Member Reviews

Faking It by Rebecca Smith was a fun and light. Hannah wanted to do something for herself. As a mother, wife and teacher, she was also a woman first. But how can she write her erotica stories when her life is so crazy. I loved watching her try and explore new things. She is trying to manage all aspects of her life. I laughed throughout the story.

Happy reading!

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I found myself incredibly down to this book once I got into it. Being around the same age and about to send my daughter to college soon I found myself really loving the main character Hannah. Hannah over the years feels lost, that all she is ingrained in being a mom, a wife, and a part time teacher. She decided to branch out and write an erotic fiction book which gets published. In writing her sequel she learns about herself, her marriage and her friends and gains some of her identity back. The only problem I found with the sorry was isn’t what beginning I found some of the information to be repetitive but by midway it really got good.

Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for allowing me to read this advanced copy.

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When I was given the opportunity to read and review Faking It by Rebecca Smith, I was completely unaware of what I was in for. From the front cover, I was laughing at and along with Hannah, the main character, who has, unbeknown to almost everyone, just published her debut erotic novel.

Hannah is at that turning point in life where her eldest child is flying the coup, her husband seems more interested in his motorised love interest and her other children know exactly the right moment to drop a bombshell for maximum impact I mean there is only so much one woman can cope with. But throw in the president of the PTA, Sex Con, and her mother, things take a hilarious turn.

My favourite part is the get together with other teachers from the school, organised by Hannah's best friend, my eyes were leaking with laughter.

I highly recommend this uplifting read to everyone who needs to know that when our world is constantly changing, we are not alone.

My thanks to #Netgalley and #OneMoreChapterReads for allowing me to review this wonderful 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟book.

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Hannah is a middle-aged mother of three in a loving but somewhat bland marriage. She decides to spice up her life by writing an erotic novel and is thrilled when it becomes popular and they ask for a sequel. But things in her life have her feeling less than sexy and she's having trouble. She decides to become her alter ego, Twinky Malone, with hilarious and sometimes disastrous results.
While I find it unbelievable that someone like Hannah could have written popular erotica in the first place, the process of writing the second book while teaching and raising three teenagers was more realistic. Some chapters even had me laughing out loud.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. The views and opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

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I really enjoyed this. Took me longer to read than a normal book but that is due to my small reading slump which this book has gotten me out of.

Hannah is hilarious. Nick was sweet and supportive and the kids hilarious, especially Benji.

Once I got to the 40% mark I flew through it. I enjoyed Hannah's journey, it was great to see her transform but also accept herself at the same time.

Her speech on feminism to Scarlett was amazing.

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This was just not for me. I thought when I read that this was about a woman who wrote an erotic novel that this would be sexy and/or funny and in my opinion it misses the mark on both. Also to find out that this was a sequel right at the very end upset me too. This is the second time I have requested an advanced copy and read it fully, all the while not enjoying it, to find out that it was a sequel. It would just be nice if it was out anywhere in the description so I know not to read until I read the first installment

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Hannah embarks on a journey to not be a boring middle aged mum, and by writing an erotic fiction novel. But while the first one is a breeze, the second one is a struggle, and Hannah realises that she needs to work on herself to channel it into her novel. So under her pseudonym Twinky Malone (which really, could have been a more realistic name), she embarks on a sexually enlightening journey, but while trying to keep it a secret from her children.

I really enjoyed this one. It was a light read, and easy to follow with no unnecessary characters to remember for them to only be referred to once (anyone else find that annoying)?

I sniggered are quite a few parts, made a highlight or two and really enjoyed the feminism that was filtered through, and particularly with her teenage daughter.

This book is really empowering to women, while also not focusing on too many heavy issues, which I think is a hard concept to grasp. I really enjoyed it and would definitely recommend it! Especially if you’re a mum.

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This book was fabulous! As a married mother (and teacher) Hannahh Thompson's character was so relatable and likeable. I laughed out loud and loved how real this book was. It was an honest approach to the development/ reality of family, marriage and working life struggles, whilst also airing the taboo of discussing sex openly. I would say the cover is a tad deceptive in as much that S and M isn't particularly a focal point, at all, and it is far from a steamy novel, but I appreciate and understand the wordplay.
For me what stood out most was how it mphasised the importance of viewing women as more than care givers and home maintainers, even if or when that role is the more prominent part of their being. On that stem, it is even a note to care givers out there to remember that first and foremost, you are still you!

