Book Review: Faking the Pass by Tru Taylor

 I have chosen Faking the Pass by Tru Taylor to review. 

I received an ARC copy of the e-book for an honest review of this book.

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Here is a brief description from Goodreads:

Fake marry the smokin’ hot NFL quarterback who dumped me in high school? Hard pass.

…Or it would be, if my Hollywood disaster of an ex-fiancé wasn’t trying to destroy my career—and bankrupt me in the process.

Cue Presley Lowe.
Big-time quarterback. Bigger ego. Even bigger... contract.

The boy who shattered my heart, then dared to somehow get even hotter with age.
He says a fake marriage will solve both our problems.
I say he’s lost his mind.

But I’m broke, backed into a corner, and out of options.
So now I’m wearing Presley’s ring, taking couple-selfies, and sleeping one wall away from the man who gave me my first heartbreak—and my last good kiss.

I pretend not to notice when he walks around shirtless.
He pretends he doesn’t remember exactly how I like to be kissed.
We’re both lying.

But it’s all temporary. Totally fake.
Right?

So why does every look he gives me scream "mine"?

And why am I starting to feel like there’s nothing I wouldn’t give to keep hearing him say, "my wife"?

What happens when your fake husband is also the boy you never got over?

TROPES:
Fake Marriage
NFL Quarterback Hero/ high school ex
First love, second chance
Runaway Bride
One Bed / Forced Proximity
Tight-knit family of football-playing brothers
Hollywood Scandal
Swoon-worthy, heartfelt, slow burn romance

Faking the Pass is a fun and flirty small-town sports romcom perfect for readers of feel-good romance with big banter, steamy tension, irresistible ex-boyfriends, and marriage of convenience forced-proximity fun with emotional depth and just the right amount of heat.

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First book in the Lowe Bros series.  I read the first 40% in 1 setting. So very good. Presley and Rosie are very adorable.  The one that got away.  Second chance to find that happiness we all want!

I can’t wait to read the next book in this series.

CAWFILE: 9.43

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars.

Recommend this book? Yes! Author? Yes!

Read more from this author? Yes!

Happy Reading!

Melissa 

Review coming next: 

FTC Disclosure: The Publisher/Author/Book Tour Company has provided me with a copy of this book for review or I have purchased the book with my own funds.  The opinion I share about the story are mine and have not been influenced by The Publisher/Author/Book Tour Company if received for review.

Release Blitz: Faking the Pass by Tru Taylor

 

Title: Faking the Pass

Series: Lowe Bros #1

Author: Tru Taylor

Genre: Steamy Small Town Romantic Comedy

Tropes: Football Romance, Fake Marriage

First Love/Second Chance, One Bed

Release Date: September 5, 2025

BLURB

Fake marry the smokin’ hot NFL quarterback who dumped me in high school? Hard pass.

…Or it would be, if my Hollywood disaster of an ex-fiancé wasn’t trying to destroy my career—and bankrupt me in the process.

Cue Presley Lowe.

Big-time quarterback. Bigger ego. Even bigger... contract.

The boy who shattered my heart, then dared to somehow get even hotter with age.

💍 He says a fake marriage will solve both our problems.

I say he’s lost his mind.

But I’m broke, backed into a corner, and out of options.

So now I’m wearing Presley’s ring, taking couple-selfies, and sleeping one wall away from the man who gave me my first heartbreak—and my last good kiss.

I pretend not to notice when he walks around shirtless.

He pretends he doesn’t remember exactly how I like to be kissed.

We’re both lying.

But it’s all temporary. Totally fake.

Right?

So why does every look he gives me scream mine?

And why am I starting to feel like there’s nothing I wouldn’t give to keep hearing him say, my wife?

What happens when your fake husband is also the boy you never got over?

🏈 Faking the Pass is a fun and flirty small town sports romcom ideal for fans of feel-good romance with big banter, steamy tension, irresistible ex-boyfriends, and marriage of convenience forced-proximity fun with emotional depth and just the right amount of heat. It will appeal to readers of romantic comedy by Pippa Grant, Lucy Score, Megan Quinn, Melanie Harlow, Lauren Blakely, and Abby Jimenez.

💕The perfect next read for you if you love these tropes:

• Fake Marriage
• NFL Quarterback Hero/ high school ex
• First love, second chance
• Runaway Bride
• One Bed / Forced Proximity
• Tight-knit Family of Football-playing brothers
• Swoon-worthy, Heartfelt, Slow burn Romance

GOODREADS

BOOKBUB

PURCHASE LINKS

$3.99 for a limited time!

AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU

UNIVERSAL

Free in Kindle Unlimited

AUTHOR BIO

Award-winning romance author Tru Taylor writes small town romance that’s hot and sunny and a little bit funny.

She runs on Coke Zero and dark chocolate, lives for lunches with her girlfriends, and drives to the town beach several times a week to watch the sun set over the water.

She loves LOVE and will attempt to turn any show or movie she’s watching into a romance whether it is one or not. Star Wars? A romance. Lord of the Rings? Clearly a romance. The Expendables? Okay, well not even Tru can redeem that one.

When she’s not writing, Tru enjoys watching movies and reading books with happy endings, spending time with her husband and two kids, and sneaking Hershey’s Kisses from the top shelf of the freezer throughout the day.

Tru is the author of the Eastport Bay small town rom com series and loves living in a small New England town where she’s surrounded every day by the beautiful coastal setting you see brought to life in her books.

AUTHOR LINKS

FACEBOOK

INSTAGRAM

WEBSITE

NEWSLETTER

AMAZON

BOOKBUB

Cover Reveal: Faking the Pass by Tru Taylor

 

Title: Faking the Pass

Series: Lowe Bros #1

Author: Tru Taylor

Genre: Steamy Small Town Romantic Comedy

Tropes: Football Romance, Fake Marriage

First Love/Second Chance, One Bed

Cover Design: Emily Cover Design

Release Date: September 5, 2025

BLURB

Fake marry the smokin’-hot NFL quarterback who dumped me in high school? Hard pass.

…Or it would be, if my Hollywood disaster of an ex-fiancé wasn’t trying to destroy my career—and bankrupt me in the process.

Cue Presley Lowe.

Big-time quarterback. Bigger ego. Even bigger... contract.

The boy who broke my heart, then dared to somehow get even hotter with age.

He says a fake marriage will solve both our problems.

I say he’s lost his mind.

But I’m broke, blacklisted, and backed into a corner.

So now I’m wearing Presley’s ring, taking couple-selfies, and sleeping one wall away from the man who gave me my first heartbreak—and my last good kiss.

I pretend not to notice when he walks around shirtless.

He pretends he doesn’t remember exactly how I like to be kissed.

We’re both lying.

But it’s all temporary. Totally fake.

Right?

So why does every look he gives me scream mine?

And why am I starting to feel like there’s nothing I wouldn’t give to keep hearing him say, my wife?

What happens when your fake husband is also the boy you never got over?

ADD TO GOODREADS

PRE-ORDER LINKS

$3.99 for a limited time!

AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU

AUTHOR BIO

Award-winning romance author Tru Taylor writes small town romance that’s hot and sunny and a little bit funny.

She runs on Coke Zero and dark chocolate, lives for lunches with her girlfriends, and drives to the town beach several times a week to watch the sun set over the water.

She loves LOVE and will attempt to turn any show or movie she’s watching into a romance whether it is one or not. Star Wars? A romance. Lord of the Rings? Clearly a romance. The Expendables? Okay, well not even Tru can redeem that one.

When she’s not writing, Tru enjoys watching movies and reading books with happy endings, spending time with her husband and two kids, and sneaking Hershey’s Kisses from the top shelf of the freezer throughout the day.

Tru is the author of the Eastport Bay small town rom com series and loves living in a small New England town where she’s surrounded every day by the beautiful coastal setting you see brought to life in her books.

AUTHOR LINKS

FACEBOOK

INSTAGRAM

WEBSITE

NEWSLETTER

AMAZON

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Release Blitz: The Grumpy Billionaire by Tru Taylor

 

Title: The Grumpy Billionaire

Series: Eastport Bay Billionaires #7

Author: Tru Taylor

Genre: Small Town Romantic Comedy

Release Date: July 25, 2022

BLURB

When we last saw each other eleven years ago, I would have bet everything I owned, would’ve bet my mother’s life that Reid Mancini loved me. I knew that because I loved him, too. Madly, passionately, with every fiber of my seventeen-year-old being.

And that was why I made sure after our high school graduation night I would never see him again.

So much for that plan.

My new TV reporting job is both good and bad. Good because it’s a great step up career-wise. Bad because it’s a little too close to home… and to him, the only guy who’s ever tempted me to let go and love someone.

Now my first love is all grown up with a full-grown man’s size and power and an oversized cocky attitude to match. With the world’s largest social media network to his name, he’s got all the fame and fortune he ever wanted and then some.

Oh, and he hates me.

Not that I can blame him.

He has no idea why I abandoned him so suddenly… or how often I still think of him. He won’t find out either—not if I have anything to do with it.

