Faking It (Losing It #2) by Cora Carmack

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Faking It

Losing It #2

By:  Cora Carmack

Published:  June 4, 2013

Published By:  William Morrow & Co (Imprint of Harper Collins)

Source:  Publisher

GR's Summary:

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.

*To Read Our Review on Losing It (Losing It #1) by Cora Carmack, Click HERE

Lindy's Thoughts:

Faking It by Cora Carmack, is AMAZING!!!!!  I really enjoyed Losing It, so I had extremely high expectations for Faking It, and was worried that the story wouldn't live up to my high hopes!  I'm ecstatic to say that not only did they get met, they were exceeded!  Faking It is Cade's story, he is Bliss' male best friend from Losing It.  The story begins with Cade trying his best to deal with the disappointment, and heartbreak he feels over Bliss being with Garrick instead of him.  He's in love with Bliss, but feels that he missed his chance with her because he waited too long to tell her about the feelings he had for her, and by then, she had met, and fallen in love with Garrick.  Cade ends up meeting up with Bliss, and Garrick, at a coffeehouse.  Garrick shares with Cade the fact that he is in love with Bliss, and is going to propose marriage to her.  Cade is deeply upset by this news, but uses his acting skills to pretend that he is happy for them, and congratulates Garrick.  "I'd gotten my heart broken by my best friend, and now everyone tiptoed around me like I was on the verge of meltdown, like a girl with PMS.  Apparently having emotions equated to having a vagina,"  (Nook, pg. 10) Bliss invites Cade to spend Thanksgiving at her, and Garrick's place.  To get out of it, Cade makes up an excuse that his grandmother has been ill, and he will be spending the holiday with her.  

After Garrick and Bliss leave, Cade sits at the table by himself thinking for a while.  As he glances around, he notices an attractive red-head who has tattoos, piercings, and isn't really his typical "type."  Nonetheless, he thinks she's beautiful, and there's something about her that is really attractive.  The young woman's name is Mckenzie.  She goes by "Max, " and is at the coffee shop with her current boyfriend, Mace.  Mace is her usual type, a musician (drummer) in her band, (she's the lead singer,) has multiple piercings, tattoos, and is the typical bad boy with an edge.  However, Max can't really carry a conversation with him, and the guy doesn't have any money, Max pays for everything.  While Max is at the coffee shop, she get's an unexpected phone call from her mother, who wants to see her daughter for Thanksgiving.  Mace talks really loudly, and when Max's mother hears him, she asks Max if she has a boyfriend.  Max tells her yes, and both of Max's parents want to meet him.  While Max tries to get out of spending Thanksgiving with her parents, her mother let's Max know that both parents are in town, and have come to surprise her, by spending the holiday with her.  They are going to be at the coffee shop, and want to meet Max's new boyfriend.  The problem is that Max's parent's are ultra conservative, and Max hides her real self from her parents by wearing clothes that cover up all of her tattoos, taking out her piercings, and dying her hair a "normal" shade, whenever she goes to visit her parents.  She knows that her parents would not accept her, because even by going out of her way to act, and dress in a way which she thinks will please them, they still judge her, and are always find a reason to be disappointed in her.  

Max panics, and tries to figure out what to do, so they don't meet her real boyfriend.  As she glances around the shop, she notices Cage, who has All-American good looks, and is just the kind of guy that her parents would love, but that she would never go for.  Max gets rid of Mace, and goes over to Cade, explains her situation, and desperately asks him to be her fake boyfriend, as her parents will be arriving in five minutes.  She tells him that she'll do anything, if he could please do this for her.  He agrees, and all that he wants in exchange is to go on a date from her.  Max is shocked that a guy like him, would be interested in her, but quickly agrees.  However, what starts out as a simple agreement, goes further than either Max or Cade could have predicted, and life will never be the same, now that these two are in each others lives.


