Dual narration by Simone Lewis & Tim Paige
Denver Kodiaks, Book 1
From the publisher:
It’s not every day you ask your older brother’s teammate to be your fake boyfriend. But desperate times call for gorgeous, impulsive measures.
Miles Garrett is a pro basketball player with a heartstopping smile and infamous cocky charm. But to me, he’s always been more than a celebrity. Miles is the guy who puts friends and family first…and my college crush.
When my sorority sister decides to bring my ex to our reunion, I need a plus-one who can have my back and save my pride. Asking Miles is the perfect solution.
Until he raises the stakes for both of us.
He says he’s only playing to win. He’ll be the best fake boyfriend I’ve ever had.
But his gaze hunts mine across a crowded room. He protects me with a fierceness that steals my breath. Our just-for-show kisses ignite a wildfire inside me.
I’m fighting feelings that have been simmering for years. Soon our pretend relationship starts feeling dangerously legit…Because it’s hard to fake what’s always been real.
Tropes include: teammate’s little sister, brother’s best friend, fake dating, pro athlete hero, cinnamon roll hero, he’d do anything for her, sassy heroine, college crush, only one bed.
Hard to Fake is a pro basketball romance with banter, spice, and all the swoony vibes. It’s the first book in the Denver Kodiaks series. You’ll want to binge Miles and Brooke’s entire addictive story today!
Want even more Denver Kodiaks? Listen to the King of the Court series for Clay and Nova’s story! (It is NOT necessary to listen to King of the Court before listening to Denver Kodiaks):
1. Game Changer
2. Shot Taker
3. Play Maker
4. Game Day
This author was new to me, as was a basketball romance. I tend to love sports romances, especially hockey, football, and baseball, as those are the sports I watch. I am not a basketball fan, but I’ll watch when the Miami Heat or the NY teams make it to the playoffs.
I also have a very tall brother (6’5″) who loves basketball and only stopped playing recreationally after a couple of hospitalizations, when his doctor insisted on it. My nephew is 6’7″, although he played baseball until he finally decided he didn’t want to play it professionally.
I was invited to a dinner at the annual American Library Association conference several years ago and was seated next to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. They actually had to move the room where the cocktail party started because the ceiling was too low for him – these guys are tall! Just FYI, Jabbar writes a terrific mystery series based on Sherlock Holmes’ brother, Mycroft Holmes. Anyway, I mention all this because the main character, Miles, is a professional basketball player who I believe was described as being 6’4″, which is on the short side for a pro.
Brooke is our female protagonist—a struggling influencer whose mother has just cut off her financial support. Her brother plays for the fictional Colorado Kodiak NBA team, and his best friend and teammate is Miles.
Initially, I found Brooke difficult to connect with. She came across as whiny and entitled, two traits that really grate on me as a reader. However, she’s also hardworking and clearly going through a difficult period, so I decided to stick with her story. As an influencer desperately needing to secure a major account to stabilize her finances, Brooke gets a promising opportunity when one of her sorority sisters, who runs a wildly successful clothing line, begins looking for new influencer partnerships.
Brooke was already planning to attend her sorority reunion weekend when disaster strikes—she discovers that one of her sorority sisters is bringing Brooke’s ex-boyfriend as her date. This sends Brooke into full panic mode. The weekend is crucial for her career prospects, but now she feels she needs a fake date to help her save face when confronting her ex.
Enter Miles—her brother’s best friend, teammate, and the man Brooke has harbored a crush on for years. To her amazement, Miles readily agrees to the fake dating scheme. As they spend time together preparing for the weekend, genuine feelings begin to develop between them. Their chemistry felt authentic and compelling, and I found myself genuinely invested in their relationship.
Unfortunately, this investment made the ending all the more frustrating. The book concludes with a cliffhanger, completely violating romance’s cardinal rule: the guaranteed happily ever after (HEA). This kind of ending is enough to make me swear off both this series and this author entirely.
On the audiobook front, the narration was excellent. Tim Paige, whom I know from his work on Rebecca Yarros’s romances, delivered another solid performance. Simone Lewis was new to me, but she also did outstanding work—I’d happily listen to both narrators again in future projects.
9/2025 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch
HARD TO FAKE by Piper Lawson. Narrators: Simone Lewis & Tim Paige. Piper Lawson Books. August 1, 2025. Listening Length: 5 hours and 32 minutes.
Stacy Alesi's BookBitch.com™ 
As an African American woman, it would have been nice to hear an African American woman voice the character.
An excellent point. Thank you for sharing!