I'm a big fan of M. Ullrich, and I always get excited when a new book from her comes out. This one is solid, but not one of my favorites.

The concept and the writing style/structure is great. It has a nice slow burn from colleagues who don't necessarily like each other, to two people who realize how much they like spending time together and notice the chemistry between them.

The summary makes it seem like Caroline and her past ex/last job is a big part of what's keeping them apart. It's slightly mentioned, but not as much as I thought it would be. The biggest reason she doesn't want to get involved with Emma is because of Emma's player attitude. I actually was very off-put by her in the first half of the book as well. Besides being hot, I found her kind of gross with her 'hooking up in every hotel' attitude. Both of these MCs actually weren't my favorite compared to recent books I've read.

Not bad, but I still like it when the author writes more emotionally charged books.

I love a good fauxmance. Hence the word good! If this troupe is done right, in the end, you have a delightful romance. What I really love about the whole fake girlfriend scenario is you have these tricky moments that both parties have to navigate to "prove" that their love is the real deal. M. Ullrich brings the heat every book she writes but this one took a lot of skill to pull off. Why? She gave us two characters that were not easy sells. What I mean by that is both characters had their flaws, big personality traits, you as the reader don't automatically pull for them, its actually quite to opposite.

The gist of the story is you have Caroline Beckett, a PR specialist, who comes into a new job with an internet travel company, straight into a problem she needs to fix quickly. Her problem is travel blogger Emma Morgan and her on the side hookups while at destinations she is reviewing. So throw these two together in Miami while Emma reviews an exclusive couples only resort and Caroline keeps an eye on the wily blogger.

This one is a slow burn, you have two characters that resent being put in the position they are in. Therefore they resent being in the same room together. These ladies did not hit it off at all. I am here to tell you in the first few chapters you are going to wonder how this is a romance. It was not looking good my friends. These two have a lot of personalities and they are going to clash, I had to wince a few times. As the story progresses these two find their footing, common ground and begin to look through a new lens. The rocky start morphs into more slowly and you the reader are right there for it all.

This is a great read by M. Ullrich. I always expect so much from this amazing author and she has yet to let me down. A fantastic read that will not disappoint.

I like the fauxmance trope as much as the next person. Nothing more fun than reading how people pretend to be in love whilst trying to achieve their intended goals but inadvertently fall into the love trap in the end, eh? But it's also tricky because I like to read different takes of the trope and too often, in my experience, I ended up reading the same old approach, hence affecting my reading pleasure as a whole. So, I've been very picky and selective about it. But M. Ullrich's latest fauxmance novel, "Pretending In Paradise," had a premise that was both intriguing and the nature of the trope was refreshing to me when I read the blurb. So obviously, I decided to just dive right in for my next Ullrich adventure with this one that had piqued my interest and caught my attention. You know what, it hit the nail for me! The storyline, the nature of the fauxmance trope were all well-executed. Ullrich's style of telling the tale and weaving it fitted well with the contents of the story. The best thing about it was that I had so much FUN reading through it like I hoped I would because if you read the blurb, it just screams fun, with some prickly humour, possibly a bit of a bloody cheek and devilish banter here and there, doesn't it? Anyway, it was a breeze finishing it in one sitting.

First off, my immediate interest about the book was that the story was set in the world of travel blogging and reviewing. I've always been curious about how travel review sites worked. I didn't imagine it would be too different than the restaurant review business. I've heard a lot about food critics (albeit only independent, not staffed ones) but not so much about travel bloggers working for specific review sites. Fascinating just how reliant the sales, service and marketing industries have become on reviews these days, innit? Reviews have become many companies' measuring stick to gauge the success or failure of their products or services sold. So, good reviews (and their respective tier levels) mean increased sales, as it's been proven. Hence, many companies take negative reviews very seriously. Interesting how the core business practice relating to sales and services has changed in this digital, social media world we're living in now, innit? And that's what Ullrich had created in her fictional travel site, travelwisdom.com - a combination of Yelp, Trivago with an added feature of staffing travel reviewers/bloggers to experience the accommodations or places first-hand and review them directly. I thought using this very relevant business of travel reviews as a foundation to develop a story around it was refreshing to me. I don't think I'd ever read anything about this business model before in lesfic romance. I learned quite a bit about the business from this story. Cheers, Ms. Ullrich!

