If We Pretend by Chrissy Hopewell had well-developed characters and a plot that was engaging. This book was a great read. Highly recommend!

**Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for the e-ARC. All opinions expressed are voluntary and my own.**

This was a perfect summer vacation read! Reese Hart heads to Scotland for the summer, seeking to reset her life while her daughter attends an elite soccer camp. She aims to move past her ex-husband and former best friend, who are now engaged and eager to reconnect with her. A summer fling is not in her plans. Oliver Vass, a former professional soccer player whose career ended due to an injury and subsequent bad behavior, is also in Scotland running soccer training. He's trying to clean up his act to maintain his relationship with his ten-year-old son. When Reese’s ex and his fiancée arrive in Scotland, her plans for a peaceful summer are disrupted. Oliver proposes they fake date to help each other out—Reese can avoid her ex, and Oliver can show he's responsible to his son. Their chemistry intensifies, leading to a passionate kiss, but with Reese's departure looming, they must determine if their relationship is real or just an act. "If We Pretend" is a dual POV romance set against the beautiful Scottish Borders, perfect for fans of Tessa Bailey, Lucy Score, Meghan Quinn, and Ted Lasso.

This was such a satisfying read! Did I get caught muttering at the characters and giggling more than once? Yes. It wasn't the first time and won't be the last. The people Chrissy Hopewell has written are multidimensional and feel as if they could jump off the page. I absolutely love the message ingrained within the romance between the characters. It's truly inspirational.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.
This was a great book and I'll be purchasing it for the library.

This book is one you’ll just fly through. It’s engaging, fun and has the perfect amount of spice and plot ratio.

This book had little so many tropes I love:
- Dual POV
- Scottish setting
- soccer romance
- fake dating
- single parent

I was really impressed with If We Pretend given it’s the authors debut novel - she really went in with a bang!

Reese and Oliver meet while Reese in Scotland with her daughter for soccer camp. they end up fake dating for reasons that should help them both, but what happens when it is time for Reese to return home to the US? I liked how it was told from both points of view and look forward to the next book in the series.

who doesn't love a fake dating troupe?!
The characters were super likable and sweet, loved their chemistry together and how they were written!
I had to google a bunch of the Scottish slang but still absolutely loved!

If we pretend was ok, however it felt like the beginning was in the middle of plots and I couldn't get into it. I lost interest fast early on. Did not finish at 30 percent. I liked the idea of the plot though and the setting.

One of the best fake dating romance tropes I've read. I loved how both Reese and Oliver grew individually and how they came together in the end. I love that Reese was in her 30's and you could tell based on her personality. And I loved how much of Scotland was in the story. A must read for sure.

A super cute, steamy fake dating sports rom-com with a serious plot line.

Recently divorced single mom, Reese, needs some distance from her ex-husband and his new fiancée (her now ex-best friend) who are ready to become one big, happy family. She accompanies her teenage daughter to Scotland for a month-long soccer camp, looking forward to a quiet, solo retreat to recoup.

Sexy tattooed ex-pro footballer, Oliver, is struggling to figure out his future and recover his reputation plus the sacrifices he made to play. In an effort to take a step in the right direction, he stands in as assistant coach for a girls summer camp where he finds himself in the middle of a surprise encounter between the parents of one of his athletes, literally. He leans into his instinct to help the attractively flustered mom and offers to help buffer the situation as her new boyfriend, if only she will return the favor with his estranged family on the last day of her trip.

The MCs had instant chemistry which I adored. Just the right amount of spice you expect from a fake dating trope. They were both mature and relatable with realistic insecurities and concerns given their circumstances. Anytime you introduce children to a storyline, it deepens the emotional connection between the characters. This one was no exception.

A quick, but deeply endearing romance with a sweet ending. On the quest for closure, they both discover a new beginning.

The premise and cover were what drew me in and led me to request If We Pretend on Netgalley (thank you to Netgalley and Chrissy Hopewell/Fox Hollow Publishing!). I'm glad I got to read this one because Chrissy Hopewell has a really easy-to-read writing style and manages to write likable, sympathetic main characters in her debut. I really liked both Reese and Oliver and found them very sweet and down-to-earth.

