99% Faking It by Chris Cannon is the 2nd book in the Dating Dilemmas young adult romance series. This book is a sweet, fun, and a delightful YA contemporary romance and part of the Entangled Teen Crush series. Lisa loves Harry Potter and has been crushing on Matt for a long time. Matt friend zoned Lisa, when they pretend to date to attract other people, he has second thoughts. I love this genre, there is something so innocent about first loves. I enjoy the quirky people and the serious situation in this book, along with watching the characters grow. I found this book to be a quick read, and recommend it to all readers who enjoy a sweet romance. 

I reviewed a digital arc provided by NetGalley and Entangled Publishing, LLC, Thank you.

Note: I received an eARC of the book from the publisher through NetGalley all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Summary: Lisa is a proud book nerd. She is never as happy as when she is inside with a good book. Matt loves being outdoors and doesn’t read beyond his school assignments. Lisa had a crush on Matt since they first met but she knows he won’t ever be interested in her because he has a crush on his sister very taken best friend, Jane However, when Lisa tells Matt that about the theory that when someone is in a committed relationship they are more attractive the two agree to fake a relationship. The only problem is that Matt soon realizes that he thinks of Lisa as more than a friend and he will do whatever it takes to win her.

What’s Good: This is a nice romance with some adorable moments. Matt and Lisa have some cute moments of banter and flirtation which makes the book fun to read. Plus, I love books about characters who love to read.

What’s Bad: We know that Matt is going to decide he’s in love with Lisa but for a plot point that is in the book’s official description it took quite a while. Also, I was slightly disappointed by the swearing sprinkled throughout the book. The language felt a little unnecessary and took what would be a perfect tween and moved it to a teen only appropriate book.

Bottom Line: 99% Faking It is a cute book about friends turning into more that will appeal to fans of YA romance.

As a huge Harry Potter fan, any book that says a character is a Gryffindor is immediately going on my TBR.

I am obsessed with all of the HP references in this book. I loved Lisa and Matt in the first book in this series and their story was amazing.

Once I started this book, I couldn't stop. I lost quite a bit of sleep rooting for Lisa and Matt and it was worth every second of it. This book rolls some of my favorite tropes into one fantastic story. I love the maturity of these characters but it's still believable that they're in high school. Fingers crossed that there's more to this series!! I want all of these characters to get a HEA!!

*This is my voluntary review of an advanced reader copy*

I have noticed a few times that I have read books and it being the second or in the third in the series. I really need to pay more attention to that, so that I get the full affect of the book and I’m not missing out on anything. Now onto my review.
This was a cute book that I was able to read quickly which I enjoyed.
Lisa is a senior in high school works hard to get good grades and is a book nerd. She loves Harry Potter (awesome right?) she has also had a crush on Matt for a while now.
Matt is also a senior in high school, but he is the complete opposite to Lisa he is kind of a slacker in school and he also works for is family landscaping business.
How their relationship begins is because they come up with an idea for faking dating. One day Matt says to Lisa that they should become more then friends they should become fake boyfriend and girlfriend just so that he can get the attention of another girl that he likes. Lisa didn’t want to at the beginning but in the end, she decided that she would to see if it would get the attention of a boy that she likes. Sounds familiar ya? Its like To All the Boys I Loved Before.
Once things start to go good Matt asks Lisa to be his girlfriend for real because he doesn’t want to fake date her any more. Now Lisa has the hard choice of who she wants to be with, Will it be Matt, or will it be Trey?

This is the second book in the dating dilemma. This book follows Lisa and Matt. Lisa is a girl who loves her nerdy books/TV shows. She is a self- proclaimed nerdy girl. She is pretty likeable and she has a good sense of humor. She has been placed firmly in the friend zone with Matt. She has decided to be okay with that and decides to not date, until a new guy, Trey, comes along. Then she decides to shake up her look a bit. While, I didn't feel like she changed up her look a lot, I wasn't thrilled with the idea of her changing her look for a guy.