Speaking of travel blogging/reviewing staff, Emma, one of the MCs, was one of them, working for a travel site. In fact, she was the main reason for Caroline, the other MC, showing up in the office one day, starting her job as a PR specialist, specialising in damage control, corporate mess clean-up, and the likes. In Travel Wisdom's case, Emma was the "mess," the "damage," who needed to be sorted by Caroline's expertise before she and the company ended up in a costly lawsuit with their respective reputation, especially Emma's, in tatters. This was where Ullrich's idea of who Emma and Caroline were that excited me. Ullrich crafted two utter polar opposites, so different were they in virtually anything in their lives that the thought of them possibly striking a friendship, let alone, a potential romance, even a fake one initially, would be a tall order! That was what intrigued me!

Honestly speaking, Emma was one of those characters whom, in real life, I wouldn't have been mates with, tbh. She was annoyingly outgoing, a bit crass, obnoxiously flirty, cocky, loud, not to mention, possessing an utterly reckless behaviour (which was the source of all the defamation lawsuit woes that threatened her own career and reputation, let alone the company's well-being!), and a social media junkie, with her nose buried in her phone at all times! Particularly irksome was her lesbian identity (urgh, don't even get me started! Totally DISagreed with her warped definition of lesbian! But obviously, I gave Emma the benefit of the doubt that she was just winding Caroline up at that moment. Still, it was maddening!) and her gender role stereotyping (urgh, misogynistic much?! Again, me thinks Emma was prolly taking the piss, provoking everyone! Bloody cheek!)! Anyway, everything I wouldn't like in a person IRL, Emma apparently embodied! Ullrich succeeded in making Emma an unsavoury character for me from the start! Thank Christ it didn't last! Will come back to this later....

Whereas, Caroline, was the complete opposite. She was prim and proper, socially awkward, aloof, a rule stickler, a consummate professional, always did things by the book, she was also cautious, quiet and had that little ice-queen-esque persona in her as well, which I utterly LOVED! And she identified herself as a lesbian accurately, thank you very much. Yes, Caroline was the character that I immediately invested in. So, you can just imagine how her first meeting with the obnoxious Emma was especially after Caroline found out from her new boss what transpired with her new colleague's extracurricular activities during her travels!

I utterly enjoyed Ullrich's cheeky story development between her two MCs. The fact that Caroline ended up having to "chaperone" Emma on her latest travel job to a newly opened hotel resort, to the dismay of both parties, was amusing enough. Their icy exchanges - before and during their trip -  were delightful to read! But what took the biscuit was when they both found out, right in front of the resort's reception desk, that the resort was catered exclusively to couples only! Yup, a couples-only paradise resort! That scene was hilarious! What followed immediately after they had to fake being a lovey-dovey couple was an avalanche of fun and games catered only to couples, what with them having to pretend to like, let alone, love each other in front of the other real couples! The level of discomfort that Caroline felt trying to manoeuvre around Emma's totally insufferable actions and behaviour, whilst having to keep up appearances for the resort's benefit, was fun to read!

As Caroline and Emma spent more time together during that 11-day trip, their own perception of each other slowly evolved. Suddenly every layer of preconception they both had toward each other began to shed off as they shared more about their private lives including their upbringing. I was gratified by the fact that Ullrich didn't hasten Caroline and Emma's relationship development. In fact, she depicted their relationship to parallel their respective character growth, especially Emma's. Speaking of, halfway through the story, I began to really like Emma when she showed improvement and growth in her maturity and behaviour. Here’s the thing. IRL, people change when certain experiences affect their lives, don’t they? Perspectives about people shift when there’s a better understanding of the causality of their behaviour, don’t they? That’s what happened with Emma as Ulrich ever-so deftly weaved her transformation that ran hand-in-hand with her life-changing/altering experience. One word. Caroline. Needless to say, my opinion and perspective of Emma began to slowly shift. She literally grew on me, much to my surprise and delight! A testament to Ullrich's keen ability to transform an antagonistic character to a sympathetic protagonist with a practical, realistic depiction of Emma's character development and growth that flowed authentically throughout the story. Thus, it effectively changed the reader's perspective of Emma from negative to positive. At least it did for me. It was truly heartening to observe Emma's steady transformation.

