Subgenres worth knowing
Best Fake Dating Romance Books
Two people agree to pretend. The genre's most reliable engine, sorted by heat and by how long the lie lasts.
Updated September 2026 · By Sawyer V.
The short version
Fake dating works because the pretense forces proximity and gives both leads a reason to lie about what they feel. The Love Hypothesis is the most popular modern one, Red, White & Royal Blue is the funniest, The Unhoneymooners is the holiday version, and The Duke and I is where the trope sits in historical romance.
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How we picked
Every pick here is genuinely fake dating or a marriage of convenience — an agreed pretense, not merely enemies thrown together — because that is what readers searching for this trope actually want. Heat is noted where it rises. We have not read all seven.
What we do on every list: read the publisher’s own description rather than a summary of it, check print length and first publication year against library catalog data (last refreshed September 24, 2026), confirm the book is still sold in the format we suggest, and write the match line before the blurb. What we do not do is claim to have read every book here cover to cover. The full method is published, and it is written so anyone can check it.
The short answer
Who each book is for, at a glance. Select a row for the full write-up.
| # | Book | Give this if | Where to buy |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  The Love HypothesisAli Hazelwood · 398 pagesThe modern favorite | they want the one everyone means | |
| 2 |  Red, White & Royal BlueCasey McQuiston · 440 pagesThe funniest | they want jokes with the pining | |
| 3 |  The UnhoneymoonersChristina Lauren · 424 pagesThe holiday one | they want a week in Hawaii | |
| 4 |  Just for the SummerAbby JimenezThe high-concept deal | they like a premise with rules | |
| 5 |  Funny StoryEmily Henry · 400 pagesRevenge fake-dating | they want the exes to see it | |
| 6 |  The Duke and IJulia Quinn · 432 pagesThe historical | they loved Bridgerton | |
| 7 |  The BrideJulie Garwood · 358 pagesMarriage of convenience | they want the older cousin of the trope |
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Seven, by how the deal is struck
1. The modern favorite
The Love Hypothesis
Ali Hazelwood
Give this ifthey want the one everyone means
A PhD candidate kisses the nearest man to convince her friend she is dating someone, and he turns out to be a professor with reasons of his own to keep it going. Warm, funny and the book that made this trope a bestseller category.
One caveat: Open door in the last third.
- Print length
- 398 pages
- First published
- 2021
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
#ad — how we’re funded · price as of September 24, 2026
2. The funniest
Red, White & Royal Blue
Casey McQuiston
Give this ifthey want jokes with the pining
The president's son and a British prince stage a friendship to repair a diplomatic mess, and it becomes real. The emails between them are the best thing in it.
One caveat: Open door.
- Print length
- 440 pages
- First published
- 2019
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
#ad — how we’re funded · price as of September 24, 2026
3. The holiday one
The Unhoneymooners
Christina Lauren
Give this ifthey want a week in Hawaii
Two people who dislike each other take a free honeymoon after the wedding party is poisoned, and have to pretend to be newlyweds in public. Broad, fast and very funny.
- Print length
- 424 pages
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
#ad — how we’re funded · price as of September 24, 2026
4. The high-concept deal
Just for the Summer
Abby Jimenez
Give this ifthey like a premise with rules
Two people whose exes always find love immediately afterward agree to date each other so the curses cancel out. The bargain is the whole hook, and the book is warmer than the joke suggests.
One caveat: Open door, and a serious subplot about family illness.
- First published
- 2024
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
#ad — how we’re funded · price as of September 24, 2026
5. Revenge fake-dating
Funny Story
Emily Henry
Give this ifthey want the exes to see it
Two people whose partners left them for each other become roommates, then pose as a couple for the wedding. The pretense is aimed at an audience, which gives every scene a second layer.
- Print length
- 400 pages
- First published
- 2024
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
#ad — how we’re funded · price as of September 24, 2026
6. The historical
The Duke and I
Julia Quinn
Give this ifthey loved Bridgerton
Daphne Bridgerton and the Duke of Hastings fake a courtship to keep the marriage market away from both of them. The template for the trope in historical romance.
One caveat: Open door, and one scene is widely criticized for its handling of consent.
