Blog Tour & Review: Faking It by Cora Carmack

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.

Faking It is the follow-up novel to Losing It but don't worry, if you haven't read Losing It. You'll be able to follow this story just fine. I've tried to keep this review as spoiler free as possible. --hence, some of the vague sentences.

Could Faking It live up to the awesome awkward that was Losing It? Um, yeah people, it can. Could anyone be more awesome than Bliss and her deliciously English Garrick? Lemme just say, Texas grows 'em better.

So first there's Max. The only people who call her Mackenzie are her parents, and she's not particularly pleased by that. Events in her past have caused her to close herself off from well, everyone, in anything more than a superficial way. Max is a hardcore rocker who only let's herself feel when she's on the stage singing. She's loud, and brash. Dyed, and tattooed. Fearless, except when it comes to her family.

When her parents show up in Philly for a surprise visit there is no way she can introduce them to current boyfriend Mace. They already think she's slightly irresponsible. Desperate, she approaches Cade.

Cade. Y'all if you liked him in Losing It you're going to love him in this. Still struggling with his redefined relationship with Bliss, Cade is a little lost. He's not landing any roles and the coffee shop date with Bliss and Garrick is kind of the last straw for him. Then Max approaches him with her crazy plan. She's everything Bliss is not and it'll be a way for him to stretch his acting chops so sure...he'll pretend to be her temporary boyfriend. And y'all, seriously. If you don't have a Cade, you're going to want one. He's so fantastic with all his southern charm, and manners. (Good TEXAS boy!)

Surprisingly to them (but not to us) their opposing personalities actually mesh well together. They challenge each other in unexpected ways, and what was supposed to be just a couple days of pretending turns into an unexpected friendship, and of course more. It's in the "more" where we see the struggle take place. Max is scared to feel, and Cade...well we'll say he's scared to feel too.

Bliss and Garrick as well as Rusty make small cameos leading to both happy and sad discoveries for our leading male. We also get to meet Spencer, a new character that bridges the gap between Max's and Cade's world.(REALLY need a book for him)

There was a lot going on in this book between Cade's issues, Max's issues, Max's family's issues, but it never felt overdone or too over the top, and there is always humor to keep the balance. Cade and Max compliment each other really well, and I love how Cade encourages her to be herself no matter who she's around.

Naturally, there are issues that pull them apart and make their relationship strained and difficult, but none of it seems contrived or forced. I'd have to go back and re-read Losing It to be sure, but I think I even liked this one better. Because it's Cora, you can also expect plenty of awkward.

Faking It is a wonderful follow-up to a smashing debut that will have you laughing out loud, and cheering on  Cade and Max. And wanting to take a trip to Texas to find a Cade of your own. ;)