I can not possibly tell you how much I loved this book!  It was FANTASTIC!  It was funny, entertaining, fast-paced, and for the life of me, I could not bring myself to put the book down, until I finished the story.  I went through a vast array of emotions while reading this story!  I laughed, I cried, I got angry (at Max's horrible sister-in-law, nicknamed the anti-christ,)  I swooned, I got excited, and I fell in love, with two amazing lead character's, Max, and Cade, and with the beautiful love story, Faking It!  This story was character-driven, which is my favorite kind of story.  I have to be invested in the characters, connect with them, feel like I know them, and feel like they are real enough, that they could be actual people.  If one of these elements is missing , then I feel like the story is incomplete.  Well, Faking It, had all of these elements, and delivered pure perfection!  On the outside, Cade and Max were two very different people in their styles, and interests.  Yet, they both complimented each other so well.  Max and Cade had both dealt with death, and abandonment, that left permanent emotional scars, and they each dealt with these scars in different ways.  Max, put up a huge wall, buried her emotions, and used anger and sarcasm, as defense mechanisms to protect her heart.  Cade strived to achieve perfection in everything he did, such as his schooling, acting, volunteering with at risk children, and life in general.  He thought that if he could be perfect, then he wouldn't get abandoned again, (his mother died, and his father left him, as a young child.)  Max and Cade were two such lost, broken, and beautiful souls.  It was magical to see them come together, develop a friendship, let down walls, and be, "real" with each another.  Cade believed in Max, loved her for who she was, defended her, cheered her on, saw her in a different light, and made her face her fears.  He made her stop hiding, and pretending, and embrace herself for who she really was.  Max made Cade realize that he wasn't really in love with Bliss, like he originally thought he was.  He was always trying to play it, "safe" and wanted to be with someone who offered a predictable and easy life.  He realized that life with Max would never be easy or predictable, but he would really be "living."  Max made him take chances, and she evoked  emotions and feelings, that he had never experienced in his life before.  She taught him what love really was.

I only have one complaint.  I felt like the ending was a bit rushed, and I would have liked things to have been wrapped up better.  Other than that, this story was pure perfection!!!  There were no cliffhangers, rest assured!  I haven't read many romances that incorporate humor, and I love Ms. Cormack's easy going, realistic, and unforced humor in every day life.  Many times throughout the story, I was either laughing out loud, or chuckling to myself.  I love it when a story has the ability to transport me in to another place, with the characters.  I found myself immersed in the storyline, and the characters.  I'm sad to say goodbye to Max and Cade.  I will remember their story, it was a real treasure, and I encourage all of you romance lovers out there to pick up Faking It, and give it a read!

Rating:

I give Faking It, by Cora Carmack, 5 Fabulous, Laugh out loud, Passionate, Steamy, Swoon-Worthy Stars!!!  I highly recommend this book!  Actually, I highly recommend this series!  Cora Carmack is a very talented author.  She stands out as an author who writes beautiful stories, and weaves so many wonderful elements in her stories.  She can take a typical story idea, such as "The pretend boyfriend," and make it her own.  Faking It, has the Cora stamp on it, with it's humor, realistic life situations, authentic feel, intense passion, and unveiling of a beautiful, and memorable love story.  I believe, Faking It, will become a classic in the New Adult genre.  Read this book, and buy if for your library.  You will treasure it, and want to reread it when your in the mood to have a good laugh, and a great bookish escape!

Favorite Quotes:

"That was me...the perpetual good guy, which meant I perpetually came in second."

~Cade (Nook, pg. 11)

"This kiss, though, was a paradox.  It was sweet and soft, like I would expect a kiss from Golden Boy to be.  But every time I'd thought of pushing him away, there had been something-a pull of my hair, a graze of teeth, a press of his hips-that had frayed my thoughts and kept me kissing him.  I don't know how he managed to be soft and rough at the same time., but I had to hand it to him, it was kind of mind-blowing."

~Max (Nook, pg. 58)

"Max was honest.  Unafraid.  She was so comfortable in her skin.  And it was sexy as hell."

~Cade (Nook, pg. 75)

"He fixed his eyes on me, and desire outweighed my fears.  The way he looked at me made my skin sing with electricity.  It wasn't just that he made me feel attractive.  Any guy on the street with wondering eyes or a good whistle could do that.  He made me feel...special, which sounded so damn cheesy that I could choke.  It was true though.  I knew myself better by knowing how he saw me.  He erased the doubt and the fear and the anger.  He made me feel like the melody instead of the accompaniment."

~Max (Nook, pg. 149)

"My life moved at a slow pace.  It took months before I had feelings for Bliss.  Never before had I felt so intensely and so quickly.  Max swept into my life like a hurricane, and I never stood a chance...

~Cade (Nook, pg. 216)

"And if you do wake up one day and don't want to be with me, I will fight for you like I am now.  His thumb brushed against my lip, and he pulled me into his chest.  I'll remind you everyday how amazing it feels when your body touches mine.  I'll remind you of the good times, and help you forget the bad.  I'll remind you how you are when life has beaten you down and made you doubt it.  I'll bust down your door in the middle of the night and kiss you until you remember that your fears are just that, and they can't control you.  I'll take my chances against your fickle heart if it means it's mine.

