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? For someone like me who has never been to a party where anything stronger than weed was smoked, the lines of cocaine on the table where the wine is usually laid out, was a real eye-opener, though I hope I never experience it. I’d like to keep my septum thanks very much. 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. Since leaving stage school, Adam has found his place in the limelight. But to grace it as he intends, he needs a pretty girl on his arm to distract the haters. He asks Lily to be his faux romance, to be in his arm at all the best parties and to share the limelight with him. Of course, Lily agrees. They get on really well. It will be no hardship to accompany Adam at all times and what can be the harm in sharing a limelight that she desperately wants for herself? This was a slow burn delve into the outrageous lifestyles of the celebs caught up in the world of tv and movies, sadly I wished the ending had a bit "more."

I liked how the author focuses on Lily as the central character. I liked how it was written in the first person so you as the reader find out about their secrets and hopes. I also liked their normal interactions with other characters. But Adam is a slippery fish with a temper. He is horrid to be around when in a bad mood and it’s not all red carpets and show stopping events. One evening when returning from a solitary walk, she finds Adam’s body, face down in a swimming pool. As no one else seems to care, it’s down to Lily to find out who did this to Adam as she doesn’t believe he will have taken his own life. I really liked the latter part of the book as Lily is convinced all is not quite as it seems in terms of Adam’s death. I was intrigued to learn more, just like Lily, and particularly loved the final chapters in this section of the book as there were lots of things that took me by surprise! I would have liked a little more detail as the ending felt a little bit rushed, but I really liked the unexpected turns and thought it was very clever! I also liked how character driven this book was; there were definitely some shady characters along the way! This story is told from the perspective of former childstar Lily Thane, now a somewhat struggling actress in her early thirties. Lily’s old stage-school friend from many moons, Adam Harker is on the brink to huge success, but to keep up appearances needs a ‘trusted’ life companion.

Some of the characterisation in Let's Pretend can come across as a bit cliched; for example, when we are introduced to former child star Lily Thane - now a struggling 32-year-old actress - at the start of the novel, she is passing a joint to Nina Gill (a friend who Lily's mum - referred to throughout as the Momager - disapproves of) after another failed audition and this along with Lily 's nose job at 15 could be interpreted as all too familiar tropes about the trappings of fame. Lily Thane is a struggling actress so when she meets her old pal from stage school Adam Harker and he suggests she act as his partner in a media fuelled "Faux-Mance" she jumps at the chance for any limelight. I think this book is one of great importance, especially with the amount of younger people going through their rise to fame as we watch others fall from their place in the limelight. This is a story about what life can be like for celebrities, focusing heavily on the bad side and the crap that they go through. 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.

This is definitely acts as a reminder too that you can never know what truly goes on in a relationship unless you are in it; contrary to what the press would have you read! We attract. And repel. Our dreams, desires, people, opportunities; anything we consciously invite into our lives comes in with everything it has to offer. Success comes with heartbreak. Happiness comes with foreboding. Holidays come with post-holiday blues. Relationships come with heartbreak… 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.Let’s Pretend has been a really eye-opening read portraying the dark side ready lurking behind the outward persona of those in the public eye. I've read Vaughan's previous novel The Favour and this one is similar in the twisted character relationships and general sense of terrible people who might be capable of murder, though I didn't quite enjoy the atmosphere of this one as much. I found the pace of the first part wasn't for me and I was left a bit confused that it was suddenly the end of her agreement with Adam, but the party that forms the central moment of the book was good. I found that I wasn't connected to the characters, but that was fine because they're all intentionally awful.