This is a five-star read that was a four in places. I really liked most of this story, but there were a couple of bits that just didn’t rub me the right way, there were bits that just didn’t make sense if I’m honest. The overall though that won me over, it was sweet and spicy and had its usual flow that this author brings, maybe that’s why I liked it overall and gave it five-stars. I think that it’s the relationship between Elle and Clara (August’s grandma) in fact Clara as a whole was a great character that you don’t often get to see. Both Grans have that extra something and they kind of make up for some of the other bits that aren’t as good. I simply love how the chapters have a title; it gives you a little glimpse into what you are going to get. Elle will captivate you, if you have ever had a migraine you will completely feel for her, that experience is so well written.

I’m not a big fan of the May/Dec romance trope. I’ve liked Ms. Snow’s previous work so I gave it a fair chance. There were some good points to the story but the main characters left something to be desired. When Elle, a 20 something is thrust by circumstance into the world of a stoic billionaire 10+ years her senior, their age difference and maturity levels were glaringly obvious. There were great parts of character development on both sides, eventually. I just could not get past Elle giving August, this established businessman the nickname Gruffykins. Also her choices for the themed society wedding she chose were tacky. If I did the math right, she hadn’t been born until a decade later. These were my personal thoughts. I am grateful for the free advanced copy from Netgally, I hate to be negative but this was a miss for me.

Thank you to bet galley for this chance to read this book.
Never read anything by this author i always wanted to. Some very intriguing books. I liked this book alot it has my name in which everytime i read it made me smile. I do love the writing style. The characters are all really well thought out.. Elle and August are just amazing. Their is one part that just me almost cry but a good cry. I do recommend this book and cant wait to read more from this author.

This is a wild, totally unrealistic plot, yet for the vast majority of the book it kind of works. Elle is a fabulous character that I truly appreciated all her quirks. August is as uptight as they get, but in the moments that these two banter is really where I found the dialogue to shine. At times I wanted to laugh with how outlandish some of the scenes were, but because of that, I think that's what makes the book for the most part enjoyable. I will say that when they are kissing, the way it's written is too graphic, and not in a good way. There is a scene in a kindergarten classroom (ages 5-6) yet they are written like 3-4 year olds who are still taking naps. Maybe the author herself doesn't have children, but a little research goes a long way. That includes when one of the characters puts a newborn baby down in a crib full of blankets. That's grossly irresponsible on the author's part. It's my first time reading one of the author's book and I would try another.

Although the plot was pretty far-fetched, Almost Pretend was still a swoony romance featuring a marriage of convenience. Elle and August are a good match and I actually liked the sub-plot of the side characters' dilemma and involvement in publishing. While reading I was well aware that this was a fictional story with a widowed billionaire, fake marriage, young artist yet I was still invested.... until I reached the ending. The courtroom scene bordered on ridiculous and felt full-on kitschy rom-com - not the brooding romance everything had been up to that point. It just didn't fit. Other than that, Almost Pretend was pretty much exactly what you would expect from a marriage of convenience, slow-burn, age-gap romance. Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

August and Elle meet under some migraine inducing circumstances. Literally. She’s battling a migraine on a noisy airplane and he happens to be her seat neighbor and conveniently catches her when she faints after getting to Seattle. When news gets wind and prints photos of her falling into his arms, they MUST fake date to save their reputations, mainly August’s, to save his family company amongst other things. She’s turned his world upside down but he can’t help falling in love with her. The spice is spicy. The chaos Elle brings is to die for and August’s past tugs at your heart.

4/5 ⭐️
2.5/5 🌶

Tropes:
♡ Age Gap
♡ Grumpy/Sunshine
♡ Fake Dating
♡ She fell first (literally), he fell harder

I honestly didn't think I would get as attached to these characters as much as I did. At first, I felt a little weary about it because Elle was very quirky and sometimes it's not my favorite female character trait - but I was proved SO wrong. Elle was so funny and cute and her banter with August was so fun to read.

It honestly felt like I was reading an early 2000's inspired rom-com, and if you know anything about rom-coms you know that the best ones were made then. I loved the ending/epilogue, it felt so put together and I am hoping here are spinoffs for certain characters *cough, cough* Deb and Lena *cough, cough*

Every character had a purpose, and this book is making me excited to see what else Nicole Snow has to offer.

