This book is so boring and unbelievable
The characters are so underwhelming
The writing is very clunky
A dreadful book

Books shouldn't be stressful to read and this was.
Although I enjoyed the storyline and characters, I got a bit annoyed at times with this book. Hence the 3 stars

The Pretenders Agatha Zaza

This is a well written book that follows the life of 6 people whose lives are so intertwined they can’t be separated. There are many twists and turns as we follow the individual stories as they are all eventually told/unfold. It’s set on one day that peels away like an onion all brought about by an impromptu visit.

This book is full of very emotional subject matter that some readers might find difficult that in life are not normally disclosed such as; abuse - physical and mental, death, depression and more besides.

An emotional drama at it’s best . Very slow start but it’s many twists draw you in. Not my normal read and not for the faint hearted .

Thank you for providing me with an advance review copy of this book. Enjoyed reading, would recommend....

A super-tense read as everything is revealed and starts to unravel over the course of a day. I couldn't say I enjoyed it as I found it quite stressful to read!

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I found the book a bit slow but I did enjoy the characters and the many secrets that they hold. The fact that the book mostly happens in one setting with the aid of flashbacks increases tension.

I don't really know what to say about this book.... it is ... well I don't know. It is a story, but also is not. And it just ENDED. stopped. finished. It is well written but the plot is not for me.

I love a book that takes place in a very short period of time, like a day in this one. The skill it takes to write in this way effectively is always amazing when it is done well. This one is good!

I found this book a little slow to begin with, took me a while to get into and get to know the characters. It was good when it got going though, lots of secrets revealed amongst a complex group of friends.
All in all a good read.

Not really sure what this book was... Got to the end and I was like, WTH (for not saying worse...). This story just went downhill and got darker for no apparent reason the more it went through, and then the ending... Did I read all that for that??? Sadly, no, did not win me in any way.

I really wanted to like this book. The synopsis was right up my alley. Unfortunately, I couldn[t relate to any of the characters and the whole thing fell flat.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in return for my honest review.

A debut book from a talented new author. From the very start this grips you and grabs you in. Secrets and lies and a huge fallout! A very strong 4/5.

1 "don't f-in tell me that this is prosecco...this is bloody baby duck !" stars !!

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and Agora books for an e-copy. This was released November 2020. I am providing my honest review.

This novel is maudlin. This book is unbelievable. This story is ridiculous. These characters are unidimensional. The writing is awkward. The prose is clunky. (kind of like this review...RIGHT ?)
Alanis Morrisette might have said Ironic ?


The cover and descriptions are so enticing but in the end it was baby duck and not only was it baby duck but flat baby duck. Ay yayayay !

Three couples. Two exes. One day. One reckoning.
This story is the authors debut novel and I was impressed, it’s very well written, tracking the events of three couples over one day. Secrets and lies and the unfolding dramas, leaving me wanting to know the outcomes and not put the book down.
Well recommended dark read that’s a bit different for usual thriller.
Thanks for NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

#ThePretenders #NetGalley

this was a good domestic thriller that the plot had me at first bite. The only downfall was it took a while to get moving. Its still worth the read. Lots of secrets in this book.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

interesting read and kept me glued till the end of the story, would recommend this author

I really enjoyed this book. The whole book takes place in the course of one day. It gives an insight into the different relationships of each of the couples and plays on biases of the reader which I really enjoyed. Discussed as a part of my May reads: https://fashionandfrappes.com/may-reads-everything-i-read-in-may/

I found this book a little confusing and wished that the characters of Holly, Anne and John had been developed more.

The book is centred around a Saturday where Jasper is keen to show off his new fiance Holly to his brother Edmund. However secrets abound and so much comes out. With domestic violence, cheating, a secret child and so much more to contemplate, this was an interesting read but I felt it got a little too confusing at times and often was really slow to read and at other times raced along.

An interesting read but I just wish the characters had been fleshed out a little more.

This book should 100% be written as a play. This would be an amazing slow burn play...and the tension would build and unravel....the reactions from the audience would be intense and it would work so well.

That is the reason I have given this 3 stars because I can see it! However, as a book, it didn't work for me unfortunately.

All the characters are vile. Edmunds actions are the absolute worse and as for Ovidia...I have no words.
I hated all 6 of them. They were self involved awful people....only Jasper had something about him and he was still fairly unlikeable overall.
Edmunds disloyalty was unbearable and I couldn't ever get my head around that.

This also is much too slow...the first few chapters were a slow burn of 'something ' happening but it was all too descriptive and over explained around the actual issue...the thing we actually wanted to know...which juF didn't work for me.

Again this slow burn would work wonderfully as a play but as a novel...it just felt never ending and frustrating. I felt the idea of building tension was the primary focus and I found that just frustrating and wanted to rush till we knew something rather than savouring the parts I was reading.

The ending was disappointing and all characters felt unresolved....and we had experienced alot of drama to get to that point...

Again, I cannot stress this enough how well it would work as a play but as a book, I really struggled with it!

Thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.