New Adult Book Club discussion

So let's get started talking about Faking It! This thread is for chapters 1 - 10, so there may be spoilers about the first 10 chapters. If you want to remain completely unspoiled and haven't read that far, you may want to avoid this thread.

For those of you who are ready to talk about it: what did you think of the first 10 chapters? I'm enjoying the fast pace of this book. No time is being wasted.

One thing I'm really enjoying about both Cade and Max is that they aren't one-dimensional. Cade is the nice guy with a little bit of an edge, while Max is the edgy girl who does have a heart.

What are your thoughts?

Wow, this book moves so fast! I told myself I would read it slower this month and be better at commenting and of course I saw the days turn over the last two nights and my journey ended already :( So not what I expected by the title (hee hee). Great find! I can not believe Cade agreed to Max's little acting gig but it was totally awesome too. It's funny how the older I get, I wish i could go back and be a bit bolder in my impulses. Wonder what kind of trouble I would have gotten into then?!?

I definitely agree with the pace. I like the humor and the banter between Max and Cade. It's entertaining, but I don't feel wowed by it, though. I'm only a few chapters in and I can guess what's going to happen--the plot seems very predictable. I do like the 'bad girl'/good guy dynamic for a change.

It is odd that Cade agreed to this "acting gig," especially the Thanksgiving dinner! I think even if someone agreed to play along for coffee, they'd probably avoid dinner. A simple "my family's expecting me at home" would suffice. But then, we'd have no book ;)

I also wish I'd been a little more daring in college. I was so "serious" about everything, trying to "set up my future." Little did I realize- that's the time to be a little crazy.

I hear what you're saying about the book feeling a little predictable, Nessie. That's the challenge of writing in a genre, I think: the HEA is expected, which limits what can happen.

I think Cora Carmack is trying to freshen things up with the different characterizations (good guy rather than bad boy, etc). Did you expect the fight right outside the bar, however? I didn't see that coming!

The fight thing did make me like Cade more, and it was precisely because I didn't see it coming. I would've liked just a few more twists and turns like that along the way. If Cade had just been the type of guy who always did the right thing, or really was perfect, it would've been boring. I ended up liking him more than I thought I would, especially after the first book. I do like how Carmack mixed things up. On a whole I liked it--predictable parts aside--I read it in one sitting. I think we all knew they would end up together from the first blurb about the book, and that's fine.

The only thing that really bothered me was the ending (I won't say what happened since this is chapt 1-10, lol). It just felt rushed, considering the buildup beforehand...I'll leave that discussion until everyone's through!

It sounds like it did hold your interest if you read it in one sitting- lol. But I see your point about things feeling a little too "plotted" or "pat." I wonder how readers would react to a couple not ending up together?

It's expected in traditional romance. Perhaps new adult readers would be more open to not having an HEA, just for the sake of variety?

I'm not sure you could pull off anything other than a HEA in a romance without upsetting reader. The romance would have to be a secondary plot for that to work. I would like to see more different types of stories in NA, though. Something like this, while entertaining, doesn't have much depth. I think of it as junk food. I'll read it, enjoy it for what it is and it's a nice break from reality.

Ideally, though, would love some dark, thought provoking stuff that sticks with you after you read it.

I think NA is definitely going to expand. It makes sense NA romances would start out being popular: romance is a very popular genre. There are already other types of NA books, I'm told, so the type of story you want to read may not be all that far off.

I really enjoyed Cade in this book. I think I can understand why he went to the Thanksgiving dinner, it was better than sitting home alone pining over an old love. Plus I think he had some fun watching Max squirm around her family.

I really enjoyed when Cade defended Max. I didn't expect that but I think the fight was when I started to see Cade start to really grow up from the sulking guy who didn't get the girl. I started rooting for him and Max after that.