I finished the book but I wasn’t super enthralled with it. I look for some kind of connection when I read the book. The trials of this woman going through her writing process with her new erotic book was kind of funny but I just didn’t find myself getting “into” the book.

The cover is so cute but this one might've been a pass for me.

I love the idea of someone deciding to switch things up with their life after settling and being in a stage in their life when their kids are getting ready to leave the flock.

I think my main issue with the reading process for this was that it was just so unrealistic and stiffly cheesy, constantly, and all of the characters fell on the flat side. The breakthrough of the main character was nice to read about, how her mindset sort of switched gears with a series of experiences, but again I felt like the portrayal of said breakthrough was very forced and cringeworthy.

It was interesting to see the main character in her struggle to evaluate where she was in her life and what she wanted from it, and I always like books about authors, but the general tone of this book didn't appeal to me like I hoped that it could.

The character's dilemma about revealing her writer's side also felt really dramatized by the character's own thought process and approach to it all. Her teaching job having some influence in how she wanted to conceal her connection to her pseudonym was understandable, but she was just always going back to her shame about her side-job.

Nonetheless, thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins UK for the opportunity for such an interesting reading process via this ARC!

Loved, loved, loved this title. The snippets of real-life dialogue and situations were wonderful. It was hilarious to see someone experiencing some of the same thoughts I have. It is a great read and I cannot wait to recommend it to my patrons.

I loved the premise of this novel and was so excited when my request was approved! This is a fun read about a woman who’s a wife and mother and secretly dabbles in erotica. Laugh out loud funny in sections and touching in others.

This books description really didn't match the story for me. I was not expecting her to be in a long marriage or have a bunch of kids. It really through me off and I had to set other expectations for reading the story. For me this was more about reconnecting or rekindling than a true romance. The writing was great, and it was funny. It just wasn't my cup of tea.

This book is not the romance that I expected it to be but I really appreciated the author’s exploration of sex as a middle aged woman dealing with teenagers and the feeling of no longer being desired by her husband. The main character becomes a writer of eroctic novels through a desire to find her own passion and need for additional income. This starts her ona journey of leaving how to communicate with her teenagers, especially about more adult topics, and what the perception of intimacy as an older adult is. My favorite part was when a group of women who don’t know each other well get together and break down the barriers of the perception of sex in their lives and the perception of their peers. Although I wasn’t hooked on this book, I did think it was an important topic to discuss.

I wanted to like this book, I really did. The concept is super cute and could have been a ton of fun. Unfortunately, I found Hannah particularly unlikable and hard to connect with. So much time was spent on her problems and miscommunications in ways that weren't funny. I went in anticipating a fun, sexy romcom and this book is so far from what I thought it would be. There were some cute scenes (there's a hilarious sex party), but otherwise much of the book was a bit of a slog.

A mum who juggles with running her household, being a wife, an involved mama and a part-time teacher finds a new avenue of self-discovery by dabbling in the world of erotica.

This was a fun woman's fiction for sure. I particularly enjoyed the family interaction. That was definitely my favourite part.

I would definitely recommend this for a fun light-hearted read.

This book was okay for me, but just not really what I thought I signed up for. I was drawn to the story as the main character is an erotic romance writer, so I assumed the book would be steamy. It was not. There were definitely some funny parts, but the self deprecating humor got a little old after awhile. I also thought I would really be able to relate to the main character more as a mom, but she was a bit hard to like as she seemed immature and refused to step outside her comfort zone at all. DNF'd at 40%.

The synopsis for this book is a little deceiving I think. Wasn't really what I was expecting. More of a family drama. It was a good book. Funny at times? Yes. A little slow at times? Yes. Giving it three stars due to inaccurate description.
Thanks to netgally, Rebecca Smith (author) and Harper Collins UK, One More Chapter (publisher) for the advance copy. In return I give my honest review.

Hmmm, this was just not what I was expecting which let me down. When I read the blurb, I was like yes, I need a good funny book that I could connect with, aaaannnnd this was not it. I wondered if I was just in a funk, because I had covid and it was pretty difficult at times but that wasn't the case with this book. I was sad I tend to reread books if I enjoy them and if I have restart the book a couple of times I know that that book is not for me, and guess what that was this book. I could say more, but why the gist is that I wouldn't recommend or read again.

Rebecca Smith's Faking It is very much not the type of book I usually read. It's the story of a 44-year-old part-time teacher and full-time wife/mother who writes an erotic fiction on the side. While it started slow with a great deal of focus on her domestic circumstances, it picked up speed toward the end with the protagonist embracing her inner feminist and coming to terms with her multi-faceted identity. While the book has valuable things to say about the nature of marriage and motherhood, it really shines in its approach to sex (which is often discussed but tastefully depicted). The end result is heartwarming and affirming--a recognition that women have many responsibilities and being who they are is enough. While I didn't find it laugh-out-loud funny, it was an enjoyable (if slightly predictable) romp and one of the better examples of this genre I've encountered.

While the premise to this book sounded interesting, I had a hard time getting through this book and started skimming about a quarter through. There wasn't much urgency to the plot, and a lot of the scenes/conversations either felt unnecessary (didn't move the character or plot forward), or it felt forced to get across the themes of the book. I didn't connect to Hannah, even though she seemed charming. I had a hard time believing how naive she was about sex, or that she'd actually published a book of erotica.

