Review: The Truth About Faking by Leigh T. Moore

The Truth About Faking by Leigh T. Moore
Series: The Truth #1
Published by Self-Published
Format: ebook
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Goodreads * B&N * TBD

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?

Awww, cute book!  I really wasn't sure what to expect going into this. I mean, I read Moore's Rouge and adored it, but that was more "new adult" historical fiction and this is a total, to-the-core, YA contemp. It turns out, though, that I picked this one up and pretty much didn't put it down until it was finished.

This is one of those books where everything is a communication mess between all the characters. And I do mean all of them. So if that's not your thing, I am warning you now to stay away, but I do enjoy tangled-up craziness so it had me hooked. Plus, I figured out the "twist" pretty earlier, which made some of the situations kind of funny for me.

Basically, we have our main girl, Harley. She's been obsessing over Trent for a long time. I'm talking she thinks he's her future husband in the way fifteen-year-old girls will do kind of obsessed. Then in crashes Jason, literally, crashes. Harley is so wrapped-up in Trent she can't see how super freakin' cute and awesome Jason is. Until their "fake dating" ends in a "fake break-up" that feels a bit too much like a real break-up.

While all of this is going on, Harley's mom, a massage therapist, is mentoring a male student, Rick, from the college. He just happens to be insanely good-looking and spends a little too much time over at their home. Oh, and did I mention that this is a super small town, Harley's dad is the town's preacher, and everyone is all up in everyone else's business. Gossip is the ladies fave pastime. So yeah, messes. Messes everywhere!

Honestly, my biggest problem with this book is how much time is devoted to the mom/Rick situation. I was that interested in it to begin with and I found myself skimming a lot of those scenes to get back to Harley/Jason which a much more enjoyable story line. And even that took a bit too long. I found myself wanting to yell at Harley a few times to hurry up and open her eyes and put the pieces together and forget about Trent!

Otherwise, this was a super cute read. Classic YA contemp all the way and a perfect "comfort read".

Rating: Three out of Five (3/5)