A review by tatyanavogt
Faking It by Jennifer Crusie

5.0

I'm a big fan of Jennifer Crusie so I sat down to re-read this book and was pleasantly surprised when I realized that I hadden't actually read it before. And to top it off, it might be one of my favorites. It was relatable in ways that I didn't realize I wanted to relate to. The main character wasn't a frumpy girl ashamed of her looks needing someone to tell her she was beautiful. She was a strong character who took care of her family and always made things right when they went wrong. Her desire to be "saved" was not because she couldn't do it herself and that was satisfying. Plus I was interested in the rest of the story, I went in for a romance and found a playful mystery which was very enjoyable way to carry the romance.

Since this is the first time I've read it I'm sure I'm blind sighted by a lot of the flaws, focusing more on the way I feel right now then really analyzing the book. I will probably always have a soft spot of most romance novels despite their cheesy predictability. Although I wouldn't really consider this a predictable book as a whole. But that all being said, I greatly enjoyed it and hope to read it again in the future.

Now for spoiler stuff:
Spoiler I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the first sex scene in the book, it was awkward, funny, imperfect and relatable. As someone who sometime suffers from thinking way too damn much in a situation like that, I haven't read many novels that really portrayed that awkward disappointment quite so well. And in later scenes the blissful transition of going from overthinking to being in the moment. It was satisfying.

Then on top of that I enjoyed the characters even the ones that were a little bit annoying. Admittedly at some times I didn't want to deal with the other characters quite as much but it was fun piecing everything together. I will say some of the characters didn't feel all that necessary or important and I would have felt fine with out them. Not an issue in the grand scheme of things.