Blog Tour, Review and Giveaway: Playing Pretend by Juliana Haygert

Crushed on by Shannon, on March 12, 2014, in Blog Tour, Reviews / 2 Comments

Bookcrushin in conjunction with YA Bound Book Tours is bringing you this book tour for Playing Pretend by Juliana Haygert. In this post you will find all the book information, a spoiler free review and a giveaway.

Playing Pretend by Juliana Haygert
Genre: NA Contemporary Romance
Word Count: 65,000
Release date: March 2014
Cover: Berto Designs
Buy Links: Amazon | B&N | Kobo |

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+)**

Review

[book rating=3/5]

Playing Pretend is an easy lighthearted New Adult read. While it doesn’t really break any new ground it’s a nice escapist treat.

Mason and Charlotte have a hot and sweet relationship that has you rooting for them from the very beginning. I wish that the story had started with them meeting at the beginning of Spring Break and not in the middle. The reason for this is that although they have cute chemistry I just wasn’t as invested in their relationship as it didn’t have the build up of sexual tension that I typically crave in NA books. That issue aside the romantic scenes between the two were sexy and will be sure to please fans of New Adult.

For the length of the book it manages to produce a well-rounded story with good pacing. The characters were overall fun save for Charlotte’s mother who was the equivalent of a mommy dearest and a truly unlikeable character. The ending came up swiftly and many plot points were wrapped up in less than a few paragraphs and left me with one eye brow raised but it kept it with the light hearted tone.

This will be a good beach read and is easily read in one sitting.

Author Bio

New Adult author and contributor at NA Alley blog.
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.