A better way to get your friends off your back, is pretend, isn’t it?

Synopsis

When the beginning of the end is just the start…

Newly single Lola Wild has had her fill of well-intentioned matchmaking friends. Her best friend Mirabel’s hen weekend highlights all that’s wrong with Lola’s life and she knows something has tochange.

With Mirabel’s luxurious wedding in Sardinia fast approaching, Lola is looking forward to switching off, spending time with her friends and keeping her non-existent love life off everyone’s agenda.

Meanwhile, fellow wedding guest Rhys Strickland has his own problems. So when a chance encounter brings Rhys and Lola together they decide to help each other out.

To the idyllic backdrop of white sand beaches and azure bays, they bond over shared heartache, and friendship blossoms as they attempt to navigate the hurt and hard truths of past relationships.

Opening up their hearts and embracing change might be the last thing they expected, but what if a holiday of make-believe can turn into something real?

A heart-warming and uplifting story of vulnerability, self-renewal and finding love when you least expect to.

My review

Lola Wild couldn’t be more happier that her best friend Mirabel is getting married to the love of her life, Fabs. As her husband – to – be’s family is born and raised in Sardinia, Mirabel’s hen weekend is going to take place on the wonderful Italian island. Lola is ready to unwind for not only a weekend, but for a finally holiday. What she can miss though, is being the subject of laughter of her friends, as her latest dating story was truly a terrible one. But Lola is also carrying a darker secret about her last relationship, something she hasn’t shared with anyone. So when she meets Fabs’ best friend Rhys, who himself is in a peculiar situations relationship wise, it makes sense for them to join forces and to pretend that there is something going on between the two of them. For Rhys, it’s the perfect way to show everyone that he is absolutely not affected by his ex now being with his friend. What they didn’t expect though, is that their pretend quickly becomes a real friendship, bonding over heartache, and the feeling that they can share just everything with each other. But as they are only here for the wedding and they are in fact pretending to be falling in love, what will happen after their friends’ “I Do”?

No, I was not biased in even the tiniest bit while reading this wonderful book! It just added an extra layer of marvellousness that the author has chosen for an Italian island as the setting of Lola’s and Rhys’ story. But I have to admit, that while Kate Frost obviously wrote it as Sardinia, I changed it in my mind in the Italian way, being Sardegna 😊.

While it’s clear that Lola is a great character, it is also obvious that there is a dark cloud looming around her all the time. And it isn’t just the fact that her last “date” ended terribly, but mainly how her last relationship ended and yet how it still haunts her…

It saddened me to read how she hasn’t been and still isn’t able to talk about her friends about everything that she has been through and what is still going on. Because aren’t friends there in time of fun, but also and most importantly, in time of need?

Now, before you start thinking badly about Lola’s friends, just don’t. Because all of them like to have Lola as the main subject of their banter, but you can also see the love they have for each other. Especially Mirabel and Lola are truly close, and connect more than with the other ladies.

So for Lola not being able to talk about what she has been through, is only proof of how much it has affected her, and how ashamed and even how guilty she feels about what has transpired. Not that any of it is her fault, because we see how manipulative some people can be. How those who are supposed to loved us, are able to break us, to break our confidence and just our whole persona, pure for their own pleasure and evilness…

And thus it is also understandable that Lola isn’t looking for love at all, despite her friends’ efforts in matchmaking in any way. And thus it makes perfect sense for Lola and Rhys to pretend that there is something growing between them, to just get everyone of their back.

I was very pleasantly surprised by Rhys’ character. Not because I expected Kate Frost to give Lola a terrible love interest, but because Rhys just felt so real.

I could understand the hurt he felt when he learns that his ex is now in a relationship with his friend. And it doesn’t help that firstly, she is part of the friendship gang, but that she is also in a way flaunting it every chance she has. It’s clear that Rhys isn’t in love with her anymore, but it is more about the sneakiness of it all, how in a way he has been being played by her.

Of course pretending to be falling for each other, is a recipe for disaster. But even without them pretending, it is obvious that Lola and Rhys just connect. Even if they didn’t know each other before this trip, they feel that they can trust each other. And it was sweet to read how they start to confide in each other, telling each other the things they cannot tell even their best friends. There is a comradery between them, just great to read!

As both Lola and Rhys are still coming to terms with their failed relationships, I could also understand the fear or reluctance to admit what is growing between them. However, no matter how awkward things are becoming at moments, they are still there for each other when it is necessary. That kind of loyalty is something we all need, don’t we. No matter what we are going through at the moment, in times of need, we all stick together.

I absolutely loved reading this book, as it is not only about the pretend relationship, but also about the real meaning of friendship, no matter how old of new that friendship may be. It is about complicity, being there for each other and allowing love back in (and not just love in the romantic way). It is about chasing demons away (even literally) and finding your confidence and strength back. And all of this, in a beautiful Italian setting, what more can you wish for?