A charming story with an amusing relationship between August and Elle. A little lighter read than her usual books with lots of banter and some interesting situations. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Elle and August are definitely opposites as he is the rich, brooding, closed off CEO and she is the sweet, upbeat, caring illustrator. These two rub each other the wrong way but then things start to change as they are thrown together trying to safe Augusts family business. I really enjoyed this couple and the ups and downs. I am voluntarily leaving my honest review after reading this arc.

I DNFd at 40%.
I like Nicole Snow’s books but I didn’t love this one. It wasn’t completely terrible but I just couldn’t get into it. I did not like the MMC at all. There were a lot of little things that didn’t really make much sense to me. I really don’t know what either MC saw in the other. The chemistry wasn’t there for me. The banter was fun sometimes but overall this felt super cliche and unrealistic. I do believe other people could enjoy this book. It’s just not for me.

Elle hates flying especially this one since its from NYC to Seattle. She has been diagnosed with Anemia and Migraines and flying cou7ld make it act up. She gets a bad first impression of August when he sits next to her on the plane. Just when they reach the terminal she passes out, and thankfully August was there to catch her. Not before he was photographed catching her before she fell. After this happens, he needs her help, so he shows up at her place. Will she help saving his family business? Can they keep this a business arrangement, or can this have turned into something so much more?

How crazy can one love story begin? This one begins as Elle falls into August and never leaves his life, despite his rough exterior and earning the name Grumpykins!!!
August has had challenges growing up and in his past, some take a little longer to overcome and with the right help, it is still difficult but doable!!!
Elle is a happy mess, more brightside than negativity, which is one of her strongest qualities but something August secretly loves to hate. Elle has grown up with her Gran as her parents just weren't around much. Her creative way has only grown and matured with the love of Gran and her BFF Lena. And her heart grew even more with the addition of so many more new people in her life to handle this life thing!!!
This story is filled with so much love, romance, hate, misguided attempts at being noble, tragedy, mystery, spicy scenes and so much more. I love this author!! I received an ARC of this book from the author.

The author's name and these covers have a generic quality to them, and sure the grumpy billionaire and sunny fake fiance/employee, seemed overly familiar to me. I guess marketing sure knows I have a trope, but I was surprised to look through my past reading list and learn I've never read anything by Nicole Snow.

Happily, I enjoyed it so much that I thought about it as I tried to sleep at night, like how it might end with confessions of feelings and all. Just to say, I enjoyed it. ~3.5 stars.

Elle has a dream of writing children’s stories, but she isn’t sure she can pursue that dream. Grayson has to save Little Key Publishing. It is his family’s pride and joy but it’s struggling and there is a lawsuit set to destroy it. When the two of them meet they don’t exactly hit it off, but the universe puts them in each other’s orbits. Will they help each other to fulfill their dreams, or will they end up being destroyed as the company is destroyed?
Elle is coming home to Seattle for a variety of reasons. She starts out seeming like she’s a little lost and a bit overwhelmed. The author allows Elle to develop into someone competent and hard working. I really liked her growth curve. Grayson is returning home from a job assignment and isn’t happy about having to save his family’s business. The author starts the story showing Grayson as being grumpy and closed off but gives him the chance to show his softer side. By the time the story ends, Elle and Grayson make sense together. There are some excellent side characters that really add to the story. The bad guy has a good reason. The author took that part of the story in a direction I didn’t see coming. The bad guy actually made me feel bad for them.
This is a contemporary romance that takes place in Seattle. It is an opposites attract romance. It’s about family and supporting the ones you love no matter what. I will read more from this author in the future.

Elle ends up on a flight seated next to a huge grump named August, to make matters worse, she is having one of her horrible migraines. Not being able to handle it much longer she is glad the flight is over and is ready to rush off the plane. Next thing she knows, she's waking up in the arms of the grumpy seat companion. After all that embarrassment Elle is glad, she will never have to see August again. Unfortunately, that doesn't last long. Just a few days later August is on her doorstep asking for a huge favor. When he makes Elle an offer she can't refuse, she knows she can't refuse... Enjoyable and entertaining

Thank you for the arc Netgalley!

Unfortunately this was a DNF for me. :( You win some, you lose some.

I love a good grumpy/sunshine and August and Elle did not disappoint. There was good chemistry between August and Elle although it did take longer to get the spice than I was expecting. One thing that bothered me about the spicy scenes in this book was that they were always from Elle’s POV and August didn’t say anything lol. I was hoping for a dirty talking grump. It was still a good story with an unexpected twist at the end.

Almost Pretend is a classic Nicole book with a delicious broody hero and a sunshiney heroine with a dash of angst and a fake relationship with real feelings!

August is a workaholic hiding his heart of gold. He's been hurt badly in the past and has built impenetrable walls around his heart. Then he meets the sweet and honest Elle. She is pure goodness and light. I love how she can be a mix of innocent and brash. She speaks her mind and it surprises August sometimes. I love that he can be shy! It's seriously the best! These two enter a fake engagement and it is hot! There's an element of will they won't they and when they finally do, so many sparks!

