The Fiancee Farce: A Novel

Name: The Fiancee Farce: A Novel
SKU: 127996
Availability: InStock

4.4 | 1,475 ratings

Price: 7.99

Last update: 09-10-2024

About this item

Lambda Literary award winner and national bestselling author Alexandria Bellefleur returns with a steamy sapphic rom-com about a quiet bookseller and a romance novel cover model who agree to a modern-day marriage of convenience...

Tansy Adams’ greatest love is her family’s bookstore, passed down from her late father. But when it comes to actual romance… Tansy can’t get past the first chapter. Tired of her stepfamily’s questions about her love life, Tansy invents Gemma, a fake girlfriend inspired by the stunning cover model on a bestselling book. They’ll never actually meet, so what’s the harm in a little fib? Yet when real-life Gemma crosses Tansy’s path, her white lie nearly implodes.

Gemma van Dalen is a wild child, the outcast of her wealthy family, and now the latest heir to Van Dalen Publishing. But the title comes with one tiny condition: she must be married in order to inherit. When Gemma discovers a beautiful stranger has been pretending to date her for months, she decides to take the charade one step further—and announces their engagement.

Gemma needs a wife to meet the terms of her grandfather’s will and Tansy needs money to save her struggling bookstore. A marriage could be mutually beneficial, if they can fool everyone into thinking it’s a love match. Unexpected sparks fly as Tansy and Gemma play the role of affectionate fiancées, and suddenly the line between convenient arrangement and real feelings begins to blur. But the scheming Van Dalen family won’t give up the company without a fight, and Gemma and Tansy’s newfound happiness might get caught in the fallout…

JillLikes2Read

I loved it!

Reviewed in the United States on July 23, 2024

I could not put it down, reading at all breaks no matter how small. Such a cute story. The back and forth between Gemma and Tansy was entertaining and well written. Made me feel all sorts of emotions.

Jazelle

I'm a Total Goner

Reviewed in the United States on July 10, 2024

???? The Fiancée Farce Book Review ????

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

❝ She was a total goner. Whatever magic Tansy was made of, Gemma wanted to drown in it, revel in the honeyed heat burning her up from the inside out. It was better than the finest bourbon she’d ever had the pleasure of sipping. ❞

???? After losing her parents and a traumatic romantic experience as a teen, Tansy Adams focuses all her time and energy on her late father's bookstore. To dodge questions about her love life, Tansy invents Gemma, a fake girlfriend inspired by the stunning cover model on a best-selling romance book. She never expected that real-life Gemma would step into her life, play along, and announce they were engaged, imploding that white lie into a full-on farce. Gemma van Dalen, the outcast of her wealthy family, needs a spouse to inherit Van Dalen Publishing; her grandmother's legacy. In exchange for Tansy's hand in marriage, Gemma offers to save Tansy's beloved bookstore before it's sold off. Can their marriage of convenience work, or will Gemma's scheming family get between them?

❝ "As for feeling like you’ve failed, well, failure is an inescapable part of life. But failing doesn’t make you a failure. And I’m sorry your father made you feel like the two were synonymous. You are more than your achievements, Gemma. You are brilliant, and ambitious, and you are good, do you hear me? And what you do or do not achieve in this life has no bearing on your value.” ❞

???? Oh. My. Goddess. That's right: goddess, because that's exactly what these two cunning, sassy women are. Alexandria Bellefleur has taken the generally predictable "marriage of convenience" trope and turned it into an emotional, powerful story about finding the love you don't realize you deserve. Both Tansy and Gemma are full of so much pain, their family trees full of broken branches (and in Gemma's case, poisonous barbs). For them to find love and family in one another so unexpectedly (for them, at least, because, come on, that's what we're here for), so flawlessly...it's not only swoon-worthy and sweet, but a relief. It's the insane, instant, undeniable chemistry between Tansy and Gemma that empowers their every interaction from the start, but unlike other marriage-of-convenience stories, smut doesn't drive their relationship. What starts off as a business relationship blossoms from a friendship to a true partnership. Gemma is sweet and giving as she navigates her first real relationship, while Tansy comes out of her shell to defend Gemma when no one else has. These goddesses support one another, even when the relationship is only a farce, until it all becomes real. The character development between them both is a flawless example of how empowering love--and having someone by your side--can really be.

