Book Review: Faking It

Faking It

by Cora Carmack

Published: June 2013 by Ebury Press

Version: Paperback from Ebury Press via blogger party (review is my own, honest opinion)

Rating: 5 sofas

Mackenzie “Max” Miller has a problem. Her parents have arrived in town for a surprise visit, and if they see her dyed hair, tattoos, and piercings, they just might disown her. Even worse, they’re expecting to meet a nice, wholesome boyfriend, not a guy named Mace who has a neck tattoo and plays in a band. All her lies are about to come crashing down around her, but then she meets Cade.

Cade moved to Philadelphia to act and to leave his problems behind in Texas. So far though, he’s kept the problems and had very little opportunity to take the stage. When Max approaches him in a coffee shop with a crazy request to pretend to be her boyfriend, he agrees to play the part. But when Cade plays the role a little too well, they’re forced to keep the ruse going. And the more they fake the relationship, the more real it begins to feel.

After reading Losing It and absolutely LOVING it (check out my review here), I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the next one. I was lucky enough to bag an invite to the Making It Faking It party hosted by Ebury Press. Ever since reading Losing It, I have been stalking Cora Carmack on twitter. She is just so AWESOME. It was great to finally meet her, and hear about how she wrote the books. She read one of my favourite passages from Losing It, and also a bit from each perspective of Faking It. And my god, did it make me want to read it!

So yes, Faking It. It is written from two perspectives (Cade’s and Max’s). Cade we already know from Losing It, as Bliss’ best friend. He is the boy next door, the good guy, that one that always misses out. To be honest, from Losing It I kind of thought he was a bit of a wimp, but boy did Faking It change my perspective! As the book starts, Cade is still moping after Bliss. But when Max waltzes into the coffee shop and asks Cade to pretend to be her boyfriend and meet her parents, his life flips completely.

Max is a very closed off character. Its clear from the beginning that she has emotional issues, and usually picks bad boys so that she doesn’t have to open herself up. She chooses Cade to meet her parents to impress them, as she knows they don’t approve of her string of tattooed, highly pierced ‘bad boy’ boyfriends. She is shocked (and a bit jealous) how much her parents love him, but then starts to realise why.

At the beginning Max is quite hard to love because of her defensive nature. But even Cora said that it was easier to write Cade at first. He is familiar, like an old shirt. But Max has her good side too. I love the banter between them, it had me stifling giggles on the train. I retreated further into the book during the sexy scenes too! From the first page I was addicted, and did not want to put it down. 

I didn’t think I could love an NA book more than Losing It, but I actually think I enjoyed Faking It even more. Cora’s writing just makes me smile and it exudes sexiness and funniness. However, Faking It has an added depth that make the characters so much more real and emotional. The dual POV really worked, and I especially loved getting to know Cade more. A definite 5 sofas from me, and I can’t WAIT for Cora’s next book!

Letterbox Love #16

Letterbox Love is a meme hosted by Lynsey of Narratively Speaking whereby book lovers can exhibit the books they received this week.

Welcome to my 2-week haul post! I got an amazing amount of books this week. My pile is never going to disappear, I just have to admit it!

First my library/print book piles 

 We will start on the left, which is my library pile. Last week I collect all adult titles. I ordered ‘After The Fall‘ by Charity Norman and ‘This Beautiful Life‘ by Helen Schulman. I enjoy books that confront issues not normally talked about, and this is common in Jodi Picoult’s books. After The Fall tells the story of what happens when a 5-year-old falls from an upstairs veranda. Only his mum knows what happened, and she’s not telling. This Beautiful Life describes events unfolding after a sexually explicit video goes viral among teenagers. Both sound really intriguing, so I am looking forward to reading them.

I have heard lots of people talk about ‘The Night Rainbow‘ by Claire King, so I had to see what all the fuss was all about. With such a pretty cover, it looks like a book to be read with a nice hot chocolate. Throw ‘How We Met‘ by Katy Regan into the pile, and you could see my strange tastes in books! I love me some romance, and this sounds quite similar to PS I Love You, which I adored.