If I didn't like them both so much, I wouldn't have been able to make it through the drama with Reese's exes (ex-husband and ex-friend) because they infuriated me. You cannot make me like them; I refuse to read the prequel novella on Adrian and Britt (can't understand why it was written tbh but maybe other people didn't hate them as much as I did idk) after the opinion I've got of them from this book. Read the room and leave Reese alone; the number of times I wanted to yell at them and get them to back off when they could tell Reese was not happy around them, like stfu Britt? Don't go pretending you've never done anything wrong and that you've got the moral high ground and supposedly being "worried" about Reese after everything. You just want Reese to forget your betrayal and have her there for you.

I will say the reading discussion questions make me think Hopewell genuinely meant for Britt and Adrian to seem like decent people, but I don't buy it. I refuse to accept it because of all the pain they caused Reese and the way Britt kept overstepping boundaries and acting as if she knew what would be best for Reese's daughter--stfu and go away forever, thanks.

Okay this has turned into me complaining about Reese's exes (but seriously, I got so ANGRY on Reese's behalf), but there's actually a lot to like about the book if you can manage to forget about the backstabbing ex-best friend (and Reese being bullied into feeling like she should try being friends with Britt again and feeling guilty over not feeling good about it). Reese, as a 37-year-old single mom, is such a nice person who loves her family a lot: her mom, her sisters (Reese is, of course, the oldest), and her daughter Chelsea. Post-divorce, she's really been trying her best to be a good example for Chelsea because she feels partly responsible for all the turmoil of the divorce (even though I still don't see how she's at fault when her exes are the problems *shrugs*) and wants to be the best mom she can be. Oliver, a 32-year-old former pro soccer (football) player, is trying to figure out his life post-pro-athlete career so that he can get the chance to be a father to his son Lucas.

Both of them are a little lost in different ways: Reese with her uncertainty about how to untangle the mess of her personal life and Oliver with how to show his son's mother that he's changed and can be a stable figure in his son's life. Their attraction and chemistry is instantaneous and obvious, and naturally it leads to a fake dating scenario when Britt and Adrian unexpectedly show up in Scotland and demand (seriously, that's what it feels like with how pushy they are) to hang out with Reese and Oliver offers to act as a buffer, also asking for Reese's help by showing up to his son's 10th birthday party as a way to make him look like he has his shit together. Their effort to make the relationship look believable ends up making everything pretty real pretty quickly, as Reese and Oliver have adorably sweet get-to-know-you text conversations and in-person discussions, and watching these two open up to each other is what truly makes this book special. The time period of this relationship, considering the soccer summer camp is only a month long, may be short, but Reese lets down her guard since she figures they're only fake-dating, and her openness and warmth and acceptance lead to Oliver telling her things about himself that very few know.

I love the maturity in their relationship, as there's a confrontation that happens when the secret Oliver hid from her (his son's existence) gets out, but after her initial anger, once Oliver explains, she understands his fear and insecurity that she would see him differently and wouldn't want to spend time with him anymore and makes a point to tell Oliver to just talk to her about anything that's on his mind next time. That made me so happy to see because it's such a healthy example of communication. They've got their faults, obviously, with Oliver having a rough go of his childhood with his cold parents and view of himself as being worthless for anything except soccer, and Reese not believing in romantic love and also being terrible at enforcing boundaries and keeping her exes away from her and trying to be the perfect example for her daughter. They both frustrated me at times, but ultimately, their relationship was so sweet that I couldn't help but root for them. (And I was really looking forward to Reese telling Britt and Adrian off... which she did, but not satisfyingly enough to me because unlike Reese, I would totally yell at them or at least say out loud some of the things she left unsaid at the very end. I wish she'd outright said it because they deserve to feel like the pieces of shit they are, sorry not sorry.)

The realization Oliver has about his own life and his understanding that he has more sides to him as a person than he'd believed he did after all the time he spent with Reese and her unwavering belief in his worth is such a good moment in this book. And then the grand romantic gesture :') that was so cute. It didn't happen how I thought it might, originally, but it was actually better because it showed all of the thought that went into the decision and gesture, and I love the epilogue. There is a little steam, but overall I'd rate this one as pretty tame (I think there are only two scenes on-page). A lot of this book is pretty internal-conflict-driven in terms of the romance, so the character growth really shines here.

I do hope there's actually the bonus epilogue somewhere? I signed up for Hopewell's newsletter but haven't found it in the email... only the novella that I refuse to read because I can't bring myself to care about either of Reese's exes.

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy. I really enjoyed this and will be getting copies for my shop.

