The Ecstasy of Faking It

starring: NIA BAKER & JABARI BANKS

Emily has it all with golden boy Charlie until she catches him with her best friend Jennifer, pushing her towards reckless bad boy Adrian, who’s hiding a bloody secret. Betrayed and torn, Emily can’t keep denying her dangerous attraction.

REVIEW

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thank goodness for @inkittcandyjar - they are the most dependable app out there at the moment, putting out simple, powerful love stories every week that very rarely miss the mark

@niabaker is delightful as slightly naive Emily who is just looking to belong somewhere, but gets taken in by piece of work Jennifer @kamolet Kami is brilliant switching from beaming smile to vicious attack in seconds

Thank goodness then for hustler Adrian, @jabaribanks who in the YA classic trope needs a tutor to get his English grades up so he doesn't get benched (we would lose a lot of YA stories if our jocks didn't struggle with their grades)

What I enjoyed about this version of this story is that there is a frission of chemistry at the beginning but then it does move more to friendship initially before our leads then deepen the connection and fall in love

This is why we all watch romance, we want to see the sparks and magic of 2 people connecting and falling in love.

And this project does it brilliantly.

The story is slight, I do wish the super cast had been given a little more to work with, but I am not picking here. It is the slight issue with Candyjar projects. The shorter run times for the famous 5 day shoot does sometimes mean the story doesn't quite have the depth you want. I could have spent more time with these characters.

💖 Top swoonworthy moment:

This is a lovely slow burn romance, our leading couple take a while to warm up to each other. We have whole conversations, where Emily and Adrian slowly reveal more of themselves to each other, and the attraction grows. These moments are often rushed in verticals, not on Candyjar where the dialogue is given time to breathe. And then we have a super poetry moment at the end with echoes of 10 Things I Hate About You.

🦹🏼‍♂️ Top villain award:

I’m so sorry about my namesakes in verticals. We tend to be awful. And Jennifer is a high maintenance, entitled piece of work who is only interested in Nia if she can use her to boost her own fragile ego. Kudos to Kami Loertscher for not softening her.

😂 Comedy gold:

Jennifer and Charlie’s relationship. The whole argument in the background where she is telling him off for texting rather than calling her, and demanding he calls every hour… that poor boy!

🎺 Unsung hero:

I love Adrian so much - especially the brief moment we overhear him saying forget crypto, hosting parties is the way to go. He has worked out how to make his money! Interestingly this is how mega successful entrepreneur Daniel Priestley started out, putting on parties. Adrian is going to do well in this world. Although perhaps the leap from F in English to poetry major is a bit much?! Not sure.

✍🏼 DETAILS

Director: Alexandria Collins | 2026

Available on Candyjar