• This ARC was received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
• She’s Faking It by Kristin Rockaway
• Genre: Women’s Fiction
• Pub Date: June 30, 2020
• Rating: 5 out of 5 book stacks!

Goodreads Summary: Bree Bozeman isn’t exactly pursuing the life of her dreams. Then again, she isn’t too sure what those dreams are. After dropping out of college, she’s living a pretty chill life in the surf community of Pacific Beach, San Diego…if “chill” means delivering food as a GrubGetter, and if it means “uneventful”. But when Bree starts a new Instagram account — @breebythesea — one of her posts gets a signal boost from none other than wildly popular self-help guru Demi DiPalma, owner of a lifestyle brand empire. Suddenly, Bree just might be a rising star in the world of Instagram influencing. Is this the direction her life has been lacking? It’s not a career choice she’d ever seriously considered, but maybe it’s a sign from the universe. After all, Demi’s the real deal… right? Everything is lining up for Bree: life goals, career, and even a blossoming romance with the chiseled guy next door, surf star Trey Cantu. But things are about to go sideways fast, and even the perfect filter’s not gonna fix it. Instagram might be free, but when your life looks flawless on camera, what’s the cost? 

There is something about Kristin Rockaway’s books that I truly enjoy. While I was reading How to Hack a Heartbreak, which was about a girl coder creating a website, I was in the midst of creating this website to commit to my book reviews. I could relate and loved seeing how a super successful site could be. While reading She’s Faking It, here I am trying to navigate social media while Bree is working to become Instagram famous. Timing truly is everything!

I found Bree to be very endearing. She’s in her 20’s, and doesn’t have life all figured out. Who did at that age? She lives in a beach town, but her ex-boyfriend just moved out to “find himself.” She gets by with working for a food delivery app, but just barely. She prides herself on her stellar app rating, but if you asked her what her passion is, she draws a blank. When I was in my 20’s, if someone asked me what my passion was, I sounded a lot like Bree. I didn’t have anything I was passionate about, and I had no idea how to figure it out. I went to college, not because I wanted to, but because that’s what you did. I could relate to her struggles.

Bree, like many of us, would look at social media, and wonder how her life would be if it was anything like the hashtags she views. Bree gets a peek of that influencer lifestyle when her sister, Natasha, lends her a book by lifestyle guru Instagram famous Demi DiPalma that is truly inspiring to her to change her life! It’s so inspiring, it actually had me making a visionboard at 11pm last night after the kids went to sleep. No joke. Here’s mine:

Bree decides to make her visionboard on Instagram, and begins to build a following and gains collaborations. Oh to be an influencer! Sure, there’s no money, but look at the swag! And the likes! And the envy of others! And by following the advice of the book, she also begins to date the boy next door, who just happens to be a pro-surfer. It’s working! Fake it ’til you make it!

Reality isn’t as fun and easy as it is to take a picture and throw on a cool filter. And when Bree gets a chance to truly see the inner workings of a famous Instagram influencer, things don’t turn out exactly as planned!

I really enjoyed this one! Rockaway created a character who’s world was interesting to be in. I’ve read books before where I could not tolerate the main character. Some had no growth. Some had the “whoa is me my life isn’t my fault I’m so unlucky” vibe that would grate on my nerves. I never experienced any of that with Bree. She felt more like someone I could relate to when I was in my 20’s. How my friendships would have been if I was born during the social media era. I enjoyed going on this ride with Bree, and am adding Kristin Rockaway on my favorite authors list!