This was a fun and interesting read. I enjoy these stories with circumstances where two characters, who have little in common, are forced to actually get to know one another. But while the best part should be the time it takes for two people to develop a sense of familiarity with one another in fake-romances, I had a hard time believing the intimacy building here. I felt this because they were on vacation and life is a lot more carefree on vacation and also because the little they did learn about one another had nothing to do with how they would fare in a relationship.

DNF at 50%

This book has nice pacing and interesting characters, but I'm afraid it wasn't for me.

I had an issue with one of the main characters saying that she's a lesbian but some men are an exception for her, because to me it read a lot like the whole "lesbians just need to find the right man" argument and I truly couldn't move past it to finish the book. While I understand that sexuality is fluid and people can change labels at any time or sleep with whomever they want, the use of the word "lesbian" in this particular context was upsetting to me personally. However I understand that that won't be the case for everyone else, and so I suggest giving the book a go because the story seemed fun and the character dynamics were interesting.

Enjoyable holiday read. Great setting, who doesn’t want to read a romance set in the sun at an exclusive resort that the characters don’t have to pay for?!

The author is talented enough to write two strong characters who didn’t really need a supporting cast. The opposites attract plot worked well, I liked both of the characters and enjoyed the depth of their relationship. They tried to understand each other rather than the usual conflict/arguments scenarios, although there was some of that as well. All in all worth popping into your suitcase before you head to the airport.

Predictable and pretty boring in my opinion. And if I had a nickel for every time I read about the backs of legs hitting the mattress as the characters moved towards the bed to do the hoochie coochie, well I’d have quite a few nickels to say the least.

This is a fun opposites attract romance. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4. Good character development. Great chemistry. Pretty location. Very sexy.

ARC received for an honest review.

This is a romance about opposites attracting. Caroline Beckett is a PR specialist hired by a travel firm to help resolve some of the company’s problems. Emma Morgan is a travel blogger who works for the company and has gotten herself into a little trouble while on company business. These two ladies are polar opposites and from their first meeting they are butting heads. Consequently, when they are sent on a 10-day business trip to review a new resort, neither lady is looking forward to spending time with each other. Unfortunately, it is a couples’ only resort and they have to pretend that they are a couple in order to complete the assignment.

The plot is solid and believable. At times I felt as though I was reading a travel blog because the author did such a wonderful job of describing the tourist amenities. I found it added to the believability of the story.

The characters were well developed and enjoyable. The chemistry between Emma and Caroline is great. I delighted in reading as their relationship changed from antagonistic to loving. The sex scenes were hot!

This is an engaging romance to read this summer while relaxing. I have read several of Ms. Ullrich’s books and have not been disappointed. I give this 5 out of 5 stars.

I was given this ARC in return for a fair and honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. Emma is a travel blogger that is very honest in her reviews. So honest, that the company she writes the reviews for is coming under fire due to her honesty. The company hires Caroline, a new PR specialist, to keep tabs on Emma. Emma is up for an assignment, but it is a couples retreat that just opened. Her company sends Emma and Caroline to pretend to be a couple so Emma can give them a review. There are many twists and turns throughout the book and it is written well.
I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a well written lesbian romance.
I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange in an honest review.

This book is a lesbian rom-com. The sheer difference between the two characters and how they end up liking each other and fall in love. It took half the book for me to start liking Emma. She is a lesbian version of a male player and I'm not a fan of players. It does make for an entertaining story the big differences between Emma and Caroline.

I read two Ullrich books back to back making this my 6th read by her. I have enjoyed them all, but I really enjoyed this one. I love fake relationship books. I loved the way Ullrich brought the two characters together for the trip, and I enjoyed reading how the characters grow close during the trip. The delivery was perfect and this is for sure a book I will be rereading in the future. If you are a fan of fake relationship romances or romances in general you need to pick this one up.

Just finished my second M. Ullrich story and boy did I struggle with it. Pretending in Paradise falls in the fauxmance category that I started almost three weeks ago and that is already an indication I put it away too many times. Main reason? Not the writing itself, Ullrich can write. Not the plot, I like the fake dating trope and the sub-tropical Miami resort location was fun. It was the two main characters, PR specialist Caroline Beckett and travel blogger Emma Morgan.

