Just finished reading FAKING IT by Rebecca Smith. I received this ARC from HarperCollins UK imprint OneMoreChapterHC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Official publication date is August 7th, 2020.

Imagine your mother had a secret life, and for fun on the side she penned erotic fiction for the masses. That's Hannah Thompson in a nutshell. She is a middle aged wife, mother to three children, a high school teacher and… secret erotica debut novelist. What started out as a way to escape reality, has now turned into a side hustle.

With a first book to promote, a second book to write and a never ending pile of bills, Hannah had no choice but to become her writing alter-ego Twinky Malone. What could possibly go wrong?

This was a cute, quirky and fun read, I definitely LOL'd a few times. I enjoyed Hannah's character and her dilemma with being scared of what people would think about her, I also enjoyed seeing her become more herself and owning who she is. Just got to fake it till you make it!

Faking It was so much fun! The perfect summer read. I loved the characters and the romance. There were so many laugh out loud moments. Ive since had my best friend and mother read it and they both loved it!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the eARC that I received in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I have to be honest: I thought this book was very mediocre. It did everything fine, but nothing particularly well. The characters felt flat, the prose was dull, the plot didn’t move forward well. From the opening scene I was put off: it was obvious that the writing was meant to bait and switch you by writing about the mundane in a suggestive way and it felt like a played out gimmick. Honestly, that ploy is so overused, I almost didn’t go forward... but go forward I did and it felt like I was forcing myself to continue as I went.

Faking It features the trope of the middle aged mom who (finally?) discovers her inner sexuality and reclaims it. The pacing was not as fast as I would have expected or like for a contemporary, especially one that deals with the topic of romance novels and rediscovery. I was disappointed and expecting more from this.

Hannah has to fake it until she makes it!

Hannah Thompson is a full-time wife, mom to three kids, part-time English teacher and writer who had just sold her first erotica book as Twinky Malone that for some reason everyone thought was funny. She had intended to write an informative erotica book without her kids finding out about her secret writing. Hannah attempts to find her inner sex goddess for her next book but struggles when she fakes having everything together.

Faking It is not a romance to me, it is more an adult fiction with a little comedy with Hannah trying to find balance between trying to write her next book and everything else. It just felt a little flat for me as a book.

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

I grabbed a copy of this book because the summary sounded liked a bunch of fun. While, I as reading this book, I still held hope that the laughs would come. Maybe they do come but sadly I could not stick around to find out. I got about a third of the way into the book and put it down.

I was just not connecting with the characters. In addition, it did seem to move slow. Underneath it all, I did see glimmers of hope and where this story was going. Thus the reason that I did try hard to want to "like" if not "love" this book. After reading some other rom coms recently, I was just hoping that this book would grab be right away. I may give this author another try in the future with another book.

This was a funny and light book! I found some parts a bit slow and maybe just didn’t relate to it as well as I have other books, however that being said it still made me laugh and was just kind of a nice light read for summer.

When I came up with my August-to-be-read list, Rebecca Smith's Faking It was not included; but, when I got an ARC from Netgalley, I just thought...why the hell not? The premise was interesting enough and I was in the mood for a funny, lighthearted read - and that's exactly what I got.

Is it a ground-breaking, pioneering novel? Nope. But that doesn't mean it's not fun. I actually really liked Hannah and when I found out that this book is part of a series I was genuinely intrigued to read the previous book. I thought she was a very compelling character, and I was far more interested reading about a woman in her forties trying to understand and accept her sexuality than I would have been in a woman that seems to already have it all figured out. Hannah's journey was a very interesting one, and while I wouldn't call it exactly relatable - I am in my twenties after all - it was definitely fun to read about.

I really enjoyed all the family dynamics, as I think the author simply nailed them. I wasn't a massive fan of Scarlet, Hannah's daughter, but hopefully that means we'll get to see her grow and become a kinder, nicer, better version of herself in future books. I was, however, quite fond of Dylan and especially Benji, as he made every scene hilarious (and reminded me a bit of Luke from Modern Family).

In addition to being an overall entertaining read, the book was very relevant to my life in the most peculiar ways. At some point, Hannah and her family discuss pole dancing, the stigma around it etc... which is very relevant to me right now, as I recently started pole dancing and had a very similar conversation with my friends. There is also a conversation about porn and the porn industry, and how it always seems to perpetuate certain stereotypes, specific body types etc - again, I had this conversation with my friends only a few days ago! It's not a massive thing, and it doesn't make or break the book, but I was very happy to see some of my own ideas/worries/conversations in this book.

