Today’s book review is for Faking Ms. Right: A Hot Romantic Comedy (Dirty Martini Running Club, Book 1) by Claire Kingsley, an adult romance novel about a fake relationship that turns into a real relationship.
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Book Synopsis
Everly Dalton is a walking, talking, martini-drinking dating disaster. Forget kissing frogs. She can’t even get past the first date. But at work, she’s a badass—the longest-running assistant billionaire Shepherd Calloway has ever had. Her coworkers wonder how she handles the big bad wolf—and never gets bit.
Shepherd Calloway isn’t interested in being anyone’s sugar daddy. Tired of women who only want him for his money, he swears off dating, determined to focus on running his empire. Until his gold-digging ex hits him where it hurts, putting him in a difficult position.
His solution—to have Everly pose as his live-in girlfriend—is obviously crazy. But the timing is uncanny. It just so happens Everly needs a favor from her boss—a big and awkward one—and this could ensure everyone gets what they want.
Besides, Everly can totally survive a few months of faux romance. Except there’s a problem. Shepherd is supposed to be a single-minded, unemotional robot boss. Not an actual human with a heart and morning wood. Between the awkward bed-sharing and tingly fake dates, lines are blurring. And as Everly gets to know the real Shepherd, she discovers there’s more to the man behind the bank account.
And faking it gets all too real.
Faking Ms. Right is a hot, STAND-ALONE romantic comedy. From Goodreads.
“It had been a great evening, but instead of making me feel light and happy, it made me a little bit sad. Because none of it had been real.”
The Basics
- Category: Adult Romance
- Tags: Adult, Romance, Comedy, Chick Lit, Contemporary Romance
- Author: Claire Kingsley
- Publisher: Independently Published, May 2019
- Where to Find: Amazon, Target, Walmart
- Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.75
- Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
**Spoilers Ahead**
When Everly moves in with her boss and pretends to be his girlfriend what could go wrong??
So Let’s Get Into it…
The book pivots between two narrators: Everly, an assistant for a billionaire, and Shepard, said billionaire. Everly is an extremely likable character. She is described as having a sunshine personality, and befriends everyone she meets. She has two best friends (who will get their own books in this series) that form the Dirty Martini Running Club. The club has a simple yet fun premise: run 3 miles and then drink martinis. SIGN ME UP for that club! Their friendship is fun and quirky and is a great part of the book. From the outside, it seems like Everly has everything going for her except a long string of bad first dates. It gets to the point where she decides to swear off dating for good.
“After the champagne and the Manhattan, I was in danger of bypassing a little tipsy and heading straight for telling inappropriate stories and asking strangers for hugs. Not that I’d ever done that before. Okay, yes I had.”
Enter: Shepard, who also goes by Shep. Shep only dates women who are surface level and want to be with him for his money. He is cold and doesn’t let people get close to him. When his latest ex Svetlana shows up at a charity event on the arm of his father, Shep asks Everly to come to the event and pose as his girlfriend and expose Svetlana’s gold-digging tendencies. Everly and Shep make a convincing pair at the event.
However, Shepard’s dad has some life altering news that includes him temporarily moving in with Shepard. His dad is, unfortunately, still dating Svetlana. Shepard still wants to keep up the charade of dating Everly, and asks her to move in with him.
Amazingly, Everly agrees. Why??
- She can’t resist helping people
- Her sister wants Shepard to be the sperm donor for her and her partner
Yep. You read #2 correctly. Even though it is extremely awkward because Shepard is her boss, Everly agrees to ask him for her sister because… see #1. Unfortunately, her sister asked Everly about this before she became his fake girlfriend and moved in with him, so now it is an even more awkward request. Her sister even had her lawyers draw up a contract and everything!
The more time Shep and Everly spend together, the more the lines start to blur and their fake relationship begins to feel real. When they can’t deny their attraction any longer, the book gets spicy (about halfway through the book in case you were wondering). They both fall for each other, but won’t admit it to each other. The tension reaches a climax when Shep discovers the sperm donor contract. After a dramatic break up and an even MORE dramatic make up, they finally admit that they are in love – and live happily ever after!
“I kissed her because, in that moment, there was nowhere else I’d rather be, nothing else I’d rather be doing. And no one else I’d rather be doing it with.”
So There are a Few Flaws
- Hot billionaire is cliché
- “Sunshine” girl is also cliché
- The storyline is rather predictable (but who doesn’t love a romantic comedy with a happy ending?)
I know that these troupes sell books, but sometimes they are grating. That being said, I knew this when I picked the book from Kindle Unlimited – meaning I might be part of the problem? Because I devoured this book in one day (and before lunch)!
“All it had taken was a gold-digging ex-girlfriend, a parent in crisis, a sister looking for a sperm donor, a fake relationship, some awkward bed-sharing, a stupidly huge diamond, and some strawberry shampoo to crack that man open.”
So… Bookmark or Bin it?
Conclusion: Bookmark it
This story was a quick read and really entertaining. I had a good time reading it and the pace of the book was solid. A perfect beach read or book to take on vacation, this book stands out as an above average romantic comedy. I genuinely liked the characters and was invested in their stories!
Fun Extra Tidbit
Claire Kingsley’s tagline on her website is “heart, heat, and happily ever after,” which I think is perfect after reading only one of her books. She has many romance novels/series. You could also say she is a romance author version of Taylor Swift. Just like Swift in her music videos, Kingsley leaves Easter eggs throughout her books that connect each other and different series. You can find a list of all her Easter eggs on her website or pick up her books and try to find them yourself!
Thanks so much for reading my book review for Faking Ms. Right: A Hot Romantic Comedy, (Dirty Martini Running Club, Book 1) by Claire Kingsley! Now it’s your turn! Have you read this novel or any others by Claire and if so, what are your thoughts? Please feel free to share in the comments below!
Happy reading 😊
