Title: Fake It ‘Til You Make It
Author(s) Name(s): Laura Carter
Published in: April, 2024
Why You Might Like This Book: Read this book if you enjoy
- romantic comedies,
- moving on after a break-up,
- comedic, funny scenes and dialogue,
- strangers to lovers plots, and
- warm, cheerful romance.
Who Should Avoid This Book: Avoid this book if you are triggered by or dislike
- break-ups,
- infidelity,
- betrayal,
- loss of trust, or
- grief.
Fake It ‘Til You Make It is one of the popular romantic comedy novels of published in 2024. This book follows a dual-perspective narrative from the two main characters Abigail Mitchell, called “Abbey” and Theodore Thomas, called “Ted”. Even though the story involves heartbreak, resentment, and pain, Carter has written the book in such a way that the reader would spend more time laughing out loud than worrying or feeling melancholic.
Abigail is born in a traditional Christian family, has a long-term boyfriend Andrew, who is also a family friend, and she works as an auditor. Her parents expect her to go by their family norms, to have it all put together, get married to her boyfriend, and have kids by the time she is thirty years old. She believes that it is all going right for her, until one day when her boyfriend informs her that he wants to meet her at their favourite place, her friends and she gets excited that Andrew is going to propose to her there, only to go there and find out that he wants to break up. Abbey is understandably shocked and gets really hurt when Andrew confesses that he had been cheating on her with someone else while she was away from the city for work. As though this is not enough of a shock, she also loses her job – technically she quits when her boss accuses her senior and her of not doing theor work properly, so the company lost a client – but either way, she is jobless. Abbey’s life falls apart just like that in a big city when she did not see any of this coming.
Theodore is a tech entrepreneur who is the brain behind the fin-tech company Vanguard Industries and is also a founder. While he is successful professionally, recently he caught his fiancée Fleur and his best friend and co-founder Ramon having an affair, both of them cheating him. Since Fleur happens to be one of the most popular ones and a very beautiful model with a huge fan following on social media and his best friend is also the co-founder and the public face of Vanguard, which is a big company, this is not just a heartbreak situation for Ted, but one that will also attract a lot of public attention everywhere, on media, social media, among the employees, and the general public, so Ted is not only shocked and upset that his two most loved people would cheat on him but he is also worried about the high-stakes situation, so he moves to his brother’s penthouse in New York.
Determined to pull herself back up, Abbey takes a big risk and invests her savings to move into a sophisticated apartment and buys expensive clothes. This is her way of “faking it till she makes it” because she doesn’t want to spend her time crying over an ex who betrayed her. Coincidentally, Ted’s brother’s penthouse is right above Abbey’s new apartment. Abbey’s sister Dee and her friend can’t stop commenting on how hot her neighbour is, with some really funny girl talk and weird and silly thoughts and assumptions. The two don’t get along well initially, then as they get to know each other as neighbours would, while keeping their personal tragedies private, they both start developing a liking for each other. Also, Abbey confuses Ted to be the popular sportsman Mike, and ted continues to maintain the fake identity because he is unsure of himself and is not comfortable revealing his secrets yet. She manages to get a temporary job as a side actor with the help of her sister Dee, who is a professional actor, but she needs to get a real job soon in her area of specialization and move up the career ladder. Based on her appearance and attitude, Ted initially assumes that she must be another popular influencer or something like that and has no clue that she is into finance.
Soon, Ted discovers that Abbey was dumped by her ex-boyfriend, and he voluntarily offers to help Abbey during an awkward encounter where Abbey meets Andrew with another woman right there in front of their apartment by pretending to be the new guy she is dating. Even though Ted doesn’t really care, by being genuinely kind and considerate, he helps Abbey break her walls down, so she opens up and tells her about her breakup, and Ted empathizes with her deeply this time. In parallel, Abbey’s parents invite her to visit them for their vow renewal ceremony, and since Andrew’s family and hers are quite close since their childhood days, Andrew will also show up. It’s when she learns that Andrew will also bring a date, another woman, that’s when it hurts Abbey even more, so in a desperate attempt to convince her family and her ex that she is thriving even after the breakup, she asks Ted to be her date for the event and he agrees. Following that, Ted falls into a more vulnerable position than ever, as his career is being threatened by his ex best friend and his ex girlfriend Fleur pays him a visit, wanting to get back together. While Abbey is still under the assumption that it is Mike she has been talking to and discovers that Ted’s business may fall apart, she volunteers to help him using her financial skills. This way, they get to see each other’s vulnerable sides and they become more supportive and caring. Later in the book, during the time spent with her family, that’s when sparks fire up, Ted’s real identity becomes known, and their relationship gets tested. Will the two of them be able to let go of the past, trust each other, take that bold step when wounds still hurt, and make it through?
Ambitious but unemployed, loving but having her love being taken for granted, self-doubting but also self-respecting, Abigail is a woman whom most readers going through rough times can relate to. We all want Abbey to succeed, as we empathize with her and laugh at the embarrassing moments she often finds herself in. And Ted is the dream boyfriend – not just hot but hard-working, intelligent, respectful towards women, kind, supportive, polite, not loud, not a braggart, and definitely not an irresponsible, entitled playboy. How their relationship gradually develops into something meaningful is touching and lovely because despite the fake identities and walls they put up for others to mask their own hurt, they connect deeply with each other and understand and like the real people beneath the masks. Laura Carter has a way of walking the reader through problems that can be heartbreaking like betrayal and loss of trust, which also lead to loss of self-esteem, while still using abundant humour, so the reader can not just feel deeply but also laugh heartily. Fake It ‘Til You Make It is a fun rom-com novel that begins with a fast-paced first part, then has a slow-burn middle, where you could feel the drop in the pacing, but there is a high-stakes climax. For contemporary romance readers, this book would make a good weekend read. I’d give this a 3.8-star rating. It could have been better if not for the slow pacing in the middle with not much to keep the reader engrossed, as there is no suspense, romance, or interesting drama, which makes the story somewhat boring.
