The Fine Art of Pretending

by Rachel Harris

According to the guys at Fairfield Academy, there are two types of girls: the kind you hook up with, and the kind you're friends with. Seventeen-year-old Alyssa Reed is the second type. And she hates it. With just one year left to change her rank, she devises a plan to become the first type by homecoming, and she sets her sights on the perfect date-Justin Carter, Fairfield Academy's biggest hottie and most notorious player. With 57 days until the dance, Aly launches Operation Sex Appeal and sheds her tomboy image. The only thing left is for Justin actually to notice her. Enter best friend Brandon Taylor, the school's second biggest hottie, and now Aly's pretend boyfriend. With his help, elevating from funny friend to tempting vixen is only a matter of time. But when everything goes according to plan, the inevitable break up leaves their friendship in shambles, and Aly and Brandon with feelings they can't explain. And the fake couple discovers pretending can sometimes cost you the one thing you never expected to want.

• ISBN10: 1939392284
• ISBN13: 9781939392282
• Publish Date: 30 September 2014
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 30 April 2021
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Spencer Hill Press
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 256
• Language: English

Reviews

[Sam@WLABB]

It's a known fact that I am trash for friends-to-more romances, and I was delighted with the way Harris used that trope in THE FINE ART OF PRETENDING.

Aly was a cute and sporty young woman, who wanted to be noticed and wanted to be, well, wanted. She hoped that she would finally have a "real" date for the annual homecoming dance. No more friend-dates. No more pity-dates. Her goal was to attract a guy via her Operation Sex Appeal make-over, but when she threw in some fake dating, things got complicated.

Having been the short, cute girl, I could really relate to Aly. Always being "the friend", never being the one the boys were climbing over each other to date. It makes you feel less than, and I really felt that come through, when I was in Aly's head. I can't say I thought her plan was an amazing one, though, I think teen me tried the same exact thing. I appreciated her struggle and felt it was an important learning experience for her. Maybe the tight, revealing clothing didn't yield the results she was seeking, but they did embolden her a bit, and that, along with Brandon as her fake-hookup, kicked the confidence that she always had into high gear. I liked the focus on the inside versus the outside, and that Brandon also shared this view was a bonus.

Speaking of Brandon. His fear of losing people kept him from enjoying a full-on romantic relationship. He was, however, an wonderful friend to Aly. They had great chemistry and a wonderful rapport, and it was easy to see they shared a special bond, but, yeah, I definitely wanted to see that move to the next level, because they were tailor made for one another.

The book also had many of the elements I love to see: a great female friendship, male characters sharing their feelings, and a solid family with great sibling bonds. All these things was wrapped up in a super cute romance, which was light, fluffy, swoony, and sweet.

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[Bianca]

Loving someone, being loved... it's worth the pain of losing them.

[Leah]

When I was reading Ink Slinger PR's newsletter, Rachel Harris's novel jumped out at me as one I really wanted to read. I absoutely LOVE contemporary Young Adult novels. I've said before that I just love the innocence of some contemporary Young Adult novels. I love seeing first love blossom. Sigh. So The Fine Art of Pretending sounded right up my alley, not only on the first love front (SIGH. SO MANY SIGHS) but also because it sounded just like the movie She's All That, which I loved. I wish I had the confidence of Aly to change up her look and try to get herself noticed, in a bid to get a date with Justin (the school's player) for the Homecoming dance. I'm more of a before Aly myself. A wallflower, so I was interested to see how her experiment faired.

Probably my favourite thing about The Fine Art of Pretending was the killer dual POV. Getting to see both Aly and Brandon's reactions after certain moments, and to see how they were both feeling at any given point was awesome and slightly frustrating because I wanted to bash their heads together and tell them to just bloody kiss each other already because I was going to EXPLODE!!!!!!! The novel is very much your typical girl and boy are best friends, and don't want anything more, until they decide to fake date and realise they actually do want more fare but Rachel Harris writes it so well that it's as if you could be reading it for the very first time. I love seeing best friends fall in love. It's way better than the instalove you sometimes get because best friends already know all the horrible stuff about their friends and they've seen them at their worst etc.