Another three books to collect on Saturday. I’ll be starting Pandemonium on Monday or Tuesday because I want to try and finish it before the Lauren Oliver event on Tuesday evening. I’m psyched to find out how the trilogy end, though a bit nervous as people seem to have had mixed reactions. But it will be really good to meet her and hear her thoughts on the books, and hopefully she will talk a bit about the tv series as well.

Everybody knows I am a huge Robert Muchamore fan. While I love his original Cherub series the most, I will still pick up anything by him, including ‘Scorched Earth‘, the latest in the Henderson Boys series. Full of war and action and teen spies, this will be a nice break from all the contemporary stuff I’m reading at the moment! And last but not least, ‘The Library of Unrequieted Love’ by Sophie Divry. Any librarians or exlibrarians or book lovers will read this on the title alone, not to mention the quirky cover.

So I received my first ARC from a publisher this week. Nina Douglas from Indigo kindly sent me a copy if ‘If You Find Me‘ by Emily Murdoch. It has a rating of over 4 stars on GR, and everyone I know has loved it, so I thought I’d see what it was like. Many thanks to Nina for sending me this copy with a lovely cover! I also was sent ‘This Is What Happy Looks Like‘ by Jennifer E Smith by Headline. Thanks to Sam Eades for this. I have already read it and ADORED IT. My review should be coming out by the end of the month, but it was just amazing. I am in love. Definitely one to covet on my shelf!

This is certainly a fortnight for book packages! I was in the middle of reading a library copy of Lauren Oliver’s Delirium, when I received a copy in the post! There was no note or return address, so I can only presume it came from the lovely people at Hodder. Thank you very much for this, as it means I can get her to sign it on Tuesday! And it is great to have my own copy. And lastly, on Saturday I got a steamy package through the door. Not literally; ‘Losing It‘ by Cora Carmack arrived. Thanks to her and Ebury Press for sending me a copy. I have already read it (check out my review here) and I thought it was amazing. My favourite NA title so far! I’m also doing a giveaway, so if you fancy checking this out then enter here. The odds for you are very good at the moment!

 

In other bookish news, I met Stephenie Meyer this week, and she kindly signed my copy of ‘The Host‘, ready for the film release at the end of the month. She was really nice and posed for pictures with everyone, but it just seemed like the moment was over too soon. I much prefer book events where you get to hear the author speak, even if it is a promo spiel about their new release. 

Now for ebooks:

I received Daynight by Megan Thomason from Laura at Prism Book Tours. I’m taking part in the blog tour for this, so come and visit on the 23rd April for my post. I was psyched to read this because there has been a bit of a dip in the dystopian world, and I do love me a good dystopian. It’s been getting amazing reviews, so hopefully I will enjoy it too! 

Broken At Love is a new adult debut by Lyla Payne. A love triangle between a girl and two frat boy brothers, I know I will just devour it. My blog tour stop is on April 22nd, and I think there is also a giveaway for NA books or swag, so make sure you check that out. Thanks to Kelly from InkSlingerPR for letting me take part.

I was very excited to get an email from the lovely people at Simon & Schuster and Edelweiss to say I have been approved for Dirty Little Secret by Jennifer Echols. Although I haven’t read any of her books before, I have heard lots of good things. I am on a contemporary fix at the moment, and this looks so adorable! Thanks you guys, I can’t wait to read this. And music in it too! *squeals*

    

As a side note, I’ve got lots of things coming up on the blog this week. On Tuesday I am taking part in the book blitz for Picture Perfect by Camille Dixon. Thursday is the arrival of the Ever book tour by Jessa Russo. And finally, the end of my giveaway for Cora Carmack’s Losing It!

What did you receive this week? Have you read any of my books and do you think it should be at the top or the bottom of my to read pile? I’d love to hear from you!