A review by sharonleavy
Pretending by Holly Bourne

emotional hopeful medium-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

April is an advisor for a sex & relationships charity. She says that she hates men (partially as a result of her job, partially due to her experiences with them thusfar) but also wants her budding relationship with a new man to succeed. In her bid to do this, April takes on the persona of "Gretel" - the woman she thinks every man wants. Gretel laughs politely at bad jokes, Gretel has a limitless sex drive, she doesn't nag, she would NEVER be referred to as "My Crazy Ex Girlfriend". 

But Gretel isn't real, and the more April pretends, the more she fears that she is losing April too. 

"All my loneliest moments in life involve a man asleep when he knows it's likely I'm crying"

This is a really gritty, raw look at dating and relationships, and at the entire notion of women being labelled "the crazy ex". Men label women crazy/neurotic without remembering that, unfortunately, most of us have experienced unwanted or abusive behaviour from a man at one point or another. This isn't an easy read - but it is, surprisingly, a hopeful one. 

Recommended. 
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