The (Fake) Dating Game is a whole lot of fun, and my favorite Timothy Janovsky novel yet, although it’s hard to deny that the pacing is a little off. Surprisingly weighty in spite of its description, the book seems to be about game shows, slow-burning love, and marriages of partnership and convenience that grow into much more. In reality, it’s part love story, part heartbreaking journey through grief. Though I liked it a lot, it’s not the light, zany romp the blurb tries to sell it as.

Holden James has a simple dream – to appear on Madcap Market, a Supermarket Sweep-like game show. His appearance wouldn’t only be a culmination of years of fandom, it would also be a tribute to his late mother. Watching the show with her was a formative memory from his childhood, and he is determined to honor her memory by appearing as a guest. But his boyfriend dumps him during the try-out process, leaving Holden alone, and partnerless in a strange hotel room.

Then a handsome concierge arrives with food to soothe Holden’s broken heart. Leo Min and Holden are instantly attracted to one another – and then Holden realizes Leo will be a perfect substitute for his boyfriend on the game show. Now all they have to do is pretend to be together. But is the charade masking real love?

The (Fake) Dating Game is a saucy romance, a heavy meditation on grief, and a physically-minded gameshow romp all at once. It’s also very sexually forward – Leo and Holden think they’re in a simple hook-up situation, so the sex is immediate. But then again, so’s the chemistry.

I really liked Holden and Leo, and it’s clear they’re pretty perfect for each other. The romance is sweet, the scenes between them laden with spice. Holden’s connection to his mother is genuinely touching as well. This book is mostly about his learning to find a place to put his grief for his mother, a concept that is poignant, relatable, and realistically handled.

But the actual game show portion of the book only occurs at roughly the last fifteen percent of the book’s page count, so anyone coming for “the game show antics” promised by the blurb is going to be sorely disappointed.

Yet everything else that The (Fake) Dating Game does, it does so well that you’re liable not to care. This is a big hearted winner of a book.