The Fiancee Farce

A Novel

By: Alexandria Bellefleur

Narrated by: Lauren Sweet

Length: 12 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

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…

©2023 Alexandria Bellefleur (P)2023 HarperCollins Publishers

It’s missing some magic

I couldn’t love this author’s first three books any more, so I had really high hopes for this one. But it just didn’t have the same magic! The characters felt a little flatter, the story felt slow and then rushed, and it was missing the *spice* of her first books. I still enjoyed it, but it just didn’t quite capture me the same way.

found it funny and perfectly sweet! loved

I am always looking for a story to take me for a ride! funny, smart and very cute in more ways than one. thank you!

Sweet

Great narration. Two wonderful characters who are kind, sweet, and intelligent. I loved this book.

The best!!!

I could not stop listening. By far one of my favorite sapphic reads. I highly recommend!

Overall a really great story.

I loved pretty much everything about this story. It was easy to get sucked into the story and to get attached to the characters. The performance was flawless and easily made me forget that I was listening to an audiobook and not actually witnessing the story as it unfolded. My only complaint probably has more to do with my impatience and less to do with the author’s writing, but I felt like rather often she would take a day and a half expressing the characters internal monologue and every single thought before getting to the point the paragraph was trying to make. Personally if the author has already established that a character is shy or lacks confidence, I don’t need 4 or more paragraphs relating every single worry, thought and fear going through a character’s mind before they gather their nerve and burst through a door to confront their antagonist or fight for what they want. Once I got past the parts that made me wait longer than we’ve had to wait for season 2 of “House of the Dragon,” to find out what happens next, I was extremely happy with the storyline and the conclusion of the book. Overall I would give it a 4.9/5 and definitely recommend it. It will probably be a 5/5 for anyone with more patience than me.

Swoon-worthy romance!

From the storyline to the narration, The Fiancé Farce has definitely made my top 3 favorite romance novels list! Witty, funny, sexy and sweet, Gemma and Tansy will capture your heart just like they did mine. Highly recommend! ❤️

Sweet & Funny

Loved this story! At first it might seem a bit unbelievable as the main characters fell for each very quickly, but honestly that happened to me so guess it’s not unbelievable at all! Story was so well written I didn’t want to stop listening. And was LOL funny at times which I genuinely appreciated. We’ll worth the time and credit. Add it to your list.

Heartwarming and well worth it!

Alexandria does it again with an amazing story that does wonders for a hopeless romantic like myself. Minimal angst and was a pure joy to listen to as Lauren Sweet always does a fantastic job narrating. If I have to give one piece of criticism, it would be I wish there was a bit more build up to their relationship becoming real as it felt a bit sudden.

If you’re like me and you like minimal to no angst in your romance stories, something that is just a relaxing read/listen without stress, this is a great book and I recommend it!

Easily my top 10

This audio book is a perfect mix of sapphic romance, along with a good plot. The person who voices the characters does an amazing job as well, almost every character breathes life. I almost forgot that it was all one person at multiple occasions. If you are a loved of sapphic romances, I enthusiastically suggest you give this one a try; you won't be disappointed.

Great Narration and story.

An imaginary girlfriend meets her love interest at her step sister’s wedding. When Gemma asks plays along with the hoax Tazzy finds a fake romance and marriage. What could possibly go wrong? Love the characters.