A sweet second chances, fake engagement romcom!

A sweet second chances, opposites attract romance.
I adored how Avery and Rory's relationship grew and progressed.
The characters were relatable, likeable and well fleshed out.
I enjoyed every minute of listening to this book.
Wyatt Baker has performed quite an exceptional audio delivery on this one.

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3 people found this helpful

Second chances/Fake engagement

I am voluntarily reviewing an ARC of the audiobook.

Pros: watching Avery grow in confidence and stand up to his father, Rory's kindness (and his family's kindness).

Avery's desire to wear makeup and pretty clothes clashes with his (father's) idea of what is manly and it's lovely to see how this changes over time. Also, often characters that wear makeup or lacy/flowery clothes are depicted as smaller in build, with finer features so it is refreshing to have a character with a "Jock" build expressing these desires. Diversity rules.

Cons: The "father as villain" trope felt uncomfortably similar to book 1 in this series.

The situation between Avery and his father is well written, you believe that Avery wants to give his Dad all the chances and the Dad character is the right side of the villain scale (not too overdone, not too cartoony). The political father forcing his son to stay in the closet bit has just been done a lot and I'm not sure anything new is achieved with Faking a Groom.


The audio is clear and read in a traditional narrative style; the narrators voice fit the characters. There isn't a lot of differentiation between the character voices though, which was a negative for me.

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2 people found this helpful

Fantastic book brought to life

Avery, Avery, Avery … I really didn’t expect to swoon for him as hard as I did. He is broken and hurting and trying to find the courage to be on the outside what he feels on the inside. He finally decides to push back against his domineering father and calls upon the least likely candidate to help: his high school love, Rory, who Avery left behind when he ran away from who he is out of fear.

Rory is a great character: open, accepting, encouraging and willing to fight for what he believes in. He’s the perfect support for Avery, who is digging deep to find love, mainly for himself, but also from a partner. Particularly in the early parts of the book, Avery’s isolation and loneliness are so evident and poignant, your heart can’t help but break for him. The writing here is so on point in communicating that feeling to the reader, subtly but powerfully. Here’s an example: Avery meets Rory’s cat, a stray that Rory took in. Avery remarks to himself (and the cat) how that is so typical of Rory with his heart of gold, always willing to take in and love the strays, cast-offs, loners and anyone in need. Avery then whispers to the cat, “He probably won’t keep me though.” My heart. That monologue epitomizes Avery - alone, desperate to be seen and loved and not believing that anyone would want to know him, be with him, or love him. Avery struggles to understand who he is and that there’s nothing “wrong” with how he views himself, how he feels, or how he wants to express that to the world around him. He is in pain and feels like he needs to hide himself away. But with Rory’s encouragement, we get to watch Avery timidly come out of his shell over the course of the book, and it is a beautiful thing to see.

There are so many moments like the stray cat monologue that are crafted by the author to make Avery’s struggle evident (Avery’s reaction to the notes and pictures in the lighthouse is another stellar example), and it gets you right in the feels every time. Kudos to the author for such excellent writing. It’s appreciated when an author allows the reader the opportunity to read between the lines and trusts that they’ll correctly interpret and understand the message.

It’s notable how great this book is notwithstanding that there’s nothing particularly novel about the premise or even the events that transpire. The book’s primary impact is not due to the plot (although the plot does have an important political undertone and message about LGBTQ+ rights), but rather a result of the characters being so well crafted and the romance being so well done. It really makes the book something altogether different.

The narration by Wyatt Baker is very good. He does a solid job here, and his tone, enunciation, pacing and inflections are great. I thought there could have been a bit more distinction between the character voices, but the delivery of the emotion behind the words was great. Overall, I think the audiobook elevates the story so I recommend incorporating into your reading of the book. And I do recommend you read it. You do not have to read the prior books in this series first, although you might prefer reading Surprise Groom before reading this one since the main characters show up prominently here and many of the events of Surprise Groom are referenced. This whole series is terrific and I highly recommend you read them all.

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1 person found this helpful

Definitely going on my listen again list!!

OMG! I loved every second of this book! A villain, a fake engagement and learning to love...it has it all! And then the laughs! so much fun!

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1 person found this helpful

Back to the series with frills

I liked that this third book in the series came back around to the same geography and sensibility. Love both characters, especially the jock who wanted to find an outlet for his desire for frills. The way he is torn about what he wants and how he hates himself for wanting it read very authentic. I also enjoyed the activist Rory and his extended family. When his stepfather shared that a family member likely killed himself while struggling with being transgender and black, that was hard and real. We lose too many people every year to violence against our trans brothers and sisters, and that is exponential among communities of color. Off my soapbox and back to the novel, I loved how the two men made each other stronger and better. The evil father is back from book one, only the name and profession have been changed. Other than that, very worth the listen.

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Great listen!

Thoroughly enjoyed this new audio book from DJ Jamison! I liked the ebook version but Wyatt Baker brought this story to life for me! Great job!

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One of the best fake engagement stories ever!

I don’t have the opportunity to listen to many audiobooks but I’m so glad I was able to listen to this one.

Fake engagements are one of my favorite tropes and I thoroughly enjoyed this audiobook. The story was so engaging, right from the start and I easily connected with the characters. This is the third book in the series. It was the first that I read, and I didn’t feel like I was floundering at all with not reading the other ones first (although I’m going to immediately rectify that and catch up with the first and second books).

My heart went out to Avery. I’m a sucker for a broken character and Avery is so beautifully written. He’s a character that I think many of us can identify with in our own way, hiding the true parts of himself in order to make other people more comfortable. He’s been groomed for a life in politics and follows his father’s lead even when it isn’t his heart’s desire... until he once again crosses paths with Rory and has to confront the past they shared in secret.

Rory is one of those guys that you just want to know and be friends with because you know they won’t let you down. I was rooting for these two from the start. And let me tell you, I wasn’t sure how they were ever going to get their HEA.

DJ Jamison did a fantastic job of keeping up the suspense. I’ve only read one other book by this author but I’m a solid fan now and it won’t be my last. Their writing style is effortless to read and perfectly descriptive. I felt like a part of the story instead of someone looking at it from the outside.

I want to take a minute to mention Wyatt Baker, who is a new to me narrator. I think he might be one of the best narrators I’ve ever listened to. He did a brilliant job with these characters and I can't wait to listen to him again.

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A beautiful story about learning to love oneself

Avery is a man coerced into staying in the closet by his manipulative father. Rory is his first love... with Rory’s support Avery finds his true self and learns that it’s truly ok to be himself. I loved this book and Wyatt Baker did a wonderful job with the narration. 5 stars!

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Great Second Chance

This is a great second chance romance with a wonderful fake engagement. Avery needs a fiance to fight against his father so he turns to Rory, his high school ex. I really enjoyed watching them rebuild their relationship as their fake relationship turns to real feelings. It was great to see Avery's self confidence grow throughout the story. The narrator did a great job with the story and with all of the character voices. I'm looking forward to the next one in this series. I voluntarily reviewed a gifted copy of this audio book.

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Faking a Groom

Fairly good story. The narration is pretty typical for an audiobook.
Glad everything ended happily. It was nice to see some cameo appearances from Caleb and Julien.
I recommend if you’ve read and liked the other books in the series or are curious about this one.

I received a free copy of this audiobook from the author via Neon Rainbow ARC reviews and am voluntarily leaving a review.

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