Review: Playing Pretend by Juliana Haygert

Posted January 20, 2017 by The Faerie Queen in Blog Tours, Reviews / 1 Comment

This book may be unsuitable for people under 17 years of age due to its use of sexual content, drug and alcohol use, and/or violence.

Playing Pretend

Author: Juliana Haygert
Release date: October 24th 2016
Genres: New Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Pages: 226
Format: eBook
Source: Xpresso Book Tours

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect the content of my review.

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As the Governor’s daughter, Charlotte McClain is an expert in playing pretend. High society, the men her mother shoves in her direction and a Pre-Law major are all a part of her perfect pretense. But when she pretends to be a nobody during Spring Break, she meets someone who rocks her world.

Mason Rowell knows heartbreak and Spring Break don’t mesh well, so he allows the mysterious Charlotte to seduce him. What should have been a fling, results in something deeper. After Spring Break has long since passed, he moves to Washington to pursue his graduate degree, but what he never expected to find living among the rich and pompous, was the girl who gave him the strength to change and the desire to start anew.

When the guy Charlotte can’t forget goes from a sensual memory to temptation in the flesh, her facade is put to the test. If she surrenders to his charms, she risks ruining her mother’s perfect career and master plan. Playing pretend is what Charlotte does best, but how long can she pretend she doesn't love the man who made her proud of her true self?

**A light, sexy NA Contemporary Romance (17+)**

The Faerie Queen’s review

This was a quick, easy read. Starring Charlotte –a reluctant rich college girl– and Mason –a Masters student on the rebound after a failed relationship– who meet on spring break, have an obsessive fling and then split, not sharing personal info because they believe they’ll never meet again. And yet they do meet, and the truth comes out. Both Charlotte and Mason were likeable enough, and they worked well together, except when there was drama. (There’s always drama.) While there was some heat in this book, it wasn’t too graphic, at least compared to some other NA books I’ve read.

My main issue with this book was that it was a bit too formulaic. Petite heroine (seriously??? Again???); towering hero (ok, not complaining about this one); repetitive, “perfect” sex; secrets that, if they came out, would ruin everything. I know NA books do tend to have a similar basic plot structure, but those that stand out and get 4-5 stars from me do something different. I feel like this book didn’t have enough of to set it apart from the rest.

A niggling side issue? The cover models don’t look like the characters in the book. Things like this bug me!

Aside from the predictability and occasional eye roll, this was an enjoyable enough mental distraction from my studies.

I would recommend this book to…

…regular readers of NA who need a quick, easy fix that doesn’t require too much mental energy.

About Juliana Haygert

While Juliana Haygert dreams of being Wonder Woman, Buffy, or a blood elf shadow priest, she settles for the less exciting--but equally gratifying--life of a wife, mother, and author. Thousands of miles away from her former home in Brazil, she now resides in Connecticut and spends her days writing about kick-ass heroines and the heroes who drive them crazy.

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