Time Bomb - My Review of THE FINE ART OF PRETENDING by Rachel Harris

Title: The Fine Art of Pretending
Author: Rachel Harris
Publisher: Spencer Hill Contemporary
Date: 9/30/2014
Source: ARC from InkSlingerPR

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THE FINE ART OF PRETENDING Synopsis: 
 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. 

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.  

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This was a cute read.  Rachel Harris really took me back to my high school days with this story.  The characters we all very well thought out and presented in a way that made me love each and every one of them.

Aly Reed is sick of being one of the guys.  She is determined to change her image at school and is convinced that getting a date with Justin Carter, #1 Player at her high school, is the way to accomplish her goal.  Now she just needs a way to get his attention.

Brandon Taylor has been Aly's best friend for years, so when she asks him to help her by pretending to hook up with her, he is skeptical, but goes along with the plan.  Soon his feelings get all mixed up and he finds himself jealous of her ploy to get Justin interested in her.

Brandon and Aly's relationship is something special.  I love how they are together and things really steam up as they begin their fake performance for their friends and the school.

Of course, things don't quite work out as planned.  As feelings get confused and hearts become involved, Brandon and Aly both begin to see that they have crossed lines that cannot be uncrossed.  Now they have to decide if they are willing to lose each other in order to hang on to their original life plans.

4 out of 5 strars

 Time Bomb by All Time Low