Matt just seemed like a typical guy at first. There is not much that defines him. He likes his younger sister's best friend, Jane, but she has a boyfriend. When Lisa changes up her look, Matt takes notice.
In order, to get Jane's attention, Matt decides he should fake date Lisa. He figures she can get Trey's attention and he can get Jane's. What I liked about this book that was different than other fake relationship books is that Matt was a terrible fake boyfriend. He was really awful at it and they had some cringe-worthy moments together. It made the book pretty entertaining.

We do see some familiar faces in this book. Nina and West are around quite a bit, which is great. I really like both of them and they are both really good friends to Matt and Lisa. We also get more of Charlie and Clarissa. Hailey, Jane, Bryce, and Nathan from Blackmail Boyfriend also made appearances. I was excited to learn all was well with them. The character I really liked was Lisa's mom. She was pretty practical. Lisa and her mom seemed to have a pretty close relationship. I thought the advice she gave was smart and helpful.

While I loved all the cameos, Matt and Lisa sort of bothered me. They were both so wishy washy. I guess that happens when you are a teenager trying to decide what you want, but it took away from the sweetness that could have been their relationship. I ended up wanted more sweet moments between them. I wanted to feel as though they were a good fit for each other romantically and at times, I didn’t always feel that way. This book was 3.5 stars for me.

I voluntarily read and reviewed and advanced copy of this book from Entangled Publishing, LLC via Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

After reading the first Dating Dilemma - The Dating Debate, I am so looking forward to reading her next book and I am really excited when I know about 99% Faking It.

The first I step in to reading 99% Faking It, I was instantly hooked by the story and can you believe that I read at only one sitting in less than 5 hours that shows how good this book is. I love the story plot, the characters development, I love every single thing of this book. I am so in love with it.

Lisa confesses to Matt that she likes her - Matt instantly friends zone her however they become best friends. Matt has eyes on someone else so, Lisa found someone else she crushes on. For that, Matt come up with a plan of fake dating each other and propose it to Lisa for the sole reason to attract the person the crush on but the thing is something change on Matt - he begins to like Lisa but Lisa does not want to be the second choice, meaning that he needs to do something to earn he attention.

Although it takes quite some time for Matt to realize the girl who is perfect for him but all is worth waiting for. I love Chris's writing. Overall, I'm enjoying my time reading 99% Faking It.

Thank you, Entangled Publishing an eARC copy of 99% Faking it by Chris Cannon in exchange for an honest review.

99% faking it by Chris Cannon a five-star read that you wont need to fake enjoying. This is the second novel in the Dating Dilemma series, but they can be read as stand-alone as I read this one first not realising it was a series, I will be going back to check the first one out. I loved Lisa through the whole story, I loved her in all her nerd girl awesomeness. Matt, I struggled with at times, but in the end, I realised he is a dog lover so he can’t be all that bad, and you just know once he grows up a little, he will see what’s really important. Throw in some amazing secondary characters including one with amazing hair and a couple addicted to minty’s and some teenage drama and you have a great story.

*I received a free copy of this ebook from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*

This was a cute book and a fast read. Overall, I enjoyed it, though for some reason it takes more for a normal contemporary novel to earn more than 3 stars from me than it does for other books. I'm not sure why (I just noticed it, to be honest). This is my second Chris Cannon book, and they were pretty much on the same level (though I liked this one a little more). As I've said with other books in the same genre, this isn't the type of book you read because you HOPE for a good ending. You know how it will end from the beginning, and you read to see how the characters get there.

Totally random sidetone: I glanced at some of Cannon's other books that are on my to-read list and noticed that Blackmail Boyfriend (the first in the Boyfriend Chronicles series) is about Haley, the younger sister of Matt, the love interest in this book (which is in a different series, Dating Dilemma). Kinda funny.

Back to this book, though.

Lisa and Matt are seniors in high school. She's got goals, works hard to earn good grades, and is a book nerd. He's the opposite and is kind of a slacker, to be honest, though he works hard for his family's landscaping business.

