Faking It

Despite how much he scared me, I felt comfortable with him. It was complicated. Looking at him, I know this wasn't the kind of fear that sent you running for the hills. It was the kind of fear that made people jump off cliffs and climb mountains - the kind of fear that told you something miraculous was waiting at the end of it, if you could only get there.And Lord after I read Losing It, I knew I needed to get there!In the spirit of President's Day, I cannot tell a lie. I was not a fan of Cade Winston in Losing It. And it actually took me a minute to give him a chance in Faking It. I thought he was kind of "Boo hoo, Bliss doesn't love me." Thank goodness I gave the boy a chance, because holy hell....Cade Winston is an amazing book boyfriend.When Mackenzie "Max" Miller a local musician who loves music more than anything sees Cade at a local coffee shop, she doesn't think about giving him a chance either. He's too much of a good boy for her. According to Max the kind of guy that would never even look at her. Not only is he a good boy, but Max is a bad girl. I mean not really bad....kind of a tatted up rocker chick who changes her hair color as often as she changes her undies. Did I mention this is a something she hides from her family?Cade is a grad student in Philadelphia. He's an actor and a truly good guy. Not to mention a guy that just had his heart stomped on by his best female friend.But fate (and Cora Carmack) have thrown these two opposites in each others paths for a reason. Max's very proper parents are in town and Max is at the coffee shop with her very unparent friendly boyfriend Mace. Not only are her parents in town, but they are about five minutes away from the coffee shop and running into their daughter and her tatted up, pierced boyfriend.What's a girl to do? Well thank goodness Max is resourceful. After expertly ditching her boyfriend Mace, she asks an unsuspecting Cade Winston to be her fake boyfriend. And lucky for all parties involved, Cade says yes. Not only does he say yes, but he makes such a good impression on her parents, they invite him to Thanksgiving dinner. Weirdly enough this doesn't make Max happy and she kind of smacks our boy Cade.It doesn't take long to see that there's an attraction between Max and Cade. The kiss Cade gives Max after she implies he's gay made my girlie parts tingle. Hell I saw stars so I can't imagine how Max felt. They run into each other again that night. First at the bar where Max's band played and then after Max has a run in with an idiot. That night Cade takes care of Max and when Cade touches her, Max knows she's in trouble. So what does she do? She denies the feelings she's developing for Cade and tries to push him away.Here's the thing. Of course Cade is catching feelings for Max too, but he's just been through this whole romantic mess with his best friend Bliss (Sorry, you'll have to read Losing It, I'm not giving anything away) and he's not ready to put his heart out there only to be crushed again.Everyone from Max's parents to Cade's friend Milo see the sparks flying between Max and Cade. Unfortunately, the both of them keep pushing their feelings away. Cade for the obvious reason, and Max for something deeper and sadder. Max carries a painful secret that has to do with her sister Alexandria. She keeps it hidden and pretends to be something she's not.Their relationship starts out so unconventionally some of the things they do will just make you laugh. I especially love the nicknames they give each other. He calls her "Angry Girl" and she calls him "Golden Boy". Come on....how is this not a match made in heaven?Inevitably, Max and Cade give into their attraction and let me tell you Cade Winston can back me into a wall any day. The sex is totally hot. The kind you need to read a couple of times and you're still like, damn. After their amazing night, Max flakes out. She runs, and Cade is alone again. These two just can't seem to sort out their feelings for each other. So they do exactly what they shouldn't do. They ignore each other even though they really don't want to.Did I mention that Thanksgiving dinner with Mackenzie's parents went so well, they invited Cade back home for Christmas? After everything these two have been through in a short time Max gives Cade the opportunity to back out of the Christmas trip. Mostly because well they're not speaking to each other and she figures it'll be best if she just tells her mom and dad that she and Cade broke up. Guess what? Cade being Cade tells Max he'll honor his promise and go home with her. But, he has a few conditions....Does Cade go home with Max? Do they ever actually get together? I'm not telling. Read it!!! It's a really good book, with a totally swoon worthy book boyfriend. Honestly, for some reason I can not get Cade Winston out of my head. And I don't think I really want to ;)A five lip print review for Golden Boy and Faking It. Thank you Cora Carmack!! Now go read it and just remember Cade is mine!! Enjoy my girlies!!!