I began to see the spark between these two characters and how Emma would be the perfect fit for Caroline's character. At every stage of their character growth, their relationship progressed to a deeper more understanding level. I thought it was interesting to find out about Caroline's upbringing vs Emma's. I began to realise why Emma was how she was - her blasé attitude, her abrasiveness, and particularly her innate selfishness, which played a vital role to her relationship with Caroline as it gradually turned romantic and intimate. Caroline's upbringing also gave me an insight into her psyche and her behaviour. I applaud Ullrich for giving these two characters an authentic and realistic background. Our upbringing always shapes the character and person that we become when we're older, doesn't it? And Ullrich deftly portrayed and described that emotional and psychological correlation.

I utterly enjoyed Caroline and Emma's slow-burning romance. Their attraction trickled slowly, sizzled steadily at every stage of their development, from being sweet to sexy, alluring, tempting, addicting and then downright erotic and sensual when their relationship eventually took a turn into the depths of emotional and physical intimacy. Falling in love was not what they planned for. Yet... This steady build-up between their characters and their evolving relationship was what I hoped to explore with this refreshingly told fauxmance love story. Ullrich captured every nuance of Caroline and Emma's inner psyches, their fears and insecurities with zeal as they discovered they were falling deeply in love with each other despite some misgivings (like Emma's selfish nature and Caroline's rigid defensiveness) which Ullrich tackled with such genuine conviction that it felt personal to me, thus, making their relationship feel true and authentic. Hey, isn't that what real love is, eh? What's that saying? "Loving someone in spite of.."? Caroline and Emma's love story was the quintessential ethos of that saying, imo. Real love. True and unconditional.

There was a fantasy scenario that Emma obnoxiously concocted during the early days of her fauxmance with Caroline which I thought was very self-serving and a bit far-fetched, really (you’ll know what I mean when you read the book). But when Ullrich revived that again toward the end when everything was hanging in the balance, I realised the irony of it all because it did become relevant, deserving of the moment, which I thought was oh-so romantic, so sweet and utterly adorable! Truly heartwarming! What a brilliant way to end it! You simply have to read it to feel it! Well! And then there was the endearing epilogue! An epilogue that was quite refreshing (timeframe) and an unexpected, pleasant surprise which I didn't see coming! Brilliant! An honest-to-goodness delightful end-stitch to Caroline and Emma's journey of ever after, really! Tugs at the heart, tbh! Bless! Read that segment yourself and see if you'll agree! Bloody well done, Ms. Ullrich! I loved it!

All in all, I highly recommend this creatively different and utterly captivating enemies-to-lovers, ice-queen-esque, fauxmance, slow-burn love story to all who love romance and/or these tropes. I thoroughly enjoyed it and had so much fun with all the shenanigans that Ullrich deftly crafted and weaved whilst Caroline and Emma were "Pretending In Paradise" (pun intended, obvs! Befitting title, innit?), not to mention, the sizzling, explicit romance that slowly built up its pace so you'd end up yearning for more! And yes, if you're wondering, Ullrich delivers right where you want it!

A bloody fun, heartwarming and totally satisfying read for me! 

*An ARC copy of this book was given to me by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

Okay, I'll try to contain my squeals. I don't mean to compare books in a competitive sort of way, but this is what I had wanted The Hating Game to be. I don't even tend to have a thing for romance, but this book has my whole entire gay heart. I 10/10 recommended this to literally anyone and everyone.

Caroline is new to her job (first day sort of new). She's a PR specialist for a travel website.

Emma is a travel reviewer/blogger for that website and she and the company both women work for have just been hit with a defamation lawsuit.

So, the two women do not meet in the best possible way. And then it only gets weirder and more awkward when their boss sends not just Emma, but Caroline too, to a new couples only retreat in Miami for Emma to review. Caroline, meanwhile, is there to babysit Emma and make sure she doesn't get in even more trouble.

Of course, since it's only for couples, they have to pretend to be one. And, also not surprisingly, slowly but surely they get closer and closer, although there are a few definite bumps in the road that connects them.

I liked a lot of the book, but, not so much Emma. I really really really didn't like her at the beginning of the book, and I guess that I liked her a little more as the book went on, but, even at the end, the Emma characters wasn't even my third or fourth favorite character in the book. On the other hand I thought that how Caroline was written was brilliant.

I received this book via Netgalley thanks to Bold Strokes Books.

