Pretending
My Rating: 4
Genre: Contemporary Fiction/Romance
Format: eARC*
Publication Date: April 2, 2020
Author: Holly Bourne
Similar To
Pretending Blurb
“It made me cry and laugh and rage…A really important, timely book. Sheer brilliance.” —Lucy Foley, New York Times bestselling author of The Guest List
“Thoughtful, smart and painfully true.” —Cosmopolitan UK
He said he was looking for a “partner in crime,” which everyone knows is shorthand for “a woman who isn’t real.”
April is kind, pretty and relatively normal—yet she can’t seem to get past date five. Every time she thinks she’s found someone to trust, they reveal themselves to be awful, leaving her heartbroken. And angry. Until she realizes that men aren’t looking for real women—they’re looking for Gretel.
Gretel is perfect—beautiful but low-maintenance, sweet but never clingy, sexy but not too easy. She’s your regular, everyday Manic-Pixie-Dream-Girl-Next-Door with no problems.
When April starts pretending to be Gretel, dating becomes much more fun—especially once she reels in the unsuspecting Joshua. Finally, April is the one in control. It’s refreshing. Exhilarating, even. But as she and Joshua grow closer, and the pressure of keeping her painful past a secret begins to build, how long will she be able to keep on pretending?
“The most freeing, reassuring book on dating after #MeToo I’ve read. Perceptive. Hilarious. Brilliant.” —Laura Jane Williams, author of Our Stop
Pretending Review
As a quick reminder, here is my rating structure:
- 1 star: Did not finish
- 2 Stars: Finished but I do not recommend
- 3 Stars: Liked but could use some improvements
- 4 Stars: Loved this book!
- 5 Stars: Rare. The unput-down-able, binge read obsession.
My star ratings are also based also genre based. I compare all books with books of the same genre. While I would love to believe that my love of books in general transcends all bias, there are genres I prefer over others.
I’m human.
Example: If I read a mystery novel and think it deserves a 5-star rating, then I have compared it to other mystery books, and determined it to be one of my absolute favorites. The unputdownable mystery.
This will hopefully keep me from comparing Outlander, a personal obsession of mine, with the experience of reading The Hate You Give. Both 5 star books for me, but completely and totally different. I couldn’t even try to rate them against each other, so I don’t. Makes my life easier. 🙂
My Thoughts
Conclusion
Love it or hate it, Pretending is an important novel that I hope makes the book clubs rounds soon. Has Reece read it yet?
*Special thanks to Holly Bourne, Netgalley, and Mira Books for providing a copy of Pretending in exchange for an honest review.
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