Overall, a funny and lighthearted read, that I would highly recommend for when you're in need of some pure, unadulterated fun.

** An ARC was provided via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. **

To start things off, I didn’t realize this book was the sequel to More Than Just Mum and for obvious reasons, this wouldn’t be considered a standalone. From page one I was completely lost as to who the characters were. There were no author notes nor disclaimer stating this, and due to me being unaware of this it was a no-brainer that I decided to drop this later to pick it back up later once reading the earlier installments. From what I have read so far, this seems like a promising read and I look forward to re-reading this back again in the future.

I’m a mom of two kids. I get tired easily and feel unsexy sometimes. I could totally relate to Hannah, the main character of Faking It. Except Hannah also writes erotica (maybe I should start that hobby?) and the result is entertaining.

This story totally nails the craziness of parenthood while still trying to keep an identity of one’s own. I loved reading about Hannah’s appreciation for writing and the candid way Motherhood is described. This story actually made me a little nervous for when my daughters become teenagers. So much sass!

I recommend this for anyone who wants a light, silly read that addresses life as a wife and mother.

This review will be published on the below mentioned blog and other social media on 07 Aug.

Book Title: Faking It

Author: Rebecca Smith

Genre: Fiction

Publishing Date: 07 Aug 2020

No.Of Pages: 400

Line Summary:

The story is about Hannah Thompson who wants to be more than a  wife, mother, teacher. She is a secret author of an erotica novel, who tries to become her writing alter -ego.

My Review:

So I am still having a reading slump and so it took almost more than a week for me to finish this simple book! The book is a decent one, and I love the storyline. But definitely lagging in engagement! There were places where I couldn’t cross without yawning or feeling boring! Couldn't remember any of the characters other than the main one. The narration was slow pacing, witty at places but sometimes felt like reading repetitive emotions. I highly admired all those forward-thinking sexual messages which are a necessity of the moment! If it’s a little bit fast-paced and has a definite purposeful dialogue I would love it much more! Recommend this for some huge shoutout message!

Thoughts while reading:
I have a love/hate feeling about Hannah character, I love the way her character is more natural with all those mom thoughts. but it felt boring and irritated to keep on reading her dilemmas about each and everything. Her character could have much more definition!
In the beginning, I hate that she hides her identity for reasons only moms could relate but the final talk on the show and all brilliant!
The stereotype breaking message scattered all over the book is an eye-opener for all of us.
The way she is talking about sex to the teenage class is so good and one of my fav parts!
Hats off to pulling out this "taboo" thing and handled it so well! For the concept alone I would give all the stars, but the execution somehow dilutes it with other mom and family problems/ insecure feelings and so it didn’t reach out fully, but I enjoyed it and so recommend this to all women!

So I'm going to start off this review with a rant. I'm one of those readers that pick books on Netgalley and in stores based on the cover. I've never read anything by this author before so I had no clue that this book was part of a series until after I finished the book and was reading the author's note. I went back to Goodreads and noticed that it's not marked as the second book in a series but it is. Netgalley also didn't say anything about it being book two in a series either. Somewhere the system has failed to mark this book as book two.

Moving on with this review I really didn't enjoy this book. The characters weren't for me. I loved that Hannah was an author but that was all I liked about her. Hannah is such an annoying character. Her and her husband have such horrible spending hobbies I was so scared that they were going to end up losing their house or something. They had so many issues with their marriage but that wasn't every talked about and was chopped up to be just him worried about what she was going to say when he didn't get a job contract. Hannah doesn't know how to parent her children at all. Her oldest daughter Scarlet is even more annoying than her mother. She is constantly lying and saying her mom is boring and has no life just because her mom is in her forties. There were times in the book where Hannah finally talked to her children as a parent. Where she actually stuck up for her self and talked to her mother about things that was bothering her. But each time she stuck up for herself she was proven to be in the wrong. I wished that the author would have given her something to be right about.

The plot of this book was pretty nonexistent. I personally feel like this book should have just been and epilogue for book one. I felt like the conflict for this book was that serious and the peak of the plot was more like a little tiny hill rather than a mountain top. The main thing of the book was that Hannah didn't want anyone to find out that she was an erotica write, especially her kids. I'm assuming that in book one she came up with her pen name that was one of the stupidest author names I heard before and it bothered me every time I had to read it. For her to be an author I felt like she knew absolutely nothing about writing a book. The whole time she's very serious about not being in person as her author persona, but when her editor tell's her to go to a sex con that it would help with her sells, we never get to see the outcome of it. Whether it helped her sells or not. Overall this book was not for me and had too much extra fluff and not enough plot to be considered a book. It should have been added to book one and been done with one book.

