Faking It by Jennifer Crusie

She has a history of forgery she's trying to forget. He has a knack for scamming he's trying to resist. But one fateful night, their good intentions go bad, And what they get up to is downright immoral, illegal, and irresistible.

The Story:
Meet the Goodnights, a respectable family who have run a respectable art gallery for generations. There’s Gwen, the matriarch, who sedates herself with Double-Crostics and double vodkas; Eve, the oldest daughter, who has a slight identity problem (she has two); and Nadine, the granddaughter, who’s ready to follow in the family footsteps as soon as she can find a set that isn’t leading off a cliff. Holding everyone together is Matilda, the youngest daughter, who’s inherited the secret locked down in the basement of the Goodnight Gallery, a secret that she’s willing to do almost anything to keep, including breaking into a house in the dead of night to steal back her past.

Meet the Dempseys, or at least meet Davy, a reformed con man who’s just been ripped off for a cool three million by his financial manager, who then gallantly turned it over to Clea Lewis, the most beautiful sociopath Davy ever slept with. Davy wants the money back, but more than that, he’ll do anything to keep Clea from winning, including breaking into her house in the dead of night to steal back his future.

One collision in a closet later, Tilda and Davy reluctantly join forces to combat Clea, suspicious art collectors, a disgruntled heir, and an exasperated hit man, all the while coping with a mutant dachshund, a jukebox stuck in the sixties, questionable sex, a painting of three evil fishermen closing in on a dyspeptic tuna, multiple personalities, miscellaneous Goodnights and Dempseys, and the growing realization that they can’t turn their backs on the people they were meant to be... or the people they were born to love.

After being thoroughly impressed by Welcome to Temptation, I was very excited to read the follow up book on Davy Dempsey. I couldn't wait to see Davy in the spotlight and to see the woman who would match our reformed con man.

Davy was a FAB hero. I knew he would be from his secondary role in WTT, but reading Faking It merely confirmed it. He made me laugh and he made me blush, and I loved how he continually came to Tilda's rescue. First with the paintings and then when he tried to take care of her the way she looked after her family. I loved it.

Tilda was an alright heroine, nothing absolutely fabulous about her for me. Although I did like the fact that she wasn't perfect in every way. I also appreciated her little quirks and habits which made her all the more real and likable. I really liked the the secondary characters - Eve/Louise (Matilda's sister), Nadine and Gwen as they all helped to create a richer tale to be told. It was nice to get to know them. And very nice to see Davy become protective Tilda's family too.

Between Welcome to Temptation and Faking It, WTT is definitely my favourite. I think after reading WTT, my expectations of Faking It was a touch high and when it fell short (only by a very little!) I was disappointed. But nevertheless, Faking It is still a great read. I'm glad I finally got around to reading it.

3.5/5