What happens when an overachieving psychologist with OCD tendencies and an impulsive, out-of-work actress start a fake relationship?Claire Renshaw thought she had it all: a successful career as a couples therapist, a publishing contract for her self-help book, and a happy relationship. But her perfect world falls apart when her fiancée calls off their engagement. Because of that, even her book deal might be off the table. After all, readers don't want relationship advice from someone who can't even make her own relationship work.So Claire sets out to hire herself a fake fiancée.Lana Henderson, the actress who shows up to audition for the role, is not exactly Claire's ideal woman. Her frankness and the messes she leaves everywhere drive Claire up the wall. At least she won't fall in love with someone like Lana.But soon, Lana starts to win her over with her big heart, tickle fights, and--gasp!--carbs after six. The longer they pretend to be a love-struck couple, the less fake their kisses feel and the more the lines between reality and role begin to blur.Once the book contract is signed, will they walk away or is their relationship no longer just for show?A lesbian romance where role-playing has never been so irresistible.

Just for Show

George

got bored of the storyline halfway through, not a huge fan of slow burns but on the bright side there's a lot of inclusivity

Izza

Lucia Correa

5 Stars
I rarely am able to finish a full length novel in one day. I did this one. Jae is so readable it was a breeze. A very enjoyable breeze at that. 

This is not an unusual plot line - one person (usually wealthy) pays someone to pretend or actually be their girlfriend/fiancé/wife. I was surprised when I read that Jae was writing such a common plot. Not to worry, It’s Jae.

Psychologist Claire hires an actress, Lana to pose as her fiancée because she is trying to get her book on how to have a successful relationship published. The problem, her longtime girlfriend dumps her at their engagement party. She fears no one would be interested in a book by someone who didn’t have a successful relationship themselves. So Claire and Lana navigate convincing friends and family their relationship is real and the guilt of lying to them, living together especially when Claire has OCD tendencies and Lana does not and what to do when their mutual attraction grows. Highly recommend this book.

Elisa Bieg

This romance was a bit out of my usual. I generally prefer rom coms, where fake dating (one of my favorite tropes) leads to embarrassing-but-hilarious situations and conversations. After all, of all tropes, this one does lend itself to humor quite well. 

This isn’t a rom-com. But the fake dating trope is beautifully executed here — no insta-love, no forced chemistry, no impossible situations that make you roll your eyes. 
There’s good characterization and good story development, and the characters are likable, their struggles and feelings relatable.

I felt that the resolution was a bit rushed and overly tidy, but overall, this was definitely a 4-STAR read for me.

Jude Silberfeld

I’ve now read this book twice and gave it 4 stars each time. I didn’t review it the first time around, so here we go.

As I’ve written before, Jae is a consistently good writer, who creates nice and endearing characters. I’ve found some of her books a tad formulaic, but they’re never boring, and I never felt I’d wasted time on them. So it’s safe to say that if I had completely forgotten about this book, it’s because my memory works in mysterious way, not because it’s not worth reading or anything. I wouldn’t give it 4 stars if it was bad, would I?

Just for Show is a sweet and often funny romance, set in the same universe as Jae’s Hollywood series. Claire’s life seems perfectly on track: she’s engaged to her girlfriend of seven years, gets on okay with her family (except for her sister, Steph, who now also has her own romance novel, The Roommate Arrangement, which I reviewed a few days ago) and is about to sign a publishing contract for her self-help book on relationships. It all comes crashing down when her fiancée breaks up with her minutes before their engagement party. Not only is Claire left to deal with their guests, everything she thought she knew is called into question. Is she really competent as a couples therapist when she had no idea her own relationship was failing? And will her publisher be willing to bet on a single author? Enters Lana, an out-of-work actress, who agrees to act as Claire’s pretend girlfriend. As with most good fake romance novels, Lana is Claire’s complete opposite. She’s fun and messy, curvy and easy-going. Claire likes everything to be done in a certain way and Lana’s ways clash with her OCD. Yet they become friends and both fight their attraction to the other. Until they stop fighting it.

Fake romances usually go the same way, and it’s not the story itself that’s important, nor the HEA, but the way the author gets there. The chemistry has to be built up progressively, the romance needs to grow in unexpected ways. And the reasons for the fake relationship need to be believable all along, not feel artificial. Jae did a pretty good job at all these. There are very cute scenes and moments in this story and some rather sexy ones too. All in all, Just for Show is a very enjoyable and heart-warming read. Hence the 4 stars.

Just for Show

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