The side characters of course help to round out this amazing story. There are so many moving parts to this book! Betrayal and lies, lust and love, and epic makeup scenes abound!

ARC review.

Where to start…. why does every author I like feel compelled to add in politically correct tropes once they have signed on with a traditional publisher? I’m tired of being force fed lgbt…. storylines and characters in every one.

I like the author’s books. I own a few. The premise for this one was one of my favorites. She asked for volunteers to read an early copy and I raised my hand. The set up and meet cute is one I haven’t read before. Elle suffers from debilitating migraines, which cause August to come to her rescue.
The need for a fake relationship was a very thin, paper thin plot device. Once the story got going, the medical aspect all but vanished. The conflict that forced their relationship involved a mystery surrounding one of his family members and body of work. The middle of the story drags a bit, with other challenges thrown in to further complicate the couple.

The third act breakup and reveal to the mystery fell flat for me. By that point I just wanted the book to end. The epilogue was sweet and helped wrap things up.

Slow burn that leads to lots of spice. Too many misdirects and side characters for me.

Almost Pretend by Nicole Snow is the story of August and Elle. This was just a wonderful book!! Loved it and I hope to read more from this author soon! Highly Recommend this book and this author's writing.

I absolutely adored this book! Elle and August had such a great dynamic, and Nicole did an excellent job bringing these beautiful characters to life! This has to be one of my favorite grumpy/sunshine stories that I've read. So so good!

What I loved about this book: Grumpy/sunshine, age gap, fake fiancé, close familles. August is a billionaire, apparently well-known except to his seatmate, Elle. August is grumpy & aloof, immune to Elle’s chatter but not to her pain. August also inadvertently puts Elle in the spotlight & works to remediate this through the pretend engagement. August is both kind and cruel, while Elle is bright despite some chronic medical symptoms. I loved the overall plot arc more than the romance portion, which involves betrayal and a family business conundrum involving his mother figure/aunt. Good story.

Nicole Snow's books keep getting better and better! Everytime I read a book, I state that one was my favorite, and I'll say it again. This one is my favorite so far!! The characters felt real and it was so easy to get into the story and read until it is way past my late bedtime! I LOVED the banter between Elle and August! She keeps pushing his buttons to loosen him up. It was so fun to read. What a great HEA with much issues to overcome to get here!

I don’t know where to start. This book was a DNF for me. After 7 chapters, I couldn’t seem to connect to August or Elle. I kept trying to force it when things weren’t happening. I get that he’s grumpy and that Elle is out of his league but let’s move on already..

Jet Daddy Gruffykins

I am a big fan of Nicole Snow’s books. They always have a underlying message and always have a bit (or a lot) of intrigue to keep you guessing. And this one definitely kept me guessing.
I was all in with Elle as soon as she recounted having caught 2 raccoons with sticks, yarn and cheese when she was small. My opinion was consolidated when Elle decided that mud is just a cool earth tone when spattered on fabric. Her always-look-on-the-bright-side attitude might have been a bit sickly-sweet had it not been for her self-deprecating sense of humour, and she has some very funny inner monologues. Her meet cute with Jet Daddy has her going from “zero to daddy issues” instantly, but her interest is apparently not reciprocated.

August, Jet Daddy, Marshall is big, dark, and brooding with his disinterest bordering on distain. Yet as the story progresses that disinterest is very much fabricated. I had a hard time warming to August because he was just SO grumpy, which often hurt Elle’s feelings or caused her to doubt herself. I likened his behaviour throughout the book to that of a wounded animal, no matter how consistently kind Elle would be with him he would still strike out at her. Although he always eventually apologised this behaviour was pretty constant and the cause of many problems.

Having said all that the chemistry between Elle and August off the charts. Ms Snow is infuriating adept at building seggsual tension and there were moments when I just wanted to yell “kiss her/him you fool”. When they finally succumb to their lust it is passionate and wild. No matter how well matched they are in this regard there are still many hurdles for them to face in their relationship.

As always, Ms Snow has created a supporting cast of wonderful characters. The love and support they provide August and Elle is unwavering even in the face of some major upheavals. That love is not just for August and Elle but for each other as well.

I found this book left me feeling quite unsettled due to the very tumultuous happenings and emotions throughout the narrative. Happily, the epilogues brought a contented calmness to the end of the story for me.

I received an free advance review copy from the author and am leaving this review voluntarily

Almost Pretend is a wonderful read. I absolutely adored Elle. She was the perfect sunshine for this book. I couldn’t put the book down waiting to see the next round of banter between her and August. I barely registered Elle’s youngish age of 23 for as much as a mature and open hearted person. She and August were the perfect compliment for each other. The other characters were wonderful as well, Gran was a delight! Definitely worth getting and soaking up the story.

August and Elle were flirty fun cotton candy sweet. This story was so entertaining. All of the characters were vividly depicted. I even felt some compassion for the villain. I wasn’t crazy about the age gap but other than that I loved everything about the story. Until next time y’all happy reading.