Lily Gold is dazzling readers with her reverse harem, poly romance books and Faking With Benefits is her latest work.
Check out my book review of Faking With Benefits to see what I think of this friends to lovers, fake dating romance.
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Faking With Benefits
by Lily Gold
Category: Contemporary Romance
Tags: Fake Dating, Fake Relationship, Friends to Lovers, Neighbors to Lovers, Reverse Harem, Relationship Coach, Podcast, Entrepreneur
Published December 2021
Amazon | Goodreads
Rating: ★★★★
Boyfriend Rating: 
Faking With Benefits Summary:
WANTED: Three fake boyfriends. Must be tall, handsome — and willing to teach me how to kiss.
My name is Layla Thompson, and I am undateable.
Seriously. I’m twenty-eight and I’ve never had a boyfriend. And with my thirties rapidly approaching, I’m starting to lose patience.
Lucky for me, I have three best friends who are eager to help hone my dating skills. Zack, the rugged ex-rugby player. Josh, the sweet boy-next-door. And Luke, the silver-haired divorcee… who just so happens to be my old professor.
After a bad date leaves me crying on their shoulders, the three men are determined to help me find a guy.
Together, they agree to be my ‘practice boyfriends’, and come up with a lesson plan packed with fake dates, make out sessions, and classes on flirty texting. In return, I just have to make an appearance on their relationship advice podcast once a week. Easy.
But as my lessons become more and more intense, we soon find ourselves getting in too deep.
Every ‘fake’ touch lingers a little too long, and every ‘practice’ kiss ends in fireworks. It’s not long before I realise that their friendship isn’t enough for me anymore. I want more.
The guys have been teaching me how to get a boyfriend, and now it’s time I put their lessons to the test.
Three times over.
Faking With Benefits My Review:
OMG, I’ve found my new favorite author for reverse harem books and it’s Lily Gold!
I can’t believe I’ve waited this long to read her books but I’m so glad that I dived in because I’m going to devour EVERY SINGLE ONE.
In Faking With Benefits, we meet Layla, a woman who’s succeeding as an entrepreneur running her own lingerie business but who’s failing at dating.
She’s 28 years old and never had a boyfriend but she’s bound and determined to find one before she turns 30. She has a plan, you know?
But going on date after date proves that she really is clueless when it comes to dating.
Finding her down on her luck, her three neighbors who live across the hall propose an idea to help her.
They will each “fake date” her to assess what she’s doing wrong and to teach her how to get better at finding a mate.
In return, Layla will join their podcast “Three Single Guys” each week to talk about her progress and what she’s learned.
First off, I love the set-up of this story. Layla really does come across as someone clueless but also so determined that she’s completely missing the mark when it comes to flirting and gaining date #2 from a guy.
Josh, Zack, and Luke are the perfect trifecta to give her advice since that’s what they do on their podcast.
What follows is the four of them helping Layla learn about flirting, dating, and opening up to another person while they take her on dates. Of course, things soon turn hot and heavy when they add in tips for the bedroom.
Why Faking With Benefits Is a Keeper!
This book definitely falls into the reverse harem category because Layla does have a relationship with each of the three guys.
I honestly thought Gold portrays a really authentic and realistic poly relationship between everyone which you don’t always get in reverse harem.
I also loved that this is a standalone, contemporary reverse harem romance. I can only invest so much time in reverse harem books that are 5 book series.
This one was so refreshing to get a full and complete story that was not only written really well but that had great story and character development.
I didn’t give it 5 stars only because I was REALLY annoyed by Zack and Luke’s stupid behavior at the point of conflict.
It totally fit with their personalities and showcased Layla’s true fears but that’s what made it worse because they really hit her where it hurts.
Overall, this is such a sweet and steamy story about friends who become more while learning about themselves along the way.
Everyone had their own hang-up to address and finally move past and it was nice to see. I loved that Layla finally saw that it’s really about finding someone to trust (not about her not knowing how to date) when it comes to dating and putting your heart on the line.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves friends to lovers stories, fake dating relationships and poly relationships, and stories with strong female entrepreneurs and podcasts!
Related Book Lists:
- Best Reverse Harem Books
- Best Friends to Lovers Books
- Best Fake Dating Books
- Best Fake Relationship Books
- Best Relationship Coach Romance Books
- Lily Gold Books: All the Why Choose Books You Should Read
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