Let's Pretend is a novel about the worlds of acting and fame, as well as the kind of performances it inspires. It sounds like a perfect opportunity when former child actress Lily Thane is approached by her old stage school classmate Adam Harker for a phony relationship to dazzle the red carpet with. Her stuttering acting career appears to be on the mend, but she'll have to put up with their poisonous relationship. When Adam is discovered dead in a swimming pool, Lily suspects foul play and becomes engrossed in the investigation of who supplied the pills that killed him and whether they are still hazardous. Following a chance meeting there is an undeniable spark, and although Lily is wary of Adam's dark side, they soon decide that a public faux-mantic relationship between them could be good for both of their careers. But when you're surrounded by actors, how do you know what is real? But Adam is a slippery fish with a temper. He is horrid to be around when in a bad mood and it’s not all red carpets and show stopping events. One evening when returning from a solitary walk, she finds Adam’s body, face down in a swimming pool. As no one else seems to care, it’s down to Lily to find out who did this to Adam as she doesn’t believe he will have taken his own life.

I found Let’s Pretend a real eye opener into the world of celebrity dating. How true Vaughan’s got the shenanigans that are orchestrated by agents and PR, who knows but I felt the apple she wrote didn’t fall too far from the tree.Lily and Adam’s fauxmance is not the only thing in this book that is toxic. Adam himself, Talia, cousin Dido, the Momager, best friend Nina, even Lily herself, are all toxic in their own way. I quite liked Rafael, because he seems to be the only one who knows who and what he is. And most of all I disliked Dan, who thinks he is so nice, but is actually a hypocrite of the worst kind. Even Lily’s stalker Zalandra is more honest. It’s awful to think real people out there, actors, singers, sportsman in the eye who think this is still the only option available to them! Many never do come out for fear. Lily Thane's family name brings with it a prestigious theatrical legacy. But although she enjoyed fame as a child, the roles are starting to dwindle now she has reached her thirties After a couple of ‘unexpected’ encounters, Adam asks Lily to partake in a fauxmance with him. But not long after signing his NDA and a six month contract, Adam’s dark side starts to surface and things turn toxic!

Finally, let’s talk about the theme of the novel: pursuit and loss. Vaughan not only masterfully dissects the world of minor celebrities and the lengths people are willing to take to earn their Warholian 15 minutes of fame. She looks at the intrinsic needs for it. Whether it’s a family tradition, peer pressure, or overbearing parents – fame can be equal to success, regardless of the cost. But becoming famous is only one side of the slightly rusty and misshapen coin. On the flip side, there is a fear of losing it. We’ve all experienced loss, and Laura Vaugh is not afraid to not only remind us what it feels like but that no one is immune to it. This book really moves at a pace and I found it really compelling (especially the first half). We follow the main character, Lily, a former child actor who has really done nothing of note for some time. When she bumps into an old stage school companion, Adam, she is drawn into his (more successful) world. For someone like me who has never been to a party where anything stronger than weed was smoked, the lines of cocaine on the table where the wine is usually laid out, was a real eye-opener, though I hope I never experience it. I’d like to keep my septum thanks very much.This book started off slowly and took sometime to get into, there was a lot of stuff at the beginning which didn't particularly add to the story, and quite a lot of characters that I found hard to link up. There is a lot in here about the darker side of acting and the route to fame, and for someone who is not living in this world it is all a bit foreign and hard to relate to. Once the story got going I did enjoy reading it, though, and then as I neared the end it became more gripping as I waited to see who had done the crime. Pretending is what Lily Thane has been doing all her life - after all, it is another word for acting, which she has been trying to do since being the famous four year old in a cult Christmas film. Now, despite being part of a theatrical family and her determined mother - the “Momanger”, she is struggling. She is good at what she does, being a perfected attractive blonde who is always auditioning for parts, but real success in being cast is eluding her. So when she meets an old friend from theatre school, the sort of famous Adam Harker, and a proposal is made of a sort of acting job with sweeteners is made, it seems reasonable to take it. Adam has secrets and a darkness that attract and repel her at the same time, but pretending to be in a celebrity romance at least raises her profile. If only she knew how deep she must plunge - and how it will feature death… Lily Thane is a thirty-two-year-old actress best known for her twenty minute appearance in a low-budget British romcom as winsome orphan ‘Little Lucie’ at the age of four, and it’s clear that her star is waning, not that her mother and manager, “the momager”, is willing to give up on a dream that easily. When Lily bumps into an old stage school contemporary in Adam Harker who needs a red-carpet companion to whip up the media ahead of making a push for the big time, it seems like a win-win situation. Despite never particularly having liked Adam, there is something magnetic and dangerously alluring about him and so Lily agrees to the fauxmance and also signs a non-disclosure agreement. But troubled Adam has a penchant for drugs, a predilection for using people and a need to be in control, and things inevitably turn toxic. But as both their lives and careers move on, Lily and Adam are never too far apart and with a ringside seat to Adam’s death and growing suspicions about who wanted him out of the way, Lily turns detective. We attract. And repel. Our dreams, desires, people, opportunities; anything we consciously invite into our lives comes in with everything it has to offer. Success comes with heartbreak. Happiness comes with foreboding. Holidays come with post-holiday blues. Relationships come with heartbreak…

Some of the characterisation in Let's Pretend can come across as a bit cliched; for example, when we are introduced to former child star Lily Thane - now a struggling 32-year-old actress - at the start of the novel, she is passing a joint to Nina Gill (a friend who Lily's mum - referred to throughout as the Momager - disapproves of) after another failed audition and this along with Lily 's nose job at 15 could be interpreted as all too familiar tropes about the trappings of fame. Conversely, Adam Harker's career is on the ascendancy. Having attended the same stage school as Lily, they had acted together when they were young, but he's like a different person now, having grown into his film-star looks and effortlessly exuding charm. Lily’s old stage-school friend from many moons, Adam Harker is on the brink to huge success, but to keep up appearances needs a ‘trusted’ life companion. Soon, Lily finds herself in a fake relationship with Adam. Lily wonders if their relationship can ever be real? Having read The Favour, I thought I knew the author’s thought process and where this story was heading but I was way off the mark. This was a lot darker than it’s predecessor. Despite being the woman scorned, I really liked Lily and I was rooting for her to be right about Adam’s demise but was she? Was it murder or just a tragic accident?!

I really liked the latter part of the book as Lily is convinced all is not quite as it seems in terms of Adam’s death. I was intrigued to learn more, just like Lily, and particularly loved the final chapters in this section of the book as there were lots of things that took me by surprise! I would have liked a little more detail as the ending felt a little bit rushed, but I really liked the unexpected turns and thought it was very clever! I also liked how character driven this book was; there were definitely some shady characters along the way! This story is told from the perspective of former childstar Lily Thane, now a somewhat struggling actress in her early thirties. Since leaving stage school, Adam has found his place in the limelight. But to grace it as he intends, he needs a pretty girl on his arm to distract the haters. He asks Lily to be his faux romance, to be in his arm at all the best parties and to share the limelight with him. Of course, Lily agrees. They get on really well. It will be no hardship to accompany Adam at all times and what can be the harm in sharing a limelight that she desperately wants for herself? He needs someone to be his plus one at glitzy events, a person to show off via social media, to become part of a power couple. After all the world of celebrity is all about reputation and how things look and Lily's Momager couldn't be more thrilled. Within the first few chapters (and as detailed in the synopsis) we learn that Lily finds Adam’s lifeless body in a swimming pool, it’s not clear how this came to be.