Face Off

This review can also be found on my blog.2.5 ⭐️ pros:-quick read-mostly funcons:-biphobic mc (assumed another wlw must be a lesbian & later said that she thought her ex (who she had dated for YEARS) who left her for a man was just a straight woman looking to experiment with “a dyke”)-the premise itself didn't make that much sense to me (two people obviously into each other decide to fake date instead of just... dating)-using an abusive stalker ex for drama-mc has a homophobic teammate for ?? no reason, just more drama i guess even tho nothing comes of it-editing issues (inconsistent timelines, mixed up names, etc)edit to add: some research has shown me that casual biphobia is not at all uncommon for this author, so i won't be picking up any more of her books.Blog Twitter Instagram Facebook Ko-fi

I really enjoyed the overall storyline and the characters. There is a lot of good chemistry between the Savannah and Madison from the first time they met. In some ways, this was actually a detriment to part of the storyline which I will get to momentarily. One of Savannah's mothers keeps trying to set her up on dates so she can find someone to make her happy. Savannah and Madison decide they will go into a fake relationship to stop this. But Savannah had her heart broken in college which has turned her off relationships. While I can understand where a bad breakup could hurt someone to the point of wanting to not get involved in another one, the chemistry between this couple is off the charts from the beginning. It seems there is a lot of angst of whether to get into a real relationship, despite the fact that they are hot for each other and everyone can see it.

There are some characters that I feel we never get resolutions to. There is a homophobic character on Savannah's hockey team that is just a pain in the ass through the whole book, but you never find out why she is the way she is other than she is homophobic. It would have been good to know why she had such a hatred or have something happen to her. But that doesn't happen.

Madison's ex, Mary, comes back into the picture and vows to take her dog and get Madison back. In the end, Madison just has an argument with her, tells her she isn't getting the dog, and will never go back with her. Mary just leaves. This character had been built up to be a psycho and it doesn't seem like she would just drive away after an argument.

I also found there were a couple of places in the ARC that I read where the wrong character's name is used in certain sentences. For example, Madison may have been on the phone and hung up, but the line in the book says Savannah hung up.

I still enjoyed the story overall but the points mentioned above lowered my overall rating of the book.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.