Title: The Wedding Date
Author: Zara Stoneley
Genre: Fiction/ Romance/ Bestsellers
Source: Kindle Romance
Rating: 3/5

Favourite Quote: “'”Have we, er, you know?” He raises an eyebrow, and I get a hot flush.
“Well, of course, I’m not a prude you know.” Liam has to think we’ve slept together. “There’s slow, and there’s…”
“Dead from the waist down?”
“Sex -” I peer at him, it would be over my glasses if I wore them, which I don’t ” -starts in a woman’s head, not below the waist”. The taxi driver chuckles. I always suspected that they could hear when you closed the screen.
“Sex, I find, starts right here.” Jake’s gone all husky and dirty sounding, and he closes in and drops the tiniest kiss on my lips, the kind you might have imagined, it is so light, but it makes your stomach squish and something clench at the top of your thighs. Or is that just me?’

I needed a good laugh out loud book for a distraction from a stressful week. The Wedding Date came up as a good recommendation as to what I was looking for so I thought I’d give it a go!

Sam Jenkins has been invited to her best friend Jess’s wedding as the important role of maid of honour, the only downside is Liam. The best man, the brother of the groom, the cheating ex boyfriend who ended their relationship 4 months ago..
Sam’s self esteem isn’t at it’s highest point at the moment after also discovering that the girl Liam cheated on her with is pregnant, like, heavily pregnant, like more than 4 months pregnant. Seeing Liam is the last thing in the world that Sam wants to do, but letting Jess down isn’t an option either, especially as she’s told Jess and her parents that she’s moved on and she has a new boyfriend so they would stop worrying and stop feeling sorry for her. Unfortunately, this new boyfriend in question is completely fictional.

Unsure what to do, she heads to her little sanctuary at the hairdressers where her gay friend Tim knows all about the situation with Liam and together they all come up with an idea of her taking a fake boyfriend to the wedding. Charlotte even has someone in mind that would be perfect for the job! Her broke little brother who happens to be an actor looking for a distraction. Desperate, Sam agrees to meet Charlotte’s brother Jake to see whether he would be up for the challenge of a week in Scotland for the wedding.

It turns out, Jake Porter is everything you want in a fake boyfriend, great looks, a cute dimpled smile, a great mischievous sense of humour and not to mention the perfect body. Sam decides that rules will be required to make sure the week is purely a business deal and nothing more.
Jake agrees to be Sam’s fake boyfriend escort to the wedding as it sounds like the perfect distraction. He tells her he understands what she is going through which brings a lot of questions as to what Jake could possibly want to run away from to spend a week in Scotland with a complete stranger. Things also get a bit tricky when he has his own rules to bring to the table.

‘”You need to be the type of boyfriend who would drive a Ferrari, and adore me, and watch chick flicks on a Friday night, and…” I really do need to think about this.
“Whatever your heart desires.” I’m pretty sure that warm huskiness is purely a demonstration of how good an actor he is, and nothing more. 
“Pizza and a bottle of wine normally.” 
He laughs, a deep throaty laugh. “A girl after my own heart.” Oh heavens, any more of this and I will be booking him for a lifetime, not a week. “How about Thursday then, for the first getting to know you session? I can tell you all about my rules then, as well.” He winks.’

The drive up to Scotland allows Sam and Jake to get to know each other a bit better, asking important questions to get their facts right, such as what foods they like/ dislike, any birthmarks or tattoos and of course, sexual fantasies.. The important stuff.
Sam beings to feel like a week in Scotland with Liam and his pregnant girlfriend could be fun after all. They just need to convince everyone that they are a loved up couple, Jake is an actor after all, he could convince anyone he’s in love with Sam. Even Sam.

‘You see, this is the problem with dating an actor, isn’t it? You don’t know which bits are real and which bits are, well, acting. The truth? He is only here for the money, and I am only here, walking the dog and swallowing too many calories, because I am desperate.’

I enjoyed reading this book, it was just the pick me up that I needed. The characters were portrayed really well, from Sam’s desperate means to show everyone she’s not alone and is over Liam and her ever growing confidence to be the Sam she used to be, to Jake’s mischievous sense of humour that will make you fall in love with him. The perfect fake boyfriend indeed! The relationships were realistic which was a nice feel from the story, from Liam’s nasal selfish behaviour and Sam’s overly keen and enthusiastic parents who just want whats best for her but don’t know when to stop. It’s a lovely story that will make you want to dive into more romance novels.

Goodreads Review:
One ex.
One wedding.
One little white lie.
When Samantha Jenkins is asked to be the maid of honour at her best friend’s wedding, she couldn’t be happier. There are just three problems…
1) Sam’s ex-boyfriend, Liam, will be the best man.
2) His new girlfriend is pregnant.
3) Sam might have told people she has a new man when she doesn’t (see points 1 and 2 above)
So, Sam does the only sensible thing available to her… and hires a professional to do the job.
Actor Jake Porter is perfect for the role: single, gorgeous and cheap! Sam is certain it’s the perfect solution: no strings, no heartbreak and hopefully no chance of being found out.
But spending a week in the Scottish Highlands with Jake is harder than she imagined. He is the perfect boyfriend, charming, sexy and the hottest thing in a kilt since Outlander! And his dog Harry is quite possibly the cutest things Sam has ever seen!
As the wedding draws closer, Jake plays his part to perfection and everyone believes he is madly in love with Sam. The problem is, Sam’s not sure if Jake is acting anymore…