Synopsis: It’s not easy being royal. Sixteen-year-old Evangeline wears her crown proudly, but between her duties and her overprotective big brother, the idea of romance is just a dream. But a chance encounter in Chicago changes all that….
Sure, seventeen-year-old Tyler Evans loves playing hockey, but he’s more concerned about providing for his dad and little sister. Then he meets Eva–and falls head-over-heels in love—and he has two more problems. One, she’s his best friend’s little sister. Two, she wears a crown.
But then Eva accidentally mistakes Tyler for a visiting prince, and for the first time, Tyler doesn’t feel like a nobody. He knows he has to tell her the truth…but not yet.
His plan? To keep up the royal charade as long as it takes to convince Eva he’s the guy for her. Even if he’s lying to everyone…including himself.
Disclaimer: May cause disillusionment. Those girls looking to find their Prince Charming might consider scouting out hockey rinks.
I will start off by saying this is the first book in The Chicago Flacons series I have read. If you’re looking for a super cute fairy tale story, then this is for you!
With the plot, I did like the fact that we got to see Chicago but also another country all together. I wish the author would have explored these a bit more or focused more on one location. With the art aspect, I really enjoyed that as art is something I also love. Speaking of parts of the story line, I really enjoy that the authors chose to speak about a disability. Disabilities are extremely common in our society and I feel a lot of time in books they are pushed under the rugs. So, I really commend Leah and Kate for willing speaking about a topic in their story.
As far as characters go, my favorite character was Madison. I love how helpful and upbeat she is. She always seems to see the good in every situation. Also, the real Tiberius was hysterical and he was a perfect comic relief. Unfortunately, I was disappointed with our main characters. With Tyler, I thought he was too hard on himself and a bit of a cry-baby. The one thing I really enjoyed about him was how he was with his sister Millie. With Eva she was a bit too “royal” for me and didn’t really break down even around Tyler whom she supposedly loves. Then, there’s Daniel who I love the over-protected older brother thing, but he took it a bit far for me most times.
Overall, Just Pretending was a super cute read with an ending you know and want coming. I think Kate and Leah Rooper on are their way to creating swoon-worthy contemporaries!
jottedbyjena.com 