The Fake Mate is the start of something new for Lana Ferguson

Lana Ferguson took the romance world by storm with the release of her debut novel: The Nanny. All within the same year, she’s releasing her sophomore novel, The Fake Mate.

The Nanny is a romance between a nanny and a single dad who is getting an unexpected second chance. While it feels like authors stay within the same subgenre, Lana Ferguson threw that out the window.

Despite the somewhat misleading cover, The Fake Mate is a shifter romance between two doctors. Given how much I loved The Nanny, I was incredibly excited to pick up The Fake Mate from the same author.

I’d like to thank Berkley for reaching out to me and sending me an ARC as I enjoy Lana Ferguson and her writing.

The Fake Mate is a surprising departure for Lana Ferguson.

As mentioned, the cover for The Fake Mate doesn’t scream shifter romance but the book follows two doctors, Mackenzie and Noah. These two don’t exactly know each other but end up deciding to help each other. Of course with the title, you can surmise that it’s a “fake-mating” romance.

Mackenzie is trying to get her grandmother off her back while Noah is trying to hide his alpha status. It’s a win-win situation for both of them until their feelings start to get involved. Of course, that also involves these two getting hot and heavy as well which is delightful.

There were two specific elements I adored about The Fake Mate and that’s the romance between Noah and Mackenzie. It was clear from when the fake-mating started, these two were meant to be. In a way, it felt like two puzzle pieces finally coming together and I couldn’t get enough.

The other thing I adored was how Noah took care of Mackenzie during her heat. I didn’t know The Fake Mate would have so much caretaking and I couldn’t get enough of it. Seeing Noah take care of her, it just melted my heart and it was just so nice to read.

Even though I didn’t enjoy The Fake Mate as much as The Nanny, I do think it’s a great place to start if you’re new to shifter romance. Plus it’s just one of those books you’ll immediately fall into. It also reminded me a lot of The Love Hypothesis if you’re looking for something comparable to that book or author.

The Fake Mate by Lana Ferguson is out now where books are sold.

Will you be picking up a copy of The Fake Mate by Lana Ferguson this winter?