books & reading
reviews
Book Review: Ten Rules for Faking It by Sophie Sullivan
Monday, July 12, 2021
Ten Rules for Faking It by Sophie Sullivan
Genre: Romance, Rom-Com
Synopsis: What happens when your love life becomes the talk of the town? As birthdays go, this year’s for radio producer Everly Dean hit rock-bottom. Worse than the “tonsillectomy birthday.” Worse than the birthday her parents decided to split (the first time). But catching your boyfriend cheating on you with his assistant? Even clichés sting.
But this is Everly’s year! She won’t let her anxiety hold her back. She’ll pitch her podcast idea to her boss. There’s just one problem. Her boss, Chris, is very cute. (Of course). Also, he's extremely distant (which means he hates her, right? Or is that the anxiety talking)? And, Stacey the DJ didn’t mute the mic during Everly’s rant about Simon the Snake (syn: Cheating Ex). That’s three problems.
Suddenly, people are lining up to date her, Bachelorette-style, fans are voting (Reminder: never leave house again), and her interest in Chris might be a two-way street. It’s a lot for a woman who could gold medal in people-avoidance. She’s going to have to fake it ‘till she makes it to get through all of this.
Perhaps she’ll make a list: The Ten Rules for Faking It.
Because sometimes making the rules can find you happiness when you least expect it.
Content/Trigger Warnings: Infidelity, anxiety disorder
Overall rating: ★★★☆☆
Let me be honest - around the time I read Ten Rules for Faking It, I read about three other books that were so similar I’m not sure I can distinguish the four. And this was the last in a catch I read almost entirely back-to-back, so maybe the lower rating is due to me just being over the repetition. I wanted to love the book and I really did like the idea of the storyline, but I found myself to be quite irked much too often.
I enjoy romantic novels that have strong female leads and have diverse characters. I didn’t dislike Everly, but I was worried too often that she would sacrifice her own goals and plans for a guy that she doesn’t even think likes her so much. That isn’t to say that Everly wasn’t a strong character. One of the major pieces of representation within the novel was Everly’s apparent social anxiety. It was so interesting to see the mixture of Everly’s anxiety mixed with the bachelorette-themed plot line. I appreciated Chris’s understanding and supporting of Everly’s anxious tendencies. And side note: I also really loved all the Veronica Mars’ references!
"I always worry that if I open up too much, all people will see is the anxiety. It consumes me sometimes, worrying about that. But I've recently learned that even when people see it clearly, it doesn't always push them away. Not the ones who matter, anyway."
But what I didn’t love so much was the constant back and forth of “I like him/her but there’s this issue” over and over and over. It was so repetitive and just really annoying after a certain point. It just screams “do it already and get it over with!”. Like, I get it. The sexual tension is part of a romantic story, but at a certain point things just have to change for better or worse.
Lastly, once the book came to a close it was so abrupt. I don’t love when things are so damn wrapped up there’s no room for further growth. There’s the aspiration of a romantic novel, but there should also be a realistic ending that leaves a little open-endedness so as the reader, you can imagine the endless possibilities for what’s next to come.
Honestly, by the time I finished the book, I was just so over it. I would read Sophie Sullivan again, but this particular story just left me too annoyed to really appreciate.
*I received a copy of this book free in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are entirely my own.
0 comments