Naomi's Reading Palace: Not Pretending Anymore by Penelope Ward and Vi Keeland ~ Review & Teaser (@PenelopeAuthor, @ViKeeland)

I really enjoyed this read and how Declan weasled his way into Molly's apartment and her life. They were such good friends that turned into something more, it was so entertaining to read about!

Title: Not Pretending Anymore

Author: Penelope Ward and Vi Keeland

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Published: April 10th 2021

Buy Now - Amazon US | Amazon Aus

Finding a good roommate through a classified ad isn’t as easy as it sounds.
I was starting to lose hope.
Until a knock at my door came and God answered my prayers.
Except…uh…wrong prayer, God.
I’d definitely requested the big guy find me a drop-dead gorgeous man on more than one occasion...just not as my roommate.
Declan Tate talked me into interviewing him anyway.
While he was amusing and charismatic, I wouldn’t have been comfortable living with a man, so I regretfully declined.
Then cupcakes showed up at my door—freshly baked by Declan and just as sinfully delicious as he was.
You could say he was persistent.
I eventually folded. It wasn’t like I had another viable candidate anyway.
Plus, I was interested in someone else. And Declan was into another woman. So it wasn’t like anything would happen romantically.
After he moved in, the two of us became the best of friends. We even started to give each other advice on getting our crushes to notice us.
Eventually, Declan concocted an idea: we should pretend to be a couple to make our love interests jealous.
I was hesitant, but went along with it anyway. To my utter shock, his crazy plan worked.
Now I was dating the supposed man of my dreams, and my best friend had the woman of his.
But there was one problem.
I couldn’t stop thinking about Declan.
Those feelings we were trying to fake?
Yeah…I wasn’t pretending anymore.

Penelope Ward and Vi Keeland sure know how to tell a story and they had me hooked right from the opening chapters! I was laughing about how much effort Declan was putting in to get a room at Molly’s! They were so much fun to read about, so you can imagine that I devoured this book!

It was interesting that Declan and Molly liked other people and they were using each other to secure these other relationships. I could see them trying hard to find love, and they didn’t notice that they were falling for one another. They didn’t talk about their feelings and there were some obstacles that drove them apart.

Although Declan was a fun and outgoing person, he had an issue that he needed to work through himself. The authors handled this issue well and I could see why he struggled like he did. He had good support from his sister and was able to find some answers from his parents also. He just needed the courage to step up and grab what he wanted.

Ward and Keeland delivered this story perfectly! I loved the friends to lovers read and how they took their time realising their feelings for one another, and how far they would go to be happy! It was such an enjoyable read that I didn’t want to end!

The first teaser really moved me, the second one... there was definitely lust in the air!

“There are definitely worse problems to have. You’re living with a gorgeous man and dating another.”
I smiled, though neither scenario was what I wanted. I didn’t want to live with a man or just date one. I wanted to be someone’s ride or die.
I want love.

Kindle Page 108

God, she smelled so damn good. Where the hell was a caveman’s club when I needed it?
Molly walked toward her bedroom. When she got to the door, she stopped and spoke without looking back.
“Hey, Dec?”
“Yeah?”
“Maybe you should lock your door tonight. That margarita really went to my head.”
I smiled. “You too, babe. You too.”

Kindle Page 140

Vi Keeland is a native New Yorker with three children that occupy most of her free time, which she complains about often, but wouldn't change for the world. She is a bookworm and has been known to read her kindle at stop lights, while styling her hair, cleaning, walking, during sporting events, and frequently while pretending to work. She is a boring attorney by day, and an exciting smut author by night!

Penelope Ward is a New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal Bestselling author. She grew up in Boston with five older brothers and spent most of her twenties as a television news anchor, before switching to a more family-friendly career. She is the proud mother of a beautiful 10-year-old girl with autism and a 9-year-old boy. Penelope and her family reside in Rhode Island.