Oh wow, 'I Dated Nicholas' is one of those webnovels that sneaks up on you with its mix of humor and heartache. At its core, it follows a protagonist who gets roped into a fake dating scheme with Nicholas, this seemingly perfect guy with a hidden manipulative streak. The twist? The protagonist knows it's fake from the start, but Nicholas doesn’t realize they’re onto his game. The real charm comes from the protagonist’s internal monologue—witty, self-deprecating, and oddly relatable as they navigate the absurdity of keeping up appearances while secretly documenting Nicholas’s ridiculous behavior for a secret blog.
The story escalates when Nicholas’s exes start forming an alliance, and what began as a lighthearted revenge plot turns into this weirdly touching exploration of how people perform for love. By the end, it’s less about exposing Nicholas and more about the protagonist’s growth—realizing they’d been hiding behind sarcasm just as much as Nicholas hid behind charm. The side characters, like the barista who always sees through the protagonist’s lies, add layers to the narrative. It’s the kind of story that makes you cringe-laugh while also wanting to hug the characters.