Reviewed by Valerie
TITLE: Fake Friends
AUTHOR: Saxon James
SERIES: Never Just Friends
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 354 pages
RELEASE DATE: December 28, 2020
BLURB:
Rowan
Five years ago, I ruined the best thing I had in my life and ran. Now, I’m finally back to make things right. I need Circus’s forgiveness, and then I can finally move on. I’ll leave Sunbury for good this time and never look back. Maybe then I can finally live life as an out gay man—without my family ever finding out. But earning his forgiveness isn’t as simple as I hoped it would be. He’s going to make me fight for it. And I don’t blame him at all.
Circus
I never wanted or expected to see Rowan Harvey again. When he shows up in Sunbury, begging for forgiveness, I’m tempted to give it to him just so he’ll disappear. Instead, we make a deal. I need an extra model for a swimwear shoot, and none of my friends are available or fit the brief.
I’ll forgive him, if he helps me. Then he has to leave. For good. Because his request for anonymity during the shoot proves he’s still living in his dark closet. I’m not going to make the same mistakes I did when I was a teenager. I won’t let myself fall for him again. Because after how things ended between us, he doesn’t deserve a second chance.
REVIEW:
Fake Friends is a story about forgiveness, self-acceptance, and second chances. Circus and Rowan’s story is deeper and more layered than a typical fake boyfriend trope. They are complex characters dealing with homophobia, self-hatred, and grief, and must learn to love themselves before they can fully love each other.
These two men were childhood friends, and later, teenagers with crushes on each other. But while Circus was out and proud, Rowan was shut deep in the closet. He comes from a highly religious Catholic family steeped in the belief that homosexuality is an unforgivable sin. On the night of Circus’ prom, Rowan finally got up the courage to kiss him, but the outcome was a debacle that had Rowan leaving town for five years. During that time, Rowan was riddled with guilt over the incident, while Circus remained bitter and heartbroken.
Shortly after Rowan’s departure, tragedy struck and Circus’ loving, supportive parents died in a car accident leaving him without family. Now in his early twenties, Circus has reinvented himself. By all appearances, he’s a wealthy, successful man with lots of friends. He’s a rising social media influencer and model who has a beautiful, spacious home and more money than he knows what to do with, thanks to an inheritance. But Circus is grieving and lonely, and it’s evident in his lifestyle choices. His social media presence has become an addiction, a need to be bigger and better than other influencers, a craving for attention, adoration, and validation. He stays glued to his phone, watching to see if his number of followers climbs. As he sees it, this is the measure of his popularity, his success, his self-worth – and the means by which he draws the attention of sponsors.
His life is peachy in comparison to Rowan’s. Rowan has just moved back to their small town from Portland and is living with his family, including his horribly bigoted, homophobic grandfather whose speech is liberally littered with slurs, name calling, and snide remarks toward Rowan. As a result, Rowan is still very much closeted. The homophobic remarks and behavior are difficult to read about. Between the messages instilled in him by his family and the church, Rowan has sadly internalized the homophobia and hates himself. A voice in his head tells him it’s wrong and sinful to like men. It’s impossible to live up to his family’s expectations – he’s just not that man – but he can’t be his true self, either.
Central to the plot is Circus’ career. In order for Circus to acquire a brand sponsorship contact for sexy swimwear, he needs a partner to model and take photos with. Although Circus despises Rowan, he can’t find anyone else willing to do it. They make a deal: Circus will give the hefty payout to Rowan if he agrees to leave town and never return. Circus doesn’t want to be tempted by his growing attraction to the man who betrayed him so badly. Rowan’s stipulation: the pics of him can’t show his face so he’s not accidentally outed. Complications arise when Circus’ online followers assume they’re a couple. In a marketing move to boost his popularity and subscribers, Circus is driven to pretend they’re fake boyfriends. Although he is encouraging and supportive of Rowan coming to terms with his sexual identity, it struck me as selfish that he pushed Rowan to do the increasingly suggestive modeling despite the level of hatred and homophobia in his family.
Fake Friends isn’t a sweet love story like it’s predecessor, a book I loved. It’s edgier and deals with heavier topics than Just Friends. I didn’t feel the same level of chemistry between the leads, and didn’t find myself invested in either of them. While I felt sympathy for both men, neither touched my heart. That said, there’s a lot to enjoy in the book – secondary characters, including Leon, Tanner, and Roo are all great to see again – and I have a feeling most readers will like it. Recommended.
RATING: 
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