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I thought this would be a really fun book from the description but it was surprisingly quite a slog to get through. It easily could have (and should have) been edited down to about 70% of what it was. A book that sounded fun in theory but in execution was a bore.

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I picked up this ARC because of the summary. It sounded fun and enjoyable. What I got was a slow pace story about a woman who needs spicing up in her life but still has to be perfect. The idea that there is a perfect wife, a perfect mother, or a perfect life is laughable. It is ok to not be perfect or that life isn't happy all the time. IT IS OKAY!

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At 40% I had to quit. I really hate not liking books, but I just couldn’t get behind this one. I kept thinking that it was building up and finally the plot would start happening but it just didn’t for me. I was really bored and just found myself ending each chapter wondering how much longer til the book picked up.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

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I thought I was going to really enjoy this after reading the prologue, but instead I found it quite irritating. Sure, it was easy to read but the MC seemed very prudish considering she was an erotic fiction writer and it got tiring reading about her feeling ashamed of writing romance.
The way she coddled her children as well and tried to butt into their lives irked me. If it wasn't stated numerous times that she was a 44 year old mother, then I would have assumed she was much older because of the way she acted at times.

I'm giving it 3 stars because while a lot of the book annoyed me, there were some parts that I enjoyed, but I don't think I'll be interested in reading more of this author's work in the future.

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Rebecca Smith is a new author to me and this book was absolutely hilarious. I literally laughed alot reading this.

It was such a fun read and with what's going on in the world at the moment it's a much needed read xx

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Ugh. This book was just painful. It started out pretty interesting, but honestly, I got very annoyed with Hannah very quickly. The fact that she was SO embarrassed by talking about sex or thinking about sex irritated me, especially given the fact that she had already written an erotic book. I don't like the idea that a woman can't be a mom and older AND feel sexual -- I feel like that trope has been done to DEATH. She was constantly being embarrassed about things that were perfectly normal. I really wish that her husband had been involved in her attempts to push herself out of her comfort zone and figure out what she wants, but he was barely involved. And how many times could she possibly jump to conclusions about something? The author apparently loved that technique in her writing because she used it ALL THE TIME. I just wanted to scream at Hannah to let people finish talking before jumping to conclusions. You would think she would learn her lesson. I honestly had to force myself to finish this one.

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Oh goodness... this ended up being a DNF. It was rough, needs editing, and I just couldn't push myself past the first 100 pages. Sorry.

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Sadly, this book was not for me. I disliked the characters, the pacing, the theme and the plot. I really wanted to like this book but it just did not work for me, I even contemplated if I should DNF the book a few times. Not everything about the book was bad, I did really like how easy it was to identify with the main character, Hannah. Further, the book was quite funny at times, it included some feminist ideas, and positively discussed female bodies and sex.

My favourite quote on feminism and sex: ''They (women) are every different size, shape, colour and age. They come from every walk of life. And none of them will stop fighting for equality and fairness until we live in a world where it is okay for a mother to own a vibrator.''

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I was really hoping to like this more than I did. I had a very hard time getting into the plot. I had not connection to the characters, I'm not sure if that is because it is in third POV or if the characters did not just connect with me. I also think that the humor was a little off. It was like a bunch of almost funny jokes.

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First and foremost you need to be aware that this is the second book in a series! Both Goodreads and NetGalley don't state that but I have actually read the first one and enjoyed it.

However I had to dnf this one. I just could not get into this one and could not find myself invested in this story. Whilst the humour was still there, which is something I really loved in the first book, the plotline just fell flat to me.

I am gutted because I wanted to love this one but it just didn't do it for me. You might be different, you might really enjoy this one so if this series sounds like it's for you then dont let me review hinder your experience!

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Thank you for sending me and arc for this story. I was really intrigued when I read the excerpt and when I started it and saw it was from a third person POV I was bummed. It’s nothing personal against the book I just don’t connect well with books in the
Is POV. I don’t connect with characters or the story.

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I hate writing reviews like this, but I just could not get into this book!
I did finish it, but ehhh.
I didn’t love the plot, most of the characters besides Hannah, the main one, fell flat for me, and the pacing was crazy slow in the beginning.

I’m sorry. I just didn’t like it and I can’t recommend it.

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