**REVIEW** The Truth About Faking by Leigh Talbert Moore

Jason just wants a date with Harley. Harley just wants a date with Trent. Trent's still getting over Stephanie.
When Harley and Jason decide to fake date, they uncover a school of deceptions. Trent's got a secret, but so does Jason. And the more time Harley spends secretly kissing her fake boyfriend, the further she gets from her dreams with Trent.
Worst of all, Harley's mom is getting cozy with her hot massage therapy student, and even Harley's Reverend Dad can't fake not being bothered by it. But when the masks finally come off, can everyone handle the real truth?

REVIEW

  This was such a cute and realistic contemporary novel.  When I received the email about reviewing this one it was an immediate yes!  I have had such good luck with Indie contemporary novels and the synopsis for this one sounded so promising I couldn't wait to start it.  I got my chance while on holidays and to be honest I didn't put it down!  I read it from start to finish without even realizing it.  The story just has so much fun, emotion and twists that you don't want to put it down.

  The story is both what I had expected and what I didn't.  What the description fails to mention is that Harley's dad is a pastor.  This frequently brings up the right and wrong issue.  Meaning every time something might remotely be looked down in Harley tries to steer clear.  Not that there is anything wrong with a character that wants to do the right thing but I didn't expect the religion factor.  However I felt it didn't take over the book and was tamed way down by Harley's sexy masseuse mother.  She does play more of a part than I realized though and she kind of proves the don't judge a book by it's cover theory.

  Harley is a great example of a boy crazy teen.  Not crazy for every boy but one in particular.  Her eyes are set on Trent and she is determined to get him, even if that means using Jason.  Though I found Harley quirky and determined, she was a times out right clueless and I couldn't believe that she didn't see what was in front of her.  This does make for a believable teen girl though.  I mean what teen girl legitimately wants the guy that is best for her.  She does learn that what you wan isn't always what it seems but it comes at a cost.

  The boys in this book come off like night and day.  I really loved Jason's up front and kind of in your face personality.  He kind of pulls at my heart with some of the things he says and the things that happen to him.  He tries so hard and always seems to just fall a little short but he sticks to his guns and keeps trying.  This sometimes involves him doing things that I don't quite agree with but hey he's a teenage boy.  Trent was a little harder to love but I think that was due to the fact that I always felt that there was something just beneath the surface with him.  He wasn't an overly developed character but in the end I think that was because he wasn't really a main character.  His secrets proved to be much different than I expected and I ended up respecting him more in the end than I did any other time throughout the book.

  The other thing that made this such a believable book was Harley's best friend.  Shelly is quite... Unique we will say.  There are many of her in any given school and most of us were either friends with one or knew one at some point and time.  She seems to have good intentions but really when it comes down to it she most often puts herself first.  Despite this she is frequently there for Harley when she needs it and Harley does love her despite her many faults.

  This book was overall a fun and easy read.  It really captured much of the teenage romance type scene that I remember.  Things aren't always as they seem and Leigh threw the twists at you at the right moments.  The biggest thing for me was that I felt something for all of the characters, no matter what their role was in the book.  Leigh Talbert has a wonderful and flowing writing style that you can appreciate from start to finish!  Pick this one up if you want something on the lighter side of reading.

Quotes

My butterflies just had babies at that thought.

I'm not actually going to skinny dip, but I'm definitely going for a swim.  I want to wash all of the bad feelings and broken dreams away and start over as something new.

I try to imagine kissing him, but all I can see is Shelly beating me to it.