Reviewed by Stephen K.
TITLE: Five Fake Dates
AUTHOR: DJ Jamison
NARRATOR: Darcy Stark
PUBLISHER: DJ Jamison
LENGTH: 2 hrs, 46 mins
RELEASE DATE: April 29, 2020
BLURB:
Adam
I’ve got it bad for my best friend, but he’s only had eyes for my sister since we were kids. I don’t know what I’ll do if they hook up–especially after a drunken kiss West doesn’t seem to remember. Seeing them together just might kill me, but being the good friend I am, I offer to help him however I can. FML.
West
Ever since a drunken kiss we haven’t talked about, I’ve been seeing Adam in a new light. Trouble is, he thinks I want his sister. This whole bisexual awakening thing is scary, and I don’t want to risk our friendship by moving too fast. But when Adam mocks my dating skills, I come up with a genius plan: Five Fake Dates.
REVIEW:
I selected this because I needed a “palate cleanser” after reading several darker, more serious titles. Two buddies who have been college room mates for a year, after growing up next-door to each other, sounded like just the ticket. The fact that one was gay and one was straight-identifying, but both of whom were harboring deeper feelings for each other, promised some minor but entertaining drama and hopefully some comedy. Turns out it was a great choice!
Adam is the one who’s come out to friends and family, but Adam is continually over-thinking things… and crushing on his best friend, who, a few years back, admitted to crushing on Adam’s sister.
While Adam has recognized his feelings for his “straight” buddy, but isn’t hiding them, West is beginning to realize that maybe it’s NOT Adam’s sister he’s interested in. Perhaps he’s bisexual.
West’s never been one to take things too cautiously. This time he impulsively suggests that he and Adam go on five “fake dates” with Adam acting as his dating coach. That ruse doesn’t last long for either of them.
Narrator Darcy Stark does a great job of voicing both guys but seemed a bit tentative when first voicing the over-analytical Adam. As soon as I heard him voicing West, I assumed that West’s voice was Darcy’s normal voice and Adam was a character voice that he was, perhaps, over-acting a bit. With that in mind, by chapter two, both voices were fine. Imagine my surprise when in listening to the end credits it became clear that I was mistaken in my assumption and Adam’s voice is narrator Darcy’s real voice.
Confusion aside, the book is light-hearted and a fun read though there were a few points at which I wanted to slap the overly anxious Adam. Yes, West may have caused most of the real problems in this tale, but sort of in the way that a playful puppy does.
That two life-long friends could make their lives this complicated through miscommunication does stretch one’s credulity a bit, but overall, the book accomplished the goal I had for it, to entertain.
This book does contain some sexual scenes but they’re mostly on the light side and not terribly graphic. And while West claims to be bi-sexual, there’s no real evidence of it here.
RATING: 
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