Best Fake Fiancé Romance Books That Turn Into the Real Thing

The last thing Hugh Standish, Earl of Fareham, ever wants is a wife. Unfortunately for him, his mother is determined to find him one, forcing him to create a fake fiancée to fend off her matchmaking ways. But when Hugh learns his interfering mother is on a ship bound for England, he realizes that he needs to make his unreal betrothed into someone very real.

Minerva Merriwell needs money to support her sisters after their father left them broke. When Hugh asks her to pose as his fiancée during his mother's trip, she feels she has no choice but to say yes. It's a meticulously planned operation, but from the get-go, everything goes wrong. The biggest error: falling for your fake future husband!

Lottie wants to get over the ex-fiancé who broke her heart. A wild weekend of Las Vegas seems like the ideal way to do so. But then she wakes up one morning and discovers that she's gotten married to her ex's gorgeous brother.

Sheriff Brooks Watson yearned for his brother's partner from afar, and now that they're legally wed, he's not giving her up without a fight. Lottie wants an annulment but he makes a bargain: he wants four real dates with her, a real chance to prove that they're perfect for one another before she gets a lawyer to undo their Vegas oopsie. Can he convince her that he’s the real Watson brother for her? 

Lottie had the ultimate meet-cute with Huxley Cane, a gorgeous and exceedingly wealthy businessman who she bumped into while stalking the streets of Beverly Hills. It was no love-at-first-sight moment, but it was exactly what they both needed. She was searching for a hot boyfriend to make her arch-nemesis jealous. He wanted the ideal fake girlfriend to help him with a few business deals. Being his fiancée would give Lottie a shot at the good life, complete with mansions and champagne. As long as they kept things thoroughly professional, it would all work out, right?

Madeline Gracechurch is desperate to avoid the marriage mart of the London season. So sure that it'll end in disaster, she made up a sweetheart: a gorgeous Highlander who had stolen her heart through letters. She wrote dramatic declarations of love to her imaginary fiance, named Captain MacKenzie, then killed him off when he served his duty. But then, many years later, the real Scot named Captain Logan MacKenzie turned up on her doorstep with her letters. And he wants her to keep every promise she made in her fantasies!

After the death of her father, Lady Eden’s uncle becomes her legal guardian and controller of the family estate. The only way he'll let Eden keep her inheritance is if she marries, despite her own protests. She makes a proposal to Harlan Strandhurst, a gentleman with a bad reputation who has been left penniless by his father. Eden and Harlan just want a mutually beneficial arrangement that will secure their futures. Love was never part of the plan, but we all know what happens next!

Hockey romances are in, so we have to include one on this list! When Hadley found the baby of Aston Archers star goalie Rowan Taylor abandoned outside the hospital she works at, she knew her life would never be the same. Rowan has to prove to the courts that he can provide a stable life for his daughter, and they don't view single fathers with much sympathy. So, he does the sensible thing and proposes to Hadley. It's not real, of course. It's just a way to help his case, and she’ll be gone soon anyway, once her contract with the Aston hospital ends. But the more time they spend together, the more enticing the idea of becoming a real family grows.