Mackenzie Carter has had some very bad dates lately. Model train experts, mansplainers, guys weirdly obsessed with her tail—she hasn’t had a successful date in months. Only a year out of residency, her grandmother’s obsession with Mackenzie finding the perfect mate to settle down with threatens to drive Mackenzie barking mad. Out of options, it feels like a small thing to tell her grandmother that she’s met someone. That is, until she blurts out the name of the first man she sees and the last man she would ever date: Noah Taylor, the big bad wolf of Denver General.
Noah Taylor, interventional cardiologist and all around grump, has spent his entire life hiding what he is. With outdated stigmas surrounding unmated alphas that have people wondering if they still howl at the moon, Noah has been careful to keep his designation under wraps. It’s worked for years, until an anonymous tip has everything coming to light. Noah is left with two options: come clean to the board and risk his career—or find himself a mate. The chatty, overly friendly ER doctor asking him to be her fake boyfriend on the same day he’s called to meet the board has to be kismet, right?
Mackenzie will keep her grandmother off her back, and Noah will get a chance to prove he can continue to work without a real mate—a mutually beneficial business transaction, they both rationalize. But when the fake-mate act turns into a very real friends-with-benefits arrangement, lines start to blur, and they quickly realize love is a whole different kind of animal.
Title: The Fake Mate
Author: Lana Ferguson
Publication Date: December 5, 2023
Publisher: Berkley
Genre: Adult, Romance, Paranormal
I read The Nanny and liked it so I decided to pick up this one. It was fun and flirty. Very character-driven, but at least had more of a plot since it was fake dating.
This book was fun as it’s a bit of an AU situation. It takes place in the modern world, but everyone knows about werewolves/shifters. It’s all well known and there are shifter laws and retreats for them and stuff that made being a shifter possible while still being in the familiar, contemporary world. I forgot how much I love AU novels.
I liked the characters. Noah was so soft and quiet and a little grumpy which contrasted a lot with the commanding Alpha side of him. I loved seeing both sides and how he would always come back to being a soft, quiet boy. Mack was a nice character because she didn’t want to date and tried to be so detached from everything which really brought the angst.
The cabin scene…Yes. Loved.
Overall, as my first Omegaverse novel, I enjoyed it. Maybe those who are more familiar with Omegaverse things will have a better perspective on the book than me, but as a newbie, here we are. Lana Ferguson’s books are far have not been my favorite ever, but they are very emotional at the right moments so I appreciate her angst. I’m open to reading her next release.
Disclaimer: I voluntarily read and reviewed a gifted and advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Rating
To check out my other reviews, click here. Or to check out more books by Lana Ferguson, go to her Goodreads profile.
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