A solid romance (faux-mance) with two new co-workers being sent off to review a couple's resort.
At first I wasn't particularly fond of the two characters - didn't hate them, but wasn't sure I was really invested in them. They did grow on me pretty quickly although I found Caroline was a bit sharp at times. Extra points awarded for an inventive and effective intimate scene and a totally cheesy but totally perfect scene near the end that made me smile. I enjoyed this one. Recommended

What a lovely book! The characters are great, it practically reads itself! I'm a fan of M. Ullrich books anyway, so I might be biased with the reviews.

4.25 Stars. Out of all the books by Bold Strokes Books that are coming out in April, I was looking forward to this one the most. While Ullrich’s books don’t always work for me, I thought Fortunate Sum was just okay and I disliked Fake It Till You Make It, when she puts out hits like Against All Odds and Life in Death, they are books that not only are great but you won’t soon forget. I’m happy to say that this was another hit by Ullrich.

I love fauxmances, I think they are my favorite lesfic trope overall. Not only was this fauxmance well done but it felt like a fresh storyline and newer way to have a fauxmance. Fauxmances are not uncommon so to have a different take on the idea was really nice to read. This book was well written and I think romance fans are going to be happy.

I have to be honest that at first I was worried about liking this. One of the main characters did not come off well in the beginning and I felt my heart sinking. If you feel the same way while reading don’t give up. By the end of the book I loved both characters and absolutely cared about what happened to them. Both characters really grew and it was believable, which was nice to see.

The romance is the shining star of the book. I just loved it. The chemistry is great and the romance its self goes at a really nice pace. I just loved reading about two characters growing close and closer making a real connection. The sex scenes were also well done. Actually, there was a steamy intimate scene about three quarters into the book that was hotter than most sex scenes I’ve read. This is one of those books you might not want to read while in public, at least once you hit the last quarter of the book for sure.

There was only one mild complaint I had. There is an angsty moment that I didn’t care for. I just felt like it wasn’t needed and it also felt a little forced. I did take off a little of my final rating because of it. But in the grand scheme of things it is one small compliant in a book I really enjoyed.

If you are a fauxmance fan, get this book. Heck if you are just a romance fan I would recommend this book. It’s actually one of the better romances I’ve read in a while and I have high hopes people will enjoy it as much as I did.

Caroline Beckett is a PR specialist hired by travelwisdom.com to save them from a possible defamation lawsuit caused by the reckless actions of travel blogger Emma Morgan. When Emma is invited to travel to Miami to review a couples retreat, she jumps at the opportunity to redeem herself. But that chance comes with the condition that her travel companion has to be Caroline and they have to pose as a couple. Pretending to be in a relationship can be a hardship when they cannot stand each other but, as time goes by, both women discover that their early dislike for each other is turning into the complete opposite. Will they have a chance to make their fake relationship real?

This is a sweet slow-burn romance combining the fake romance and the enemies to lovers trope. Ms. Ullrich did a great work in building the relationship between the main characters from dislike to attraction. Both leads are well rounded with very distinctive personalities and in this case opposites attract. While Caroline is self conscious and introvert, Emma is extrovert and sociable. As the story progresses, both women - alongside with the reader - discover that there is more than meets the eye about the other. The chemistry is built slowly but surely and the sex scenes are well written, original and hot.

My only criticism is that I felt that the main premise on why they go on a trip together is a bit hard to believe but once that's sorted the rest of the book feels credible, as are their interactions with other people and conversations. There is a good balance between funny and more serious moments and the conflict and resolution have everything that a romance novel needs. As a bonus, the epilogue set a few years later provides a neat conclusion to the story.

Overall, a sweet slow-burn romance with well written characters and great chemistry. 4.5 stars.

ARC provided by Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

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This has been a fun and interesting read. Not that the topic of fauxe- mance is new in lesbian books, not at all, but in this one the author deals it with much more humor and sweetness and less passion and denial than usual. And for me it has worked very well.

Both Emma and Caroline accept without much trouble their real attraction, after the initial faux one. Although Caroline has a lot of personal bagage that keeps her very alert and reluctant to pursue something with Emma, ​​is Emma's disinhibition and her way of enjoying of life what ends up breaking Caroline's walls. I really liked the two MCs and together I think they make a perfect match. Emma brings out her most romantic and committed side and Caroline unhings hersrlf and forgets her family issues a bit.

