Review: Faking It by Cora Carmack

Title: Faking It

Author: Cora Carmack

Publisher: William Morrow & Company

Publication Date: June 2013

Genre: Adult/YA Fiction

Series or Stand Alone: Series, Book Two

Synopsis can be found here.
Edelweiss review.

Review:

Max is in a coffee shop when her parents call her to say they've dropped into town and are five minutes away. And oh, wouldn't they love to meet that boyfriend Max was talking about? That boyfriend- who Max knows they won't approve of. Enter Cade, the sweet perfect boy who is sitting at a table alone.
She talks him into pretending to be her boyfriend for the day. But Cade does seem perfect, and stirs up genuine feelings in Max.
And now she wonders what it would be like to be Cade's girlfriend for real....

I really enjoyed Losing It, Cora's first book. It was light, funny with a lot of heat and blushing.
Faking It is a great sequel. Carmack's writing has strengthened and her storytelling has developed more layers. We get Cade's story, who had a melancholy ending in the first book. I'm glad he gets his own book.
But the real story stealer? Max. Max with her issues, her struggles, her tattoos. Yeah, she's pretty angsty and a whole lot of pain in the butt, but I kinda liked her. A lot.

The only thing I can say is that while I enjoyed Faking It, I felt like it went the route of a lot of Young Adult Realistic Fiction/Romance coming out at this time. I guess I was expecting something a little lighter, especially because the first book in the series was so light and funny. But this one had an edge - Two pretty damaged characters finding love in each other. There's nothing wrong with that, but after reading a lot of these recently, Katie McGarry anyone?, the story felt a little bit overdone. That doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it though.

A strong sequel with some great sexy moments and a romance to root for.
I'm a fan.

Rating 6 Good