- Print length
- 432 pages
- First published
- 2000
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
7. Marriage of convenience
The Bride
Julie Garwood
Give this ifthey want the older cousin of the trope
An Englishwoman is married by royal command to a Scottish laird she has never met, and the arrangement has to become a marriage. Funny, warm and much shorter than the modern doorstops.
- Print length
- 358 pages
- First published
- 1989
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
#ad — how we’re funded · price as of September 24, 2026
Why the pretense works so well
Fake dating solves the structural problem of every romance at once. It puts two people in each other's company with a reason, it gives them a script that requires touching and public affection, and it supplies a built-in reason neither can admit to real feeling: the deal was that none of this is real.
It also has a natural ending. The lie either collapses in public or has to be renegotiated in private, which is why the third act of these books is so reliably satisfying.
The variants, and which you are asking for
- Classic fake dating: an agreement to appear together. The Love Hypothesis, Funny Story.
- Fake relationship in public: staged for press or family. Red, White & Royal Blue, The Unhoneymooners.
- Marriage of convenience: the historical form, where the contract is legal. The Bride, The Duke and I.
- A bargain with rules: the modern high-concept version. Just for the Summer.
Where to go next
Enemies to lovers is the trope most often confused with this one, small-town romance is where many of these are set, and romantic comedies covers the funniest end of the shelf. Romance readers who get through several books a month are exactly who the subscription panel on this page is for.
Two ways to read this list for less
If several books here appeal, a subscription usually beats buying them one at a time — but only for the right kind of reader. Here is who each one actually suits.
Audible Premium Plus
For anyone whose hands are busy
Driving, walking, cooking, cleaning. It converts hours that were never available for reading, which is a bigger effect than any discount. Books bought with a credit stay yours after you cancel — titles from the included catalog do not, and confusing the two is the most common complaint about the service.
See Audible plans and current pricingHow Audible actually works — credits, gifting and what happens when you cancel.
Kindle Unlimited
For fast readers who browse
It pays off from about three ebooks a month, in the genres the catalog covers well — romance, romantasy, cozy mystery, thriller, progression fantasy. It does not pay off if you are waiting on a specific new hardcover, because those are usually not included. Everything is borrowed, not owned.
See Kindle Unlimited terms and pricingIs Kindle Unlimited worth it? — the arithmetic, done on your own reading.
#ad — how we are funded. We print no subscription prices anywhere on this site, because they change and a stale figure sends you to a checkout expecting something that is not there. And if you read in silence in a chair, neither of these is for you — buy the book, or borrow it from your library.
What we would skip
Enemies-to-lovers sold as fake dating
The two tropes are marketed interchangeably and are not the same. Fake dating runs on a shared secret and the fear of being found out; enemies-to-lovers runs on hostility turning over. A reader who wanted the first and got the second usually finishes the book mildly annoyed, which is why our enemies-to-lovers page is separate.
Questions people ask
What is the best fake dating romance?
The Love Hypothesis is the one most readers mean. Red, White & Royal Blue is funnier, and The Unhoneymooners is the lightest.
What is the difference between fake dating and enemies to lovers?
Fake dating starts with an agreement and a shared secret. Enemies to lovers starts with hostility. Books are often marketed as both.
Is there a historical fake dating romance?
The Duke and I, where a courtship is staged to keep the marriage market away, and The Bride, which is the marriage-of-convenience version.
Are fake dating books spicy?
Several are open door and we mark them. The trope itself is about the pretense, not the heat level.
Sources
- Open Library Search API — First publication year, median print length and cover art for every book on this page. Queried 8 September 2026.
- Kindle Unlimited signup page — The only authoritative source for current Kindle Unlimited pricing and catalog terms.
- Audible Premium Plus membership page — The only authoritative source for current Audible plans, prices and terms.
Read next
- Best Romance Books
Ten romances labeled by trope and heat level, the two things covers never tell you.
- Best Enemies to Lovers Books
Eight enemies-to-lovers books where the hostility has a real cause, heat level stated on each.
- Best Small-Town Romance Books
Eight small-town romances sorted by heat and by the grief the covers hide.
- Best Romantic Comedy Books
Eight romantic comedies that are genuinely funny, with the heat level noted.
- Best Romance Audiobooks
Eight romance audiobooks told from both sides, from rom-com to Regency, with open-door books flagged.