I loved Losing It and couldn't wait to start reading Faking It. I was really interested to read Cade's story, and to meet Max. I liked Cade in Losing It, but he didn't blow me away or have that magnetic pull like some characters do, but in Faking It, I absolutely loved him. Oh, there is so much more to Cade than meets the eye and I loved digging past those layers while reading his story and learning more and more about him. Cade is going to school and living in Philadelphia, which is also where Bliss and Garrick live, and unfortunately, Cade is still hung up on Bliss, which makes a bad situation even worse. Try as he may to avoid them, he can't totally, and he really tries to hide just how broken and hurt he is about things when he is around them, not to mention the fact that he actually likes Garrick, which makes things even harder. Cade is not your typical bad boy. In fact, he is a really great guy.....a really hot really great guy with a great sense of humor, loyalty, and has sex appeal I wasn't even aware the boy possessed, with is hot preppy self.While Cade is in the coffee shop one day, Mackenzie "Max" Miller walks in with her boyfriend. Max is the total opposite of Bliss in every way. She has the whole badass, bad girl, thing going on, with tattoos, piercings, and dyed red hair, with an attitude and snarky sense of humor to match. (All the qualities of the guys I typically go for in books). There was just one little problem. Max's mom and dad were in town and on their way to see her, and they had no idea about this aspect of her life. Max had been trying to live her dream of being a musician, while keeping her real appearance, tats, piercings, and all hidden when she would see her parents. Unfortunately, she still needed their help financially to make ends meet. As fate would have it, she convinces Cade to play the part of her boyfriend when her parents come in the coffee shop to meet her, but Cade does his job so well that the parents want him to come to Thanksgiving dinner. Thus, the beginning of what is Cade and Max's story, and boy is it a good one. I think I liked Faking It even better than Losing It.What starts out as an "agreement" soon turns into something more, despite Max's desperate attempts to keep it from happening. Max is a very hurt, broken, and emotionally wounded person as a result of tragedy in her life that she has never recovered from. She tries to cover it up as best she can, but somehow Cade can see past the facade and into the heart of who she really is. The truth be told, Max doesn't think she is good enough or good for Cade. What she doesn't know is that Cade is just as broken and wounded as she is, and that she is the first light that has come into his life in quite some time. I loved watching their relationship progress. Max refers to Cade as Golden Boy, and he in turn refers to her as Angry Girl. They hurt each other, they help each other, they can't keep their hands off each other, and Max tries her best to run away from the thing that she needs the most, Cade. Cade's whole life he has been used to having to let things go, so when Max runs away from him, he has to make a choice, a choice as to whether he is going to go after what he wants or let it slip away. They did have a little help in the form of Cade's friend and neighbor Milo, who I just loved. I actually hope he gets a book to.While Faking It still had the element of humor that you find in Losing It, it is much more sober, intense, and heart consuming, as you journey with Cade and Max while they work through their issues. I found it amazing at how good Cade was with and for Max. Faking It is a great story that is romantic, sometimes funny, definitely intense, heartbreaking, heart warming, and even has its steamy moments. I thoroughly enjoyed it and most definitely recommend it.

When it comes to new adult books I am getting really sick of reading about weak and virginal girls who are a bit too plain and boring. I wanted a book that was the opposite of that and this was one that was recommended to me.Max loves her life in Philadelphia. She dyed her hair, got tattoos and piercings and has the boyfriend her parents would never let her have. They expect certain things of her but now that she doesn't live with them, Max can do whatever she likes... until they turn up for a surprise visit. Her boyfriend isn't suitable according to her parents and she needs to find someone else and fast. She takes a chance on someone she meets in a coffee shop and asks him to pretend to be her boyfriend for a while, just for appearances sake.I really enjoyed the plot throughout Faking It. The whole idea of having a pretend boyfriend just to please parents was great as I know my mum hasn't approved of many of my boyfriends over the years. She would always wish I was with some nice boy instead of the one I was with at the time. Luckily, I married a wonderful man and she's now happy finally. Anyway, I could totally relate to Max's situation but I would have never dared asked someone to do what she did.Cade is that pretend boyfriend. The moment Max meets him, she knows her parents would like him because he is such a sweet guy. I have to admit that I loved Cade to bits. He willingly agreed to Max's proposition but told her that he really is the perfect boyfriend and that she would find that out soon enough. Although not exactly a charmer, Cade was sweet as anything and a joy to read about. At the time of making the agreement, Cade is still hung up on a girl called Bliss (from Losing It) and he didn't seem to be able to move on from that.Although both Max and Cade have their problems, they get along so well together and their time as fake boyfriend and girlfriend is so fun. The chemistry between the two grew at a good pace and there was none of this love at first sight rubbish. The characters get to know each other slowly and gradually let each other in the more they do get to know about the other. This was one of the best, and funniest, relationships I have read about in a long time and it wasn't even a real one!As you can probably tell, I really enjoyed Faking It and now have other books by Cora Carmack waiting to be read.