Emma started out as a complete brat and had a personality transplant around chapter 8 where she suddenly caters to Caroline’s every mood swing (and there were plenty). I still don’t understand why Emma tried so hard because Caroline was a rigid stick in the mud with more hang-ups than I can count on both hands. This one step forward two steps back push and pull courting ritual went on throughout the story and it ruined the romance for me. Sure, there were reasons for Caroline’s behavior but both Emma and the reader are not partial to that until the very end. By then I really didn’t care one way or the other.

Fauxmance fans will love it as will romance fans who like a high maintenance character.

f/f explicit, hot sexy times

Themes: fake dating, Miami resort, Caroline has too many tantrums, Emma girl why do you try so hard?

3.2 stars

* A free copy was provided by Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books Inc. for an honest review.

M. Ullrich is one of my favorites. I had set my expectations high for this book and I wasn’t disappointed.
The story mostly happened in the span of ten days. You might think that it’s too short of a time to fall for someone you just recently met but it didn’t feel quite like it in this story. There was no instant attraction. Having opposite personalities, the MCs didn’t even like each other in the beginning. I think M. Ullrich did a great job in developing the romance in the 10-day period. And she sure knew how to give the story HEA.

I love it when an author makes all my dreams come true in a novel. M Ullrich made me laugh, she made me cry - and she had me swooning over and over again. ‘Pretending in Paradise’ is the story of travel blogger Emma Morgan, a woman who takes advantage of everything on offer on her work trips - and that includes romantic dalliances. But this time it has backfired on her and her boss insists she takes new P.R. Exec Caroline Beckett as an insurance against any further bad behaviour. The only problem is, Caroline comes across as repressed and so tightly wound that Emma is dreading sharing a trip with her. But as they get to know each other - due to the fact that they are visiting a couples resort and have to fake a relationship - it appears the might just find they like each other.

I really loved Emma. She was fun, gorgeous and had a very caring and considerate side to her nature. She wasn’t at all what I expected. Caroline may come across as prickly and uptight but I just wanted to hug her. I could see why Emma was so drawn to her. The setting of a brand spanking new couples resort in Florida was wonderful. I want to go there! I enjoyed seeing it through Emma’s eyes - as a seasoned professional blogger. Caroline’s perspective was very different but let me see how a rookie traveller would experience it. The romantic element was sweet and taken slowly but that was exactly how it needed to be. And the sex - oh my! It was hot and inventive and very, very naughty. A wonderful story - and another M Ullrich novel to add to my list of favourites.

I was given this ARC for review.

My eyes fell on this book because it sounded perfect to get into a summer mood. I hadn’t read a romance book yet with a female-female relationship, and I was quite curious. My expectations weren’t particularly high or low, but I was really content after reading it!

The book starts off at PR specialist Caroline’s first day at travelwisdom.com. When she first meets travel reviewer Emma, there’s no spark at all. It’s absolutely NOT love at first sight. Tough the two women don’t get along, they have to work together. Emma receives a rare opportunity to go to a brand new couples resort, and Caroline is assigned to come along to keep Emma in line. Caroline has little choice, because she wants to stay on good terms with her new boss. Since it’s a retreat only meant for couples, they have to pretend like one to blend in. This makes for a new, unique setting where fake romance and a hate to love relationship are combined in an extraordinary way.

The manner in which the characters are brought together is possible, but feels slightly unrealistic. Nevertheless, it made their relation more interesting. It gives the characters a good reason to dislike each other. Because the book is written from both perspectives, it’s easier to understand the actions of Caroline and Emma.

The character development was done very well. Both characters were properly thought out and had different layers. They weren’t perfect and likeable, both women have their flaws. Caroline is insecure and lives too much in the past, while Emma is selfish and curious. Not that curiosity is a bad trait, but Emma tends to press Caroline to tell everything about herself. This makes Caroline very uncomfortable.
Slowly, you find out more about the backstories of the women. During reading, I became especially curious about Caroline’s story. She acts a lot based on her past and it’s interesting to find out why. I really liked how M. Ullrich let the characters develop and how they play a role in helping each other grow. All these factors make it easier to connect to the characters and gives the book a more realistic feeling.

