I expected this book to be a lighthearted read but I think it was a tad bit too lighthearted for me. And very underwhelming. I couldn’t really connect to the characters and didn’t find myself too interested in the story to the point that the book ended up dragging for me. Overall, it didn't leave much of an impression on me but I do think younger audiences will really enjoy it as a quick and easy read!

Unfortunately this book fell a little flat for me. I didn't connect with the characters and plot as much as I wished that I would have. It was confusingly structured and felt as though I was reading about unnecessary things I didn't really care about.

DNF @ 15%

I was struggling to get invested in these characters and after reading some reviews I just believe this is not the book for me. I look forward to reading some of her future works but I do not feel like I could give this one a fair review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

A hilariously written undercover “princess” story. I found this to be very entertaining but also predictable with many common YA romance tropes.

3/5⭐ to Faking Reality by Sara Fujimura. Thank you to Tor Teen for the egalley to review! This was a cute YA contemporary story with HGTV and a friends-to-dating relationship. I quite liked Datoka as our main character and to learn about her family's TV show and how that has impacted her life. It had the easy, comfortable entertainment factor that shows on HGTV do also with the same bits of drama. I liked how she was invested in the show as a part of the family, but also was able to start to recognize when she should speak up when a situation with the show or production wasn't working for her. I especially enjoyed scenes where she was building stuff with her dad! It reminded me a lot of working in the wood shop with my dad. Leo is a great love interest for this story! I totally ate up the secret-crush slow burn relationship he has with Dakota, but also to see his passion for food & his own family. Plus the scenes of him and Dakota watching their shows together were cute! I think they challenged each other a bit, too and for the better. Finally, I loved the diversity in the cast, which is very much still needed in YA. I'll be keeping this author's next book on my radar!

I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book had an amazing plot, but I felt the characters were a bit hard to connect to.

Thank you kindly to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for this review copy.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and I definitely recommend it if you're into very sweet romance novels! I'm almost 27, so it sometimes felt too juvenile for me. Maybe because I'm used to reading dark YA or romance YA but with a ton of spicy bits. I wouldn't pick it up if that's what you like, because this one is pretty naïve and cheesy.

I loved the fact that it has multiracial individuals as main characters (both of them have Japanese heritage). Japanese culture is so fascinating and I'm really into it, that's why I liked the parts where the author translated sentences or explained what food they were eating and the like. I also have a soft spot for clichés and "Faking Reality" includes basically all the big ones: rich girl versus poor boy, fake relationship and friends to lovers. There you go! What else do you want?

My biggest issue with this book is that I didn't see any sparks between Koty and Leo. Yes, I totally get that she's in love with him and her feelings are genuine, but Leo... I don't know. He's and idiot most of the times and even cruel at some point. Honestly? I think he's not sure about what and who he wants and thus every decision he takes feels more like an experiment than anything. I'm aware that this is a coming of age novel and uncertainty and changes are fundamental for character development, you can see that in Koty, for instance, but Leo is inconsistent throughout the whole book. The ending was okay, although I definitely expected it to be more saucy! I wanted to see how the characters behaved after all that drama.

Still, it's a nice and easy read about family and friends. It also addresses issues such as the negative impact fame can have in people, especially young teens, or the importance of being true to yourself, which I believe are very contemporary topics nowadays.

Beyond the fact that Sara Fujimura is a local Arizona author, I’ve known for some time that I wanted to read this novel. I knew I would love the multicultural romance even though I am way older than her target audience but “Faking Reality” was even better than I’d hoped. It has such authenticity both in the presentation of the Japanese American characters but also in how the teenagers act. The Matsuda's are especially realistic and authentic. The novel emphasizes Japanese-American culture and if you’re from Phoenix, the realism of the settings are clear from the very beginning. The characters are charming, engaging, and the romance is well written. 

There are a lot of reasons for why this novel is so well written. First, you can tell that there is a ton of authentic experience in Sara Fujimura’s writing.  It oozes off the page from the Japanese characters to the settings in the story. Her high school is typical of most high schools in the area. While the life of a DIY reality star princess might not be real, everything incorporated into the lifestyle and Dakota’s desire for a normal life resonate and are well thought out. 

Moving onto the romance elements, I happen to love that the characters don’t fall instantly into each other’s arms. They’ve been friends all their lives and it is not always simple to move from friendship to romance. Plus it makes for a much more exciting story. Both Dakota and Leo have reasons for liking each other but they also are supporting and caring friends. While the pair stay friends, there is enough drama from other elements in the novel to keep readers engaged. The reactions from both characters are realistic, even when they’re upset with each other but what I like the best is that they never truly stop being friends, even when it’s not easy. 

Between the realistic teen characters and the authentic cultural aspects, Sara Fujimura has written a YA multicultural romance that will appeal to her readers and make them want to read more of her writing. The characters are likable but not perfect and the story is engaging. I love realistic and authentic writing and this is some of the best. Once you read this one, I highly recommend reading Sara’s other books.

If Chip & Joanna of Fixer Upper fame had a teenage daughter, they would be Dakota McDonald.

Fun, lighthearted read with a lot of heart. As much as I enjoyed this the entire time I was reading it, it feels like there was something missing, and there was nothing really pulling me back in.

I'm torn, because I felt there was some really great representation and diversity, and when this book explored their cultural backgrounds it really sang, but could definitely have gone further in exploring some of these elements.

They say fake it til you make it!

Fun story!

Description
Can a reality star princess transform the boy-next-door into her Cinnamon Roll Prince?

Dakota McDonald swore after “The Great Homecoming Disaster” that she’d never allow her romantic life to be a plot line in her parents’ HGTV show again. But when the restaurant run by the family of her best friend (and secret crush), Leo, is on the line, Dakota might end up eating her own words.