This is Cade's story. We first meet Cade in Losing It, where his relationship with best friend Bliss is on the brink since he admitted his feelings for her after a misguided romantic encounter. I liked Cade in Losing It, but thought of him as a bit eager to please and as a friend more than a potential hero of a story. How wrong I was, so so wrong.Cade is about ready to head back to his hometown, he's been suffering with seeing Bliss and Garrick happy for about as long as he can stomach. Then the whirlwind that is Max blows through his life, and she picks him out of the coffee shop crowd to play the part of her boyfriend infront of her parents - an easy task for an actor right? Max and Cade embark on this faux relationship with the intention of going separate ways but they are drawn to one another and the attraction becomes more than fleeting.Cade proved me totally wrong. I hadn't given him nearly as much credit as he was due. He is this super handsome, super awesome guy who sees a girl, Max, in distress and wants to help her out. She is so different to his normal type and he is sure he can't be her type either he doesn't think anything will come out of their relationship other than a few appearances has her boyfriend. He is thrown completely off kilter by Max though as he learns just how beautiful she really is.Max has always felt like she has never fit the mould, she doesn't match up to her parent's ideals and she doesn't conform to the "norm" with her tattoos and outgoing, feisty attitude. She needs rescued as her current boyfriend Mace doesn't fit in with her mum and dad's version of "suitable to date my daughter". She spots Cade and picks him out as a perfect pretending partner. I really loved Max, I liked how against fitting in she was, how out going and fierce and feisty she was and I loved that she didn't conform to the conventional, having been there and done that.Inside both characters is a secret trying to escape. Each character bringing it out in the other, and helping them to deal with it. This is another story where the attraction fizzled between the two characters and the romance was suspended above them just waiting for them to give in to it.This is my favourite of the series so far, however I'm only part way through Finding It and I kind of love that too!Love It.

**Advanced copy received in exchange for honest review**After reading Losing it by Cora and loving it I couldn't wait to get my hands on this and was very excited when I got approved for an ARC.In Losing it we met Cade, Bliss' best friend, who ultimately tells her he has feelings beyond friendship and wants to be more. Unfortunately Bliss is head over heels for Garrick.Now moved to Philadelphia, Cade still sees Bliss but their relationship is awkward. To top it off after meeting Bliss and Garrick for coffee, Garrick has just told Cade that he is planning on proposing to Bliss. Too heartbroken to leave, Cade is left in the coffee shop trying to face the reality that he has to move on.Max and her boyfriend Mace are in line at the coffee shop when she receives a call from her parents - they are in town for a surprise visit and are minutes away from the coffee shop and wanting to meet her boyfriend. Max has to think fast, they are not expecting her to look like she does, dyed hair, tattoos and piercings and they certainly don't expect her boyfriend to look the same and be a bad boy. Covering her tats and taking out her piercings, Max has one more problem - the boyfriend. On hearing Max's parents are on the way Mace scarpers, leaving Max alone. Looking for a place to sit she spots Cade sitting alone in a giant booth, heading over she has an idea that may save her bacon - Cade looks like a nice wholesome guy, the kind her parents would love.....So she strikes a deal with Cade, pretend to be her boyfriend and she'll pay him. Cade's an actor - he can do this, but its not money he needs, he needs to move on, so he suggests payment in the form of a date - desperate and out of time Max agrees. Things don't quite go to plan though as Max's parents love Cade and want to see him more, so Max and Cade end up spending more time together. Its all just pretend though right? Even though they are opposites they do have an attraction for each other, but with Max having a boyfriend, Cade trying to get over Bliss, plus Cade realising Max comes with a lot of issues - "She's amazing, but she's got a whole baggage claim to herself" - friendship seems the safe option....but maybe its not so easy..."That was the moment I knew for sure that I hadn't been in love with Bliss. I couldn't have been. Because at that moment nothing could have stopped me from going to Max, not even if Bliss had been on the other side calling me, too"I found Losing It funny and I was expecting this book to be the same, but it wasn't. That's not necessarily a bad thing, I just didn't find myself laughing much. I did love the banter between Max and Cade though. I loved that Max was all tough on the outside but in reality that's not how she really is. She does have a lot of baggage that effects her relationships. Cade isn't perfect either, he has his own demons to face (although small in comparison to Max's!) and has to realise that the safe, expected option isn't always the best option.The story is told from alternative points of view which I love because you get to see a side to each of them that you wouldn't if it was told from the other's point of view.It's not a long book, but it certainly didn't feel as short as Losing It, which was I was pleased at. It kept me interested and I did really enjoy it, but I just cant bring myself to give it 5 stars and I really don't know why, but I will say it definitely should be on your TBR lists.