I just loved Aly and Brandon so much. Both of them, so much. Aly was so cute wanting to change her ways and become "sexy", and Brandon seeing Aly in this new light, even though she's still the same Aly. Ugh. I've never met two people more perfect for each other, and yet been so stubborn about speaking about their feelings. That's the ONLY thing they don't talk about, is feelings. They're so bloody stubborn. It was the worst kind of anticipation to know they both felt the same for each other, but because they didn't say anything, they were both oblivious to the others' feelings. I kinda liked, though, that Aly's friends Gabi and Kara were willing to tell her straight, mind. That's the kinda friends a girl needs. I seriously felt like I knew Aly and Brandon. That they could have been my friends, if I was still 16 or 17, and not 24 and living in Tenerife.

I can't tell you how much I adored The Fine Art of Pretending. It was just everything that I look for in a Contemporary Young Adult novel. A compelling plot (seriously, I love it, why are there not more She's All That related plots in books because I LOVE them!), seriously adorable characters (Brandon, really, I want to marry you, although I would also marry Carlos who seems so sweet and lovely, too and Aly! You are my secret soul BFF I am sure), a fabulous Texas setting (I love Texas, I need to read more books set in Texas) and the most deliciously wonderful romance you could ever hope to read (sigh). It really did blow my socks off, and it ranks very highly in my list of wonderful YA novels, a list that seems to get bigger with every YA book I read. I'm so excited that there's going to be a second novel which is apparently a companion (MORE CARLOS IN MY LIFE, PLEASE RACHEL?! There could seriously be four or five companion novels with all the couples in the book that I would love to keep reading about including Brandon & Aly). Rachel Harris is an author to watch and if you love contemporary YA, and a delectable love story, this is the book for you!

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THE FINE ART OF PRETENDING on Goodreads

About Rachel Harris:

Award-winning and Bestselling author Rachel Harris writes humorous love stories about sassy girls next door and the hot guys that make them swoon. Emotion, vibrant settings, and strong relationships are a staple in each of her books...and kissing. Lots of kissing.

An admitted Diet Mountain Dew addict and homeschool mom, she gets through each day by laughing at herself, hugging her kids, and watching way too much Food Network with her husband. She writes young adult, new adult, and adult romance, and LOVES talking with readers.

Links:

Website ** Facebook ** Twitter ** GoodreadsThis review was originally posted on Girls Love To Read

[bookishzelda]

I was so excited for The Fine Art of Pretending that even though I had an advance copy for a while I waited to read it. Sound crazy? Of course but I knew that I wouldn’t want it to end and that’s the truth. I love Rachel Harris and her books and I have to say that this is my favorite of our YA. I’m actually picky when it comes to contemporary reads because they have never been a top genre for me so when I find a book like this that I adore. I really adore it.

Wow so Aly is without a doubt is my high school soul sister. I kept thinking, this was my life in high school!! I even did a makeover thing because much like her, even though I was a dancer and fit, I would hide behind baggy clothes. My makeover didn’t last, the extra attention creeped me out and I went back to my laid back style. I loved that Aly learns through her own transformation what it means to really be yourself and that the people who really matter to you are going to love you no matter what.

I loved Brandon. I liked how casual he was and I don’t mean in the “casuals” kind of way. He’s just that awesome guy that’s protective of Aly but also completely clueless in some departments. I see why he is scared of a long term relationship and I like how he also grows in the book. The characters grow together! I love that.

I loved the story, it’s one of my favorite plots. Fake relationships lead to real feelings. I also really like how Justin isn’t just some random fantasy guy. He’s for starters, friends with Brandon and there is more to him than just good looks and bad attitude. I like that we do get to know a little bit more about him besides the fact that he is the target. Also mean girl Lauren is kind of fun character as well.

I love the writing. I just wanted to speed through some things because I was getting so frustrated but at the same time I didn’t because I was enjoying the story. I liked the strong representations of family and friendships. It was great to see that both characters had people in their corners. Plus the parents were also there to kind of say, hey you are just a kid it’s okay to not know what the heck you are doing. I loved that Kara and Gabi are so different but are such good friends to Aly. That Drew and Carlos have Brandon’s back but they also have Justin’s. Just a great mix of people.

So I’m a definite fan of this book and now that it’s over, it makes me a little sad. Of course I have the next one to gear up and get excited for now. Bring on Book 2, The Fine Art of Awesome (okay so it’s not going to be called that).