???? As much as I loved every interaction between Gemma and Tansy, it's difficult to love everything that happens outside of their sweet sapphic bubble. The toxic men--namely Tucker, Gemma's cousin, who manipulated teenage Tansy and shared underage nudes of her--seem unrealistically cruel. Tansy's step-mother goes from a social ladder-climbing step-Bridzilla to suddenly sympathetic. None of the secondary characters have real layers, making them no more than pawns to the story's plot progression. Because of that, none of the conflicts or twists are surprising. The boardroom scene/resolution seemed beyond unrealistic, regardless of how sweet the gesture was. You may need to expand your suspension of disbelief and focus on the sapphic sweetness for this one.

???? Recommended for fans of Stars Collide, Cleat Cute, and Love at First Set. This heartwarming sapphic romance is full of feels; a stunning addition to any shelf.

✨ The Vibes ✨
???? Fake Dating
???? Marriage of Convenience
???? Bi MCs (Bi4Bi)
???? Sapphic Romance
???? Mental Health Rep
???? Opposites Attract

Amber

Love this book

Reviewed in the United States on August 21, 2024

I have read this book four times because it is that good. Alexandria Bellefleur is so great at building her characters. They just get inside your head, and you can visualize the scenes as you read them.

Kylee Grimwood

okay

Reviewed in the United States on June 9, 2024

I’m honestly not sure how i finished this book. i considered dnf-ing multiple times due to boredom, and then did that cycle like 5 times??? So here are your stars, i guess.

The plot is bonkers, and somehow was still sooooooo boring to me. Every single twist was painfully obvious, and the chemistry between Tansy and Gemma was saccharine in a very cloying way. The best way i can think to describe this book is having a trope wheel in front of you, spin it 5 times, and write that down.

I didn’t hate my reading experience, but i also didn’t *enjoy* it.

Melissa

Another Fantastic Story From Alexandria Bellefleur

Reviewed in the United States on May 2, 2023

Love this author so much that I THOUGHT I had pre-ordered this book. Now I'm late to the party, but realizing that this book had been released made my day yesterday. Less than 24 hours later, I've finished the book and I miss it already.

In my opinion, Bellefleur is damn good at writing romances that feel like they could be real. That's not to say they aren't swoonworthy - they definitely are - but she finds the romance in the everyday instead of relying on overly flowery declarations and grand gestures. Okay, fine, there are some grand gestures, but it's the combination with the little things that make her love stories so great.

A couple quick additional things I will say about Bellefleur's writing at this story:
- She stays true to her characters. They change and grow, but they do so in a way that fits them or aligns with the influence of their partner. I also appreciate the fact that her characters don't talk and act the same way from book to book. Each character feels like someone new to get to know.
- The spicy scenes are - *chef's kiss* - practically perfect. A good amount of scenes with a good amount of words dedicated to each without any cringeworthy metaphors.

Shan

amazing

Reviewed in the United States on May 19, 2024

This book was so cute! I loved the way the meet cute was out of the norm, and happened to work in both of the FMC favor. Their chemistry was undeniable and I'm so glad that it wasn't the common miscommunication trope about their feelings. I loved the storyline, the pacing and the writing. Bellefleur has a way about making me laugh and root for the characters all at the same time. Plus im always a sucker for Fake marriage romance.

Deb STL

Loved it!

Reviewed in the United States on October 26, 2023

There seems to be many books out there now with the fake girlfriend/boyfriend, fake girlfriend/girlfriend, or fake fiance/spouse. I actually like this particular trope quite a lot. Some are OK, bad or good. This novel falls in the last category. I really liked this book and will definitely be re-reading it sometime in the future. Tansy and Gemma are very likeable as individuals. As a couple, they have amazing chemistry very early on. One of the best things I liked about this novel is that the author doesn't make us wait until the end of the book for the characters to acknowledge their attraction. They become a true couple early on despite almost everyone thinking it is not real. The writing is well done and I really really liked the main characters. (Have I said that enough times?) There was definitely some heat too! Everything THIS woman is looking for from a romance novel. Definitely recommend. I give it 4 ¾ stars.

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