The Holiday Fakers (Hideaway Harbor #2) by Evie Alexander - fun and cozy holiday romance / Books Teacup and Reviews

The Holiday Fakers is a fun, cozy holiday romance with a small-town setting, childhood friends to lovers, and a fake dating trope at its core.

The Holiday Fakers

The Holiday Fakers (Hideaway Harbor #2) by Evie Alexander

Previous Book In Series

The Holiday Hate-Off

Synopsis

One fake boyfriend. One bed. One very complicated Christmas.

Piper

I promised my mom I’d bring a boyfriend home for the holidays.

I did not mean Brody King—Hollywood heartthrob, tabloid trainwreck, and the reason I have a folder of fantasy fan art I’ll take to the grave.

He’s also my brother’s best friend and the man who ghosted our small town (and me) twelve years ago.

Now we’re sharing one bed, faking a relationship, and pretending he’s changed.

The problem? I’m starting to believe it.

But Brody doesn’t do forever.

And I don’t do heartbreak twice.

Brody

The plan was simple: come home, look reformed, and don’t fall for Piper Locke. Again.

Instead, I’m stuck in a snow-globe town with the girl I never stopped wanting.

Piper’s smart, hilarious, way too sexy—and still completely off-limits.

She thinks I’ll leave like last time.

And she’s right. My next job’s a world away from Hideaway Harbor.

But this fake relationship feels dangerously real, and Piper isn’t just a PR fix.

She’s the reason I want to stay.

Too bad I’m the last person who deserves her… and the one person who can’t seem to walk away.

The Holiday Fakers is a laugh-out-loud, one-bed, fake-dating romcom with festive flair and serious steam. If you love small-town chaos, slow-burn tension, and a guaranteed happily ever after, this book is your perfect cozy escape!

The Holiday Fakers is part of the Christmas at Hideaway Harbor series of six spicy romantic comedies. The books are interconnected standalones and can be read in any order.

Review

Honestly, the synopsis says it all. Brody King is a famous actor with a messy public image and even messier press. When a dream role comes up, his agent decides the fastest way to fix his reputation is good old-fashioned damage control. The plan is simple. Send Brody back to his hometown, Hideaway Harbor, the place he has been avoiding for twelve years, and give him a wholesome girlfriend to sell the reformed small-town-boy narrative. Enter Piper, his childhood friend, former crush, and conveniently the sister of his best friend.

Piper has been quietly carrying feelings for Brody all these years, even after his sudden disappearance and complete lack of contact made her assume she never mattered to him. Her life is already in chaos. She promised her mother she would bring home a boyfriend for Christmas, only to get dumped and then avoid the topic entirely. On top of that, her job is on shaky ground thanks to a company merger that puts her directly in competition with her ex, who also happens to be the new CEO’s son.

So when Brody’s agent approaches her with the fake dating plan, Piper sees opportunity wrapped in chaos. Brody can promote her designs, which could secure her position at work, and she gets a ready-made boyfriend to parade home for the holidays. Two problems solved in one very fake relationship. What she does not factor in is a meddlesome mother, forced proximity, and the emotional landmines buried under twelve years of unresolved feelings.

The writing is engaging and the story flows easily, carrying the same small-town charm that made Hideaway Harbor feel so cozy in the first book. That said, I never felt as invested in The Holiday Fakers as I did in The Holiday Hate-Off. A big part of that, for me, was the lack of sharp banter and that effortless, witty spark between the main characters that made the first book shine.

Piper is kind, caring, and deeply well-meaning, but her constant self-doubt and tendency to let other people’s opinions control her choices became frustrating. She allows her ex, social media noise, and her own insecurities to shrink her potential, even when she clearly has talent and ambition.

I also struggled with how often she overreacted to Brody showing affection under the assumption that it was “just for the cameras,” despite fully agreeing to the fake dating setup and entering it for her own reasons. Even after misunderstandings were cleared, she kept spiraling instead of working toward solutions, choosing fear over communication more often than not.

That said, I appreciated her growth arc. Watching her slowly open up to Brody, gain confidence in her art, and refuse to let him sacrifice his dreams for her was satisfying. I especially loved her choices toward the end, when she finally stopped second-guessing herself and embraced her dreams and her feelings without hesitation. That version of Piper was the one I wanted more of throughout the book.

Brody was the more compelling character for me. He carries a lot of emotional baggage, including a difficult childhood with an addicted mother, unresolved grief, and the constant pressure of fame that never lets him feel good enough. Acting became his escape and his shield, but it also placed him under relentless scrutiny and harsh media judgment. He truly deserved a pause, something real and grounding, and Hideaway Harbor gave him that.

It was obvious from the beginning that Brody had feelings for Piper all along. He just never learned how to show up for her the way he could perform for the public. What I loved most about him was his ability to build found family, not only with Piper and her family but also with his agent and assistant. He was genuinely kind, thoughtful, and emotionally open once he stopped hiding.

However, I did not fully buy his reasons for staying away from town and cutting off contact with his best friend for so long. His guilt was clear, but it still did not feel like a strong enough justification, especially when his best friend was dealing with personal tragedy. I appreciated that he owned his mistakes and worked to repair those relationships, and I loved that he was willing to walk away from his dream role for Piper. That choice spoke volumes about his growth.

Ironically, the secondary characters completely stole the show for me. Piper’s family was warm and entertaining. Hudson and Mia’s drama added humor and texture. Piper’s mother was meddling in the most loving and exasperating way possible, and Brody’s agent was an absolute delight. Watching him team up with Piper’s mother to engineer forced proximity was one of the most fun parts of The Holiday Fakers.

The romance itself is a slow burn fueled by fake dating tension and the constant “will they or won’t they” uncertainty. There are some genuinely sweet moments between Piper and Brody, but my favorite scenes were not the romantic ones. The rescue scenes brought a sense of adventure and urgency that gave the story a much-needed boost.

The climax was predictable, and the resolution leaned heavily into storybook territory. Still, I did not mind it. Seeing Piper and Brody choose each other while also holding onto their dreams felt emotionally satisfying.

Overall, The Holiday Fakers is a fun, cozy holiday romance with a small-town setting, childhood friends to lovers, and a fake dating trope at its core. While it did not quite live up to the magic of the first book for me, it was still an enjoyable read, and I am more than happy to continue the Hideaway Harbor series in 2026.