Everything would’ve been fine if he’d just stuck to his famously aloof no-talking-to-the-media policy. But no, he’s decided to give his first ever television interview. And he says he’ll talk only to me.

If I could turn him down without losing my job, I’d do it in a heartbeat. That’s how desperately I don’t want to be in the same room with him, talking one-on-one, on camera for God’s sake. But in TV news, ratings rule—and hot, hard-to-get billionaires are ratings gold.

So I have to spend a week with him getting the story. It’s the only way to keep my job.

I just hope I can keep my secrets in the process.

It’s only a week. I can do this. Seven days. Two ex-lovers. One last chance.

Now we’ll see exactly how much of a difference a decade can make… and how impossible it may be to leave the past behind.

THE GRUMPY BILLIONAIRE is a hot small-town romance take on Sleeping Beauty. It’s a standalone enemies to lovers, second chance romance filled with heart, heat, and grumpy billionaire romcom fun!

GOODREADS

BOOKBUB

PURCHASE LINKS

$3.99 for a limited time!

AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU

Free in Kindle Unlimited

ALSO AVAILABLE

Bookworm and the Beast (Book 1) is

$2.49 for a limited time!

(US & CA only)

AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU

All free in Kindle Unlimited

AUTHOR BIO

Award-winning author Tru Taylor writes small-town romance that’s hot and sunny (and a little bit funny.) She runs on Coke Zero and dark chocolate, lives for lunches with her girlfriends, and drives to the town beach several times a week to watch the sun set over the water.

She loves LOVE and will attempt to turn any show or movie she’s watching into a romance whether it is one or not. Star Wars? A romance. Lord of the Rings? Clearly a romance. The Expendables? Okay, well not even Tru can redeem that one.

When she’s not writing, Tru enjoys watching movies and reading books with happy endings, spending time with Mr. Tru and her two kids, and sneaking Hershey’s Kisses from the top shelf of the freezer throughout the day. (Top shelf because… two kids. Enough said.)

Tru is the author of the Eastport Bay small town rom com series and loves living in a small New England town where she’s surrounded every day by the beautiful coastal setting you see brought to life in her books.

AUTHOR LINKS

FACEBOOK

INSTAGRAM

WEBSITE

NEWSLETTER

AMAZON

BOOKBUB

Release Blitz: The Baby-whisperer and the Brute by Tru Taylor

 

Title: The Baby-whisperer and the Brute

Series: Eastport Bay Billionaires #4

Author: Tru Taylor

Genre: Small Town Romantic Comedy

Release Date: October 19, 2021

BLURB

You can’t appreciate all the implications of the word “conflicted” until you come face to face with the guy you’ve been secretly lusting after for weeks... and then learn he’ll be signing your paychecks—Angelina Rappaport

Some people might call me sheltered. That doesn’t begin to cover it. I’ve been practically sequestered my whole life. Constantly warned by my eccentric and reclusive mother against the “dangers of the world,” I was only allowed outside my home to attend a strict girls’ school. No parties. No sleepovers. NO boys.

Ever.

Even now in my early twenties, the extent of my social life is spending time with the adorable three and four-year-olds at the preschool where I work. I’ve hardly ever spoken to a man, except for exchanging morning greetings with the fathers of my students.

And soon, I’ll obey my mother’s wishes and enter religious service, training to be a nun.

But gazing out my bedroom window in the turret of my family’s crumbling seaside mansion, I secretly dream of a different life, one that involves freedom, adventure, love, and children of my own.

I at least want a kiss before I give up and follows my mother’s plan for my life.

Sullivan Reece

As a heavyweight boxing champion in prime condition, I can easily go twelve rounds with the toughest fighters on the planet—but when it comes to my two little girls… I’m a lightweight.

Now that my ex has declared herself “done” with mothering, and my spirited and mischievous daughters are living with me full-time, I’m realizing just how much I don’t know about raising kids. My own upbringing in a tough neighborhood left a lot to be desired—I basically raised myself, and honestly, didn’t do all that great a job of it.

And then there’s my demanding training schedule and the travel required for my career. What I really need is a live-in nanny. Yesterday.

But as newcomer to Eastport Bay, I have no idea where or how to find the right caretaker for the two most important people in my life. So when my neighbors say they know the perfect person, I jump at the chance to hire her. She has experience with children, she needs a place to live, and she’s exactly the kind of classy role model I want for my daughters.

There’s just one problem… the new nanny is everything I’m not—sweet, innocent, good. It goes without saying she’s completely off-limits.

Oh, and she’s a total knockout.