This book was received as an ARC by Netgalley

4.5 Stars! This is yet another new to me author, and I liked it so much that I'd love to try another from Nicole Snow! I found this book to be a balm to what's happening in the real world right now. Yes, the story arc was a bit far-fetched. But I'm going to put that aside because this is fiction. And for me, it was fun to read, and a relief to watch August come out of his shell and come to terms with how he became a widower, and to stop blaming himself for someone else's actions. And for Elle to be such a positive person, despite all of her medical issues that she's been fighting since birth. She is August's total opposite, and balances out his straight-laced seriousness and grumpiness and helps him become human again. Elle is so genuine that I think she's everyone's wishful BFF. The beach scene was so spicy, it was a nice balance to the seriousness of the story.

The secondary characters are also easy to love. Gran is my favorite. She gives great advice and is so supportive of Elle and her decisions. And I love the story ARC around August's Aunt Clara. Hit me in the feels, and I loved that she also got her HEA.

Another thing I really loved about this book is that she titled every chapter. Very few authors do this. I think it's great that an author can sum up the chapter in just a few words! I looked forward to the start of each chapter, and in a few cases, it really made me want to keep reading even though I had wanted to go to bed!

In the About the Author section at the end of the book, it says about Nicole Snow, “she lives for the joy of making two people fight with every bit of their soul for a happily ever after.” And boy, did she ever!

Thank you Nicole Snow and NetGalley for this ARC. The above is my own and personal opinion.

Almost Pretend follows an illustrator named Elle who’s full of sunshine and a stone-cold, grumpy billionaire named August with the ever classic trope of fake dating.

I fell in love with the opening chapter! Elle’s mysterious and confusing seat-mate on the plane who is secretly chivalrous in subtle but important ways had me already swooning. I absolutely loved the banter in the beginning, it kept the story light and fun. You couldn’t help but love Elle’s antics throughout.

With a chronic illness representation I appreciated, this was a cute story, even if I was cursing August through a lot of it. My biggest complaint is how long the chapters were. I’m also sad her chronic illness issues seemingly disappeared after the first chunk of the book, as I really enjoyed August’s observant, white knight displays making him easy to love in those moments. Overall, this was a really cute book and the story hit many good tropes!

Thank you NetGalley and Montlake for the eArc.

First, thank you NetGalley, the author and the publisher for providing an ARC of this novel.
Unfortunately, I just could not get into this book. I tried multiple times and while I did finish, it was a struggle honestly. I love Nicole Snow books and was really excited for this one but the characters just missed the mark for me.
I am giving it 3 stars for the smut, which was great.
But overall, just not my cup of tea.

I love a good grumpy meets sunshine with some fake dating/engagement. I was hooked from the beginning.

Elle Lark, the strawberry blonde sunshine, always living life to the fullest. Moving back to take care of grandma and gets horrible migraines that puts her into the arms of August Marshall “Jet Daddy” who is a stubborn grump and has written off love due to a previous lift altering relationship.

Thank you NetGalley and Montlake for the eArc.

Loved reading the entertaining and engrossing romance story. When August, a billionaire, catches Elle before she falls, they become a news sensation, and August has Elle pretend to be his fiancee. Read the highly recommended, wonderfully written, and a must read riveting love story by the amazing and awesome, author, Nicole Snow.

I loved this book! August meets Elle on a red eye from NY to Seattle. She suffers from migraines and gets one on the plane. He proves to be a grumpy asshole on the flight until they land and he becomes her knight in shining armor when she passes out getting off the plane and he catches her helps her. August happens to be a billionaire with some sordid history in the press. When they are captured in photographs after she passes out, they decide it’s best for them both if they fake an engagement to get the press off their backs. Elle is a sunshine, happy artist who is a newish college grad and wants to be a children’s illustrator, while August is a grumpy business man who is in his early 30s and happens to be currently working to save his aunt’s children’s book series and publishing company. Overall, I loved the steam and the tension and found the characters so lovable, even grumpy August. Thank you to NetGalley for my eARC of this book. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

•Age gap
•Grumpy/sunshine
•Fake engagement

A great rom com! This is one of these books that just makes you feel good. There is nothing super dramatic or revolutionary about it, you most likely won't even remember Elle's & August's story in few months, but you'll remember how much fun you had reading a book from this author and you'll come back for more.

