The Fake Mate

By: Lana Ferguson

Narrated by: Samantha Summers, Joe Arden

Two wolf shifters agree to be fake mates but unexpectedly find something real in this steamy paranormal romantic comedy by Lana Ferguson.

Mackenzie Carter has had some very bad dates lately. Model train experts, mansplainers, guys weirdly obsessed with her tail—she hasn’t had a successful date in months. Only a year out of residency, her grandmother’s obsession with Mackenzie finding the perfect mate to settle down with threatens to drive Mackenzie barking mad. Out of options, it feels like a small thing to tell her grandmother that she’s met someone. That is, until she blurts out the name of the first man she sees and the last man she would ever date: Noah Taylor, the big bad wolf of Denver General.

Noah Taylor, interventional cardiologist and all around grump, has spent his entire life hiding what he is. With outdated stigmas surrounding unmated alphas that have people wondering if they still howl at the moon, Noah has been careful to keep his designation under wraps. It’s worked for years, until an anonymous tip has everything coming to light. Noah is left with two options: come clean to the board and risk his career—or find himself a mate. The chatty, overly friendly ER doctor asking him to be her fake boyfriend on the same day he’s called to meet the board has to be kismet, right?

Mackenzie will keep her grandmother off her back, and Noah will get a chance to prove he can continue to work without a real mate—a mutually beneficial business transaction, they both rationalize. But when the fake-mate act turns into a very real friends-with-benefits arrangement, lines start to blur, and they quickly realize love is a whole different kind of animal.

©2023 Lana Ferguson (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“The Fake Mate delivers the best of my two favourite worlds: a grumpy dark-haired doctor who–literally–howls to the moon, and the high stakes fake dating conundrum he’s thrusted into. Make no mistake, Lana weaves fantastically the elements we love from a paranormal romance (namely, attractive shifters with extremely interesting drives), with the humour characteristic from the best contemporary rom-com you can get your hands on. This book is addictive, epically smutty and the breath of fresh air the romance genre didn’t know it needed.”—Elena Armas, New York Times bestselling author

"This fun, steamy romance has interesting, well-drawn characters who happen to be shifters...Fans of fake relationships will appreciate Ferguson’s paranormal twist on the trope."—Library Journal

“What begins as a typical fake relationship story quickly slides into a delightfully endearing study of two people overcoming expectations.”—Publishers Weekly

Not worth it

The predictable story line was even more drawn out than necessary. The female narration sounded whiney and the volume changed so much between narrators that you I had to adjust the volume with each changeover.

Swoon!!

Both narrators were brilliant. Really added dimension to the whole story. This the perfect palette cleanser. Smuty but also so very sweet. No surprises and a HEA.

So cute and smutty!!!

To those who are looking for some cute, detailed smut, spend the credit. Not really a slow burn but their feelings do evolve. I binged through this one because there were no dull moments. Also, narrators were awesome! :)

Delicious male character

Loved the voice actors and the male character. Absolutely steamy romance between the main characters.

Loved the narration for both!

The actors providing the narration for both Mackenzie and Noah were fantastic. I mean come on gals, it’s Joe Arden…need I say more?

Fun cozy story

Such a fun and cozy story with great narrators. The flow and delivery felt so natural and like they fit the characters. Loved it!

Funny and Sweet

Loved both the MCs to pieces, and they had great chemistry. Lots of laugh out loud moments. Both voice performances were great as well!

It was humorous and sweet.

I can’t believe I’m saying this but I got tired of all the sex scenes

Not my usual thing but this was fantastic

I loved how even though this book is about two shapeshifters fake dating but falling in love the fantasy elements were very minimal. Other than the spicy scenes and the Alpha talk most of the time I forgot they weren’t human throughout the book. Lana’s books always amaze me and keep me captivated until the very last sentence of the epilogue! Can’t wait for her next book to come out since I’m now caught up!

Unexpected and steamy

Very funny and engaging story with plenty of steam but also a different story with the shifter side.