Lisa is a card-carrying, book-loving Gryffindor. Solid. And that’s why everyone knows she’s awesome. Well, except for her crush, Matt. He only ever sees her as a friend. Plus, he’s got his eye on another girl. Oh well, plenty of fish and all that. Good thing Lisa just read a book on the “wedding ring phenomenon”–you get more attention when you’re already taken. What if Lisa pretends to be Matt’s … Matt’s plus one? Maybe it’ll help Matt get his girl and Lisa can hook her own fish.
After the plan works, Matt suddenly claims he doesn’t like the view from the friend-zone and wants her instead… But she isn’t interested in being anyone’s second choice. If this guy wants to earn her attention, he’ll need more than some silly “phenomenon.”
He’ll need to go all out…
Disclaimer: This book contains multiple nerd-girl references, cute puppies, and snarky humor that will make you LOL!
Each book in the Dating Dilemmas series is STANDALONE:
* The Dating Debate
* 99% Faking It
more
Every now and then, I love to read a good young adult romance. A romance that is young, and innocent. So, I was browsing through Netgalley and saw this one, and fell in love with the synopsis and the cover (I mean, seriously. How adorable is that cover? I can just feel the hug he’s giving her!). I grabbed it up. I’m super glad I did, too, because I have a new author to read more work by, and characters that have stolen my heart for the long haul.
I loved the way Chris Cannon chiseled these characters. They are true-to-life and came alive within the story. I felt more like I was watching a movie on the big screen than I was reading a book. Lisa and Matt reminded me a lot of some of the kids I used to know in high school. Lisa had a crush on a guy who just wanted to be friends…..or so she thought. Friend zone happened a lot back in my day at school!
Watching Lisa and Matt together in this read was super fun. They were witty and so cute. I loved watching them realize their feelings for each other, and their banter with each other was fun. The sparks flew but nothing was over the top, and Lisa and Matt would be great characters for any young adult (or adult!) to read.
Chris Cannon has a beautiful talent. The way she weaves the story together, even though it is the second in her Dating Dilemmas series, I wasn’t overly confused by the happenings surrounding Lisa and Matt’s story. I felt a part of these young people’s lives and had so much fun reading it! I definitely recommend this book with 4 stars and am looking forward to reading book 1 and other books by this author.
*I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley, Entangled Publishing and was under no obligation to post a review, positive or negative.* Chris Cannon
I am absolutely in love with this series! Chris Cannon’s characters are so quirky and cute. You can’t help but be pulled into their stories and fall in love with them. It was also nice to see characters from the first book included, and although this is a series, it can def be read as a stand alone. Matt and Lisa are probably my fave so far, I really like Matt although it took him time to figure out what he wanted, but I love that he gave Lisa that same opportunity. Matt is just not one to wear his heart on his sleeve and communicating how he feels but I think that’s what pulls me into him. Plus Lisa and her BFF are big book nerds which I love even more LOL This is def one book you want on your reading list, especially when you just want a fresh read to relax to.
I received a free copy of this book to read and review for Wicked Reads, so here is my review.
3.5 -4 stars
First off I have to say that I usually don’t read YA but once in a while, I will try one. I thought this one sounded cute and that is just what it was with a whole lot of high school drama thrown in.
Lisa likes Matt but Matt likes someone else so he has put Lisa in the friend’s zone. While Lisa sees that Matt is not going to get the girl he wants, she has decided that she will be his friend. When a new guy comes to school, Lisa is attracted to him.
Matt has had a crush on his sister’s best friend forever and now that she has found her perfect boyfriend, Matt knows it’s too late. So what does he do? He comes up with a plan to fake date Lisa to make his dream girl jealous. And it might make things for Lisa and the new guy work out too.
But what happens when Matt realizes that his perfect girl has always been right in from of him? Will Lisa fall for the new guy? Can Matt convince Lisa that they belong together before it’s too late?
