Best Fake Dating M/M Romance Books
Here you can find the absolute best fake dating M/M romance books out there.
Fake dating is easily one of the most prevalent romance book tropes that exists. And for good reason!
On this list you will find some classic M/M romance fake dating books. I also hope to include a few newer books that you might not have had a chance to check out yet.
The guys in these books are completely oblivious, usually ridiculous, and always sugary sweet.
Let’s jump in!
Disclaimer – This blog contains affiliate links from Amazon Associates. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases. These commissions help support the maintenance of this blog and allow me to continue bringing you content. I only recommend products and books that I personally believe in and have enjoyed. Your support through these links is greatly appreciated.
Absolute Best Fake Dating M/M Romance Books
Maddox
The reason I rarely go home is three simple words: I’m a liar.
When the pressure to marry my childhood sweetheart became too much, I told her I was gay and then fled to New York like my ass was on fire.
Now, five years later and after a drunken encounter, I find myself invited to her wedding. And I have to bring my boyfriend—the boyfriend who doesn’t exist because I’m straight.
At least, I think I am. Meeting the guy I’m bribing to be my boyfriend for the weekend makes me question everything about myself.
Damon
When my sister asks me to pretend to be some straight guy’s boyfriend, my automatic response is to say no. It’s because of guys like him people don’t believe me when I tell them I’m gay.
But Maddox has something I need.
After an injury that cost me my baseball career, I’m trying to leave my playing days behind and focus on being the best sports agent I can be. Forty-eight hours with my sister’s best friend in exchange for a meeting with a possible client. I can do this.
I just wish he wasn’t so hot. Or that he didn’t kiss like he means it.
Wait … why is the straight guy kissing me?
The entire Fake Boyfriend series by Eden Finley is absolute fake dating gold.
Fake Out kicks off the series with the sweetest sports M/M romance between Maddox, a professional athlete who lies about being gay, and Damon, a gay aspiring sports agent.
This is a book that will make you laugh out loud. But don’t worry, there is angst and tension aplenty to keep you hooked. Read this one for the sports, the steam, and the humor.
When your imaginary boyfriend turns up in your hometown, marriage is the only option.
I’m not anti-relationship, but my life is good right now, and love is not a priority. Too bad my grandmother disagrees. People say she’s scary, and sure, some of her enemies went missing under mysterious circumstances, but she loves me and wants the best for me… which, right now, is marriage. The matchmaking is a lot, and she’s not letting up. What’s a demon to do except invent a long-distance boyfriend?
That backfires hard when the one-night stand I based my fake boyfriend on arrives in our tiny village. Garrett’s here to help our cut-off town assimilate with the rest of the Community of Species. He’s not expecting to find he has a boyfriend he knew nothing about.
It doesn’t take me long to convince him to agree to my new plan. I need the matchmaking to stop; he needs our insular little community to accept and trust him. The perfect solution: marriage. A business agreement with a time limit.
Just business.
Until he demands more. A sexy, nerdy hellhound in my bed isn’t a deal breaker.
But as we get closer to our end date, it gets harder for me to imagine life without him. And when my little cousin goes missing, it’s Garrett who saves the day… and reveals secrets the village didn’t know we had.
Asher by Louisa Masters gives us a seriously sweet paranormal fake relationship.
Even better than a fake relationship, a fake marriage! Asher and Garrett start out as a one-night stand, but soon find themselves forced to be more.
This story is low angsty, but has plenty of mystery and paranormal intrigue to stay exciting.
Also, I really like hellhounds. And stories that have hellhound characters. So, if you do too, try Asher!
Two MI6 agents go undercover as a rich businessman and his sugar baby. Can their fake relationship become something real?
Sam Landon is a homeless eighteen-year-old thief desperate for a different life. When his skills attract the attention of the British Secret Intelligence Service, Sam is determined to prove himself.
His first mission: he has to steal a flash drive from a paranoid crime lord. The problem is, he has to pretend to be another agent’s sugar baby.
Dominic Bommer, his “sugar daddy,” is ridiculously handsome, charming, rich, and pretty much perfect. Dominic is kind, generous, and protective of him.
Except “Dominic Bommer” is nothing but a role performed by a cynical MI6 agent, who is actually straight, aloof, and manipulative.
Sam is perfectly aware that everything Dominic does is carefully calculated, every emotion faked. He knows that men actually do nothing for Dominic and he doesn’t really want Sam.
But despite knowing all of this, Sam still finds himself falling hard for a man who doesn’t exist.
