July 15, 2013

NEW ADULT MONDAYS: Faking It (Losing It #2)

The New Adult genre - their bad boys and big problems and epic loves make them engrossing tales that are so easy to lose yourself in. What's not to love about that? And, now, thanks to the cool chicks at Bewitched Bookworms, we can show these books the love they deserve in a weekly feature - New Adult Mondays.

Faking It (Losing It #2), by Cora Carmack
Published June 4, 2013
Publisher:  William Morrow & Company
Format: paperback - obtained from BEA
Genre:  New Adult Contemporary Romance
To Buy:  Amazon  * Barnes & Noble * Book Depository

 Rating:  5 STARS

(From Goodreads) 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.


Dammit, Cora, how do you do it? You make me not even want to pee because that would mean putting down your book. Or does it? I've become a multi-tasking expert thanks to you. :)

At the end of Losing It, I felt awful for Cade. Although I was thrilled to see Bliss and Garrick get their HEA, Cade was still left on the outskirts to suffer a broken heart. And, that's evident in the beginning of Faking It. He's still feeling vulnerable and rejected. Which was the perfect frame of mind for him to be in when Max waltzes into his life and asks him to pretend to be her wholesome boyfriend in order to keep her parents off her back. 

I loved this premise. Cade is an actor, and he's just been asked to play his most interesting role yet. And, the best part is, it will take his mind off Bliss and her vomitous happiness. I'm sure Cade wasn't prepared to actually start to like Max, especially since she was less than warm at their first meeting. And, Cade does such a great job acting the part of the dutiful boyfriend when in front of Max's parents.  

Cade is such a great characters. Honestly, I wasn't too sure of him in Losing It. He seemed a little wishy-washy. He admitted that he had loved Bliss for a long time but never said anything. Men who do that are annoying. And, it's hard to respect them. Man up, for heaven's sake! And, then Cade waits until he and Bliss are both trashed to make his feelings known. Great timing, dude. 

But, it's like Max shocked his testosterone back into proper working order, because there was no evidence of wishy-washy Cade in Faking It. He's confident, bold, sexy and sweet. All the elements of the perfect book boyfriend. I don't know if I would necessarily classify Cade as a "bad boy," but that's okay. He doesn't need to be. Max is bad enough for both of them. 

Max is awesome. She's ballsy most of the time. The only time she's not is when she's with her parents. I think I kind of like that about her. It's like, even though she's a total bad ass, she still has respect for the people in her life who deserve it. 

We saw a little bit of Bliss and Garrick, but not much. It gave me enough of a glimpse into their life as it exists now to satiate  me, and not so much as to detract from Cade's and Max's story. It was a good balance.

Faking It went fast. It was an easy, quick read with captivating, exciting characters. I would expect no less from Cora Carmack, and I eagerly anticipate reading Kelsey's story in Finding It, out in October.

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