I'm not sure exactly what attracted Lisa to him initially--he's cute and nice? His messy hair? Their arguments? Don't get me wrong, he grew on me. Eventually. But he was kind of a punk, if you think about it: He knew she had liked him (possibly still liked him), and yet he came up with a plan for them to fake date in order to hopefully get the attention of some other people. So yeah, it took me a little while to see his good qualities, like protectiveness, thoughtfulness, and ambition. Come to think of it, I'm pretty sure it took most of the book for him to develop those qualities. Once he did, however, he didn't hold back in demonstrating them.

Lisa was not without her faults. First, why would she even agree to his scheme, knowing that it would potentially backfire and break up their friendship? She was easily offended by things Matt said to her and allowed herself to be hurt. Yes, he needed to work on his mouth filter, but she needed to understand that he didn't always think before speaking, causing a lot of his comments to come out in a way that could be misinterpreted. And she always chose to misinterpret his words and actions. Drove me crazy.

I appreciate the growing number of YA books that have solid female friendships. Lisa and Nina were practically meant to be friends. Not only were the book nerds and Harry Potter fans, but they helped ground each other and offered support when it was needed. A few times, I wish Lisa and heeded Nina's advice regarding the fake relationship.

Something else I like seeing more of is positive parenting. I'm a parent, and I know I'm not an idiot, so I dislike books that portray parents as blundering morons who have no clue what it's like to be a teenager. Matt's parents played a somewhat small part in the book, but it was obvious that they loved their children and tried to teach them to make good choices. Lisa's father wasn't in the picture (except briefly toward the end), but she was very close with her mother, who was a family therapist. At times, they seemed to have more of a friendship than a parent-child relationship, which can get tricky. I'm all about being friends with my kids, but that comes second to being a parent. It also kind of ticked me off how Lisa and her mother responded when Gavin (her father) attempted to begin atoning for abandoning them before Lisa was born. Yes, he was wrong, but they acted childish and vengeful.

After all that is said, I did enjoy reading it. Although our experience was not identical to Lisa and Matt's, their story reminded me of my own. I liked my husband right from the start, and he friend-zoned me. (We got married almost three years later, so it all worked out marvelously and made for a fantastic story.)

I do think the ending wrapped up a little too neatly and quickly. Trey's response when he realized Lisa was a Harry Potter-loving book nerd was somewhat robotic and too convenient.

Note: Some swearing.

Parent's Perspective: I don't see my sons having any interest in this book, by I wouldn't object to my daughter reading it when she's a teenager. There's no sex or violence. It does have some language in it, but it's not a lot, nor is it the strongest. It's worth pointing out good friendships and noting the potential consequences of the characters' actions, as well as watching what you say and choosing whether or not to be offended. (My husband and I know that neither of us would intentionally hurt the other; because of that knowledge, we are able to talk about and easily move on when one of us says or does something that COULD be taken as hurtful.) Lisa's mother gives her a quick refresher about responsible sex, which kind of felt out of place in the book--there is no sex, and neither Lisa nor Matt even thought about it in their chapters. The conversations we have with out kids are different from their conversation, anyway.

The main reasons for my 3 star were Lisa and Matt seemed a bit immature for their ages and I didn't really get the feel of their friendship before they started to fake date. The book made it seem as if they had been friends for quite a while and they hung out together often with the others in their group but he had no idea about her likes/dislikes. I did like Lisa and Matt together and their fumbling of the fake dating/falling in love. Fun read. If the friendship in the beginning had been more described/developed it would have been a 4 star.

In 1999, there was a movie called Drive Me Crazy with Melissa Joan Hart and Adrian Grenier. They played neighbors/friends whose significant others had dumped them, and decided to “fake date” each other to try to win back their former loves. In the end, it backfired and they fell in love with each other.

Chris Cannon uses the same trope in 99% Faking It. Lisa, a self-proclaimed nerd-girl, has had a crush on Matt since they met, but Matt has friend-zoned her. Matt is crushing on his little sister’s best friend, Jane, but Jane has a boyfriend. At a party, Matt observes that his best friend receives way more attention from girls now that he is in a relationship. This inspires Matt to ask Lisa to be his “fake girlfriend” to make Jane take notice. In the meantime, new boy Trey has caught Lisa’s eye, so she agrees to try Matt’s plan.

