Like so many of her stories, Fake, by Kylie Scott, weaves complicated emotions, heartfelt drama, and colorful characters that jump right off the page and into your heart.

It’s never hard for me to review a Kylie Scott book because I have yet to meet one that hasn’t swept me off my feet. Her heroes are flawed and fantastic, her heroines multi-faceted and magnificent.

No matter what the heroine is described as or how different she seems from me, I almost always find them relatable and real. And as contradictory as this sounds, when the characters I’m reading in a book feel tangible and realistic, the easier it is for me to escape into their happily ever after and dream about what mine will look like some day.

Related: ‘Lies’ book review: Kylie Scott gives action a whole new meaning for romance

In Fake, we meet Norah, a waitress who finds herself respectfully attracted to the star who sneaks into the restaurant before it opens. She waits on him and drools over his movie-star good looks on her own time, making sure to keep things strictly professional so he can enjoy his peace and quiet.

Meanwhile, Patrick Walsh is looking to rehab his good name and get the media attention back on his career and away from his personal life, where it belongs. What he really needs is a steady girlfriend, particularly a salt-of-the-earth type to stop the playboy whisperings once and for all. Cue the entrance of that cutie waitress he’s seen around a time or two. The rest is up to fate.

Book review: ‘Fake’ by Kylie Scott

There is just so, so much to love about Kylie Scott’s books. They are such polished pieces of perfection, balancing the humanity of the main characters, the kookiness of life, and the reality of feelings and secrets and all the things we wish we were brave enough to just put out there.

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Fake stepped that up for me. What person doesn’t have a Hollywood crush or two? A star you see on screen or whose music reaches out to you that just ticks all the dream boxes. At some point in our lives, I think we all wish we could go about our daily lives and have the person of our dreams just WHOOSH! in with all their splendor and sweep us off our feet and into a life of ease and extravagance.

While that’s not exactly what happened with Norah and Patrick, Fake edges pretty close to another dream scenario. The only thing better than a crush swooping in would be them falling in love with you while pretending to be your significant other, fighting their feelings and trying to keep everything strickly platonic. Yeah right.

Fake delivers on all the best tropes, at least in my humble opinion. We get a version of the ‘only one bed’ trope (with it amended to ‘we have to share a bed to keep up appearances’), the fake dating trope and all the delicious kisses and touches that are just meant to be for show. No feelings here, absolutely not. Wink wink!

I think that’s why I love fake dating books so much, especially fake dating books with celebrities. The initial attraction that causes the star to choose their fake partner has everyone on their heels from the beginning. They try to play it off, pretending they definitely didn’t choose their fake partner because of any attraction, but forced closeness and lots of spare time spent together give that initial attraction time to take root, eventually bonding the two in ways they never foresaw and BOOM! epic romance.

And Fake is all that and more. I love our main couple so, so much, but the supporting cast brought this hyper-extension of the Stage Dive world to life (if the name Liv Anders doesn’t ring any bells, you may need to give at least Lead a re-read) in marvelous ways. Norah’s grandmother is a treat, Patrick’s friends are all flirty and fun, and his staff has me anxious to hear that Kylie has plans for just about all of them. Especially Mei. Fake by Kylie Scott delivers everything you could ever want from a supporting cast and I am grateful for each and every one of them.

But seriously, Fake is a great book and a wonderful way to escape from the complicated world around us for a little while. So pick this one up for a great, escapist summer read and I promise you won’t regret it.

And if this is your first Kylie Scott book, I have such good news for you. All of her books are as wonderful as Fake, so go give her back catalog a look and dive right into all the best reads you could ever want.