Hello everyone!
By now, you should all know that I am a huge Lillie Vale fan. I have been a fan of her writing since I read The Shaadi Set-Up last year. Her writing is beautiful and she is incredible at creating chemistry between her characters. When the chance came to be on the tour for The Decoy Girlfriend, I knew I had to immediately sign up for it.
I am extremely delighted to share my review of this positively delightful and heartwarming romance! So grateful to Turn the Page Tours for having on the blog tour!
*Disclaimer: This review is based on an advanced copy of the book. Some things may differ in the final version.
SYNOPSIS
A laugh-out-loud funny and whip-smart romantic comedy from the author of The Shaadi Set-Up, about a young woman who takes the place of her celebrity doppelgänger, and must fake-date the actress’s sexy costar boyfriend.
Writer Freya Lal has a huge secret: she’s a dead ringer for It-girl actress Mandi Roy. Her second novel is due in a month, but inspiration is nowhere to be found. Desperate to shake off her writer’s block, Freya leans into her look-alike abilities and indulges in some mistaken identity for simple perks, like scoring a free mimosa or getting into a trendy nightclub.
Actor Taft Bamber appears to have it all: gorgeous, talented, and Mandi’s love interest both on- and off-screen. But what nobody knows is that their relationship is a PR stunt, and after years of playing make-believe, he’s yearning for something real.
When Freya’s latest impersonation of Mandi goes viral thanks to Taft’s accidental interference, rumors of a breakup threaten Hollywood’s golden couple. To make amends, Freya is forced to give Mandi a little time off: she’ll pretend to be the actress for a month, move in with Taft, and squash the rumors by acting completely in love. But as Freya and Taft play house, it becomes impossible to ignore that their instant chemistry isn’t just for the cameras. While faking it, they might have just found the real thing.
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DETAILS
Title: The Decoy Girlfriend
Author: Lillie Vale
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance/RomCom
Release Date: September 6th, 2022
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lillie Vale is the author of books for both teens and adults, including The Decoy Girlfriend, Beauty and the Besharam, The Shaadi Set-Up, and Small Town Hearts, an American Library Association’s 2020 Rainbow Books List selection. She writes about secrets and yearning, complicated and ambitious girls who know what they want, the places we call home and people we find our way back to, and the magic we make. Born in Mumbai, she grew up in Mississippi, Texas, and North Dakota, and now lives in an Indiana college town. Find her on Twitter @LillieLabyrinth and Instagram @labyrinthspine, or visit her website lillielabyrinth.com.
Author Links
Website: https://www.lillielabyrinth.com/
Goodreads: Lillie Vale
Instagram: labyrinthspine
Twitter: LillieLabyrinth
REVIEW
my rating: 5⭐
I think at this point everyone should know this. I am a massive fan of Lillie Vale. Her previous books have been five-star reads for me. I knew when I read The Decoy Girlfriend, that it would be a favourite of mine. Something about Vale’s characters makes me fall in love with them every single time. Her writing just draws you in and endears the characters to you from the beginning itself.
From the premise itself, The Decoy Girlfriend sounded incredibly fun. Freya Lal is an author who is also a doppelganger for Mandi Roy, a very famous Hollywood actress. She’s used this to her advantage many times to get access to bars, restaurants etc. But when Mandi and her boyfriend, fellow actor Taft Bamber catch her in the act. Now, Freya finds herself forced to step in as Mandi and pretend to be Taft’s girlfriend. As the book states very aptly, it’s a fake relationship within a fake relationship.
I don’t know about you, but if it were me, I would probably be doing the same things as Freya. It would be fun and risky of course, but fun for sure. I honestly loved how relatable Freya felt. As an aspiring author myself, I could easily relate to her struggles with writer’s block and the ability to find the right words to express a story. For some reason, I felt like if I were to be a fictional version of myself, who’d be more confident, I’d be Freya. She felt like a reflection of me which was one of the things that made me appreciate her more.
Taft was equally a favourite. I was not expecting to get Taft’s POV in the book. It was a nice surprise that really added to my reading experience. If there’s one thing I want to say about Taft, it’s that he deserves to be protected. I got such soft boy vibes from him and I wanted to give him a hug. I also love the character development he goes through from the start of the book till the end. It felt realistic to me.
Vale’s incredible at building chemistry between her characters and Freya and Taft were no different. I could feel the chemistry between them. And the moments when they were flirting? Just perfection. Oh, and the spicy scenes were so well written. I feel like people would really like them.
The Decoy Girlfriend is an amazing romance with an incredible premise and characters you can’t help but love. I highly highly recommend this!
clouded galaxy reads 