- Pub. Date:September 30, 2014
- Publisher:Spencer Hill Contemporary
- Pages: 256
- Series:The Fine Art of Pretending #1
- Rating:Liked It
- Goodreads/Amazon/Book Depository
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.
First Line: " The cleavage popping out of my scandalously low-cut halter top heralds the beginning of Operation Sex Appeal."
Review:Every once in while you just want a light fun romance read and that is what The Fine Art of Pretending was.
So it's all pretty simple Alyssa Reed is tired of being the friend to all the hot guys instead she wants to be the girl that those guys chase after. She doesn't want to be seen as the commitment type of girl but more of the casual type which okay yea its pretty stupid and I kind of was annoyed with her in the beginning because of her reasons behind wanting to do "Operation Sex Appeal" but the girl grew on me as the story continued. Anyways she asks Brandon her awesomely incredible best friend to be her pretend boyfriend and that's where lines are crossed that make both of them question their friendship and if it should be more.
I loved Brandon he was this sweet amazing best friend, honestly I was a little jealous of Alyssa because I wish had a guy best friend like that growing up. My only thing is that it took Alyssa changing on the outside for him to see her as more then just a friend, that kind of didn't sit well with me. She was pretty without all that makeup and tight fitted clothes so why did her having to change the way she dressed up make him finally realize the girl of his dreams was her all along?
I liked how everything came together at the end Alyssa may have started off with "Operation Sex Appeal" but she came out of that learning a really good lesson on life. Also even though it was a predictable read I was still eager to see how things played out at the end and what would finally bring the two together.
Also another big plus for me was that this had dual point of views, I loved knowing what Brandon was thinking and going through during Alyssa's transformation.
Now has this plot been done before...yes. Was it predictable...yes. Even with all that I actually still liked it and I have every intention of picking up the next book because I am seriously hoping it is going to be about Justin.
Memorable Quotes
~"The scowl on her face is so out of place that it's like being annoyed with a grumpy kitten."
~"Loving someone, being loved...It's worth the pain of losing them."
