Faking It by Cora Carmack

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!!!