Faking It by Cora Carmack

Title: Faking It (Losing It #2)

Author: Cora Carmack

Publisher: William Morrow

Release Date: June 4, 2013

Source: Purchased

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository

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 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. 

After having read Cora Carmack's Losing It, I was pretty much desperate to read more and so I rushed to my local bookstore in order to get myself a copy of the sequel, Faking It. And Faking It might just be what completely sold me on New Adult. 

Cade thought that by moving to Philadelphia he would be able to leave all his problems and heartache behind and start fresh as an actor. Except when the only person you know in the city also happens to be the one who broke your heart, it can be a little difficult to do. When Max steps into his life asking him to pretend to be her boyfriend, Cade figures it's as good an opportunity to act as any. Max hopes that Cade will be able to fool her parents. If he doesn't and they find out who her real boyfriend is, things might get ugly. But what starts out as a one time thing, quickly becomes a complicated lie. And the more Cade and Max pretend to be in a relationship, the more real it becomes. 

I thought I loved Losing It but that was nothing compared to how I feel about Faking It. It just felt like there was so much more to this story. The fact that I already knew Cade from the previous book may have helped hook me faster but it was more than just that. The story had more depth to it. I knew about the character's background and the way that was woven into the story helped me connect with the story that much more. I wanted to know what had happened to the characters to make the the way they were, Max especially. That curiosity about Max's past definitely factored into how quickly I found myself reading the book. That, and the romance. In Faking It, Cora Carmack definitely amped up the romance in this book. Much like the rest of the story, the romance between Cade and Max felt more real, it felt deeper. Sure everything happened really quickly, but because of what each of them was bringing to the table, it added something more to the story. So I guess what made me love this story as much as I did has to do with Cade and Max themselves. 

Going in to Faking It, I already knew Cade from the previous book and I had already grown a little attached to him. And that attachment only grew with this second book. As much as I'm having trouble putting Cade into words, I know for sure that I pretty much fell for him while reading Faking It. Just the way he was with Max, even when he knew next to nothing about her melted my heart. And after what happened to him in Losing It, I wanted something good to happen to him, I wanted him to. Be able to find happiness. And then Max walked into her life and helped with just that. Max was broken. She carried so much pain with her and she deserved someone like Cade to come along and help her and care for her. Ultimately, I just wanted Max to find someone who loved her for who she really was and not who her parents wanted her to be. And that's who Cade was. 

Cora Carmack's Faking It is exactly what I want my contemporary romances to be it. It was a great story with characters that were real and stayed with me after I finished reading. I can say that from now on I won't hesitate to pick up anything Cora Carmack writes.