The first book in this series, Working It, I reviewed on the blog in February calling it ‘one the best romance books I’ve read this year’ so as you can imagine, I was very excited to get my hands on Faking It, especially since it was about Zach’s friend Max, who runs the gay bar Frantic.
But. This was just. No. Not for me.
My main problem with it was the absolute change in tone – which, look, is fine, but just rubbed me up the wrong way here. Working It was a workplace romance with a stressed out boss and anxiety ridden assistant. It was very grounded in reality and dealt wonderfully with a romance featuring a character with anxiety. Faking It features Max pretending to be a rich boy reality tv star’s fiancée, so he’s not forced into an arranged gay marriage for business. I mean, what?
It was just so far removed from Working It, that I never really got into it. I mean, I didn’t expect it to cover the same topics, but it was such a shift that it threw me. Despite this, I liked Max and Grady, although, strangely, I think I liked Max more in his supporting role in Working It, than I did in this. I liked the emphasis on father-son relationships, and the prickly problems they can cause, but overall, this book didn’t really work for me. I stayed up late to finish it, and then thought to myself that I should’ve gotten the sleep instead.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a bad book. It’s a pretty solid romance, I suppose though it’s the trope that just throws me – I like my romance believable, and though D’Abo does try her best, and it very nearly works, it doesn’t completely for me. That said, I absolutely will read the next two in the series, as I enjoy the shared setting of Ringside (especially since it’s getting more prominent in each book). Do give it a go if the blurb tickles your fancy, but ultimately this just wasn’t for me.
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You can reserve a copy online at South Dublin Libraries’ catalogue here.
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