Love Charade by Allie McDermid is an adorable fake relationship contemporary romance set in Glasgow, Scotland.
Holly Taylor never expected to return to her hometown jobless and single. She also never expected her parents to enter her into a dating competition as soon as she returned.
Jen Berkley has sworn off relationships and is content spending her days running her cocktail business when a friend convinces her to take part in the dating contest.
Both Jen and Holly want to win, but seeing as they’ve both sworn off love, can they pull off the charade to come out victorious?
Set in Glasgow, it’s full to the brim with Scottish charm along with desire, chemistry, and sexual tension!
Pros And My Favourite Parts
Both Holly and Jen are lovely women with giant but guarded hearts. They’ve both been unlucky in love with Holly still nursing a recently broken heart and Jen swearing off romance three years prior after her ex left her for the lights of London. Allie McDermid did a great job describing the awkwardness between Jen and Holly through the first couple of dates as the fake relationship trope rolled full steam ahead. I smiled quite a bit as their feelings progressed and their chemistry started tapping each woman on the shoulder.
I also loved the fun, witty dialogue between Jen and Holly. Holly was able to give as good as she got and never got flustered by Jen’s snark!
Cons And Heads Up
None for me.
The Conclusion
This is a sweet little romance with likeable main characters and delightful supporting characters. It’s high on the smiles and low on the drama and angst.
Excerpt from Love Charade by Allie McDermid
“There was an awkward moment of proper eye contact before Holly made her way over. Time to build a bridge.
‘Come to soak some more innocent souls?’ she joked.
‘And I take it you’ve come to steal more parking spaces?’ the blonde replied, deadly serious.
‘Excuse me?’
‘The space outside my shop. I have an agreement with the deli owners.’
‘And what would that be?’ Holly sipped her wine, dying to know what the heck this woman was on about. Mum and Dad hadn’t mentioned anything. Had they?
‘I get that space around five, if it’s free. It’s just how we do things.’
The woman stared her down, her pale green eyes locking with Holly’s. She clocked her name tag: yellow top. Interesting. ‘Listen, Jen. I didn’t see your name on it and my parents didn’t say anything, so it’s free game.’
‘Your parents? As in Catherine and Harry?’
‘Yeah.’
‘They’ve never mentioned you.’
‘Yeah, well, I’ve been away.’ All that time and they never mentioned her? It’s not like she was expecting them to be singing her praises, but a casual name drop would have been nice in all the years they’d owned the place.
“Listen, just don’t do it again,’ Jen said, closing the space between them, trying to look threatening. She had a few inches on her, but Holly wasn’t fazed.
In fact, she couldn’t help but snigger. ‘What if I do?’
‘Expect another bucket of water to come your way.’ Jen hid the beginnings of a smile behind her wine glass as she took a gulp, but she was anything but joking.
‘You could have blinded me.’ An exaggeration, but she needed to say something.
‘As if. This has been lovely, but I need to remind my friend she’s gay tonight.’
‘You what?’
‘Doesn’t matter. Stay out of my spot, okay?’
Holly pulled a face, unable to think of a smart remark. Sometimes silence was better than getting the final word.
What a dick.
Never mind build a bridge – that bad boy could stay burned for all she cared.”
Get It Online
When you use the links in this review and buy within 24 hours of clicking then we get a small commission that helps us run the site and it costs you nothing extra
Bits and Bobs
ISBN number: 9798839887633
Publisher: Indie Author
If you enjoyed Love Charade by Allie McDermid then you should also look at
Note: I received a free review copy of Love Charade by Allie McDermid. No money was exchanged for this review. When you use our links to buy we get a small commission which supports the running of this site
