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.

I received a copy of this for my honest review

Our FMC is flying/moving to Seattle to help our her grandmother after an injury. Her seat mate is a gorgeous but grumpy man who she has named Jet Daddy. She gets terrible migraines, and has one on the flight. She tries to make it through but it's tough. When the land she is walking to baggage claim when she faints. Our MMC, Jet Daddy, is a billionaire who works to fix companies that are struggling, and who has a reputation in the press that he is hoping to change. And when a picture of him catching and carrying our FMC after she faints goes viral, he shows up at her house and says they should get married. This way it can save her reputation from what's been leaked in the press and give him a reprieve from what people think happened. His next company to fix is the publishing house his family owns. With his no nonsense behavior, and grumpy demeanour, he doesn't handle the relationship well - even if it started as just business.

Meet August, a grumpy closed off Billionaire who doesn’t do people and Elle, a positive upbeat ray of sunshine whose about to turn his world inside out and upside down. They were strangers on a plane, until a migraine had her fainting in his arms at the airport. Now they’re tabloid news and the only way to regain their reputations is a fake engagement between them. Elle is a spitfire and is determined to find the man underneath the billionaire. She pushes all his buttons and drives him crazy. He is dealing with two battles – one for his business - the other his heart that Elle is slowly worming herself into. There is an unstoppable connection between these two but there will be plenty of explosive moments, combined with a lot of angst before they finally acknowledge that their relationship could never truly be fake. If you like grumpy, billionaire, fake engagement stories then this is for you. While it is a charming, witty read, it is also dramatic, heart stopping and extremely emotional. It bought me close to tears but also left me with the warm feel good feeling I get after a brilliant heart warming read.

This was a great grumpy/sunshine romance. Elle saw the best in August even when no one else did. Her fascination with his demeanor and how she couldn’t help but poke at him cracked me up. I loved how protective he was of her from the beginning, even while she drove him crazy. They brought out the best in each other.

While on a plane to visit her grandmother Elle experiences a painful migraine that requires her to be rescued by the grumpy man she was sitting next to when they land. He manages to get her safely home and the last thing she expected was for him to show up at her door the next door asking her to be his fake fiancé.

August is a wealthy billionaire with a painful and publicized past. When news of his rescuing Elle incites a media frenzy he believes the best way to handle it is a fake engagement until it is no longer front page news. What was supposed to be an arrangement begins to feel like so much more especially once their families become involved.

This is an enchanting romance between two people who were fighting it all the way as they take us on a tumultuous journey filled with surprises and steam.

This was a good story and characters that I really enjoyed. I love a good grumpy/sunshine book and Elle and August delivered. Definitely a good read that everyone must one click.

As always Nicole delivered a good story with all the feels. Opposites attract characters that pulled you into their world for a portion of a day.

August & Elle will have you begging for more of them in Almost Pretend. This opposites attract couple literally define opposites attract but they just work. Her sunshine shines bright like a diamond on his grump!

Their accidental meet cute led to so much more than either of them thought they wanted or needed.

I loved this couple so much! Their grumpy/sunshine dynamics were perfection! Their chemistry is insane, and before long, pretend starts to feel awfully real. Oh! And the spice was spicing and I.Was. Here. For. It.

August sure puts Elle through the ringer and proves to be the alpha hole of all alpha holes but I guess he redeemed himself in the end. He needed Elle's sunshine in his life, even if he didn't want to admit it to himself or her.

I really enjoyed this read and look forward to more of Nicole Snow's work.

Almost Pretend by Nicole Snow is a feel-good grumpy sunshine romance!
The story captivated me from the start. The chemistry between Eleanor and August is off the charts. Their banter is snarky, witty and entertaining. They are the epitome of opposites attract. I loved their journey and how their relationship developed.

Thank You NetGalley and Montlake for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

I liked but did not love "Almost Pretend". This book is a grumpy/sunshine, age gap, fake relationship, billionaire romance. But the grump is more cold and occasionally mean than actually grumpy. The age gap is unclear, though it appears the MMC is in his 30s and the FMC is 23, and I still don't quite understand the supposed reasons driving the fake relationship. There was some decent banter and the steam was steamy, but I just didn't connect with the story or the characters the way I would have liked.

2.5 stars rounded to 3. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a complimentary ARC of this book. These opinions are my own.

I absolutely love Nicole Snow’s books. They always have this gripping, pull on me. I absolutely cannot put her books down. This one was no different. Elle is this stunning lady who had me laughing so loudly with her comments. She is this sweet ball of sunshine that is felt as you journey alongside her. August is such a grumpy man that he is one of these guys that you love to hate but with a side that is so caring and protective. I loved the drama behind the story as we try to figure what is going on with our little mystery. Then we have these amazing side characters of Lena and Gran. Man the back and forth between the two of them was fabulous. This story definitely keeps you glued to it and doesn’t let go. I really do like to give anything away as this story is most definitely a fantastic story that is a must read.