Ovidia and Edmund have made arrangements for their Saturday in Spring but their plans are to be thwarted when Edmund's brother, Jasper and new fiancée, Holly decide to pay Edmund an impromptu visit to celebrate their recent engagement, inviting friends Anne and John along, too. The Pretenders follows the six friends over the course of one day, with flashbacks over several years, as long-held secrets are uncovered.

Little by little revelations are made, concealments surface and lies are exposed. The tension gradually builds and I soon found myself rapidly flipping the pages in my desperation to find out what was happening and what had occurred. Agatha Zaza's fresh, sharp writing style worked for me and the story included some convincing shocks along the way. A dark and compelling family-drama-style thriller that I highly recommend and a really great début to boot!

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Agora Books via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

Did not realize this was the author's first book until after I read it. She writes like a pro. Story line was engaging. I thought it was going to be a thriller, but the story line was more thought provoking as we learned more and more about each character, their secrets and how they were intertwined with each other.

Got through about 50%. Found this one really boring. Nothing happens really. Edmund and Ovidia are strange characters as are the rest of their family and friends. Whilst this was well written, there was too much dialogue,no action and no real plot. Sadly not for me and I was unable to continue.

This was slow to start but worth sticking with. The slow unfurling of secrets and lies was fascinating and well done albeit a little heavy-going in places.

I found this book very confusing from the start. I struggled with it but I persevered and found it an interesting story. Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers and the author for the privilege to read this book for my honest opinion

Initially I found this book slow to start but once I got into the swing of things, I really started to enjoy it. I’d say this whole book was a slow burn as it didn’t really pick up the pace for me, but it will still an easy read with great character development. I wouldn’t call this a thriller as some people have. I picked the main ‘twist’/secret straight away, but the story was still intriguing as I wanted to see it all unfold. I enjoyed reading about each couple and watching their secrets and histories unfold.

I enjoyed how the story moved from past to present and how Agatha Zaza used this to introduce the characters and slowly reveal their lives as the story progressed. I was a little underwhelmed with the ending as it wasn’t what I had hoped for – Yes, I was looking for a happy ending. Overall a good read with great character development. I will definitely be picking up more books by Zaza in the future.

I’m on the fence with this book, the premise was interesting but I found the writing style and character development confusing.

Not a great story at all. None of their secrets were anything big or crazy except for the main characters which turned out to be a bad ending and pretty much non existent. I skimmed through most of this book as I knew it wasnt going to be that interesting.

I found it difficult to grasp what was happening or more importantly why it was happening. While reading I felt like I didn’t get what was going on, not sure if that was the aim of the plot but it had me questioning everything and feeling like I had missed something. I did finish the book and looked forward to picking it up each night however it wasn’t as enjoyable as I would of liked as I just found it a strange read.

Love the concept but the writing wasn't strong enough for so many characters and stories. I kept thinking "surely we are near the end" but then I'd be like a third in. A better editor could have helped I think. It just went on and on and the ending was satisfying enough to be worth the slog it took to get there.

An interesting read with a strong storyline and a range of credible characters.
I liked the way each of their stories and secrets unravelled over the course of the book, with a steady pace.
I certainly had no expectations as to where the story would go when I started it and was pleasantly surprised. A slightly different read from usual, which made it refreshing.
But I would have liked a bit more depth and insight into the taboo subjects. ***no spoilers here***
I was given an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest and independent review.

The Pretenders is well written by Agatha Zaza, but it isn't a read for me. I am not sure who the audience is for this one, but I just didn't love it enough to finish it.

Thank you to Agora Books and NetGalley for the Reader's Copy!

Now available.

Part dramatic comedy, part romantic tragedy, part family drama, "The Pretenders" has a bit of everything for everyone. When Jasper surprises his reclusive brother Edmund with the news of his engagement, he ends up uncovering a lot more than he expected. Along for the ride are his fiance Holly, his best friend John and his uptight wife Anne. What starts as a group of acquaintances quickly evolves into a tangled web of deception, romance and deeply held secrets.

One of the things that amazed me is the timespan Zaza covers in this book. All the central action occurs in a single evening but the book itself spans over ten years. An ultimate indictment of our "polite" society, Zaza mimes what happens when the gloves come off. If you enjoyed the Netflix show Lovesick, then this is the right book for you.

Absolutely brilliant from beginning to end. I just wanted more of the book cos I enjoyed it so much.

When Jasper and his friends drop in on his brother Edmund one Saturday morning, all Jasper wants is to share the good news of his engagement to Holly. But when he discovers his abusive ex-girlfriend Ovidia is now living with Edmund, Jasper’s mood starts to change. Edmund is also battling his own problems, and the happy outing soon turns sour. Will life ever be the same for any of the group?

The Pretenders took a while to get going. It’s a rather complicated telling of the story, with many unanswered questions for much of the book. Most of the action takes place over a single day, with flashbacks to events in Jasper and Edmund’s lives, but it’s a day where things change for all three couples. Every character is found to be hiding something, and gradually their stories, and lives, begin to unravel.

A good book, different to many, with many twists and turns along the way.

I will start by saying i loved this book. The story revolves around 6 people whose lives are all connected from the past to the present. Some of the stories are tough to read but it is very well written. I can really recommend this book and I will look out for other books by Agatha Zara.

I'm struggling to know how I feel about The Pretenders. I found it difficult to get into at the start and wasn't really warming to any of the characters. However, as I kept reading I found myself full of angst, I wanted to know what was going on between all the characters and why nobody was really asking all the right questions.

I felt as uncomfortable reading it as the some of the characters felt being in Edmunds house. I wanted to leave! Perhaps that's a good indication of a book written well and I was meant to feel uncomfortable, who knows. I will say that it covers some very dark topics and I honestly don't know how Edmund continued supporting Ovidia after everything she had done, all so dysfunctional.

A great read to get conversations going especially for book clubs.

This was an interesting book. I found it slightly uncomfortable in places, I did and I did not want to know what was to happen. It is a clever story, written from an unusual perspective. The familial and non familial relaltionships are very well drawn. It is in places incredibly sad but it deals very well with difficult subject matter. I enjoyed it and would recommend it.

This book is set in one day, three couples and 2 exes. Straight away I want to know what it’s all about.
Very strong characters, lots of lies between them that I just wanted to find out more.
An interesting story but considering it is set in one day it isn’t fast paced.

A very different book.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for my copy of The Pretenders. This is a very well written plot that keeps on surprising the reader, and not usually in a good way. The characters were all well delineated but seemed to be from a previous century and none of them were very likeable other than Hollie who we find out the least about.

This book really should have a trigger warning as I was immensely shocked by the ending if not earlier parts of the story as I could relate to it only too well.