Fake it till you make it?

Synopsis

The perfect house, the perfect husband and the perfect life… or is she just faking it?

Life has been a bit of a rollercoaster for Ella. Growing up as the ‘less successful’ identical twin to her ‘perfectly successful’ sister, Emma, has left her feeling isolated, inadequate and let’s face it.. a little bitter.

When Emma unexpectedly reaches out to Ella in a time of need, Ella suddenly finds herself with the opportunity to fill in for her sister and experience how the other half live.

But as Ella navigates the world of gossiping mothers, rebellious teens and trying to play the model housewife (not to mention avoiding the temptation of attractive men at the school gates…) will she discover that all is not always as it seems on the other side?

My review

Having a more successful twin is not making Ella the most confident person. Especially when her own life is a rollercoaster while her sister Emma seems to have the perfect life.
But when one day Emma needs Ella to pose as Emma for several weeks, Ella has the opportunity to see how the other, better half lives.

Soon Ella finds herself in a world of gossiping mothers, teens being teens and trying to fill her sister’s shoes without giving the truth away. And on top of it all, there is the temptation of attractive men she must avoid, to prevent a bigger scandal that would ruin her sister’s life!

Before I started reading this book, I made sure I was comfortable, had all the necessities around me, because I knew a reading marathon would start.
And indeed, the author didn’t disappoint at all!
I found myself reading page after page, finding it impossible to put it away.

Ella is a character I immediately sympathized with. Life itself can be difficult sometimes, but when you have a sister that has a perfect life, it’s obvious that you would feel a bit bitter.
So when Emma calls her sister for help, I couldn’t avoid having some vengeful fun. Especially when it’s explained why Ella her help is required.

Yet the moment when Ella swaps places with her sister, the real fun begins. When it’s made clear that nobody knows that Emma has a twin, it’s a lot easier for Ella to play pretend.
Ella trying to keep up the pretence of being Emma, having to fake to like Emma’s friends, managing a troublesome teenager, there are just too many balls to juggle.
She does her utterly best, but she also discovers that her sister did not have the perfect life she imagined.

This story is certainly a very entertaining story, I had so many laughs, I enjoyed reading it from the start until the end.
Yet it’s not only fun, because we see Ella maturing during the story. Trying to keep her sister’s life in one piece makes Ella realize what she wants for herself too.
And when there is a certain revelation, it made my heart give a little ache. It showed again how life can change and that there is always more than meets the eye.

The author had a very high expectation to fulfil when I started, with many boxes to thick to make this an amazing story. Somehow she managed to thick each and every one of them, adding a few more and thick them too!
I know I am repeating myself, but I just loved it!