This is a first for me from this author and I might be in the mood for more from her in the near future. If you are a YA reader and like the drama from high school, then this one is for you. I hope you like it too.
**Wicked Reads Review Team**
Adorable!
Lisa and Matt were both very sympathetic characters–what book-reading girl can’t identify with a nerdy book-loving heroine who sometimes feels a bit less-than when confronted with confident, bubbly blonde maybe-rivals? Both Matt and Lisa weren’t 100% sure at all times who was the right one for them–though it might be a bit unusual for a romance novel, IRL it’s realistic at any age, especially when you’re in high school and still figuring things out. They managed to find their way to a satisfying HEA (Matt’s book for Lisa was fantastic) and though they made annoying mistakes along the way, they weren’t over the top unbelievable or ones that they couldn’t realistically come back from. There were many LOL moments along the way to their happy for now and hopeful for the future ending, which more than overshadowed any facepalm ones 🙂
99% Faking It is the second book in Ms. Canon’s Dating Dilemmas series, but it worked just fine as a standalone. Nina (Lisa’s BFF) and West were totally cute here, though, and I’m looking forward to going back and giving their book a read too–and crossing my fingers for more in the future!
Rating: 4 stars / B+
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.
Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team
Erica –
3.5 Stars
As a big fan of Chris Cannon, and the young adult genre, I was super excited to get my hands on this novel. Perhaps it’s my mood. I’ve been distracted, have a lot going on in life, and struggling to work. I wanted a nice, easy dose of escapism, but it just didn’t work for me. I will chalk this up to my mood/reading mood/reader’s-block. I do believe young adults will swoon for 99% Faking It. As an adult who reads this genre, in the mindset I’m in, I wasn’t as entertained as I could have been/hoped to be. This is no fault of the author or the story itself, and I’m sure young adults and those young at heart will swoon for the novel. There was an ethical, moral, and maturity issue I had a difficult time traversing as well.
The rating reflects the entertainment value and my enjoyment.
Lisa and Matt are considered good friends. Lisa has an unrequited crush on Matt, while he’s infatuated with another girl. While I’m sucker for the premise of friends turned ‘more than friends,’ it didn’t feel as if Lisa and Matt were friends at all. They were more acquaintances, as they didn’t know much about one another and Matt had an almost antagonistic way of speaking to Lisa, which was not friendly at all.
Matt and Lisa concoct a scheme to get Matt his girl. Lisa is hesitant at first, obviously fearing their friendship won’t survive…
This is actually a PSA for the younger crowd reading the novel, maybe the adults too: the fake dating to gain the attention of your crush isn’t one of my favorites. Simply because at my advanced age of 40, I have an opposing view on making someone jealous. Personally, I see it as the one trying to make someone else jealous is using the other person, while hammering home to his crush, “if you don’t like me, someone else will,” which I find abusive to be honest. Manipulative. If your crush did like you back, saw you with another girl, she’d assume you didn’t want her and move on. She’d be hurt, not driven to gain your attention. If she were a moral person, she wouldn’t want to butt into another’s relationship (the fake one). If anything, it makes the person pitting two others against each other seem like he’s a prize – he’s not. No one is. Man-up and tell this person you like them, don’t manipulate. So I don’t understand this facet of the mating dance at all. It’s unhealthy, but everyone seems to do it, no matter their age.
Don’t get me started on the friend-zone. The friend-zone doesn’t exist. You’re either her friend, or you’re in the friend-zone, pretending to be her friend. Which is also manipulative and skeevy. Either be her friend, or tell her you like her, and if she doesn’t like you that way back, either remain her friend, or cut ties because you can’t handle your own feelings.
As you can see, between the fake dating to make someone jealous, and how dare I be in the friend-zone construct, I had a difficult time enjoying a novel by an author, whose writing style is always a big hit with me. Mostly because if they are behaving like this as teenagers, I can’t buy the romance angle or the longevity, because it’s setting up the future of a string of broken relationships through life with this unhealthy mindset.