I didn’t know until I made it to the acknowledgements that this was a sequel. Oops. However, it read just fine as a stand-alone. I enjoyed this book but I was hoping for more. Nick and Hannah’s relationship was cute. There were definitely some funny lines. Hannah’s snarky inner dialogue was sometimes fun, but sometimes a bit annoying. I really liked the concept of a middle-aged(ish) wife and mother re-discovering her inner sex goddess through the empowerment of erotic fiction. I liked it even more that this journey was realistically messy and at times awkward. The actual scenes from Hannah’s book in my opinion were absurdly corny and cringe-worthy, reminiscent of bad porn which took me out of the story and made me wonder if the author has actually ever read any decent erotica. All in all, Faking It was an ok book - good premise, some decent lessons, but it just fell flat and I wasn’t all that invested in the characters. I didn’t dislike it but I didn’t love it either. I don’t plan to go back and read the first book. 2.5 stars.

Thank you NetGalley, author, and publishers for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Thanks Netgalley for the ebook. This review is my honest opinion but just another opinion, you should read this book and judge it by yourself]
Sadly this book wasn't for me.
Although the plot seemed attractive (a forty-aged woman married and working as a teacher that has written an erotica book with a pen name), the development isn't. I thought it was going to be something funny, full of misunsderstandings due to Hanna's secret but, although some parts are funny, what we really read it's Hanna's daily life, a not very charming one (as almost every normal life, haha).
I think one of my problems with the book was that I didn't like Hannah, specially I didn't like the way she treated her husband. And the main issue for me is that Hanna's shame about being a romance/erotic writer. She's a young and modern woman that has a very supportive husband by her side that encourages her writing carreer but she's constantly shaming herself for something that she like and gives her joy. I didn't like it at all.
But the story has good things, made me smile in some points and has potential. I couldn't connect with the story but I encourage you to read the book and create your own opinion.

Faking It
By: Rebecca Smith
Meet Hannah Thompson: wife, mother, teacher and… secret erotica author?
My Guilt List:
1. If we have a date night then I’m always asleep before it’s halfway through and honestly, if I had to choose, I’d rather have a hot bath and read my book than engage in any other nocturnal activity.
2. If we do actually have you-know-what then it’s not unheard of for my mind to wander… and I’m not talking about sexy things – I’m talking about what food there is in the fridge and when the car is due for its next service.
3. I am struggling to write about anything that could be classed as even a little bit sexually adventurous which is a problem when I’m supposed to be an erotica writer and I am speaking at Sex Con in exactly one month.
With a book to publicize, Hannah has no choice but trade her M&S cardis for S&M parties, and become her writing alter-ego. What could possibly go wrong…

I think this book will resonate with lots of women. Who hasn’t tried to reinvent themselves just a little bit? I am live in the chaos and craziness that she details in this book and I love it. This book had me laughing out loud at times, to the point of my family asking me what was so funny, so I tried to read the part to them and they of course didn’t find it as funny as I did.
This was a fun, fast, light-hearted book that I really enjoyed. I will be checking out the authors other books.
Thanks to Netgalley, One More Chapter, and Harper Collins UK for sending me this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I received an ARC from Netgalley. Thanks to HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter and author Rebecca Smith for the copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

I was smiling throughout this book. Hannah was an absolute hoot.

Hannah has published an erotic novel (under a pseudonym of course), and now is struggling with writer's block as she tries to write the sequel. Life as a 44- year old mother (and wife and teacher and all the other titles women carry) doesn't seem to "sexy."

I loved the side characters of Hannah's family. They loved her, encouraged her, and pushed her into being a bit braver and more confident.

After I finished this book, I realized it was a sequel. I didn't read it beforehand, and would say that this book can be read as a stand-alone title.

Before I start, I don’t think this book was aimed at me. I am early thirties with no kids.
From the blurb, I was really looking forward to reading this book. However, I found the book slow and not really building towards anything exciting, it didn’t leave me counting down until I could read it again and it was really long!
I found the formatting errors (no spaces between some words - happened too often to be a simple error) annoying too but I’m sure these will be sorted before publishing.
Thank you for the opportunity to read this book.

This book is about a middle-aged mom of three who has wrote and published an erotic novel under the oen name Twinky Malone and follows her struggles in trying to encapture her inner sex goddess in order to write her follow up novel. She soon realises that she isnt as experienced as her novel may have suggested and secrets are becoming harder to keep under wraps while she is trying to find herself again.
I highly enjoyed this book for its comedic aspect with hannah's attempts at trying to become more sexually self aware within her marriage, however the story i would say is lacking in character development which left me feeling a bit disconnected from them.
But overall I wohld say its a very fast, feel-good book with give me a few good laughs along the way.

Thank you so much to Netgalley, One More Chapter and Harper Collins Publishers for sending me this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Ultimately this book was just ok for me. The premise intrigued me so much but the plot did not deliver in the way I hoped. I was thinking there would be more drama surrounding her book writing and secret identity, but it was much more slice of life, which unfortunately I do not usually enjoy.