Lana Ferguson (The Nanny) turns up the heat in The Fake Mate, a scorching wolf-shifter romance set at a Denver hospital. Desperate to dodge yet another terrible set-up, emergency room doctor Mackenzie Carter impulsively tells the grandmother who raised her that she's dating the "Boogeyman of Denver General," interventional cardiologist Noah Taylor. Noah ups the stakes and asks her to pretend to be his mate because someone reported him to the hospital board for not disclosing his alpha designation during the hiring process. In this alternate universe, popular in fan fiction, shifters are classified into different groups, and the alpha and omega designations are both stigmatized. Alphas are said to be prone to violence without the calming effect of a mate. By pretending that he's mated to omega Mackenzie, he can avoid disciplinary action.
The fake-dating pretense gradually morphs into something very real--especially after Mackenzie proposes a "sex addendum" and an especially memorable week when Mack goes into an unexpectedly early heat. Ferguson goes full-steam ahead in this opposites-attract romance, but all that sex is skillfully blended with genuine relationship-building. Readers will be eager to see these two bighearted people figure out their happily-ever-after.
The Fake Mate is a great example of how professional and personal obstacles can be important to a romance plot without compromising character development. This mashup of Grey's Anatomy, Ali Hazelwood, and high-heat Reylo fan fiction will make even the most seasoned romance readers' hearts beat a little faster. --Suzanne Krohn, librarian and freelance reviewer