We Were Pretending is a book about trees, friendship, starting over, and consciousness.

Leigh Bowers is caught trafficking an illegal mushroom called Hekate's Key and is offered the chance to work for a top secret government agency studying the intersection of holistic health and AI. After losing her mother, marriage, and sense of self, Leigh takes up the opportunity and discovers the interconnectedness of it all. A long lost friend Jennifer Hex- a new agey health guru, provides tree therapy, catching the eye of Leigh's government agency who would like Leigh to find out more about Jennifer and her controversial healing practice. Leigh and Jennifer seem to pick up right where they left off in high school and mastermind a plan to harvest and sell Hekate's Key to health practitioners while living off the grid in a utopian commune. But like the mushrooms they are harvesting, something dark is growing within Jennifer and Leigh, something shady that will force Leigh to confront the nagging feelings living on the edge of her fears, insecurities, and grief.

We Were Pretending was an interesting story that explored the intersection of nature, technology, life, and death. The topic of climate anxiety was discussed triggering an existential crisis in the main character Leigh, who entered into her own underworld experience of death and rebirth. The name of the mushroom, Hekate and another underworld goddess Demeter, were used to support these themes. By the end of the story, Leigh discovers the beauty, resilience, and deeper aspects of nature that helps her through her crisis. By coming to understand the interconnectedness and interdependence of the forest, Leigh comes to realize the truth of who she is and how she fits into the ecosystem of her life- supporting her daughter, father, friends, and autonomy and vice and versa. Technology and the innovations happening in the wellness industry were also explored, which brought up the controversial issue of the benefits and dangers of using artificial intelligence to connect with and override the natural world. This is the first fiction novel I have read that has explored this topic and it made me think a lot about the future, just like Leigh.

This book is certainly out of my primary wheelhouse, however, I found the snippet and cover entrancing. I definitely didn’t feel like I knew what was coming next in this book. Leigh is incredible with what she deals with throughout the book and I unfortunately found myself identifying with her a little too much. She’s such a strong protagonist though that I think she’s one of those characters that will stick with me for quite some time, Not everyone is going to love some of the turns in this book but man, I know I did!

Thank you NetGalley, Little A and Hannah Gersen for access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is like a long walk in the woods in that you never know what is going to be around the corner. Is this book about family? Yes. Is it about death? Yes. Is it about mushrooms? Yes. Is it about friendship? Yes. I don't know how it all works together but it just does. I think Leigh is a strong, multi-faceted character and I sympathized with her in several situations. She is overcoming the loss of her mother, her marriage and struggling with changes to her parental role but when an acquaintance from the past comes back into her life she finds herself drawn into her world and has to make decisions that could affect her future.

I don't think this book will be for everyone, but I enjoyed it and found it to be unique.

Thank you NetGalley, Little A and Hannah Gersen for access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This story started out captivating enough. A run in with an old friend? Enemy? We aren’t too sure. We are then whisked back and the past unfolds. Jenny and Leigh were outcasts and high school friends who reconnected later after college to start a business. While the blurbs made it seem Leigh would rekindle this friendship and find herself along the way none of that truly happened. The story became tedious and boring. Leigh ultimately did not rekindle the friendship nor did she really find herself. There were no big revelations. It ended up being a tepid story about a mid life crisis.