A combination of pop-culture references, classic rom-com elements, and fun banter makes for an engaging read. Having a romance fan (both of books and movies) as a main character really added a little extra something to this story. We definitely see how expectations clash with reality, how everything Zara builds up in her head doesn’t end up happening as planned, because, well, life isn’t a perfect rom-com.

Please tell me what you think, how I can improve this group, and what you'd like to see added. This isn't my group. It's ours. This is a place for encouragement- for downcast writers (no matter how they are published or what they write), for curious readers, and for connections.Zara loves love in all forms: 90s romcoms and romance novels and grand sweeping gestures. And she's desperate to have her own great love story. Crucially, a real one. So when her best friend Adnan begs her to pretend to date him to cover up his new top-secret relationship, Zara is hesitant. This isn't the kind of thing she had in mind. But there's something in it for Zara too: making her parents, who love Adnan, happy might just stop them arguing for a while. She may not be getting her own love story, but she could save theirs. So Zara agrees and the act begins: after all, how different can pretending to be in a relationship with your best friend be to just hanging around with them like usual? Turns out, a lot. With fake dating comes fake hand-holding and fake kissing and real feelings... And when a new boy turns up in Zara's life, things get more confusing than ever. This is a group to have fun in. For everyone. Think of others before you post or comment. I'm watching... Always watching... So Zara agrees and the act begins: after all, how different can pretending to be in a relationship w ith your best friend be to just hanging around with them like usual? Turns out, a lot. With fake dating comes fake hand-holding and fake kissing and real feelings... And when a new boy turns up in Zara's life, things get more confusing than ever. The course of true love never did run smooth, but Zara's love story is messier than most. Anika Hussain’s debut follows two British-Bangladeshi teens, who inadvertently test the bonds of their friendship by deciding to fake date in this brilliantly heartfelt and humour-filled YA rom-com that explores their unconventional path to dating, friendship and romance.

While this book fell flat, I still enjoyed my time reading it and liked how the book ended. I'm definitely excited to see what the author comes out with next. A highly entertaining and readable romcom featuring all your favourite tropes: fake dating, friends to lovers, love triangles and plenty of pining. Rich, warm and humourous, with realistic teen characters and friendships at its heart. Author Anna Kemp introduces The Hollow Hills, the sequel to her dark magical tale, Into Goblyn Wood. this book encompassed everything necessary for a cute young/first love rom-com. Zara, the MC, is a lovely, wholehearted and sweet character who I instantly liked and felt I could relate to. Her relationship to Adnan, her boy best-friend, was unbelievably cute and i thoroughly enjoyed reading their story. The plot was more complicated than I had anticipated but I am here for it! life is messy and this was an avid description of messy love, and life, can be. I really felt the story come to life, which made me enjoy the story more as all the sub-plots were equally interesting! the ending was well-written and I felt that Zara had been on a journey (excuse the cliche!) and had come to appreciate her family and friends, and all the ways they loved her.There are lots of groups where authors and readers can connect, right? That's probably what you're thinking. And that's a valid argument. But I want this group to be different in a few ways: I’m obsessed with character driven stories, but these ones kind of annoyed me. I liked Zara and Yahya, a lot actually, but Adnan and Cami annoyed the living crap out of me. They roped her into this whole fake dating situation and then we’re always getting on her for doing it wrong. They were just such jerks and honestly so immature and rude. Yahya was so genuine though, and I loved his personality. Zara was definitely motivated by her love for the people in her life, which was super relatable. Sadie was by far my favorite character, though. I also loved the family dynamic. Zara learned a lot about her parents throughout the story, which fueled their relationship in ways I didn’t expect. All of which leaves readers expecting that very thing to happen to Zara and Adnan. Cue much confusion and soul-searching realisations on the path to heart-stirring happiness. I didn’t manage to care for Cami, one of the main character and the entire reason behind the fake-dating scheme, which made me a bit sad. I had a hard time understanding her and, even by the end of the story, I guess I just maybe, wanted to know a bit more about her.