Matt’s plan backfires when he realizes he actually might WANT to be with Lisa, not Jane, but Lisa does not want to be his second choice. And a subplot involving Lisa’s absentee father helps bring her closer to Matt.

Overall, this was a cute story, a light, fluffy romantic read. Chris Cannon drops a lot of nerd-girl references (Lisa’s big into Harry Potter, Doctor Who, etc.) and the storyline is fun if a little clichéd.

***ARC received in exchange of an honest opinion***

Unfortunately 99% Faking It wasn't the book for me. And it wasn't because of the characters' ages or because it's set in high school. I read plenty of YA books where the characters are more relatable and a bit more mature.

The characters in the story are veey immature, so much so that the story doesn't feel real or believable. In my opinion, it could use a little dose of angst and realness.

The heroine is quirky and nerdy, which I usually like, but in this case I couldn't connect with her. Or the hero. The guy was just too nice for my taste.

I had a hard time getting into this story. Which is a shame because from the blurb I expected to like it.

“‘Maybe I could write a paper on it. The Theory of How Guys Are Idiots and Only Want What They Can’t Have’”*

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Lisa is crazy about reading, Dr. Who, Harry Potter, and Matt, the guy who friend-zoned her the second she showed interest in dating him. He didn’t see her as girlfriend material back then, because he was busy crushing on his sister’s best friend.

When Lisa catches the eye of the hip new guy at school, Matt starts to see his friend in a whole new light. He suggests that fake-dating might make them more appealing to their respective love interests. Instead, they discover that a relationship cemented with friendship can be stronger than a mere crush. Meanwhile, Matt’s trying to figure out his future and Lisa’s dealing with a painful relationship from her past.

One of my favorite romance tropes is the fake relationship. As the couple play acts, often genuine feelings develop.

The deep friendships make this book special. Of course, Matt and Lisa are friends, but Lisa leans heavily on her BFF Nina. Matt counts on his best friend West, who’s dating Nina. West and Nina’s story is told in book one of Cannon’s Dating Dilemma series.

99% FAKING IT is a fun Young Adult Contemporary Romance and a great addition to Entangled Crush line.

Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for the opportunity to experience this novel in advance of its release.

*Please note that my review is based on uncorrected text.

Miss Overachiever: Let me get this straight. You want to fake date me.

Man Candy Matt: Uh huh.

Miss Overachiever: But you know that I have a crush on you. [Damn it! He won’t notice that Freudian slip, will he?]

Man Candy Matt: Have?

Miss Overachiever: [Damn it!] Had! I had a crush on you.

Man Candy Matt: So, fake date me? Then the girl I have a crush on who’s perfectly happy with her perfect boyfriend will get jealous and decide she wants me instead.

Miss Overachiever: What’s in it for me?

Man Candy Matt: Well, you like Mr Cool Hair. Maybe he’ll pay attention to you if you’re with me, the boy with hair that’s not as cool.

Miss Overachiever: Hmm … You make an interesting argument. I’ve already tried to get him to notice me by wearing more makeup, even though when he originally noticed me I was hardly wearing any at all, but —

Man Candy Matt: See? So is it a deal? I mean, what could possibly go wrong?!

Book Buddy Nina (who already did her own whole boy drama thing in ‘The Dating Debate’): So … Books?

Miss Overachiever: Books!

Book Buddy Nina and Miss Overachiever wander off to go find some new book boyfriends.

Man Candy Matt: Um, hello?

We first tagged along with Miss Overachiever and Book Buddy Nina to Friday night Nerd-Girl Festivities in ‘The Dating Debate’. That was my 💔 Achy Breaky Heart 💔 read last year and here I am again, likely torturing poor Chris Cannon (sorry, Chris!) by choosing another one of her books for this year’s foray into the smoochie side of life. Oops, it appears that I’m accidentally following a romance novel series! 😯

Before I go any further, let me just say CANNON CONSPIRACY CONFIRMED!!!

