Having greatly enjoyed Laura Vaughan’s previous novel, The Favour, I was delighted to come across Let’s Pretend, set in the dazzling but often toxic world of child acting. Lily Thane is a former child performer whose acting career is wilting. This is why she agrees on a bizarre arrangement with former school friend Adam Harker, who is later found floating in a swimming pool, dead from a drug overdose. The extraordinary party Adam attended before his death forms the backdrop for much of this novel and is redolent of Great Gatsby’s lavish parties, although this party has much less charm and its attendees are a lot less likeable. That Vaughan manages to keep the reader engaged throughout a whole novel peopled with narcissistic, unsympathetic characters pays tribute to her enormous capacities as a writer. I would highly recommend Let’s Pretend – and am already on the lookout for whatever Vaughan may write next. Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the free ARC provided in return for my honest and unbiased review.

This is the one make-believe relationship that can lead a person to their death… The fake affair between two old acting school friends takes a sinister turn when the man drowns under suspicious circumstances. Loved the plot and the main female character!

This was such a gripping read, I couldn't put it down. It was compelling, engaging and unpredictable. My heart was in my mouth a lot whilst reading it. It was well written with really good character development and a great storyline. Laura Vaughan is definitely an author to watch.

A really interesting and Intellegent story. I loved the characters and the excitement of the story. Couldn't read it fast enough xc

Initially, I struggled with the book because I found so many of the characters unlikeable but it's a skilful author who can make you care about such people. There were plenty of twists and turns in the book and I really couldn't see how it was going to end. A good read.

This fauxmance thriller following Lily as the beard for Adam, both struggling actors on the rise, did not go where I was expecting, but was nonetheless incredibly satisfying. I was gripped by the various twists and turns, as all the characters are really well rounded and it’s a very engaging read, playing on the fascination with celebrity and dominance of social media in today’s society. Will be delving into anything else by Laura Vaughan!

The characters are so well drawn and the plot so well paced, I couldn’t put it down. Definitely worth a read! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

All Varieties Of Toxic…
Glitzy, glamorous facades hide a multitude of sins in this thought provoking, entertaining mystery. The plot plays host to a multitude of egocentric, narcissistic characters but they are all credible, well depicted and well drawn. They are all toxic, in a variety of ways and they all have secrets to hide. A compelling tale and an immersive read.

This story is a murder mystery where all the characters are involved in film or theatre. They are mostly narcissistic and unpleasant, but the book is still very readable.. Lily works as a "girlfriend" for Adam, and they have a volatile relationship. Adam dies of a drug overdose at a party, but Lily, with her knowledge of Adam, cannot believe this and begins an amateur murder investigation.

The writing style is upbeat, and there is quite a lot of humour in the toxic way that the characters interact. However, the story was a lot deeper than the tone suggests, and shows how the shiny facade can cover a lot of difficult experience and emotions.

The mark of an excellent author is writing a book that keeps you hooked even if you hate the characters.
This happended with this well written and gripping whodunit that I enjoyed.
It was an excellent reading experience, highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Stage school attendees reconnect at different times in their careers and form an alliance. Mutually benefit on paper but toxic in reality. Messy breakup followed by a new romance with a close friend.
Closure is required but does not happen due to sudden death. Is it overdose or something else.
I enjoyed this book and found the characters fascinating and self absorbed.

This is a well-paced, charming thriller that drew me in and kept me fascinated through the plot twists and turns to the end. Glamorous actors, seedy sidekicks and genuinely hurt and damaged people come together to give us a glimpse of what really happens behind the VIP curtain, where all isn't as it seems and a happy ending is guaranteed for no-one.

If you believe in the saying, fake it ‘til you make it, then you’ll admire the novel’s protagonist, Lily Thane. The former child star comes from an acting heritage; her family is well known in the industry and though her stardust is fading – if anything, she’s struggling in finding work – she’s given an opportunity too good to resist. It is simple: be the appropriate beautiful red carpet companion for her one-time stage school friend, Adam Harker. He needs a friend and she needs the exposure – simple, right? But once she agrees – and the celebrity world once again admits her – Adam shows off his darker side. He’s got demons and they’re slowly but effectively taking over his personality. The toxic fauxmance isn’t suiting either participant. But a few months later, Adam is dead and Lily is the only person to care enough about him to discover what happened. Though it’s possible you’ll see where it’s going, you can’t help but be captivated by the glamour and grit of celebrity life.

