Book Review: Faker by Sarah Smith (ARC)

Faker

Author: Sarah Smith

Publication Date: 08 October 2019

Genre: Adult Fiction – Romantic Comedy, Contemporary Romance

Pages: 336

Publisher: Berkley

Debut author Sarah Smith nails this fun and sexy multicultural romance where two office foes hammer out their differences to build a love that will last…

Emmie Echavarre is a professional faker. She has to be to survive as one of the few female employees at Nuts & Bolts, a power tool company staffed predominantly by gruff, burly men. From nine to five, Monday through Friday, she’s tough as nails–the complete opposite of her easy-going real self.

One thing she doesn’t have to fake? Her disdain for coworker Tate Rasmussen. Tate has been hostile to her since the day they met. Emmie’s friendly greetings and repeated attempts to get to know him failed to garner anything more than scowls and terse one-word answers. Too bad she can’t stop staring at his Thor-like biceps…

When Emmie and Tate are forced to work together on a charity construction project, things get…heated. Emmie’s beginning to see that beneath Tate’s chiseled exterior lies a soft heart, but it will take more than a few kind words to erase the past and convince her that what they have is real.

You want to know the quickest way that will get me to pick up a romance novel? Make sure that it has an enemies to lovers trope. My god that trope will be my undoing. I am such a sucker for these books, and Smith’s debut novel Faker definitely delivered on the goods!

Emmie Echavarre is one of the few female employees at Nut & Bolts, a power tool company, which is basically run by overly macho men (shocker). She’s used to slipping on her stone cold exterior (even at the cost of her true personality) in order to gain the respect that she deserves as a boss. She’s used to faking her whole persona at work; well that’s not technically true. Emmie doesn’t have to fake her distain for except for the brooding and quite frankly, jerk of a co-worker, Tate Rasmussen. Tate’s been nothing less than rude to her ever since he joined the company, and he makes it his daily mission to find new ways to get underneath Emmie’s skin.

When Emmie, Tate, and the rest of the team at Nuts & Bolts are volunteered to build a house for a family in need, all of a sudden, everyone will be seeing much more of each other in tight quarters. To make matters worse, Tate volunteers himself and Emmie to head up the social media aspect of the project, which means they have to work together 24/7. These two must find a way to work together before they end up killing each other and ruining a project that not only benefits their company but their community as well.

The best part about Emmie and Tate’s relationship was that it as a slow build. There was none of this head over heels, love at first (not that it’s an issue, I’m just saying that was not the case here). Instead you watched Emmie and Tate starting off by being able to stand being in the same room with each other without initiating gag reflexes. I loved watching these two slowly come together and peel away the layers of misconception and judgment as they started to spend more time together.

Another thing about this book is that the natural chemistry that Emmie and Tate have is explosive. It’s no wonder these two wanted to rip each other’s heads off when they hated each other because the sexual chemistry between them was palpable from the pages. I don’t think I’ve ever read a KISSING scene that left me breathless. My god, these two have the chemistry that people die to achieve in a lifetime.

As a bi-racial female myself, I absolutely loved the fact that Emmie is half Filipino, half white while hailing from the gorgeous state of Hawaii, which has its cultural lifestyle that most Americans do no experience. Watching the lengths that Tate is willing to go through to understand both her ethnic and home culture made my heart swoon. I definitely saw a lot of myself in Emmie as well as the obstacles that you overcome when a significant other tries to learn an environment outside of their own.

Overall, this is a fantastic debut my Sarah Smith, and I literally cannot wait until her next book comes out.

Thank you to Berkley for providing an ARC. This did not influence my review. All opinions are my own.

Get your copy of Faker here.

Have you read Faker? Is Faker on your TBR? Let’s discuss!