This was a really cute story - especially of you like the fake dating trope. I loved the international setting combined with him being her daughter's football coach. I also loved the soccer vs football banter.

I loved how they were there for each other even under the fake relationship. I also loved her daughter telling her mom that boundaries are a good thing.

Overall a fun quick read. If you love Scotland I think you'll really enjoy it.

I received an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley. This is my honest review.

This was for me a good book that I enjoyed reading. I enjoyed the storyline and loved that she had Scottish English in the mix.
I loved that this was a fake dating.

So, I was really excited to dive into this book, expecting a real page-turner. However, it didn't quite hit the mark for me. 😕 It lacked that spark, felt too simple and somewhat blah.

A big thanks to @netgalley and @victorypub for the ARC.

If you're into sporty romance vibes, this might be your thing. Fake dating in Scotland sounds adorable, but the execution just didn't work for me.
Reese's plan to reset in Scotland had potential, but the whole fake dating thing felt a bit forced.

Reese and Oliver, they're cute, but their chemistry was like a sparkler that fizzes out too soon. 🎇 Sweet moments in ancient abbey ruins, but it didn't make my heart race.

In the end, if you're up for a laid back sporty vibe and simplicity doesn't bother you, then totally go for it.

I absolutely loved this light rom-com book! The characters were genuine and sweet and I loved cheering them on. The setting in Scotland (a place on my bucket list) made it that much better. I loved the witty banter and the accent coming through. I can’t wait to read more books by this author. I give this book 5 out of 5 stars

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This was such a satisfying read! Did I get caught muttering at the characters and giggling more than once? Yes. It wasn't the first time and won't be the last. The people Chrissy Hopewell has written are multidimensional and feel as if they could jump off the page. I absolutely love the message ingrained within the romance between the characters. It's truly inspirational. Chrissy Hopewell is now and forevermore one of my auto-read authors.

This is my first time reading something by Ms Hopewell and I can guarantee it won't be my last. I was completely pulled into the story from the very start and engaged till the end. I like that the protagonist, Reese, was more mature character, having a daughter and having been through a lot. She's had a lot to deal with from her ex husband and former best friend. She goes to Scotland for a reset while her daughter is at soccer camp, and didn't expect to have a summer fling with the handsome former soccer player, Oliver.
When her ex husband also shows up with his new fiance, her plan of resetting goes down the drain, until Oliver comes up with an idea to distract her. They will pretend to fake date each other.
I absolutely adored the way Oliver stepped up to help out Reese so she didn't have to face her ex and his fiance alone. Oliver and Reese's relationship was swoon-worthy, warm and friendly but they also had some major sparks flying. This story, although a fun and lighthearted romance, the it definitely had some emotional layers, and dealt with some real life issues. But all in all, the story will warm your heart and put a smile on your face and give some good laughs along the way. An absolutely delightful read!
I received a complimentary copy from Netgalley and am voluntarily leaving my review.

I absolutely LOVED this fake dating, dual POV, sports romance between two single parents set in Scotland over the summer. All my favorite things coalesced in this new indie romance and I couldn't read it fast enough. Highly recommended for fans of Tessa Bailey and Lucy Score. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

If We Pretend by Chrissy Hopewell
Release Date: October 10th
4/5 Stars
Thank you Chrissy Hopewell and Fox Hollow Publishing for my advanced copy in exchange for my review.

Fake dating has always been one of my most favorite rom com themes, and the fact that this one takes place in Scotland (first location on my travel bucket list), I knew I was going to not only read it, but enjoy it.

Reese finds herself in Scotland for the summer while her daughter takes part in soccer camp. What she doesn’t plan on is that her ex-husband and his new fiancée (her ex-best friend) would also have the same idea. When assistant coach, and former bad boy, Oliver recognizes her distress, he comes up with an ingenious plan: they will fake date for the summer. Reese will have protection from her ex-best friend’s reconciliation plans, but he will have a “safe” girlfriend to help him with his own reconciliation plans. What they don’t factor in is their insane chemistry. The summer just got more interesting for the both of them!

This book was the quintessential romantic comedy. Reese and Oliver had attraction and chemistry from the start, so their love story felt real and organic. Their motivation was clear, even as their relationship got more murky. The only real issue I had with the book was Reese’s continued insistence on mending fences with her exes. With every character telling her she didn’t need to forgive, I found myself agreeing more and more. However, this didn’t stop me from enjoying the book, and I would certainly read it again!