My Favorite Fake Romance

The Favorites, Book 3

By: Elizabeth O'Roark

Narrated by: Kasi Hollowell, James Cassidy

Faking it never felt this good.

Dr. Easton Walsh thought she’d be showing up to her best friend’s wedding with a dazzling ring and a fiancé everyone wanted to Instagram. Instead, her boyfriend dumped her over what was supposed to be a proposal dinner and the only man offering her a lifeline is the last one she’d ever choose: Elijah Cabot. Her best friend’s older brother. The guy who broke her heart once already.

He'll help make her ex jealous...All she has to do is help him drive his grandmother across several states to the wedding. Easy.

But the fake relationship is starting to feel real, and the longer the trip goes on, the harder it is for Easton to remember that Boston—and her carefully built life—don’t include Elijah. Especially when her ex starts dangling threats that could derail her career if she doesn’t come back to him.

Now Easton has to decide: risk everything for a second chance at the one man she shouldn’t want…or keep playing it safe, even if it means losing the best thing that’s ever happened to her—again.

©2025 Elizabeth O'Roark (P)2025 Elizabeth O'Roark

Easton & Elijah

Easton was hoping to get engaged before her best friend's wedding, but instead, she’s dumped. Determined to make her ex jealous, she convinces Elijah, her best friend’s brother, to pretend to date her if she agrees to take a road trip with him to the wedding. Their journey is so fun, and I can’t get enough of Elijah’s grandmother! Her hilarious, teasing comments at Easton’s expense are priceless, and Easton always has the perfect comeback.

As they travel together, the chemistry between Easton and Elijah becomes impossible to ignore, and their fake relationship starts to feel very real. Narrators Kasi Hollowell and James Cassidy bring Easton and Elijah to life beautifully, capturing all the tension, humor, and heart. I adore this series, and this book is just as fantastic as the rest!

Good story

There are many inconsistencies between the book and the audio (MMC 35 vs 36 years old, grandma Carol is referred to as Mary, the car is a Jetta and then a Honda, also some sentences are missing or different) i guess they used a different version. Other than that, the story is compelling. A little frustrating sometimes. The narrators are excellent.

simple amazing. Elijah and Easton.... sigh

•Tropes: Enemies to lovers, Best Friends brother, Forced Proximity.

• Thoughts:
Easton and Elijah are perfection!!! I have loved their story so much. The banter was freaking top notch! I laughed so hard, but not only that there was so much heart and so much emotion between these two. I loved how Elijah and Easton interacted with one another, how quick Easton is with her wit! I love how Elijah sees Easton for who she is! I devoured this book so fast, and I am not gonna lie, I am so sad this series is complete. Its been a top series for me this year!! I definitely will recommend this book, this series.

Narrator Thoughts:
Narrators: Kasi Hollowell and James Cassidy
•Duet Narration. 1.70x
I have not heard of Kasi before this book, but I will be seeking out her narrations. I adored her and how she brought Easton to life. She did an amazing job, and James Cassidy was fantastic . I freaking loved him as Elijah. He was perfection!!!

Honestly l, all three books were incredible, all 3 Audiobooks were phenomenal! Definitely amazing.

Kasi Hollowell and James Cassidy are brilliant in this story.

There is something about an Elizabeth O’Roark that sings in a steady simplicity and ultimately leads to a torment of tiny, yet cataclysmic, realizations that make me feel like I’ve been anchored to her characters for a long time.

That’s Easton and Elijah.

My Favorite Fake Romance is the third book in the Favorites series and is the story of a second-chance romance with a best friend’s brother and some forced proximity. When you put all of that on a simmer, serve it up with a double helping of yearning - you get this road trip down memory lane alongside a passive aggressive grandma and her flirty road tripping friend.

Easton is headed home for her best friend’s wedding after her own unexpected breakup from the man she thought she would marry. While far away from Boston she uses her social media to evoke some reactions from her ex. She leans into a fake relationship with her travel companion (bestie’s older brother Elijah) to make the point that she is deserving of his attention. And along the way, she comes back to herself.

Easton is voiced by Kasi Hollowell and she voices the exact representation I’d expect from real life Easton — succumbing to her current state simply because she is categorically used to being a means to an end by the people who are supposed to love her. Kasi is new to me and she delivers a character who learns to love the self she was before this chapter of her life began. I felt Easton’s resignation and resilience in Kasi’s voice, letting Easton’s emotions live and breathe.

Imagine the man who knows he messed up an opportunity with the Easton from his past, while considering what has happened over time to deliver him the Easton of now; James gives Elijah a layered dose of aloofness, but with something more dangerous bubbling underneath — unrequited feelings.

James is an effortless voice actor — his layered performance convinced me that Elijah was going to be a hard line in Easton’s orbit, when in fact he is the softest place for her to land. James made me feel, without question, that Elijah would sacrifice his own to give her life.

Thank you, James, for voicing one of my favorite type of romantic heroes.

I loved that this story was a slow evolution and reintroduction for each character individually and as an eventual coupling. Elijah sees Easton through the lens of his past, and the way his love and attraction to her manifests into their adventure is a reminder it is never to late to rediscover the sides of ourselves we’ve tuned out to balance the sound in someone else’s life.

It is of noting that Easton and Elijah’s past decisions of “settling” for circumstances that were out of both of their hands is one of my favorite micro-tropes. Give me the angst disguised as martyrdom any day.

Elijah wants to be consumed by her, and my gosh, I held my breath for them the whole ride. The steam is worth the wait, because building all the pressure and tension is the payoff. And the emotional landscape is set with tripwire — just when you think you’ve figured their path out, those insecurities try to throw them off-course.

Wonderful Story & Listen🎧Gripping & Emotional!

Elizabeth O’Roark brings you another fun “Favorites”, and along with its amazing back-and-forth banter, it is an emotionally moving and very captivating enemies-to-lovers second chance romance. I thought the two lead characters, Dr. Easton Walsh and Elijah Cabot, were great, both having intriguing backstories, and the undeniable chemistry between them was electric. Elijah is Easton’s best friend, Kelsey’s brother, and the history between them is not good. Easton was expecting a proposal from her boyfriend of two years, but she got something else instead, a broken heart. Kelsey returns home, and with Kelsey’s wedding coming up, Elijah, who wants to get Sophie away from her toxic family, wants her to accompany his grandmother on the drive to the wedding in New Orleans. He convinces her it will look like she moved on from her ex and it is a great way to make her ex jealous and get him running back to her. There is never a dull moment on the road-trip, fun granny scenes, lots of great banter, and even more self-reflection and self-discovery for Easton. I loved all the layers of the story and how it all played out, with the perfect balance of drama, angst, heartwarming moments, heartfelt emotions, and a slow-burn, but so worth the wait romance, take that Thomas!! As always, the writing, plot and world building are fantastic, as are the character growth and development. Elizabeth O’Roark, thank you for another fantastic story and emotional rollercoaster ride.

🎧📚🎧Kasi Hollowell and James Cassidy did a fabulous job bringing the characters to life, giving each a voice that was fitting and believable. Hollowell was a natural as Easton, grasping all sides of her personality, from her insecurities to her wit to her fierceness. Cassidy did the same in Elijah’s role, showcasing his personality perfectly and was swoon-worthy in the role. Both were fantastic at voicing and performing the roles of the side and secondary characters, too. They set the ideal tone for the story, conveyed all the characters’ emotions in their performance and had you feeling each one. These two are a perfect pairing, with voices and talent that complement each other and an entertaining performance that keeps hooked to the story.