Four Steps to the Perfect Fake Date

By: Lilian Monroe

Narrated by: Bryant Walker, Leanne Woodward

From the author of Four Steps to the Perfect Revenge comes a deliciously witty and lighthearted romance brimming with misadventures, misdeeds, misunderstandings…and one perfectly mismatched couple.

A notorious rule follower, the old Daphne Davis could do no wrong. But lately she can’t get anything right.

Jilted by her ex, ousted from her home, and laid off from her job, Daphne retreats to her little hometown, Fernley Island. But even there, she feels out of sync. So, bailing on her own sister’s engagement party, she suddenly embraces a brand-new philosophy: no more goody-two-shoes.

Unfortunately, Daphne’s new mantra lands her squarely in the headlights—literally—of her high school nemesis, Calvin Flint. No longer a scrawny jerk, he’s Fernley’s acting sheriff, filling out his uniform waaay better than he ought to.

He’s also Daphne’s new boss.

As Daphne balances the books after a department scandal, a series of mishaps throws her and Calvin together. The sparks that fly take them both by surprise. But will a fake dating scheme and quest for a stolen heirloom ruin their chance at something real?

©2025 by Lilian Monroe. (P)2025 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“A heartwarming, funny, and emotional romance that has everything you will love about the fake dating trope, but with characters that feel real and relatable.”—Harlequin Junkie (top pick)

great book

This was a really good book! I liked this author, I'll definitely have to read more!

Funny but repetitive

Narration Style: Dual


Daphne went back to her hometown after losing her job and being dumped by her boyfriend. She ran into her high school nemesis, Calvin. Certain things happened and they ended up fake dating.

This was cute and funny. I liked the banter between Calvin and Daphne. But it did get a bit repetitive and boring.

2.5 Stars

2.5 Stars
This has some cute moments, but I never really bought into the romance. I also was not a fan of the conflict. The idea was cute and brought more to the story around the family dynamics, but it should not have been the main conflict for the characters.

This one was just not for me.

cute

⭐ 3.75
🌶️ 1
🥵 Spicy chapters: 29-30
📚 Tropes/Themes: small town, starting over, bickering, enemies to lovers, he falls first, he takes care of her, sheriff x accountant, slow burn
👀 Dual POV 3rd person
🎙️Dual Narration
⏰ Approx 10 hours
🛍️ Available: Now

💬 This was a cute, mostly enjoyable story. So first things first this was an audiobook for me and it was a great listening experience. It is done in dual narration and the narrators did a great job of bringing the characters to life.

The beginning is smart and snarky and hilarious and sucked me in pretty quickly.
I like how they have to do actual police stuff. That probably sounds silly but I feel like in other books where the MMC is a sheriff there isn't much more to that than a namesake, but in this he was actually doing police work.

I also really love how they lean into the "small town" ness, with over the top characters and crazy antics. It gives the story a cozy, homey vibe.

That's said, I promise I try not to overthink characters and books but... well I sincerely hope that Calvin and Daphne underwent a lot of therapy during the 9 years that separates the end of the story and the epilogue 😅

Idk, I think it was meant to be some comic relief but it was really bumming me out the lengths Daphne felt she had to go to to be accepted within her family, especially when there wasn't really much mention of trauma on her side. It really seemed like most of it was self-imposed and I was frustrated that her family didn't recognize the situation for what it was.

Calvin I get and I really loved watching him work through his issues and grow as a person in what felt like a REALISTIC and honest way.

Despite that like I said it was a cute story that I enjoyed. And I plan to read the previous book in the series.

We get it…

You’re a good girl. You’re afraid of being left. Blame blah blah. This could have been such a good story, but the repetitive inner dialogue of the MCs ruined it for me. It’s always annoying when grown adults act like twenty year olds. The MMC overcame so much in his life and still acted like a lost child. The FMC is in a box of her own making. Go. To. Therapy. Make friends. TALK! Act like an adult. Geez. The constant rumination brought the story way down for me even though the “mystery” was good. I skipped many chapters and missed nothing. Not worth the credit.