Leo Matsuda dreams of escaping the suffocating demands of working in his family’s restaurant, but the closer he gets to his goal—thanks to the help of his best friend (and secret crush) Dakota—the more reasons there are for him to stay.

Sara Fujimura's Faking Reality is another charming multicultural romance by the award-winning author of Every Reason We Shouldn’t, a National Public Radio Best YA Book of the Year.

This is a cute young adult romance. It had me at the description: My Big Fat Greek Wedding. And I can understand, especially with Japanese culture written in the book.

Faking Reality is a fun and different take on the celeb/non celeb trope romance. It's an enjoyable read even if the characters aren't all that likeable.

I went into this blind and expected a lighthearted read. I was very wrong. This book is pretty intense and the characters are kind of a mess!

I had a hard time connecting with the characters because I didn't really like them that much, but overall a good read!

I hate to say it, but this book was consistently bland for me. Boring, bland, dull, all of the above, which is a shame.

I loved the TV aspect of this book. Seeing how Dakota's life was changed and picked apart depending on what was happening on her parents' show was crazy. But also, the show itself and reading behind the scenes of it all was cool. I almost felt like I was actually witnessing a home-reno show in action.

Also, I have to mention how great the Japanese culture and food in this book were. I love when I am able to learn more about cultures that aren't my own. This book weaved the culture in seamlessly and made me hungry every time I picked up the book. 10/10 for that.

But, as I mentioned, all of this came second to the fact that this book was boring and bland. There were even parts where (please don't make me say it!), the writing wasn't great. I really wanted to love this book and love the best-friends-to-lovers trope, but it just wasn't there for me.

Overall, it just wasn't there for me. I had really high hopes especially because I love the book comparisons it had, but it didn't do it for me.

This is a fun take on the celebrity and normal person romance, with what feels to me like great Japanese-American rep that starts strong out the gate. I think romance fans will enjoy this for sure, as will anyone who likes books about someone being or suddenly becoming famous/rich (a classic YA subgenre), and it's also fun to get a peek into the behind-the-scenes of a reality show.

This is a sweet novel that stays clean throughout. I never really connected with the main character, Dakota who has reality tv show parents. I enjoyed her crush, Leo and the sections about his family's restaurant. Overall the story was ok.

I know that this is a YA book but this one read like a very young YA. In which both the hero and heroine sounded younger than they were.

ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

This book was the definition of slow burn romance.

I knew that this book would be slow burn, I knew what I was getting into when I first read the blurb and I knew exactly that this book would be my cup of tea. Slow burn romance is one of my favourite tropes and even more so when it's friends to lovers who are oblivious of their feelings towards each other.

Faking Reality follows reality TV star, Dakota McDonald as she juggles school, her TV career and her secret crush on her best friend Leo Matsuda. Leo dreams of leaving his town and the small family restaurant he calls home, but as business starts going downhill, Leo has to partner up with Dakota to save the restaurant and confront his feelings towards her too.

I enjoyed this book, I really did, but I thought the story dragged out a bit unnecessarily especially in the middle when a character was added as a plot device to create a love triangle and build romantic tension. It would've been successful had it been less obvious that it would be Leo she would choose at the end. I couldn't help but wonder about the pointlessness of the love triangle and how much better the book would've been without it. Love triangles in my opinion need to be persuasive in nature as in, you cannot choose between them because both have such different but amazing qualities. Even better still are love triangles where the tension is built up so well that you genuinely don't know what direction the story will go and which person the main character will choose. The best love triangle I have seen so far in a YA book series has been with The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare. I don't think I've read a book that executed a love triangle better than that of Will, Jem and Tessa.

Because of the love triangle which I stated didn't add anything more to the book, the middle dragged out unnecessarily. I enjoyed all the scenes and getting to know the characters better but I didn't see the relevance or importance of the scenes with Alex, knowing exactly who her heart would choose. It was so obvious from the start that I was just waiting until the slow burn romantic tension would break and Leo and Dakota would realise their feelings towards each other. In essence, I was just waiting for Alex to get out of the picture. The problem was he was in the picture for over 100 pages.

Story dragging and unnecessary love triangle aside, I really enjoyed the upbeat feel of this book. I think if I was younger and just getting into the YA romance/contemporary scene, I would've instantly declared this book a favourite. I would recommend it to younger readers of the YA spectrum, I think that is the true recommended age range for this book. It's a clean romance, nothing more than kissing involved and because it's slow burn it focuses more strongly on the emotional relationship between Leo and Dakota, chemistry, if you'd like. The chemistry between the two were the best aspects of this novel. I loved every scene with these two and swooned whenever they did cute "just friends" things like eating Japanese food or watching K-Drama together. It was really sweet and it was a perfect pick-me-up read.

I also liked all the side characters too (Leo still was my favourite). I liked Nevaeh and Aurora above everyone else and I enjoyed the scenes in the Matsuda restaurant. They were the best aspects of the book.

All in all, it was a cute book but it did have a loose plot, unnecessary love triangle and it was dragged out a bit in the middle.

ACTUAL RATING: 2.8 STARS

This book was an amazingly sweet story was pretty well done! The main character felt a bit whiny at times and seemed a bit self-centered, and though she could also be a .pretty engaging protagonist at times, her relationship with Leo, who was sometimes a jerk, felt like a strange choice. Her crush was understandable, but I almost expected her not to end up with him, because they seemed and felt like an unhealthy relationship. It did a good job of showing how reality TV isn't always reality, and it doesn't always show the whole truth of things. It had a lot of overdone tropes that I couldn't help feeling a bit annoyed while reading the book. Overall, I think that this was 3/5 stars.