Whatever am I talking about? Allow me to take you on a journey to a time when I first became suspicious that Chris was plotting a sinister scheme to convert me, a 100% committed romantiphobe, to … wait for it … a romance novel reader! I submit to you:

https://i.postimg.cc/BvX2D0zp/5-B691169-FC4-C-4-E70-8-F7-B-36-EACA8-D881-A.jpg

I had so many food cravings while reading ‘99% Faking It’ but the ones that specifically support my conspiracy theory are:

Pizza
🍕 Sausage and pepperoni thick crust with extra cheese
🍕 Meatball
🍕 More pepperoni
🍕 More meatball
🍕 More meatball
🍕 Sausage and mushroom
🍕 More sausage and mushroom
🍕 More meatball
🍕 Bacon and pepperoni
🍕 Cheese

Lasagne
🤤 Vegetarian

Chocolate
🍫 Brownie sundae with whipped cream and chocolate sauce
🍫 Chocolate frogs (mentioned but not eaten)
🍫 More brownies
🍫 Hot cocoa with marshmallows (yes, that counts!)
🍫 Do Oreos count? What am I saying?! Of course they do. Countless Oreos graced the pages!

And let’s not forget this brilliance:

“Our family motto is, Chocolate might not fix everything but it’s a good start.”

https://i.postimg.cc/mkVVSGYr/878-D535-A-2-D08-4339-8360-6-A85-AEC34-E9-C.jpg

My verdict? Conspiracy confirmed! Case closed! Well played, Chris, well played. 🏆

I really enjoyed this book. I smiled my way through the banter and fandom talk and the only thing I craved as much as the yummy delectables was an invitation to Friday night Nerd-Girl Festivities. I wanted to be friends with Book Buddy Nina and Miss Overachiever. I loved that Miss Overachiever is a jeans and t-shirt kind of girl who doesn’t waste time in front of a mirror when she could be reading instead. She’s smart and fluent in sarcasm and while she loves ‘Harry Potter’ (who doesn’t?!), she’s a multi-fandom girl. There were times I wanted to tell her to wake up to herself when she got snappy at Man Candy Matt but she endeared herself to me so much that I could overlook most of them.

While I liked Man Candy Matt I didn’t feel I got to know him as well as I did Miss Overachiever. The standout minor character for me was Matt’s father and naturally I adored the dogs. I consider it borderline cheating for any author to include dogs in their book since I’m such a sucker for fur babies.

I can’t believe how invested I became in this couple. I got frustrated whenever Man Candy Matt and Miss Overachiever’s romantic stars didn’t align. Either I’m getting used to the way these things called ‘romance novels’ work or there was less that irritated me this time. Unlike previous romantic reads, I’m pretty sure the feeling of hitting my head against a brick wall each time I told the characters to “COM! MU! NI! CATE!” has only resulted in a mild concussion this time around.

Once Upon a Nitpick: This pet peeve isn’t specific to this book but it did show up a few times; boys/men declaring they will punch a boy/man who is upsetting a girl/woman. I used to think this was charming when I was a teenager but now a neon sign lights up in my brain screaming, “Toxic masculinity!” at me whenever I come across it.

Favourite sentence: “I love the smell of freshly baked carbs and coffee.” Mmm, me too!

Favourite sentence (it’s a tie; I couldn’t choose): “Best friends don’t let best friends date anti-Potter people.”

So, am I a romance novel enthusiast now? Hell, no! After three novels I’m definitely a converted Chris Cannon reader though, and if she just so happens to write romance novels then I guess I’m going to have to keep reading them. Sorry, Chris, but you’re stuck with me. 😊

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Entangled Crush, an imprint of Entangled Publishing, LLC, for the opportunity to read this book.

P.S. If you can’t wait until the release date to start this book you can read the first chapter here - http://www.chriscannonauthor.com/99-faking-it/.

Chris Cannon just keeps getting better with each book! Every time I think I have a favorite, a new book comes out and takes its place.
I was so excited to read Matt was getting his own book. I had been a fan of his since he and Charlie first appeared in "Blackmail Boyfriend." Matt is the quite, shy type that just goes along with whatever until nerd-girl Lisa throws him in a tailspin.
I enjoyed this book so much. Not just because of all the Harry Potter references, but the world and characters that brought it to life.
While this book can be read as a standalone, I recommend reading "The Dating Debate" as it tells how Nina and West got together.

