Play Shop: Let's Pretend Sets

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After a couple of ‘unexpected’ encounters, Adam asks Lily to partake in a fauxmance with him. But not long after signing his NDA and a six month contract, Adam’s dark side starts to surface and things turn toxic! This book started off slowly and took sometime to get into, there was a lot of stuff at the beginning which didn't particularly add to the story, and quite a lot of characters that I found hard to link up. There is a lot in here about the darker side of acting and the route to fame, and for someone who is not living in this world it is all a bit foreign and hard to relate to. Once the story got going I did enjoy reading it, though, and then as I neared the end it became more gripping as I waited to see who had done the crime. Secondary Col 3 Anthologies for KS3 to KS5 English White Rose Maths Secure Science for GCSE Reimagine KS3 English KS3 Science Now Collins Classroom Classics It starts with Lily Thane who is from an acting family but she is really only known for a film she made as a child. What bothered me was that none of the characters in this book were likeable, not even Lily who we were supposed to root for. Therefore towards the end of the book I didn't really care who was responsible for Adam's death as none of the characters would have been a surprise. This took away a lot of the intrigue from the revelation and the book felt flat at the end.

Just when you think it is ending, another story comes through that didn’t even have a real ending to it, felt it was just left hanging. Reference Col 1 Times Books A-Z Astronomy Gardening National Parks National Trust Books Road Maps & Atlases World Atlases Former child star Lily Thane is now a struggling thirty-something actress. Her old stage-school buddy, Adam Harker, is on the brink of making it big, but he needs an appropriate red-carpet companion to seal the deal, and Lily fits the bill. Following a chance meeting there is an undeniable spark, and although Lily is wary of Adam's dark side, they soon decide that a public faux-mantic relationship between them could be good for both of their careers. But when you're surrounded by actors, how do you know what is real? Lily is convinced there's more to his death than meets the eye and turns amateur detective - but is it better to leave the dark side of fame buried?Twists, however, are there. But they are delivered most intelligently and satisfyingly. Act three is an extraordinary display of storytelling and most captivating execution that will leave you literally out of breath. It’s one of those stories that can be devoured in a single reading, making it a perfect holiday read. It doesn’t mean however that it’s a simplistic read. It’s insanely well-plotted and delivered with truly Kingesque verbose panache. How you look the choices you make in life can direct your future, people who seem to have it all really happy, on top of the world behind closed doors living in sin.

I really enjoyed this book, though it is sad to imagine that all budding stars behave like this. I really hope not, but I am not naive enough to think it’s all sweetness and light. I look forward to this author’s next book. This is not intended to be a full statement of all your rights under the Distance Selling Regulations. Full details of your rights under the Distance Selling Regulations are available in the UK from your local Citizens' Advice Bureau or your Local Authority's Trading Standards Office. Laura Vaughan’s debut novel The Favour was one of my favourite books of 2021. Her new book 'Let's Pretend' has the same mix of perception and humour.I noticed the font varies. Italics when Lily is thinking and reading. Then a different font when the information is from the internet.

Within the first few chapters (and as detailed in the synopsis) we learn that Lily finds Adam’s lifeless body in a swimming pool, it’s not clear how this came to be. Pretending is what Lily Thane has been doing all her life - after all, it is another word for acting, which she has been trying to do since being the famous four year old in a cult Christmas film. Now, despite being part of a theatrical family and her determined mother - the “Momanger”, she is struggling. She is good at what she does, being a perfected attractive blonde who is always auditioning for parts, but real success in being cast is eluding her. So when she meets an old friend from theatre school, the sort of famous Adam Harker, and a proposal is made of a sort of acting job with sweeteners is made, it seems reasonable to take it. Adam has secrets and a darkness that attract and repel her at the same time, but pretending to be in a celebrity romance at least raises her profile. If only she knew how deep she must plunge - and how it will feature death… But as she gets swept up in Adam's hedonistic and lascivious lifestyle she also learns more of his secrets. He needs someone to be his plus one at glitzy events, a person to show off via social media, to become part of a power couple. After all the world of celebrity is all about reputation and how things look and Lily's Momager couldn't be more thrilled.This book really moves at a pace and I found it really compelling (especially the first half). We follow the main character, Lily, a former child actor who has really done nothing of note for some time. When she bumps into an old stage school companion, Adam, she is drawn into his (more successful) world. Let’s Pretend is a well-written multifaceted novel comprising exceptionally well-developed characters and a tremendous economy of storytelling weaved woven into a brutal psychological thriller. But the brutality has very little to do with gore of upsetting scenes (there are none), but with the choices that our cast of characters will have to live with. I found Let’s Pretend a real eye opener into the world of celebrity dating. How true Vaughan’s got the shenanigans that are orchestrated by agents and PR, who knows but I felt the apple she wrote didn’t fall too far from the tree. Soon after signing on the dotted line, Adam's dark side starts to surface and their perfect fauxmance turns toxic. Having read The Favour, I thought I knew the author’s thought process and where this story was heading but I was way off the mark. This was a lot darker than it’s predecessor. Despite being the woman scorned, I really liked Lily and I was rooting for her to be right about Adam’s demise but was she? Was it murder or just a tragic accident?!