Faking It by Jade Winters

Twenty four year old Danni Gardener’s ambition is to be a writer. Although talented, she receives one rejection letter after another from different publishers. Her best gay male friend and housemate, Josh, comes up with a solution. If Danni agrees to pretend to be his fiancée for one night, Josh will ask his father to use his publishing company to publish a book for her. What can go wrong? It’s a win-win situation. Who can possibly be hurt?

Top notch, non fiction editor, Brooke Gibson, is tasked with working with Danni to get her book edited for publication. Brooke is having problems of her own. Her partner Megan is a commitment phobe and Brooke is fed up with her constant absences. Their relationship is not going at all well.

From the first time they meet, there is a strong and immediate attraction between Danni and Brooke. Unfortunately to all intents and purposes, Danni is engaged to Josh, the one night of pretence has turned out to be endless and Brooke is with Megan.

Will Danni reveal her true colors and tell Brooke the truth about her and Josh? Or will she go on letting Brooke think she’s engaged and straight? Will Brooke throw caution to the wind and pursue a straight woman? Then there is Megan, what should Brooke do about her? Such a tangled web.

Another winner from Jade Winters. This book is well written and edited. A true lesfic chick-lit romance with a good dose of humor thrown in for good measure. A quick and fast paced page turner from start to finish.

The two main characters, Danni and Brooke are so obviously meant to be together. I immediately connected with them both. Although I found Josh to have Danni’s best interests at heart, I did feel like slapping him for his cowardice. As for Megan, she’s the character I love to hate in a book. Josh’s dad also played an excellent part.

The way the story unfolded had me on the edge of my seat turning the pages so fast it’s a wonder my ereader didn’t catch fire. I’m going to have to re-read this book soon so that I can enjoy it at a more leisurely pace.

Although this is chick-lit, this story did have a more serious side to it too. There is lies, deceptions, angst and homophobia all entwined with a light hearted sense of humor. So, it’s not all doom and gloom, but a very well thought out and put together work of art. 

I’ve read all of Jade’s books and with each one I can see her growth as a writer. In my honest opinion, I would rate her stories up there with the very best writers of lesbian fiction. I always, without exception, enjoy her work and eagerly look forward to her next book.