Friendship-turned-lovers romance is one of my favorite troupes. I love seeing a couple who are such amazing friends, who understand each other on a different and more meaningful level, fall head-over-heels in love with each other. I think this book had just the right amount of drama, humor, and romance, which is kind of hard to do, especially in a YA novel. There always seems to be too little of one aspect or not enough of another, but Harris got it right with The Fine Art of Pretending. What she's got going on here isn't anything new, obviously, but Harris presents it with her own flair just makes it a great read. 
 Aly was a great female protagonist. She's the shy, good girl who is never really "seen" and she wants to make a change. Even better, she did it while still staying true to herself somewhat and I liked her so much more because of that. Through changing her image and being something she clearly wasn't, she finds out that being herself is perfectly acceptable and even downright awesome. Her relationship with Brandon was one I reveled in. They were just so cute together. It broke my heart when things went sour, after they realize their feelings for each other, and I kind of wish they handled things differently, a bit too much miscommunication, or lack of communication, really, but it was still good. 
 I also loved her friends. Gabi had a bit of an edge to her, but I loved how much they all cared for one another. So many times in YA books I see girlfriends who aren't exactly the best. Something doesn't go their way and all of a sudden, they turn into totally different people. That wasn't the case here and I respect Harris for that. 
 This book is exactly what I've come to expect and appreciate from Rachel Harris. I just adore her writing and her characters. They always brighten my day and I always manage to finish her books at lightning speed and come out much happier because of it. I swear, there hasn't been a book of hers that I haven't loved. She's just got this kind of feel-good element going on in her books and I devour everything she writes. Yes, this book isn't your realistic teen world, but there's nothing wrong with that every once in awhile. If you want a light-hearted romance with fun characters, you can't go wrong with Rachel Harris!