. If you love charged pretend-intimacy, the tension of a lie turning true, and the swoon of two people falling while insisting they're just acting, this is your shelf.

What to expect
  • The delicious collapse of a convenient lie
  • Charged, can't-stop-now pretend intimacy
  • A safe container for real vulnerability
  • Beloved rom-com tension and slow-burn ache
310 books
Newest firstHighest rated
Never Fall for the Fake BoyfriendLauren Landish, Valorie Clifton, Staci Etheridge
Never Fall for the Fake Boyfriend
Lauren Landish, Valorie Clifton, Staci Etheridge
PG-13Adult 18+
PretendR. L. Mathewson
Pretend
R. L. Mathewson
PG-13Adult 18+
Tres meses
Tres meses
Joana Marcús
PG-13Adult 18+
Mixed Signals
Mixed Signals
B. K. Borison
PG-13Adult 18+
Right Move
Right Move
Liz Tomforde
PG-13New Adult
If We PretendChrissy Hopewell
If We Pretend
Chrissy Hopewell
PG-13Adult 18+
Black Ties and White Lies
Black Ties and White Lies
Kat Singleton
PG-13Adult 18+
PretendJennifer Conklin
Pretend
Jennifer Conklin
PG-13Adult 18+
Jasper Vale
Jasper Vale
Devney Perry
RAdult 18+
Kiss Me OnceCyn Garrett
Kiss Me Once
Cyn Garrett
PG-13Adult 18+
Why You Should Never Kiss Your Fake BoyfriendErin Nicholas
Why You Should Never Kiss Your Fake Boyfriend
Erin Nicholas
PG-13Adult 18+
Amish Cowboy's LetterAdina Senft
Amish Cowboy's Letter
Adina Senft
PGAdult 18+
Capturing Her Highland Keeper
Capturing Her Highland Keeper
Maeve Greyson
RAdult 18+
The Bodyguard
The Bodyguard
Katherine Center
PG-13Adult 18+
The Best Men
The Best Men
Lauren Blakely;Sarina Bowen
RAdult 18+
PretenderKristy Marie
Pretender
Kristy Marie
PG-13Adult 18+
Bad Billionaires 5Elise Faber
Bad Billionaires 5
Elise Faber
RAdult 18+
Twisted Lies
Twisted Lies
Ana Huang
RAdult 18+
PretendElla Miles
Pretend
Ella Miles
PG-13Adult 18+
Her Pretend Cowboy BoyfriendLaura Ann
Her Pretend Cowboy Boyfriend
Laura Ann
PG-13Adult 18+
Wyatt's Pretend PledgeLiz Isaacson
Wyatt's Pretend Pledge
Liz Isaacson
PG-13Adult 18+
The Marriage Debt
The Marriage Debt
Clarissa Wild
RAdult 18+
Don't be in LoveLiana Cincotti
Don't be in Love
Liana Cincotti
PG-13New Adult
Benevolence 3 Books Set. Pretend You're Mine, Finally Mine, Protecting What's MineLucy Score
Benevolence 3 Books Set. Pretend You're Mine, Finally Mine, Protecting What's Mine
Lucy Score
PG-13Adult 18+
Just PretendKathryn Kaleigh
Just Pretend
Kathryn Kaleigh
PG-13Adult 18+
Wolf of FireKrista Street
Wolf of Fire
Krista Street
RAdult 18+
21 RumorsKristy Marie
21 Rumors
Kristy Marie
RAdult 18+
Fake Dating's a BeastEmily Fluke
Fake Dating's a Beast
Emily Fluke
PG-13Adult 18+
Fake Dating TropeJennifer Ann Shore
Fake Dating Trope
Jennifer Ann Shore
PG-13Adult 18+
Pretend You're MineCrystal Kaswell
Pretend You're Mine
Crystal Kaswell
PG-13Adult 18+