The Baby-whisperer and the Brute is a full-length small town rom com fairytale retelling of Rapunzel. It’s a standalone single dad/forbidden love/forced proximity/slow burn romance with no cheating or cliffhangers but plenty of humor and heat and a gentle bruiser with a heart of gold.

ADD TO GOODREADS

PURCHASE LINKS

$3.99 for a limited time!

AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU

Free in Kindle Unlimited

EXCERPT

Sully

“So how are the girls?” Wilder asked. “Any great escapes lately?”

I chuckled. “Not one. You did a solid job. Though I could probably leave the doors unlocked these days and not worry about it. Their behavior’s gotten way better lately.”

“Oh yeah? They get used to the new living arrangements?”

“That… and I hired a nanny. She’s amazing with them. They’re like different kids. They absolutely love her.”

He studied me with an amused half-smile. “What do you think of her?”

Shrugging, I looked away at a TV screen, making my tone as blasé as possible. “I like her. She’s good with them. And she’s… nice.”

Wilder sat back in his booth seat, folded his arms across his chest, and shook his head, laughing softly. “Oh man… you’ve got a thing for the nanny.”

My eyes lasered to his, my tone suddenly harsh. “I do not. That would not be… smart.”

He shook his head, still grinning. “No. But it would be understandable. I mean, she’s there in your house every day, taking care of your kids, making your life easier. Is she young?”

I gave him a grudging nod. “Twenty-three.”

Wilder nodded. “Mmmhmm. What’s her name?”

There was a long moment when I hesitated, sizing up my friend across the table. “Angelina.”

Wilder, who’d been in mid-sip, choked on his beer. “Angelina the hot preschool teacher? Oh, dude—you are in so much trouble. That woman is smokin’.”

I battled a surge of possessive animosity, actually had to suppress a growl.

“I hadn’t noticed,” I lied through gritted teeth.

“She’s also planning to become a nun—did you know that?” Wilder said, clearly not buying the lie.

“Maybe. She might become a nun. She’s weighing her options right now.”

Wilder nodded, his lips twisting in a thoughtful expression. “I see. And do her options include being Sullivan Reece’s new woman?”

I frowned. “Of course not. She’s my kids’ nanny. And she’s gonna be a nun.”

“Might be a nun,” Wilder corrected. He took another drink. “Say you did have a thing for her… would that be so bad? She sounds like the total package. It’s obvious you like her. Yeah, it’s inconvenient that she’s the nanny, but it’s not like it would be the first time in history. I mean, it’s practically a celebrity rite of passage.”

“Yeah, it would be that bad,” I told him, finally starting to crumble under the strain of interrogation.

Rubbing my forehead, I stared down at the scarred wood tabletop. “No matter how amazing she is, how sweet and funny and smart and yeah, ‘smokin’,’ I can’t go there. I don’t want to be that guy. If I ever made a move… tried to take it to another level, and it didn’t work out… my kids could lose their nanny.”

“So get another one. Date Angelina and hire someone else.”

I shook my head adamantly. “No. There’s no one like her. She’s the best person to care for my girls, and they deserve the best. I’d be the world’s worst father if they lost her because of my selfishness. I’m just gonna… you know, get over it, put her out of my mind… move on.”

My tone of voice wasn’t convincing even to myself, but what else was there to do?

ALSO AVAILABLE

AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU

Free in Kindle Unlimited

AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU

Free in Kindle Unlimited

AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU

Free in Kindle Unlimited

COMING SOON

Releasing November 16

$3.99 for a limited time!

AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU

AUTHOR BIO

Award-winning romance author Tru Taylor writes romantic comedies to make you swoon, smile, and snort with laughter.

She runs on Coke Zero and dark chocolate, lives for lunches with her girlfriends, and drives to the town beach several times a week to watch the sun set over the water.

She loves LOVE and will attempt to turn any show or movie she’s watching into a romance whether it is one or not. Star Wars? A romance. Lord of the Rings? Clearly a romance. The Expendables? Okay, well not even Tru can redeem that one.

When she’s not writing, Tru enjoys watching movies and reading books with happy endings, spending time with her husband and two kids, and sneaking Hershey’s Kisses from the top shelf of the freezer throughout the day. (Top shelf because… two kids. Enough said.)

Tru is the author of the Eastport Bay small town rom com series and loves living in a small New England town where she’s surrounded every day by the beautiful coastal setting you see brought to life in her books.

AUTHOR LINKS

FACEBOOK

INSTAGRAM

WEBSITE

NEWSLETTER

AMAZON

BOOKBUB