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A review by mspilesofpaper
How To Fake It With A Fae by Amy Boyles
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
How To Fake It With A Fae is the first instalment in a series that will spawn seven books. It's a romantasy with two sex scenes, lots of tension and funny banter.
The following review might contain spoilers.
PLOT 📖
Addison Thornrose is the witch without magic and as soon as a male wizard knows about it, he will end the relationship because "What good is a witch without her magic?". So, she's extremely excited when her current boyfriend invites her to a restaurant because she's sure that he will ask her if she wants to marry him! Unfortunately, he ends the relationship and shortly after, Addison learns of her grandmother's death and what it means for the family, so she's forced to come home. Quickly, she finds out that her family's magic is vanishing until all seven sisters are married, so they have to hold witch balls (balls in Bridgerton style) to find potential suitors for each sister. When her ex confronts Addison during the ball, she claims that she's already engaged to someone: Feylin, the fae king, who plays along and causes ancient fae magic to happen. Following this, both will pretend to date each other to reach their own goals until feelings actually happen.
CHARACTERS 🧙🏽♀️ 🧝🏻♂️
The author used the sunshine/grump trope for Addison and Feylin. While Addison is fierce, eternally optimistic, bold, and on the neurodivergent spectrum (likely autism based on the itchy clothes, picky eating, ...), Feylin is arrogant and has walls around his heart but he still supports her and helps her find her magic.
Aside from these two main characters, there are also several side characters: Addison's family as well as Feylin's cousin Ryals, and his best friend Trawick, but also a few other characters that play more or less a role.
WORLD-BUILDING 🌎 & MAGIC 🔮
The entire story plays in modern times (I don't think there was a year mentioned but it feels very 2020s) while it still has elements that I would connect with Regency England (e.g., the witch balls) or general fantasy worlds (e.g., the existence of fae, witches & wizards, werewolves & vampires and the fact that their world and the human world co-exist). The modern setting results in pop culture references and Feylin being described as "a grumpy Henry Cavill" (especially with a focus on Cavill's role in The Witcher). As it plays in the South of the USA, it has plenty of Southern touches (e.g., sweet iced tea, the "y'all" and other dialect-specific English, witches riding on iron skillets, ...), which irritated me occasionally because I'm from Germany and not very familiar with Southern things (aside from typical stereotypes). Overall, the entire world-building is very superficial as the romance is the main point.
ROMANCE 💘
While it is insta-lust, and to some degree also insta-love, it is still a rather cute romance. As they learn more about the other one, they actually fall for each other and get to know each other (which is more than I can say about some other romantasy novels).
The author mentions in the foreword that the book will contain sex scenes but they can be skippable. There are two sex scenes that I would rate with 1 🌶️ because they are mildly graphic (though not a true "fade to black", the author danced around certain vocabulary, so it's rather mild).
My main issue with the romance is the 3rd act breakup as it is built on intrigue, miscommunication and results in the destruction of someone's happy place. Unfortunately, Addison forgives Feylin rather quickly because "he did it out of love for you", which is an utterly stupid argument as to why he destroyed a family's income and Addison's happy place. He knew exactly how important it was to her, and her family, and was still set on revenge because he didn't trust her, and didn't listen to her either. I hate insta-forgiveness (it's even worse than insta-lust and insta-love) because they didn't work through what actually happened. It's basically "I didn't mean to do it, I did it because I love you so much, but I found out the truth through a third party whom I believed (instead of believing and listening to you), so let's get back together", which is the cheapest way of solving a conflict and is the solve reason why I didn't give this book 4 ⭐.
TL;DR
A short and light-hearted romantasy novel with a witch and a fae as main characters that plays in Southern USA. Addison fakes an engagement with the fae king to save her family's magical legacy but their pretend relationship turns quickly into something real. However, a third-act breakup based on misunderstanding and revenge strains credibility, leading to a rushed reconciliation.
The following review might contain spoilers.
PLOT 📖
Addison Thornrose is the witch without magic and as soon as a male wizard knows about it, he will end the relationship because "What good is a witch without her magic?". So, she's extremely excited when her current boyfriend invites her to a restaurant because she's sure that he will ask her if she wants to marry him! Unfortunately, he ends the relationship and shortly after, Addison learns of her grandmother's death and what it means for the family, so she's forced to come home. Quickly, she finds out that her family's magic is vanishing until all seven sisters are married, so they have to hold witch balls (balls in Bridgerton style) to find potential suitors for each sister. When her ex confronts Addison during the ball, she claims that she's already engaged to someone: Feylin, the fae king, who plays along and causes ancient fae magic to happen. Following this, both will pretend to date each other to reach their own goals until feelings actually happen.
CHARACTERS 🧙🏽♀️ 🧝🏻♂️
The author used the sunshine/grump trope for Addison and Feylin. While Addison is fierce, eternally optimistic, bold, and on the neurodivergent spectrum (likely autism based on the itchy clothes, picky eating, ...), Feylin is arrogant and has walls around his heart but he still supports her and helps her find her magic.
Aside from these two main characters, there are also several side characters: Addison's family as well as Feylin's cousin Ryals, and his best friend Trawick, but also a few other characters that play more or less a role.
WORLD-BUILDING 🌎 & MAGIC 🔮
The entire story plays in modern times (I don't think there was a year mentioned but it feels very 2020s) while it still has elements that I would connect with Regency England (e.g., the witch balls) or general fantasy worlds (e.g., the existence of fae, witches & wizards, werewolves & vampires and the fact that their world and the human world co-exist). The modern setting results in pop culture references and Feylin being described as "a grumpy Henry Cavill" (especially with a focus on Cavill's role in The Witcher). As it plays in the South of the USA, it has plenty of Southern touches (e.g., sweet iced tea, the "y'all" and other dialect-specific English, witches riding on iron skillets, ...), which irritated me occasionally because I'm from Germany and not very familiar with Southern things (aside from typical stereotypes). Overall, the entire world-building is very superficial as the romance is the main point.
ROMANCE 💘
While it is insta-lust, and to some degree also insta-love, it is still a rather cute romance. As they learn more about the other one, they actually fall for each other and get to know each other (which is more than I can say about some other romantasy novels).
The author mentions in the foreword that the book will contain sex scenes but they can be skippable. There are two sex scenes that I would rate with 1 🌶️ because they are mildly graphic (though not a true "fade to black", the author danced around certain vocabulary, so it's rather mild).
My main issue with the romance is the 3rd act breakup as it is built on intrigue, miscommunication and results in the destruction of someone's happy place. Unfortunately, Addison forgives Feylin rather quickly because "he did it out of love for you", which is an utterly stupid argument as to why he destroyed a family's income and Addison's happy place. He knew exactly how important it was to her, and her family, and was still set on revenge because he didn't trust her, and didn't listen to her either. I hate insta-forgiveness (it's even worse than insta-lust and insta-love) because they didn't work through what actually happened. It's basically "I didn't mean to do it, I did it because I love you so much, but I found out the truth through a third party whom I believed (instead of believing and listening to you), so let's get back together", which is the cheapest way of solving a conflict and is the solve reason why I didn't give this book 4 ⭐.
TL;DR
A short and light-hearted romantasy novel with a witch and a fae as main characters that plays in Southern USA. Addison fakes an engagement with the fae king to save her family's magical legacy but their pretend relationship turns quickly into something real. However, a third-act breakup based on misunderstanding and revenge strains credibility, leading to a rushed reconciliation.