I loved all the characters! August's grumpy complmeting Elle's Sunshine. The book was super easy to read and get into. I found Elle's insecurities and how she was second guessing her feelings towards August very relatable. I loved the banter, it made me giggle. The romance was really good, I smiled at all the cute interactions. I had a few eye rolls as well, so you can say the book gave me the whole spectrum of emotions, what I really appreciated!

I had a lot of fun! Thank you NetGalley and the publishing company for the ARC!

First and foremost, thank you NetGalley and Montlake for sending an arc my way.

Almost Pretend is my first Nicole Snow book, though I've seen her books around Amazon multiple times. This is an age-gap, grumpy/sunshine, fake dating romance. Most of those tropes I'm down with.
I giggled, I slightly swooned, I rolled my eyes and then also rolled them even harder -- I felt confused and happy and annoyed. Basically, I went through it all with this book and here I am, still unable to really articulate my thoughts. While it was, overall, a pretty good time, though ... I don't think it goes beyond that. Nothing will really stick with me. Nothing was particularly revolutionary or even new. And, of course, it was fairly easy to see where it was all going before it even really began. But, it was fun, overall, while reading.
So, solid.3 star ... Maybe a 3.5 star.

ARC review

I am bursting with thoughts, so allow me to attempt to translate them all to page. Almost Pretend follows Elle, a sunshiney illustrator, and August, a stone-cold billionaire, in one of my favorite tropes - fake dating. In the first quarter of the novel, my attention was captured. Elle suffers from a chronic illness that I share, intense migraines, and after August displays his white knight behavior in helping her out, she is met with his mutually beneficial proposal to pretend an engagement.

I must say that I enjoyed the beginning of the book and the character's early banter and vulnerability over their dynamic as the book progressed. For fear of spoiling, I will vaguely leave it at that, but I desired better conflict resolution from the male main character. My parting note will be that the epilogue was absolutely adorable!

Thank you NetGalley and the publishing company for this arc!

I am a hugggggeeee Nicole Snow fan. I have read over 15 of her books this year alone. So I was so excited to get this ARC and that it was a part of the Seattle series. But it unfortunately didn’t give me all the feels like other books of hers. The storyline felt rushed yet didn’t follow through quickly. Don’t get me wrong, I will definitely be reading more of Nicole Snow’s books. This one was just not my favorite.

Thank you for sending me the ARC of Almost Pretend.

Engaging story about Elle, who ends up engaged to a billionaire who kindly rescued her from a plane during a bad migraine attack. Yeah, I get them, too- I just never had the billionaire (sigh).

Once the snide media publishes an incorrect version of events, August Marshall, the billionaire, proposes a fake engagement to make himself look better and to save Elle from embarrassment and harassment. Of course, we all know how that trope is going to play out. The question is—- how well did the author do it?

I give the book a 4 star rating. To me, that means I can recommend it without hesitation. Elle is a young 23-year-old. August is in his early 30s. The ten year gap is never discussed, never an issue. They have good chemistry together. Elle’s grandmother is a fantastic side character, and some of the others have great potential as side characters. I would like to see them have a stronger role, but what I did see was good.

I liked the book. I recommend this to readers who enjoy the trope and who also are looking for a humorous, light read. The sex scenes are pretty steamy. Four stars.

“Almost Pretend” is this dysfunctional love story where the protagonist, August, built this hard wall around him since he was a little boy. He just never encountered good examples in the human department. Elle, on the other hand, had more opportunities to learn, becoming this extremely positive person who sees good everywhere and in everyone.
This story is full of second and third chances among all the characters.

This book is a light reading. It’s definitely something you will expect in the romance category. There is not big plot to have you awake at night, just a book to unwind at the end of the day.

I personally enjoy this book. It was well written and the story had a nice rhythm that makes you relax and just appreciate a very happy ending.

Loved this story. August Marshall is probably the grumpiest MMC that I have ever seen. I love it when jerks fall and fall hard which is what happens in this story. Elle is such a strong spirited women who has such a lightness to her. In true Nicole fashion, there was to be some unexpected twists and I did NOT see this one coming either. Another well written piece by Nicole.