The relationship itself starts off badly, factually speaking. Caroline and Emma are in a place they physically and emotionally don’t want to be. While pretending to love each other, they get closer. The progress has its small ups and downs, rather than one big buildup with a drop and a recover. These small steps are things like Emma forgetting an important fact about Caroline or Caroline finding out about an unexpected interest she shares with Emma. The intimate scenes too were perfectly times and fitted well in the place the characters emotionally were. The variating development creates a more realistic story. It also helps to raise the tension and to keep the book amusing. The romance blossoms in a span of about 10 days, which is unrealistically short for the intimacy they emotionally end up with. However, this wasn’t disturbing to me. I think a slower progress would’ve made the story boring. In the end, the pace was perfect for the length of the book.

I can definitely recommend Pretending in Paradise if you’re looking for a good summer romance. I couldn’t put it down and it made me very curious about the other books of M. Ullrich!

My first time reading a M Ullrich book and it wont be my last.
Caroline is insure whereas Emma is out there and a fun person, but what a cute couple they make.
This book has romance with more than a few funny moments.
This is a book with that 'real fun factor' feel with the added bonus of some hot moments thrown in.
What I really loved about this book was M U was confident to discuss a taboo subject surrounding Caroline's brother.

If you're looking for an enjoyable book to read then this is the one for you

I really enjoyed this book. This is a dual POV fake relationship turned real and one of my favourite tropes.

Emma and Caroline really good together. I loved the resort activities and most of the couples except maybe Sydney and Will. This is a slowburn romance and the steam is only around 70%. They do kiss a couple of times before.

I did think Caroline's behaviour was a bit too much at some points. Like some of the drama was for no reason. I loved her brother Kyle even though he appeared in just one scene.

A fun read overall!
*Provided by the author via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

This is a terrific book that is so very well written. What I loved about the book was that I never knew how it was going to end but I didn’t want the journey to end. There are two main characters in this book one is Caroline, a sort of uptight and rigid woman who is very adverse to relationships, especially any at her workplace. The second character is Emma a sort of carefree and easy person who does not want a relationship as she likes playing the field. When these to meet for the first time there’s an instant dislike and after a few hours they find out that they have to go on a 10 day vacation to a couples only resort which means these two women who have a distain for one another need to be together constantly for 10 days. There’s humor in this book as Emma loves to do things and Caroline would be content to sit and look at the water and read a book.

Another element I liked about this writer’s skill is that she slowly introduced various parts of each character throughout the book so as a reader I got to understand each character’s point of view along with their wishes and desires. This is a great story written by a skilled author and I highly recommend the book.

This is the best and most memorable romance I’ve read in a while. The characters are well written and you can see them grow throughout the novel, the premise is unique and interesting, the dialogue is great, the romance is sweet and hot, the sex scenes are a welcome breath of fresh air. I could not put this book down - it’s one of those rare romances that are worth re-reading again and again.

My favorite thing about this author’s books is the same reason I did not like the first book I read of hers. Her characters are flawed, acerbic, cranky and chaotically human. I didn’t appreciate it in the past because I’ve grown accustomed to expecting likable mc’s in stories.

This is my 4th Ullrich book and each one gets better.

When legal issues ensue, a Travel Website hires a P.R. fixer, Caroline, to smooth over the bad publicity created by their star reviewer, Emma. It’s decided the fixer is to chaperone Emma on her next trip which works out perfectly because it’s a couples only resort. They’ll just have to pretend to be in love.

Emma is selfish, rude, and focused solely on her own needs. Caroline is unbending, harsh, and hugely burdened by past hurts. Some absolutely terrific small scenes and gestures build a heartfelt depth to their story. Their first handholding walk on the beach had me crying. Their interactions with other resort couples had me laughing hard.

Neither Emma nor Caroline magically turn into perfect beings but they do grow. It’s messy, two steps up, one step back kind of progress but it rings true for them as individuals and then eventually, as a couple. If you can let go of the fact that all of this is supposed to happen in 10/11 days, you’ve got a great read.

Netgally Review:

Pretty standard for the genre. The chemistry was okay. I would be willing to read another book by this author. A solid 3 stars for me.

Pretending in Paradise is a story of PR specialist Caroline Beckett chaperoning travel blogger Emma Morgan to a resort in Miami to avoid further issues for Emma and their company following some unprofessional Indiscretions by Emma on previous trips. The plot is a pretend girlfriend scenario at a couples resort that Emma is reviewing during the resorts opening. This is a delightful, fun read that left me feeling I was at the resort experiencing everything. The book contains one of the hottest non-sex scenes that I've ever read.

I would rate this a solid 5 stars since I could not put this book down!

I received an ARC from Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books in exchange for an honest review.