You know that feeling that you get when you read a good book like Losing It, and even though you are really happy with the ending... you just feel sorry for 'the other guy'? Well that was me. I love Garrick and Bliss together, and I never had any doubts they would be together. But, I was still sad for Cade. He was such a great guy. Well now, Cade gets his own story... and man oh man what a story it is."Like they were part of two different solar systems, neither revolving with or around the other, and both were just with each other for a passing moment."I absolutely adored Faking It. I had already fallen in love with Cora Carmack's writing, and this just reminded me how much I enjoyed it. I didn't know it was even possible, but somehow I managed to fall even more in love with Cade. And Max has got to be one of my favorite female characters. She is feisty, fun and strong."Whatever stupid reasoning you've got for staying away from me, it's wrong. And I won't stop until I've proven it to you."Dual point of view books are my absolute favorite. It gives us the opportunity to be inside both character's heads. I loved seeing how Cade worked through his still lingering feelings for Bliss while he discovered what it really feels like to love. And Max is such a strong character, but the strength comes from all the walls around her. It was great to be able to see all of them start to crumble the closer she got to Cade."I never dated a girl like her, and she's probably never dated a guy like me. But sometimes you don't know what you're looking for until it's already knocked you flat on your back."It was so much fun how these two meet. The scenes that they 'act' in front of Max's parents are hilarious. There is a lot of banter between them, and of course it helps to throw in a fair bit of sexual tension. Which by the way, Cora Carmack delivers perfectly. There are some wonderfully steamy moments in Faking It."You don't know how much I've thought about this tattoo. I want to memorize it so that every time I close my eyes I can see the way it accentuates your body."So, what do we have to look forward to next in the Losing It series? We have Keeping Her, which is a Garrick and Bliss novella, that is due to be published on August 13 2013. Then after that we have Kelsey's story, Finding It. Kelsey is Bliss' best friend, who at the time of Faking it is travelling around Europe. I am really looking forward to both of these books, they are sure to be just as great."I'm glad you fought for me," she said."I'm glad you let me."ChristineRainy Day Reads

May contain spoilers for Book 1.Although this is the second book in the series it is not necessary to read the first book as the different character perspective easily make it a standalone story.While I liked Cade as Bliss's friend in Losing It I was a bit confused by his feeling for her, their friendship aside there just wasn't a spark there for either of them no matter how much Cade tried to convince himself there was. I felt bad that their friendship suffered because of this as I do think that they proved a fabulous support system for each other.Cade really comes into his own in Faking It. Max appears to be his complete opposite however they are far more alike than anyone could imagine. They both carry so much emotional baggage with them that it is like a vice constricting their chests whenever they attempt to break free of it.The story is quite retrospective and it is the character reflection leading to character development that stands out. Both Cade and Max are surprisingly self-aware yet their fears prevent them from breaking free of their past.I loved how fate conspired to lead Max and Cade to each other by continually making them cross each others paths. The passion between them was electrifying but beyond that and just as important; they brought out the best in each other.Cora Carmack proved she could mix humor and romance in Losing It; Faking It takes her writing to a more emotional level. Proving that whatever the type of romance Cora quite simply smashes it out of the park. Her characters stay with you long after turning that last page and if you're anything like me you want to follow their lives and relationship further.