I apologize for the PSA, not truly reviewing the book. I just had to voice why I struggled. Yes, I took this too seriously. Again, it’s the mood I’m in. I’m positive someone who is in a light and fun mood will find the novel evokes similar light moods. I’m positive young adults will eat this novel up with a spoon. But my jaded adult mind saw things from a different perspective – a parental one – and this took the enjoyment away from me, and that’s on me, not a dig against the author or the novel itself.
Young Adult age-range: 12+ there is adult language.
Reviewers received a free copy of this book to read and review for Wicked Reads.
Check out our 99% Faking It post on Wicked Reads at http://bit.ly/WR99FakingIt
I wasn’t a fan of this book. The relationship seemed unhealthy and too much drama for me. It didn’t come across that they were good friends. They had never been to each others houses or knew what kind of pizza the other liked, etc. There was an overuse of wanting to punch someone in the face and an absentee father.
There was also a moderate amount of mild language, no sex (although the mom mentions to not be pressured, wear a condom when ready, healthy part of an adult relationship, it would be best to wait until college, etc), the mom also talks about her boyfriend moving in when her daughter moves away to college because she doesn’t believe in marriage anymore. She honestly didn’t seem like a good therapist.
If you would like to read a book about two good friends becoming a couple (that is a clean teen romance), I would recommend “Love, Life, and the List” by Kasie West. It you’d like a good clean teen romance about friends faking dating but then falling in love, I’d recommend “Don’t Forget Me” or “It Was Always You” both by Judy Corey.
As a huge Harry Potter fan, any book that says a character is a Gryffindor is immediately going on my TBR.
I am obsessed with all of the HP references in this book. I loved Lisa and Matt in the first book in this series and their story was amazing.
Once I started this book, I couldn’t stop. I lost quite a bit of sleep rooting for Lisa and Matt and it was worth every second of it. This book rolls some of my favorite tropes into one fantastic story. I love the maturity of these characters but it’s still believable that they’re in high school. Fingers crossed that there’s more to this series!! I want all of these characters to get a HEA!!
*This is my voluntary review of an advanced reader copy*
99% faking it by Chris Cannon a five-star read that you wont need to fake enjoying. This is the second novel in the Dating Dilemma series, but they can be read as stand-alone as I read this one first not realising it was a series, I will be going back to check the first one out. I loved Lisa through the whole story, I loved her in all her nerd girl awesomeness. Matt, I struggled with at times, but in the end, I realised he is a dog lover so he can’t be all that bad, and you just know once he grows up a little, he will see what’s really important. Throw in some amazing secondary characters including one with amazing hair and a couple addicted to minty’s and some teenage drama and you have a great story.
-‘Operation Fake Boyfriend is on’-
-‘The Theory of How Guys Are Idiots and Only Want What They Can’t Have.”’-…
I read some of the other reviews and kind of rolled my eyes. Yes, you could get stuck on gender roles and stereotypes and analyze it like a piece of literature but, let’s face it, this is written for typical teenagers who just want to read some realistic fluff and this is exactly what you’re going to get here. It’s your typical high school romance. Kids have crushes, fall in and out of like, and they have their happily ever after.
-‘“Maybe there’s another way this could go,” Nina said.
“Matt could realize you two are meant to be together. And we could have a lot of fun trying to push him in that direction.”
My brain felt fried from running through all the terrible ways this could explode in my face. “What do you mean?”
“There’s nothing to say you can’t continue trying new looks…maybe sexier looks…looks that will make him regret that what’s going on between you isn’t real.” ‘-
I found it to be completely realistic, light, fun, and a good read overall.
If you’re looking for something deep, go for the classics. There is some swearing but no sex so it reaches a broad audience, and it’s relatable. I got an early copy and these are my own thoughts. I’m not receiving any compensation and I’m not related to anyone connected to this book. It’s a fun, light read and I recommend it for teens or anyone who enjoys this style of book.