The Fake Mate

The Fake Mate

Written by Lana Ferguson

It’s not often that I read romances. To be honest, as exciting as it is to read about two people falling in love, I prefer to see two characters navigate life in love and solidarity. Every romance book I’ve come across so far has been the former, but sometimes it’s fun to kick back with a story that promises a happily ever after. It’s all about the journey. The Fake Mate has some tried and true tropes in it with a solid execution that made this love story a fun one, with the exception of one of my most hated plot elements.

In this book you can find a combo of fake dating, hospital drama, and omegaverse. Maybe all of these tropes sound familiar to you, but in case they don’t here’s a breakdown. Our leading lady and man, Mackenzie and Noah are both doctors at the same hospital, barley acquaintances, and find themselves in similar conundrums. Mackenzie is being hounded by her grandmother to find a man and has been set up on way too many failed first dates. Noah, the surely head of cardio, has a secret. He’s an alpha.

That’s right… alpha, as in alpha wolf. In the world that this book takes place in, there are humans and also “shifters” who are people who can take the form of a wolf. “Omegaverse” is a term used when people in a story are either alphas [strong, masculine, hot tempered], betas [fairly ordinary, the majority of the population], or omegas [feminine, rare, desirable]. Mates and scents are a big deal where alphas, betas, and omegas are concerned as everything is more animalistic.

Noah is in a bind because someone leaked the fact that he is an alpha to the hospital board. This could jeopardize his job due to the stigma surrounding his designation. He’s too manly! There’s only one thing that might put the board at ease, and that’s if Noah had a partner, a mate. Mackenzie and Noah cross paths and concoct a scheme to solve both of their problems. They will temporarily pretend to be mates for the hospital and pretend to be dating for Mackenzie’s grandmother until Noah moves states to pursue a new job opportunity. It's a shaky but decent plan. There’s just one problem. Mackenzie is an omega, and these two goofs can’t help their chemistry.  

This book is spicy, corny, and altogether a fun time. I would advise against this book if the idea of wolfy characteristics turns you off. There are a lot of references to smells, heats, and other canine attributes. This book also had about three chapters that I choose to skip. I can’t say more without giving away the plot, but it has to do with Noah and Mackenzie’s final hurdle before they can get to their happily ever after.

This is the third book I have read that has a wolf-romance if you include New Moon, and I would say it’s my least favorite of the three, but it ranks fairly high out of the romance books I’ve read. The Grey’s Anatomy-esque touch was also a welcome addition.