Lily Thane, former child star, now a struggling actress in her thirties, bumps into a friend from stage school. Adam Harker. Once billed as the 'next big thing' , Adam has had a chequered career but hopes his next film will finally propel him into A-list stardom. Blinded by the chemistry between them, Lily is surprised when Adam tells her he is gay but wants to 'fly under the radar until his career is secure, & he wants Lily to pose as his girlfriend. Lily agrees as in return Adam says he will help her career, & she likes Adam so thinks it will be an easy gig. What follows gradually becomes a nightmare as Adam pushes all Lily's buttons making her insecure & doubtful about herself & her career. Adam is just as sneeringly dismissive of everyone else, so when he is found dead in the swimming pool after a party, there are no shortage of suspects. The police rule it accidental but Lily is not so sure, so she decides to investigate his death herself.

Wow, I was absolutely glued to this & read it in about 4 hours. To be honest, Lily's investigation into Adam's death was the least interesting thing in the book, I was far more into their spiralling toxic 'fauxmance'. The man was a grade A a-hole. Throw in a supporting cast of a resentful sister, fake friends & acquaintances, & a stalker - just who can Lily trust? I thought Lily was a good main character, she had her faults, but she was generally one of the more likeable characters. Things went off the boil a little for me after Adam's death, but it was still a really great read about the pressures & fakeness of stardom & just what people are willing to do for their 15 minutes of fame.

My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Atlantic Books/Corvus, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

Lily Thane is a thirty-two-year-old actress best known for her twenty minute appearance in a low-budget British romcom as winsome orphan ‘Little Lucie’ at the age of four, and it’s clear that her star is waning, not that her mother and manager, “the momager”, is willing to give up on a dream that easily. When Lily bumps into an old stage school contemporary in Adam Harker who needs a red-carpet companion to whip up the media ahead of making a push for the big time, it seems like a win-win situation. Despite never particularly having liked Adam, there is something magnetic and dangerously alluring about him and so Lily agrees to the fauxmance and also signs a non-disclosure agreement. But troubled Adam has a penchant for drugs, a predilection for using people and a need to be in control, and things inevitably turn toxic. But as both their lives and careers move on, Lily and Adam are never too far apart and with a ringside seat to Adam’s death and growing suspicions about who wanted him out of the way, Lily turns detective.

Lily is a complex character who is far more vulnerable than she appears with more emotional depth than many of her contemporaries and her dry first-person narrative keeps the superficiality of the non-stop party lifestyle, and hedonistic antics that surround her, in perspective. With the bombshell revelation of Adam’s death so early on in the novel before then seeing it all play out, it makes for a gripping slow-burn of a mystery and I was surprised at how much I vied for Lily, all the while wanting to scream at her to get as far away as possible from the odious people around her! Cocksure Adam is a flawed character, an addict and a game playing master of manipulation with a goodie bag of drugs as big as his ego. The colourful supporting cast are all so well-drawn that I never had a problem keeping them distinct and include Lily’s cousin and serious actress, Dido, her snarky best-friend, Nina, and vacuous wealthy socialite, Talia.

Nothing about the tawdry world or largely shallow characters that occupy Adam and Lily’s world appealed to me in the slightest, yet despite this I found myself unable to set the book aside without knowing if Adam’s death was an accident or foul play. I was hugely impressed that Laura Vaughan managed to flesh her characters out, and conjure such a vivid picture of Adam’s fast-living circle and shady machinations, that it made for an unexpectedly complicated investigation, with numerous suspects and motives that blindsided me completely. A well-observed and well-written novel with a uneasy atmosphere throughout and an ultimately admirable protagonist in Lily, whom I found very sympathetic. My main criticism is that the ending of the novel felt rushed and would have benefitted from both being made clearer and also explored in a little more depth.