Like I Pretended

Heather Bay, Book 4

By: Charlie Novak

Narrated by: Dan Calley

Pretending to be in love never felt so real.

Henry Lu hates being a superstar. Action movies have left a sour taste in his mouth and filming a queer period drama on the Yorkshire coast sounds like the perfect antidote. Meeting grumpy coffee shop owner, Alex, is the cherry on top.

Alex isn't impressed with the appearance of Hollywood royalty in his life, especially because Henry refuses to accept that Alex doesn't like him. But when rumours about the production draw the attention of stuffy streaming service bigwigs and the ire of Henry’s superhero franchise, Henry and Alex must put on a show and fake a relationship to smooth things over.

Alex doesn’t want a relationship, and Henry isn’t good at them, but their arrangement is only supposed to be for a few months, then they'll both be free to go back to their lives. The only problem is that pretending to be in love never felt so real.

Like I Pretended is a slow burn contemporary MM romance featuring a sunshine Hollywood superstar whose never been told no, a grumpy coffee shop owner who wants to be left alone, bad attempts at flirting, terrible catering, and finding home.

It is book four in the Heather Bay series and while it can be listened to as a standalone, it’s best enjoyed as part of the series.

©2023 Charlie Novak (P)2023 Charlie Novak

Perfection

I absolutely adored this addition to the Heather Bay series. As I Iistened to thisI couldn’t help but picture Henry as Colin Firth’s Mr Darcy (swoon) and Alex as Lizzy. Brooding everywhere! Feisty and snarky Alex is perfect for Henry and I was thrilled to get his story at last! So good! Also Dan Calley has such a good voice for this. He is very easy to listen to.

Love this!

I actually thought this was the last one going into this and found out there's 1 more in this series coming so I'm happy this isn't goodbye to these guys yet!

I love the comadarie and low drama of this series! Its like if everyone was emotionally available and well balanced and it makes me feel happy and cozy! Definitely a comfort read! I wondered how Alex and Henry would work because they are legit opposites, but they just worked! The resolution was great and no one had to give up who they were or what they wanted. Fun to see/hear about some of the Roll for Love crowd!

My only complaint is the narrator, I've tried so hard to like him, but he just isn't for me. I think Joel Leslie's narration of Roll for Love is why I like that series better. That said I don't hate the narrator he is just kinda meh so it's fine just why I can't give the full 5 stars I would on Kindle.

*I received a free copy of the audio for an honest review
**I listen to all audio at 2x speed

Love this series!

This series is phenomenal and this book doesn’t disappoint! Alex and Henry are a perfect couple once they get out of their own way! As always Dan Calley does a superb job with narration!