~Cade (Nook, pg. 225)

The Ria see's it

I’m not sure where to begin?.. Let's go with the anticipation I had toward reading “Faking It”?.. HUGE! GI-NORMUS!! Epic proportions!!  I read “Losing It,” before it was published and I was a total BOOK NERD when it came out. I ran to Barnes and Noble and snapped a bunch of pics of it.... giddy giddy giddy! That was ME! Okay, “FAKING IT” was Cade’s story and HOLY CHRISTMAS GLASS BALLS!!  I’m a mess.  I balled and balled and balled.  SO.GOOD!  Ms. Carmack outdoes herself in this one! Brilliant funny fun! I couldn’t stop reading. There was this magnetic force keeping my eyes open until my brain seized functioning and was overtaken by slumber! I didn’t know how the acting angle would work. It was perfect! Applause, applause, applause!

F-ailed, Cade’s heart was torn, or so he thought. Accepting his loss he knows saying goodbye to Bliss will be the only way to mend.

A-live, vibrant and strong Max is a tornado of life the comes colliding into Cade’s life infusing him with the will to be happy.

K-nowing, the pull too strong, the feelings too raw. These two realize pushing turns into much more.

I-nclined, one to run, one to let go, it will take both of them facing their fears to ever be together.

N-aive, to think it could ever work, finality seems the only option. The constant pain isn’t enough to bring truth.

G-overned, by life, by her parents no longer willing to be shackled, Max’s spirit fights for her dreams and what's in her heart.

I-ndecision, to be bold and to fight, or to let go thinking that's what's right? Cade will have to make the hardest decision of his life.

T-rust, finally accepting, and finally embracing. Things may be difficult, but together they will face all odds.

This was such a fun fun fun book!  “Amazing” does NOT disappoint!  I highly, highly recommend it!  As for the steamy scenes, WOWZA comes to mind. *wink wink* like I said before Ms. Carmack Does.Not.Disappoint. If you want to finish reading my review, go ahead but SERIOUSLY when your done...Go.Get.This.Book. Its like FINALLY the GOOD guy, gets some lovin!  SAH-WOON!! 

My Fav’s

CADE 

DUH! I’m having shirts made that say I <3 Cade. I was sooooooooo heart broken when his heart was broken in “Faking it,” that it literally hurt! (and caused me to question my sanity) Naturally, when I found out he was going to get his story I completely lost it. #FANGIRL freakout!!  He was everything and more!  Funny, amazing, loving, supportive, and everything a girl could want. You’ll fall in love with him. GUARANTEED.  He sizzles.

Max

Well aside from wanting to be her, I am bound to love her!  I wish I had the courage to have a bunch of tattoo’s and dye my hair an amazing color like RED!  Sigh.... she is so complex, and at odds with herself.  I wish she saw what Cade saw, her strength and her beautiful heart.  It takes so much for her to face her fear of Cade and of herself, watching her take that final leap was awesome!!

My Rating

Drumroll.... lol J/K y’all already know!  5.0 Stars!  The only thing that could have made this book any better for me is an extra 100 or 1000 pages of more Cade...What can I say? I got the feva baby and the only cure is, well you know. 

Oops I totally bypassed my usual... 

Lets go again...

My Rating

5.0 Coffee shop, Rock-a-Billy, Crazy Parents, Golden Boy, Angry Girl, Smoky Dance Bar, Wash cloth, Dining Table, Christmas Confrontation, Fearless Girl, NotSo GoldenBoy, Gala Shopping, Overdue Duet Filled stars! If you’ve read this far then you’ve finished my review.NOW.GO! Go get a copy!! 

Casting

Purchase At

Amazon (Paperback) | Amazon (Kindle) | Barnes and Noble 

About the Author

I'm Cora Carmack,  a twenty-something writer who likes to write about twenty-something characters. I've done a multitude of things in my life-- boring jobs (like working retail), Fun jobs (like working in a theatre), stressful jobs (like teaching), and dream jobs (like writing). I enjoy placing my characters in the most awkward situations possible, and then trying to help them get a boyfriend out of it. Awkward people need love, too.  My first book, LOSING IT, was a New York Times and USA Today Bestseller.

Represented by the fabulous Suzie Townsend of New Leaf Literary.

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