I've had a really good time reading this book, there's not much more to say. Even not being perfect, it is a reading that I really recommend.

4.5 stars

I'll start this review by saying, I'm not a huge fan of the fake girlfriend trope, that is, until it comes to M. Ullrich. She puts such an interesting spin on the concept, I'm immediately drawn in.

I fell in love with both leads from the get-go. Emma is a spunky, shoot from the hip woman. My kind of lady. Caroline is more reserved but every bit as likeable.

The story is relatively low on angst, and honestly didn't need it. Other than the episode over the date/boat outing (something I could've done without) this story hit all the right notes.

I can't wait to see what M. Ullrich comes up with next.

Verdict - Highly recommended.

Oh, and one last thing - look at that cover! Spectacular and so very fitting. Brilliant.

oved it. I’m not that big a fan of fake relationships but Ullrich hits all the right notes in Pretending in Paradise.

Caroline and Emma are complete opposites. Emma is Travel Wisdom’s travelling reviewer/photographer. She actively blogs her travels and is not afraid to give hotels vacation hot spots bad reviews. Her honesty is valued by her followers. She is self-absorbed, at times selfish and more than happy to enjoy one night stands with the women she meets on her travels. Caroline is not. As a new employee in the PR department of Travel Wisdom she is appalled at Emma’s behaviour on the job and in the workplace. When asked to accompany Emma on a couples retreat by her boss, Caroline carries with her as much personal baggage as checked luggage. Her rigid attitude masks a woman struggling to recover from a failed relationship. Tossed into a couples retreat with orders to curb Emma’s Lothario ways is the last thing Caroline wants or needs. Let the fauxmance begin.

I love reading books by Ullrich. I know I am guaranteed witty and often memorable dialogue between her two mains. (view spoiler) Her characters shine because they are so well drawn. Emma and Caroline begin their retreat with so much venom that it makes the inevitable attraction, respect and acceptance all the sweeter. It doesn’t hurt that the reader feels like they are also on holiday, enjoying the sun, the sand and the nightlife in and around Little Havana. I liked the group activities at the resort and how they serve to bring Emma and Caroline closer together out of necessity so they wouldn’t blow their cover.

This is a romance so we expect some bumps along the way. With all her hangups it is inevitable that Caroline struggles with trust issues but seeing the growth in Emma throughout the story makes it clear that these two are destined to be together. Sex scenes? Why yes there are sex scenes. The first one is memorable and unique to the genre and fits perfectly with the baby steps required in the moment.

Great escapist read. Well done.
4.5 stars

ARC received with thanks from publisher via NetGalley for review.

ARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I wasn’t overly impressed with the last M Ullrich book I read, but I enjoyed this one. I’m a sucker for the fake relationship trope, and this doesn’t disappoint there. The main premise here is that Emma and Caroline both work for the same travel review company, though Caroline has only been there one day. Emma is a reviewer who has posted a review that leads to legal action and Caroline is tasked with travelling with her to keep her in line.

I have to be honest though, I did not like Emma’s character to start with (and I shared Caroline’s opinions of her actions). I could not believe her reaction to the lawsuit, I felt her cavalier disregard for how her behaviour affected her workplace was deplorable, so much so that I almost stopped reading about three chapters in, but because this was an ARC I forced myself to keep reading, and I’m glad I did, because the romance here is very sweet once you get past the set up.

By virtue of attending a couples resort, the two main characters are forced to spend a lot of time together, Emma is very laid back, Caroline is very uptight, and during their time away, they manage to meet in the middle a fair bit. The way they get to know each other and start to fall for each other is believable, and sweet and I also enjoyed the myriad of activities/dates they went on. There’s maybe a bit too much time spent on people hitting on Emma/Caroline’s issues, it felt repetitive after awhile (and I could have done without the sex on the plane scene, seriously, having sex surrounded by a bunch of other people on a crowded plane is not my idea of sexy).

The story extends past them leaving the resort, which gives insight into how they relate after their forced relationship, and this leads to the customary ‘angst’ portion of the story, but it’s over fairly quickly and handled reasonably well, (and includes an pretty sweet callback that I enjoyed very much). There’s also a nice epilogue to wrap things up.

3.5 stars rounded up.