Reviewed by: Sue Eaton
TITLE: Like I Pretended
SERIES: Heather Bay #4
AUTHOR: Charlie Novak
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 297 pages
RELEASE DATE: July 20, 2023
BLURB:
Pretending to be in love never felt so real.
Henry Lu hates being a superstar. Action movies have left a sour taste in his mouth and filming a queer period drama on the Yorkshire coast sounds like the perfect antidote. Meeting grumpy coffee shop owner, Alex, is the cherry on top.
Alex isn’t impressed with the appearance of Hollywood royalty in his life, especially because Henry refuses to accept that Alex doesn’t like him. But when rumours about the production draw the attention of stuffy streaming service bigwigs and the ire of Henry’s superhero franchise, Henry and Alex must put on a show and fake a relationship to smooth things over.
Alex doesn’t want a relationship, and Henry isn’t good at them, but their arrangement is only supposed to be for a few months, then they’ll both be free to go back to their lives. The only problem is that pretending to be in love never felt so real.
REVIEW:
I’ve been waiting for this book, ever since it was mentioned in the first books that a tv series was being filmed in Heather Bay. I wondered what it would be like, and I wasn’t disappointed. It was refreshing that Henry wasn’t a cookie cutter Hollywood Heartthrob, he is undeniably handsome and a bit self-centered, but he loves being an actor. He is a bit sick of being an action hero and when he gets the opportunity to star in a period drama, he jumps at it. The icing on the cake is that it is a queer period drama.
Alex is grumpy, like all the friends he has popped up in the other books, but you never really got a chance to know him, he always seemed to be in the background, snarking away but you could tell he would do anything for his friends. He is resolutely determined to stay single and give relationships a wide berth.
When Henry meets Alex, it is a total joy, Alex doesn’t fall for the pretty boy flirting and Henry is gob smacked to be told no. “No, does he not know who I am”, had me chuckling, imagine being a famous Hollywood star and this small-town coffee shop owner has no clue who he is. That should have been the end of it, but ridiculous Hollywood Executives had to stick their oar in and back Henry into a corner.
Henry comes up with the insane idea of faking a relationship with Alex, Alex who doesn’t like him, who wastes no opportunity to snark at him. Imagine his surprise when Alex agrees to be his fake boyfriend.
Behind Henry’s Hollywood Flirty Movie Star persona, is someone who has had heartbreak in the past and despite being willing to pursue a relationship always seems to sabotage them. Alex had his heart broken when he was younger and has stopped trying relationships, figuring he won’t get hurt if he’s never in a relationship again. Two emotionally broken figures, who find that their broken pieces fit together well.
I really enjoyed the depiction of what it is like to film a tv series, all the actors seemed down to earth and supportive of each other. I also loved the 6 degrees of separation when Theo knew the boyfriend of one of the actors, it’s a small world. All my favourite friends from the other books pop up and we have the ridiculous but funny introduction of Henry to Alex’s friends at the Pub on Friday night. I’m captivated by Charlie’s evocative descriptions of the Yorkshire coast and small-town life.
Another fantastic book in the series, I might be so bold as to say it’s my favourite book so far.
RATING: 
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