Or does he?
Alessandra Hazard does fake dating really, really well.
Just a Bit Shameless is definitely one of her best examples, but don’t sleep on Just a Bit Heartless, Unnatural, or That Irresistible Poison either! Any of these books would probably hit that fake dating vibe you might be searching for.
Read this one for some seriously steamy age-gap fake dating with some espionage.
Heath
It’s a classic story: Boy meets girl, girl breaks boy’s heart, boy pretends to be gay to get back at girl, girl outs boy to everyone on Facebook…
Okay, maybe it’s not that classic. But it’s what happened to me.
When I bump into my cheating ex and catch sight of the moon-sized rock on her finger, there’s only one option to save face: pretend to be dating my gay best friend, Declan.
And when she outs me on Facebook and everyone I know sees it, there’s still only one option: keep pretending to be dating Declan.
And when Declan and I have to kiss to keep up the ruse and it turns out there’s actually a spark between us (more like a blazing inferno, if truth be told) there’s once again only one option…
Fake it ’til You Make Out by Isla Olsen is one of the sweetest fake dating M/M romances out there.
There is just no better combination than fake dating and best friends to lovers.
I have read this book a few times, and it never gets old. Declan and Heath are absolutely perfect together and I love to read about their love.
The camping trip from hell may be the first stop on the road to happily-ever-after.
Navy SEAL Renzo Bianchi has a soft spot for Canaan Finley, and not only because the man makes a mean smoothie. He’s the first guy to get Renzo’s motor revving in a long time. But when he agrees to Canaan’s insane charade—one all-access fake boyfriend, coming right up—he never expects more than a fling.
Creating a hot Italian SEAL boyfriend to save face seemed like a good idea…until his friends called Canaan’s bluff. Now he’s setting off into the woods with the very man who inspired his deception, and Canaan is not the outdoorsy type. The sparks are already flying when a flash flood separates them from their group, leaving Renzo and Canaan very much trapped…very much alone in the wilderness.
Working together to come up with a plan for survival is sexier than either of them expects. But back in the real world, being a couple is bringing its own set of hazards…
Rough Terrain is book seven of Annabeth Albert‘s fantastic Out of Uniform series.
The entire series is well worth your time, but Rough Terrain has always held a special spot in my heart.
Renzo and Canaan jump from fake dating to trying things for real pretty quickly, but it all feels natural and unforced.
Read this one for a super steamy military fake-dating M/M romance.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year—except ex-Marine Logan is jobless and getting evicted. Worse, he’s a new single dad with a stepson who hates him. A kid needs stability—not to mention presents under the tree—and Logan’s desperate.
Then he meets lonely Seth and makes a deal.
Can Logan temporarily pretend to be live-in boyfriends to increase Seth’s chances at a promotion? If it provides a roof over their heads for the holidays, hell yeah. Logan considers himself straight—he doesn’t count occasional hookups with guys—but he can fake it. Besides, with his shy little smile, Seth is surprisingly sexy.
Make that damn sexy.
Shocked that Seth has only been with one man, Logan can’t resist sweetening their deal to teach him the joys of casual sex. No strings attached. No feelings. No kissing.
No falling for each other.
Easy, right?
Keira Andrews has the cutest Christmas fake dating series, Festive Fakes, so if you feel like some sweet holiday vibes in April, The Christmas Deal should be your pick!
This book is Keira Andrews at her best. I love how well Seth and Logan compliment and improve each other.
These two can only fight their connection for so long, but then it’s pure magic.
Just when I think my life can’t get any weirder, a mysterious stranger comes to the club and offers me a crap-ton of cash to pose as his boyfriend for ninety days.
The job sounds simple enough. Evan is as rich as he is hot, and he says he doesn’t expect anything from me other than my acting skills. If we can pull it off and fool his friends and family, he gets his inheritance. I get a new wardrobe, a huge payout, and a chance to see how the other half lives.
But as time goes on and I find myself becoming more involved in Evan’s world, I realize things aren’t always as they seem.
On the outside Evan is a buttoned-up, boring businessman. But when he starts receiving letters threatening not only himself, but also me, I find out who he truly is.
Ruthless.
Possessive.
And the only person who’s ever made me feel seen.
I have really enjoyed the new Crimson Club series from Willow Dixon. Fakers with Benefits is the second installment, and a great continuation from book one.
This book is the perfect example of opposites attracting.
Fakers with Benefits gives us an older, rich business man with a ruthless streak and a young stripper who is too sweet for his own good.
