Review: Pretending

Title: Pretending

Author: Holly Bourne

Publisher: 31st March 2020 by Hachette Australia

Pages: 304 pages

How I Read It: ARC book

Genre: contemporary fiction, romance

My Rating: 2 crowns

Synopsis:

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.

If only April could be more like Gretel.

Gretel is exactly what men want - she's a Regular Everyday Manic Pixie Dream Girl Next Door With No Problems.

The problem is, Gretel isn't real. And April is now claiming to be her.

As soon as April starts 'being' Gretel, dating becomes much more fun - especially once she reels in the unsuspecting Joshua.

Finally, April is the one in control, but can she control her own feelings? And as she and Joshua grow closer, how long will she be able to keep pretending?

My Thoughts

My first book by Holly Bourne and I have come away with really mixed feelings about it. It tackles some confronting issues and, by reading other reviews, some love it and some don’t. Sadly, I fall into the latter category. It most definitely has a story to tell but it does not work for me as I feel the main message is over the top and the mixture of humour and seriousness does not quite gel. 

This book has solid ideas especially dealing with mental health issues, friendship and sexual abuse. However, the alternation between serious traumatic issues and light-hearted chick lit - the polar opposites - just don’t mix. I empathise with the main character’s justifiable reasons based on her history, however, it is not only repetitive but somewhat unbelievable at times. I just did not like her. I also had trouble with the writing style which I found to be quite disjointed and erratic, with an ending that left me rather perplexed. 

All this being said, there are many glowing reviews of the book and I invite you to check them out. Maybe this is a generational thing but I struggled with the vibe of the book, looking for something more uplifting and this book just did not deliver. 

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This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher and provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.