Review: Pretending by Holly Bourne

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As I reflect upon Pretending, in the back of my mind, the tagline of the book kind of stands out in regards to the protagonist in the book in regards to her journey. Why be yourself when you can be perfect? This led to a love/hate relationship with her for me throughout the book. Let me be clear. This is by no means a reflection of the quality of the book, it’s just the complexity of her character and experiences but also her disadvantage that I wish she could see her worth despite of. Perfection is interpretation to the beholder.

April is a great gal that just hasn’t been lucky when it comes to dating. Like so many other women, she can’t get past that point in dating where she can trust a guy and feel some sort of security. They always seem to reveal themselves to be jerks who leave her insecure about herself and frustrated as to what is wrong with her to keep getting into these situations. On a side note, something did happen to her but that only compounds her issues. Until her latest candidate Joshua, the answer becomes clear, what men want is Gretel. 

Gretel is what April feels guys want. Well, her perceived perfection is everything that April isn’t. Taking on that persona gives her the chance to finally feel liberated from the binds of her insecurities and obstacles, she is having fun and can be everything that she’s not. One problem. She can’t pretend forever. When real life collides with who she’s pretending to be, will this backfire?

Pretending brought a relatable narrative that had a female heroine that defined the modern woman and her empowering choices when it comes to men. There were sensitive moments and choices that will resonate with many of you who’ve gone through something similar. To a degree of empowerment, claiming her life while trying to establish a trusting, healthy relationship led her to redefining herself. 

As much as I don’t agree with the pretending aspect of her relationship with Joshua because as dishonest men have been to her, he wasn’t the one who hurt her and as a result suffered the consequences. The takeaway I appreciate is the emotional self growth that she gained as a bonus enabled her to face her struggles and deal with them in a way that was molded to her present circumstances. Her voice gives the reader a perspective that might be reflective for some and for others might be a trigger from reading about what her characters have gone through past and present.

To be honest, I expected going into the book for this to be a dark comedy but wasn’t expecting some of the themes that were present. My own experiences left me a little torn at moments but I found overall the experience of what the book was intended to accomplish came together for me when I finished.