The Fine Art of Pretending Paperback – September 30, 2014

4.5 stars — I can’t believe it took me so long to get to this book, it was so cute!! It had so many things that I love in YAs! It’s kind of funny too, a few elements reminded me of the DUFF movie a bit, so fans of the movie will probably like this book as well.Aly was super cute and really easy for me to like, probably because I could empathize with what she was going through. I remember feeling invisible when I was in high school as well, so I understand how you can have a good head on your shoulders in general, but feel desperate to just feel love and romance and think everyone else has something that you don’t have. I mean, it was pretty obvious that what she was doing to try to change that wasn’t going to work, and she wasn’t going to be happy not being herself, but I still really understood what motivated her. I appreciated that while she struggled with obstacles here and there, she didn’t get pushed too far and there were no huge crises. It was just a journey for her to go through to better understand who she was, and be happy with that.Brandon was super sweet too, I enjoyed seeing him struggle with his own issues surrounding love…which were kind of the opposite. While I understood how his vow to stay away from love came to be, at times I wished I’d gotten a bit more in that area…like, was he really fine with his temporary relationships? I suppose so. It was just hard to get a vibe on what he was like before embarking on the fake relationship with Aly. I will admit I wished the scene with his mom at the end had been a bit longer…it felt like the resolution came a bit quickly, but at the same time I guess he was changing a bit at a time all along, and that was just the final catalyst.I LOVED Aly and Brandon together. They were seriously so adorable, and they had ALL the chemistry, from friendship chemistry to more. I could feel how torn they both were on how to deal with their feelings, and the anxiety over losing their friendship felt very real.What I found interesting about this one is that the storyline went in a few directions I wasn’t expecting from a typical young adult book. The road to their HEA had a few twists and turns, but I was never unhappy with it. In fact it really helped them figure themselves out along the way.I LOVED both sets of friends…they were all interesting and different and not without flaws, but inherently good people who cared about Aly and Brandon. I’m super duper curious about Justin now and so glad to see his is the next book. He was a twist that I wasn’t expecting. He could have been a douchebag, but his story was a bit more nuanced than that (and I can’t wait for more). I even appreciated the “villain” in this story…and I’m loathe to call her a villain, but she could have been a stereotypical mean girl, but instead we got to see glimpses of depth.And sort of related to that, I liked that there wasn’t a lot of slut shaming or anything like that. It could have gone there, but it didn’t really. I mean, in some ways it’s a bit implied in the whole casual vs commitment thing, but I never felt like the casual girls were judged in that way (heck Kara could be a casual), just that they were looking for something else. And the Lauren storyline in particular could have gone that way too, but it didn’t.I will admit that I found the backstories with both sets of families a bit lacking. They were good, but I think I would have been happier diving a bit deeper in both cases, though particularly with Brandon.As a strange side note, this book had a few weird continuity issues (tiny timeline things, mixing up Fairfield and Fairwoods a few times), so if you’re the type of reader who easily notices things like that, well…they’re there. I am unfortunately that kind of reader, and while it in no way takes away from the storyline, my stupid perfectionist mind wants to help fix it.So yeah. Solid YA for me, it both gave me things that I was looking for and surprised me with some twists.

Originally posted on my blog: Tangled Up In BooksI received a copy of this book from InkSlinger PR for a blog tour in exchange for an honest review. In no way did this sway my review or my rating!I always go in to a book by Rachel Harris thinking that there is absolutely no way she can top the last one I read. I mean I loved that book! There's just no way! Yet every time I finish the newest one I'm left sitting here wondering to myself how the heck did she just do that again?! Now I know I say this every time I finish one of her books, and trust me it's true every single time I say it, but...The Fine Art of Pretending is her best work yet. This book is her baby, it's the one that means the most to her, and I could tell. You can see her heart on every single one of these pages.It's hard to pick that one thing that I loved most about this book because there are so many great elements to it, but honestly I'd have to say it's the message that it puts out there. Actually I feel like, really, there's two important ones, but first Aly's. Aly feels like she needs to change to make big things happen for her. To get a guy to look at her as more than just a friendship potentially. Enter Operation Sex Appeal. She trades in her baggy shirts and pants for short skirts and tight tops. She exchanges her ratty old tennis shoes for heels. Applies more make up, lets down her hair instead of throwing it up in a messy bun. Completely changed the outside. She was never really herself though or fully comfortable in her new skin so to speak. Even though all the attention was new and exciting at first it was never fully real. Because she wasn't being real. Even Brandon, sure he "noticed" her when she changed, but he still missed the old Aly.She grew so much in this book though from beginning of the book Aly, who is sweet and funny and you cannot help but love her, to the end of the book Aly. All change that was for the good. And I'm not just talking about her appearance. It's the whole disguise thing. You know how like when you're in disguise you feel more comfortable to let loose and put yourself out there. In her new look she was slower to second guess being more bold and putting herself out there. She was able to let the real Aly that's deep inside of her out. Stuff that had always been there but buried in self doubt. But with a bit of self confidence the real Aly really shines. And it wasn't until she said okay that's enough of this game I'm playing, because really it was just like a game, and she took the mask off and all the pretty, tight, short clothes and went back to relaxed and comfy, when she was truly herself with a dash more confidence that things in her life really started to happen. Be you. It's the confidence that's sexy.With Brandon, and just know that I am crushing hard on this guy! Just had to get that out there before I go on! Anyway, with Brandon we have this already really amazing guy. A guy who has been her best friend for a very long time and has always seen her and trusts her enough to see sides of him that nobody else does. He's basically perfect. But in everything he's seen up to now love may seem great but eventually people leave you. Whether it's walking away or in death and so he keeps people in rolls that will, in his mind, allow him to avoid pain if they ever leave. In his journey with this pretending they do he has to struggle to realize that people may leave but taking the risk and loving them and having them love you back, no matter how brief, is worth the pain and risk. Something else I think is important to take away from this book.Not only does Rachel Harris write you these amazing characters and this heartwarming, sweet and fun story but she's done something that isn't exactly easy and natural in a lot of young adult novels. She has flawlessly written these teenage characters, capturing their voice and making them so real and full of life. I've not seen it done better than with this book. Add to that these two really important messages to young people, and even old ones like me haha, that it's okay to be yourself and being true to you and confident brings out the sexy. You don't need to change for anyone. And take a chance on love. Sometimes it brings you pain, but it won't always. And it's always worth it.I can't wait to see what you bring us next Rachel. One thing I know for sure is it's going to be amazing!

At the start of this book I wasn't sure it was a book I was going to enjoy due to the fact it told the story from the two prospective.Although I must admit I soon found I couldn't put the book down and it ended up me reading the whole book in less than 24 hoursI would like to see a sequel to this book be written to find out what happens in the relationship.

I simply adored this book from start to finish. Brandon is most definitely swoon worthy and I loved Aly. Reading as the different characters was great and really worked. The descriptions of everything was spot on and I could easily picture everything was ease. I haven't read a book for a long time that's made me eager for my day to be over so I could get home and read but this without a doubt has been fantastic. I can't praise it enough or recommend it to enough people either. So looking forward to reading more from Rachel Harris.

Couldn't even read it. The book felt awful and the first page was boring.

Loved, loved this book it was so cute and romantic just a perfevt book if you like romance.

Great!