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popthebutterfly 's review for:
The Decoy Girlfriend
by Lillie Vale
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.
Book: The Decoy Girlfriend
Author: Lillie Vale
Book Series: Standalone
Rating: 5/5
Spice: 3/5
Diversity: Trans character, Indian American MC and side character
Recommended For...: romance, adult readers, contemporary, bookish books, prince and the pauper story, fake dating
Publication Date: September 6, 2022
Genre: Romance
Age Relevance: 18+ (death, cursing, sexual content, romance, stalking, pregnancy, alcohol consumption, sexism)
Explanation of Above: The book mentioned death a couple of times and it involves a parent. There is a lot of cursing in the book. There is a good amount of sexual content in the book and there is a lot of romance. There are mentions of stalking and mentions of pregnancy in reference to side characters. There is some alcohol consumption shown in the book and there are sexist comments toward a female character.
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Pages:336
Synopsis: Writer Freya Lal has a huge secret: she’s a dead ringer for It-girl actress Mandi Roy. Her second novel is due in a month, but inspiration is nowhere to be found. Desperate to shake off her writer’s block, Freya leans into her look-alike abilities and indulges in some mistaken identity for simple perks, like scoring a free mimosa or getting into a trendy nightclub.
Actor Taft Bamber appears to have it all: gorgeous, talented, and Mandi’s love interest both on- and off-screen. But what nobody knows is that their relationship is a PR stunt, and after years of playing make-believe, he’s yearning for something real.
When Freya’s latest impersonation of Mandi goes viral thanks to Taft’s accidental interference, rumors of a breakup threaten Hollywood’s golden couple. To make amends, Freya is forced to give Mandi a little time off: she’ll pretend to be the actress for a month, move in with Taft, and squash the rumors by acting completely in love. But as Freya and Taft play house, it becomes impossible to ignore that their instant chemistry isn’t just for the cameras. While faking it, they might have just found the real thing.
Review: I really loved this book overall! I loved that the main character was an author and that the book had an air of bookishness. The book is told in Multi-POV, which I think makes the book flow very well, and it’s an interesting mash up of a prince and the pauper retelling with a fake dating trope and a third act break-up set-up. The book was extremely well written and it kept me hooked from beginning to end. The characters were well developed and I also loved the world building.
The only issue I had with the book is that I didn’t like that the POV changes weren’t indicated in the chapter heading. It made it a little confusing at a couple of points as to who’s POV you were in, but overall it didn’t affect much for the reading.
Verdict: It was great!
Book: The Decoy Girlfriend
Author: Lillie Vale
Book Series: Standalone
Rating: 5/5
Spice: 3/5
Diversity: Trans character, Indian American MC and side character
Recommended For...: romance, adult readers, contemporary, bookish books, prince and the pauper story, fake dating
Publication Date: September 6, 2022
Genre: Romance
Age Relevance: 18+ (death, cursing, sexual content, romance, stalking, pregnancy, alcohol consumption, sexism)
Explanation of Above: The book mentioned death a couple of times and it involves a parent. There is a lot of cursing in the book. There is a good amount of sexual content in the book and there is a lot of romance. There are mentions of stalking and mentions of pregnancy in reference to side characters. There is some alcohol consumption shown in the book and there are sexist comments toward a female character.
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Pages:336
Synopsis: Writer Freya Lal has a huge secret: she’s a dead ringer for It-girl actress Mandi Roy. Her second novel is due in a month, but inspiration is nowhere to be found. Desperate to shake off her writer’s block, Freya leans into her look-alike abilities and indulges in some mistaken identity for simple perks, like scoring a free mimosa or getting into a trendy nightclub.
Actor Taft Bamber appears to have it all: gorgeous, talented, and Mandi’s love interest both on- and off-screen. But what nobody knows is that their relationship is a PR stunt, and after years of playing make-believe, he’s yearning for something real.
When Freya’s latest impersonation of Mandi goes viral thanks to Taft’s accidental interference, rumors of a breakup threaten Hollywood’s golden couple. To make amends, Freya is forced to give Mandi a little time off: she’ll pretend to be the actress for a month, move in with Taft, and squash the rumors by acting completely in love. But as Freya and Taft play house, it becomes impossible to ignore that their instant chemistry isn’t just for the cameras. While faking it, they might have just found the real thing.
Review: I really loved this book overall! I loved that the main character was an author and that the book had an air of bookishness. The book is told in Multi-POV, which I think makes the book flow very well, and it’s an interesting mash up of a prince and the pauper retelling with a fake dating trope and a third act break-up set-up. The book was extremely well written and it kept me hooked from beginning to end. The characters were well developed and I also loved the world building.
The only issue I had with the book is that I didn’t like that the POV changes weren’t indicated in the chapter heading. It made it a little confusing at a couple of points as to who’s POV you were in, but overall it didn’t affect much for the reading.
Verdict: It was great!