Fake it till you make it and let your nerd flag fly. This book is everything a nerdy bookish girl could ever dream of. The plot is simple but for anyone who dreams of a nerdy happily ever after this is a one sitting read. References to popular book stores and fandoms make it that much more enjoyable.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read this and review.

Lisa and Matt have been really good friends since Matt completely friend-zoned Lisa two months ago. Now they have a deal to fake date for 3 weeks so that they could attract attention of their crushes. It seems though that their feelings may take a completely different direction. But it's not so easy to know what's real and what's pretended when you fake date. Will both Lisa and Matt see what they really mean to each other?
I know it's just a romance like many others but I always appreciate Chris Cannon's sense of humour and variety of plot twists. You know more less what will be end of the story but you can never guess how the characters will behave on the way to their perfect ever after.

This one had me at the Harry Potter references and nerd-girl comments. Great, quick, YA romance. Friends who decide to fake a relationship to make others jealous but what stands out to make this different from a lot of other stories that follow that plot line were the great pop culture references and the development of the relationship from friends to maybe more. Super fun read! Thanks netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

"99% Faking It" is a quick read that follows self-proclaimed nerd-girl, Lisa, and the guy who immediately friend-zoned her, Matt. Lisa lives with her mother, a family/relationship counselor; her father left her mother when she was pregnant and sent divorce papers from afar. Lisa has never met him, but that doesn't mean she doesn't feel the echoes of his leaving. She has had a crush on Matt, but as she knows he has firmly placed her in the friend zone, she is intrigued by the new, cool guy, Trey, who is happy to flirt with her.

Matt has had a crush on his little sister's friend, Jane, who, before he could make a move, started dating someone else and seems really happy. When he notices his newly taken friend is getting hit on a lot, he starts thinking about the "wedding ring phenomenon" where people who are taken are considered more desirable. He proposes to Lisa that they fake date to attract Jane/Trey respectively. Lisa almost immediately declines, but ends up reluctantly agreeing.

As they spend more time together, they first have a lot of conflicts- Matt has some odd ideas about relationships and it's hard to decide where to draw the lines- e.g. kisses- with a fake relationship. Then, after Lisa needs some emotional support, they find themselves drawn together and spending more time alone. Matt starts to realize that Lisa is special and he might actually be attracted to her, but Lisa is tired of not feeling like a priority and likes that Trey liked her right off the bat without needing to be convinced that she is special.

Cannon is a great writer and always pulls you right into the story. I liked the characters and getting into their heads. However, I was concerned by all the extreme gendering/stereotyping of boys vs. girls. For instance, Matt's father says "Women go on and on about soul mates or finding that one person you can't live without. For guys it's not about finding someone you can't live without. It's more like you can't live with the idea of her with anyone else." I think this is more about people rather than men vs. women. Lots of women do not go on and on about soul mates. And I am not sure how I feel about someone only wanting to be with someone else just because they are territorial or don't want to let them be with anyone else (why not someone you can't live without?)- this seems pretty yucky and super stereotyped (also completely unnecessary in my opinion). Later, one of the friends says "teenage boys are a little slow when it comes to relationships." Except, not all teenage boys- even within the book- are so slow. There were a lot of these stereotyped statements in the book, and I found them unnecessary. I know that I am a little more sensitive to these things than others would be, but this, for me, tainted an overall sweet and cute friends turned more/fake relationship turned real story.

Overall, the writing, characters, and plot is fantastic, and I loved the development of the relationship. I wish there were less sweeping generalizations about women/girls vs. men/boys and stereotyping, which did not seem necessary for the story. Please note that I received a ARC from the publisher through netgalley. All opinions are my own.

Another book loving girl romance from Chris Cannon. I just love these. Dogs and Harry Potter references and sweet romance. What more could you want?

Highly recommended, clean, contemporary YA romance.