This book had some funny moments. I think Hannah needs to drop her dreams of writing anything remotely sexy lol..

Thanks to Harper Collins UK & NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

I wanted to like this book, the premise is funny - a mom in her 40s who also a secondary school English teacher who writes erotica novels on the side... but unfortunately I just couldn't get into this one.

I think the beginning was a bit slow and it just wasn't capturing my attention and I didn't like the main character so it was hard to want to continue reading.

I DNFd this one around 40%.

The story started off with a great theme of a mother wanting to break away from “just being known as a mother and a wife” and be seen as an individual.
Hannah started off as doubting herself and her interest in writing her book, but it seemed like her self doubt was neverending. It became a bit redundant to me that she kept talking down about herself.
Unfortunately, at the halfway mark, I didn’t notice much change in Hannah’s character so I did not finish the book and put it down.
I would have liked to see Hannah have a bit more confidence in herself earlier on. I would have liked if Hannah snuck around the house with a bit more pride in herself .

This book is about a woman named Hannah, who writes an erotic novel for fun, ends up getting it published and is signed on for a second book. With the pressure on, she struggles to find her sexy side and tries just about anything to get herself in the mood for writing.

I found this book hard to get into. It was really slow moving and it wasn't as funny as I would have liked, nor did I feel particularly invested in any of the characters. The main thing I liked was the family dynamic and seeing her as a mother, it was heartwarming and relatable.

Thank you to Harper Collins UK and NetGalley for the free eGalley. All opinions expressed are my own.

I wouldn’t necessarily say you need to read the first book as this would work as a stand alone.

Faking It is the second novel by Rebecca Smith and is the sequel to More Than Just Mum. The book begins a few months after the first book finishes. As a newly published author, lead character Hannah is struggling to write the follow up while continuing her roles as mother had teacher. While trying to strike a balance and keep her alter ego as Twinky Malone a secret, her publisher decides its time to put a face to a name and signs her up for Sex-Con. with Hannah feeling out of her depth she enlists the advice of best friend Cassie who sets out to discover her inner sex goddess.

I liked this book and found it very funny in parts. Rebecca Smith has an ability to make the characters seem very real and gives them a lot of depth. As a reader you get a real sense of Hannah’s personality and the worries she has about being outed as an erotic fiction writer. While still trying to find time for husband Nick and her 3 children.

As with the first book I really didn’t like the chapters that included snippets of Bella and Dax (the book Hannah is writing). Personally I dint think they add anything to the plot and I didn’t read these parts.

Overall a fun lighthearted read with a few moments of hilarity. Slightly better than the prequel 3.5/5

Thanks to NetGalley and One More Chapter for gifting me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A mother, wife and teacher, Hannah is a 40-something woman who is finding her way in a new career that she finds both tantalizing and embarrassing - erotica author.

To me this book had its ups and downs. I found some of Hannah’s angst about her occupation hard to believe and her qualms about her marriage seemed forced and unfounded. The family scenes with her children seemed more authentic and I enjoyed the feisty, high-spirited children and best friend, Cassie.

Pacing was inconsistent which took away from my overall enjoyment. The first half was very slow and I had a hard time getting into the story or characters. The second half was much more entertaining with a couple laugh-out-loud scenes.

I would have liked more insight into the world of erotica writing and maybe Hannah’s character and why she was writing this genre to begin with. It seemed like that would have added interesting depth to the original premise for the story which instead stayed firmly focused on mostly mundane family events.

Overall, this was light entertainment with a few funny scenes and not-very-interesting characters and themes. I’d recommend it as a light, quick read particularly if you are interested in the middle-age, finding oneself beyond motherhood theme.

I didn't realize Faking It is a sequel until the end. While you don't have to read the first book to follow the second, I have a feeling I would've enjoyed it more if I had been in on Hannah Thompson/Twinky Malone's journey from the beginning. As is, it felt like Hannah pushing herself wasn't as over-the-top as the premise sounds (which is also our heroine's main issue). Cute, quick read, but not a standout.

Hannah wrote an erotic novel under a pseudonym in an effort to combat her middle age angst. The novel is a success, but Hannah is having a hard time balancing her real life and her sex goddess alter ego. Who can be sexy while teaching, raising teenagers, and dealing with an imploding septic system?
Readers wanting a romance are going to be disappointed with Faking It. Romantic and humorous elements are present but this is a story about self discovery. I had a difficult time finishing this book because the plot was so disjointed. I kept waiting for something big to happen but it never really did.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.