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Title: PretendingAuthor: Shanna Clayton
Publication date: March 12 2014
Genres: New Adult, Romance
Synopsis:
Four years.
That’s how long Wesley Kent has to live with the girl his dad shacked him up with, and then he can collect his inheritance and escape small town life. He gets through the prison sentence by pretending Dahlia Reynolds doesn’t exist. With three years down and one more to go, he doesn’t expect much to change. That is, until the girl that’s not supposed to exist sharpens into his reality, making it impossible to ignore her.
Three years.
That’s how long Dahlia Reynolds has been living with a total stranger. She’s convinced herself Wesley Kent is no more than illusion in the hallways. It’s easy to do, especially since that same illusion has never spoken more than two words to her. But one mistaken identity later, and she finds herself caught up in the mysterious world Wesley lives in. One by one, he begins knocking down the safe, comfortable walls she built, leaving her wondering what his motives are. Does he want to expose her—or free her?
Recommended for 17+ due to mature language and adult situations.
Review
Honestly, one of the reasons that I was so excited to read Pretending was because of its gorgeous cover! More than that, though, it truly is a heartwarming novel about family, friends, love, and life.
Let’s move on to the characters. Wesley seemed a bit shallow at first, given his physical appearance and everything, but as his story started to unfold, I realized that there is so much more to him. He turns out to be quite a sweet and caring guy, and it makes me happy that in the end, he was able to open his eyes to the error of his ways.
Dahlia is somewhat similar to Wesley, because she was hiding under this disguise for most of her life. Her reasons initially came across as shallow, but she actually became admirable when more was revealed. It’s nice that she was able to gain the courage and find herself again amidst the mess that was her life. It was awesome on how she could just stay Switzerland despite Charlotte and Gwen, her two best friends, are at war with each other.
The supporting characters were also great. There’s Gwen, who I found a little lacking in depth, although she’s a good friend to have and does make you think about all the stupid things that we people would do for love. There’s also Charlotte, who was able to find her true self even though there were some things that didn’t go her way. Even the parents of both Dahlia and Wesley really made the story even more complicated, in a good way.
Now we get to the plot. Some parts were too predictable, and the romance developed too quickly for my liking, especially on Wesley’s part. It just became sort of unrealistic at that point. Although, it’s amazing how both of them are so selfless and were able to gradually help each other grow and become better individuals.
There were also some areas left unresolved, like what happened with Wesley’s parents and also the whole Christine issue with her dad. Despite these things, though, the book still somehow kept me wanting to read more. Going through all these storylines, I came to see how unpredictable love really is. Loving is such a risk, yet we still take it and give it our all, because when we find something so pure and genuine in the chaos that surrounds us… it would be an even bigger risk to let it go.
Pretending is a beautiful story about friendship, love, and most especially family, that is recommended to new adult, contemporary romance readers!
Let’s move on to the characters. Wesley seemed a bit shallow at first, given his physical appearance and everything, but as his story started to unfold, I realized that there is so much more to him. He turns out to be quite a sweet and caring guy, and it makes me happy that in the end, he was able to open his eyes to the error of his ways.
Dahlia is somewhat similar to Wesley, because she was hiding under this disguise for most of her life. Her reasons initially came across as shallow, but she actually became admirable when more was revealed. It’s nice that she was able to gain the courage and find herself again amidst the mess that was her life. It was awesome on how she could just stay Switzerland despite Charlotte and Gwen, her two best friends, are at war with each other.
The supporting characters were also great. There’s Gwen, who I found a little lacking in depth, although she’s a good friend to have and does make you think about all the stupid things that we people would do for love. There’s also Charlotte, who was able to find her true self even though there were some things that didn’t go her way. Even the parents of both Dahlia and Wesley really made the story even more complicated, in a good way.
Now we get to the plot. Some parts were too predictable, and the romance developed too quickly for my liking, especially on Wesley’s part. It just became sort of unrealistic at that point. Although, it’s amazing how both of them are so selfless and were able to gradually help each other grow and become better individuals.
There were also some areas left unresolved, like what happened with Wesley’s parents and also the whole Christine issue with her dad. Despite these things, though, the book still somehow kept me wanting to read more. Going through all these storylines, I came to see how unpredictable love really is. Loving is such a risk, yet we still take it and give it our all, because when we find something so pure and genuine in the chaos that surrounds us… it would be an even bigger risk to let it go.
Pretending is a beautiful story about friendship, love, and most especially family, that is recommended to new adult, contemporary romance readers!
My Rating
About the Author
I’m not sure if my mother predestined me to become a romance author when she named me after her favorite Kathleen Woodiwiss book, but that’s what happened. Now I live and breathe all things books. When I’m not glued to my desk writing, I can be found eating too much chocolate, obsessing over Game of Thrones, and cyber stalking my favorite authors. Keep up with me on Facebook and Instagram. I love hearing from readers!
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2 comments:
Great review! It sounds like a fun read and i love how character driven it sounds especially with the 2 main characters. Glad you liked it! :)
Thank you for dropping by! It is, and I especially love Wesley! :)
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