Together these two really bring the heat.
Daniel
I suck at relationships and don’t trust anyone, but there are reasons for that. For one thing, every person I’ve ever cared about has let me down. The only recent exception: O’Leary’s town veterinarian…my new best friend.
I came to O’Leary for a fresh start. To pare things down to essentials. To forget about the failures in my past. The last thing I need is complications, and most definitely Not. A. Boyfriend.
Julian
I’ve lived in O’Leary my entire life and learned to fly under the radar a long time ago. I do what’s expected, say what’s expected, and keep to myself as much as possible. It’s a hell of a lot simpler spending my time working with animals than trying to interact with actual people. The one unlikely exception: the gorgeous guy who moved to a cabin just outside of town and somehow became my best friend.
But friendships are complicated, and one morning I find myself accidentally telling the whole town the biggest lie of my life. Which is how Daniel Michaelson, my very straight, very hot best friend becomes my fake boyfriend, even though he’s most definitely Not. My. Lover.
The Gift is such a cute read. It is 100% May Archer at her best.
This book follows the path of best friends to lovers via fake dating, and it does it so well.
Julian steals the show here for me. I love him as a person, so it is just that much more enjoyable to read about him falling in love.
Check this one out for a super-sweet small-town, best friends-to-lovers romance.
Tripp
The worst part of being in love with my straight best friend is the fact he’s too oblivious to see it.
Years of pining have left me exhausted, and I need a break from Dex. I need space to get over my feelings. But when his relationship falls apart and he turns to me for comfort, I cave immediately.
If there’s one thing I hate more than being hurt, it’s seeing Dex struggle. I can’t leave him in a time of need, even if my friends say it’s my biggest downfall.
They say Dexter Mitchale is my weakness, but if that’s true, I don’t want to be strong.
Dex
I’ve always been the dumb one. It’s what I’m known for, and usually I don’t let it get to me.
I have hockey, and I have my best friend, Tripp. What more do I need? To settle down? No thank you. Marriage? Hard pass. According to ex-girlfriends, that makes me “irresponsible.”
But the solution I come up with to get over my fear of commitment might be my dumbest idea yet. Not only does it have team management breathing down my neck, but it puts a strain on my friendship with Tripp.
This PR nightmare could lose me the only person I’ve ever loved. Losing girlfriends is nothing. Losing Tripp? It’s not an option.
I’ll do whatever it takes to keep him.
Irresponsible Puckboy is easily my favorite book in the Puckboys series from Eden Finley and Saxon James.
Dex and Tripp are best friends. Well, Dex is best friends with Tripp. Tripp is ridiculously in love with Dex, but trying very hard not to be. Too bad his supposedly straight best friend won’t let him walk away.
Dex is as dim as the day is long. All three of Dex’s braincells decide it would be a good idea to marry Tripp on a whim so that he looks less irresponsible, and Tripp has never been good at telling Dex no.
I cannot tell you how funny or sweet this story is. You will absolute eat up these two dimwits navigating falling in love while already being shotgun married to each other.
This one is a must read.
WANTED:
One (fake) boyfriend
Practically perfect in every way
Luc O’Donnell is tangentially—and reluctantly—famous. His rock star parents split when he was young, and the father he’s never met spent the next twenty years cruising in and out of rehab. Now that his dad’s making a comeback, Luc’s back in the public eye, and one compromising photo is enough to ruin everything.
To clean up his image, Luc has to find a nice, normal relationship…and Oliver Blackwood is as nice and normal as they come. He’s a barrister, an ethical vegetarian, and he’s never inspired a moment of scandal in his life. In other words: perfect boyfriend material. Unfortunately, apart from being gay, single, and really, really in need of a date for a big event, Luc and Oliver have nothing in common. So they strike a deal to be publicity-friendly (fake) boyfriends until the dust has settled. Then they can go their separate ways and pretend it never happened.
But the thing about fake-dating is that it can feel a lot like real-dating. And that’s when you get used to someone. Start falling for them. Don’t ever want to let them go.
You had to know this book was coming. No M/M romance fake-dating book list is complete without Alexis Hall’s Boyfriend Material.
Luc and Oliver are complete opposites, but that doesn’t stop them from having some seriously amazing chemistry. The amount of growth these men experience from the first page of this book to the last is amazing.
Boyfriend Material is sublime, and I highly recommend that you read (or reread) it this month.
Hey, I’m Heather!
I read M/M romance books exclusively, and I help other readers find their next great M/M romance read.
