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.

Another hit from Bellefleur

I’ve listened to Bellefleur’s three previous books and this is another hit.

The fake fiancée trope gets a bit of a fresh take here, but let’s be honest, it’s a trope.

Smartly written with good pacing, this is a fun queer romcom with just enough heat.

The characters are well built and diverse. Foreshadowing is used wisely but leaving some surprises, and of course, we get the HEA.

Having lived in the Seattle area, I love reliving fond memories, and the mention of one of our favorite restaurants, Purple Cafe, made me smile and laugh. However, readers unfamiliar with Seattle won’t have a hard time picturing the landscape and lifestyle.

The use of the same narrator for all four books, who has a distinctive vocal styling that sets her apart from the pack, makes these books feel like being with an old friend, comforting and relaxing me into the story. At the same time, she is able to create distinct voices for a wide variety of characters, and voices them well.

Most definitely worth spending my credit on!

Lovely

Charming, laugh out loud funny at times. Really enjoyed the book and the performance. Highly recommend.

I'm telling everyone that this book is wonderful.

I only wish that I had known about the wonderful authors and narrators sooner. You people make my life easier since my partner of 31 years died last year. Thank you.

Read this book!!

If I had gone by the cover or the description of the book I would not have read this because the cover does not do it justice and I've read so many fake fiance/wife stories. However I bought this book based on who the author is, because I love her other books, and I'm so glad I did because this book is so good! Honestly I could listen to it again right after having finished it! Use а credit, you won't regret it!!

Smart story

Another hit from the author. What I liked most about this book? 1) The main characters were smart, and 2) they stayed smart all through the book. Too many books in this category rely on miscommunication, misinterpretation, bone-headed decisions. and mind numbing stupidity to create "conflict" and drive the narrative. While there was plenty of opportunity for those thi ga to occur, the MCs here started smart, and stayed smart. The result? A refreshingly believable - albeit improbable - story, with a plot that never felt contrived or forced, and characters that stayed true to who they were. Great job.