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Title details for Pretending by Holly Bourne - Available

Pretending

A Novel

by Holly Bourne
ebook
2 of 2 copies available
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2 of 2 copies available
"It made me cry and laugh and rage...A really important, timely book. Sheer brilliance." —Lucy Foley, New York Times bestselling author of The Guest List
"Thoughtful, smart and painfully true." —Cosmopolitan UK
He said he was looking for a "partner in crime," which everyone knows is shorthand for "a woman who isn't real."
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. Until she realizes that men aren't looking for real women—they're looking for Gretel.
Gretel is perfect—beautiful but low-maintenance, sweet but never clingy, sexy but not too easy. She's your regular, everyday Manic-Pixie-Dream-Girl-Next-Door with no problems.
When April starts pretending to be Gretel, dating becomes much more fun—especially once she reels in the unsuspecting Joshua. Finally, April is the one in control. It's refreshing. Exhilarating, even. But as she and Joshua grow closer, and the pressure of keeping her painful past a secret begins to build, how long will she be able to keep on pretending?
"The most freeing, reassuring book on dating after #MeToo I've read. Perceptive. Hilarious. Brilliant." —Laura Jane Williams, author of Our Stop

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    November 17, 2020

  • Formats

    • Kindle Book

    • OverDrive Read

      • ISBN: 9781488077159

    • EPUB ebook

      • ISBN: 9781488077159
      • File size: 592 KB

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Library Journal

      June 1, 2020

      Making her U.S. debut, popular UK author Bourne presents modest, gentle-souled April, who realizes that men really want a Regular Everyday Manic Pixie Dream Girl Next Door with No Problems and starts pretending. With a 100,000-copy first printing.

      Copyright 2020 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

    • Booklist

      November 1, 2020
      The key to finding love is to just be yourself. Except that advice has only ever gotten 33-year-old Londoner April dumped. A self-proclaimed reluctant heterosexual, April is furious at the ways men control the dating narrative and their impossible standards. So after another unceremonious, post-coital breakup, she becomes Gretel, a woman who is just the right amount of aloof, naturally beautiful, and sexually adventurous. Gretel also doesn't have April's hang-ups about sex, which stem from the unresolved trauma of a violent ex. As Gretel, she feels more in control than ever, despite the fact that April's work as an adviser for a sex and relationships charity keeps opening old wounds. Gretel meets Joshua, a nice guy who is easy to please, and April has a hard time holding on to her determined detachment. Though her relationship with Joshua drives much of the plot, the real journey is April's alone as she fights off facing her trauma, then slowly learns to cope. This moving, funny debut is perfect for readers who are (rightfully!) cynical about the patriarchy but love a happy ending.

      COPYRIGHT(2020) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Formats

  • Kindle Book
  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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