I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This novel and the storyline within it are stunning. The loyalty amidst betrayal I'd both admirable and insane simultaneously.

This would make a fantastic book club pick due to the complexity of the characters and their relationships

I was excited to read a thriller by a debut author but this book didn't pack the punch I was hoping for. I found myself putting the book down too often, not looking forward to picking it back up again. Overall, it moved a bit too slow for me.

I found this book hard to get into and the characters difficult to like. However once started I cannot finish a book so persevered and read to the end. I’m glad I did as it explained a lot of why things were like they were. Not for me but then the world would be a boring place if we all liked the same stories

I really enjoyed this book! It was gripping from the start and kept me glued to it until the very end. Would definitely recommend!

Wow! An absolute rollercoaster of a read. This story consists of a complex cocktail of characters who are all pretending in some way. This book was extremely intense tackling some harrowing themes such as domestic abuse, suicide and infant bereavement so it is definitely not one for the feint- hearted. With thanks to netgalley for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. It is heavily character led and I enjoyed finding out about their motivations and backstory. Each voce in the book felt fresh and different and I liked that contrast.

This book has some tough themes: domestic abuse against men, the death of a child, but the writer does a really good job of writing about these in a sensitive, educated way. I was very impressed with that.

Overall, this was a brilliant page turner, which kept me intrigued until the very last page!

Thank you to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for the arc.

I would highly recommend.

The Pretenders is angst ridden look at relationships between couples and how they differ. It's plot is cleverly weaved by Agatha Zaza and each character has their own distinct personality that jumps from the page. A great read.

This was not as interesting to me as it sounded from the description. I normally enjoy neighborhood/family drama, but this one fell flat to me. I never got invested in the characters or the storyline.

A brilliant book full of lots of drama! Full of very interesting characters and a very crazy ending which I didn't see coming at all! Will definitely be recommending this book!

This was easy to read but the plot was quite anti-climactic. I found all of the characters quite unlikable. The tension building at the beginning was good, but the ending didn't pay off for me. The characterisation itself was interesting though.

Thank you to #Netgalley and #AgoraBooks for giving me an Arc of #ThePretendesrs by #AgathaZaza in exchange for my honest review.

4 Stars - ****

Jasper and Holly have just got engaged and there is no-one that he wants to share this information with than his brother Edmund. Edmund and Ovidia are not expecting Jasper, Holly and their Friends John and Anne to turn up on their doorstep, and today of all days! Over the course of the day these three couples must own up to the secrets they have been hiding and face the devastating consequences.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is heavily character based and it was interesting to learn about the back story of the characters and how they cross over from the various different character perspectives. It raises some very sensitive issues in the form of domestic abuse (against men) and the loss of a child, but it is handled sensitively. Overall this was a fantastic book which kept me gripped right until the very end.

This book is definitely a slow burn, and I was at least halfway through before it started to move along. Though ultimately it is compelling and full of suspense. The twists and the end are unexpected and once you get past the slow burn-ness at the beginning, it's quite pacey and dramatic. As a debut novel, it's certainly one of the better novels I've read. It's clear Zaza is a compelling writer, but the pace let her down. If I wasn't so obsessive about finishing books, she would have lost me about halfway through. Would recommend all the same!

This one started slow. I was reminded about why I don’t read thrillers . To have so many hints dropped , so much foreshadowing and knowing absolutely nothing half way through doesn’t bode well with me. In this book A couple is just engaged. The two of them and two other friends go to see the brother of Jasper who has proposed to holly to tell him about their engagement. Immediately they can tell something is wrong and the few hours plunges them into a myriad of complicated tangles and lots of secrets are revealed.
I didn’t like the end but other than that once I got to a halfway mark I was totally engrossed into the lives of these 6 people. Everything takes place in the matter of a day and the writing is tight and gripping. Definitely recommend giving it a read

The Pretenders, is about three couples. We have Edmund who is outside destroying a playhouse whilst his wife Olivia looks on. Meanwhile Edmund’s brother Jasper is on his way with his new fiancé Holly to celebrate their engagement and friends Anne and John.

Jasper is in for a shock as he didn’t know his brother was in a relationship and to top it all off, it’s his abusive ex!! If that wasn’t uncomfortable enough, they can see that they have interrupted Edmund and Olivia and the atmosphere in the house is a tad chilly!!

I love how we get to know each individual character as we discover what secrets they are hiding. The flashbacks are a great way of learning the characters backgrounds

I thought this was a brilliant debut. It’s very well written and has lifelike characters. There are some gasp out loud moments which I adore.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy in exchange for a review.

This book took an entirely different turn than what I expected. When I read a book that gives me three couples and secrets, I automatically assume that there is going to be a murder involved somehow. I might have read too many thrillers, come to think of it.
So, when this book did not give a murder mystery, I was dissappointed. I was close to dumping it and putting up my very first "I will not give feedback on this title". But I kept reading.
And I am glad I did. See, while I did NOT get the murder I was hoping for, I got a lot more sinister and unpleasent secrets.
This book shifts POVs a lot and I had difficulties staying on track and keeping the upper hand of all the character's relationships with each other. It's pointless to say that I am pretty sure I've failed. I wished the book would have just been sticking to one or to POVs, but I can understand why the author chose to use every character's point of view.
It's not a bad book and the topics are definietly important and should be discussed more often in literature, but it wasn't one of my favourite reads of the year. It was not bad, but not great either.

I received a free ARC by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

The Pretenders’ is the latest book by Agatha Zaza.

Jasper is ready to surprise his brother; Holly is ready to celebrate their engagement. Anne tags along for fear of missing out, and John might just be going for another drink. But Edmund and Ovidia had other plans for their Saturday. Over the course of one day, these couples must own up to the secrets they’ve been hiding from one another and the lies they’ve been telling themselves. And face the devastating consequences.

It’s difficult to go into a lot of detail about this book as it’s quite easy to give a lot away.

It’s seen from the perspective of Edward and Ovidia, they are at a crossroad in their relationship. After many years together, they have been faced with a situation that has made them doubt through the strength of their relationship, as well as on this particular day, they have to make a difficult decision.

But on this day, Edward’s younger brother, Jasper has called around to share the exciting news of becoming newly engaged to Holly. Included in this day of celebrations is Anne and John, who are friends of the brothers. But the day quickly becomes sour when Jasper discovers that Edward is seeing Ovidia, the famous ex who broke Jasper’s heart who Holly only recently healed. This makes the already tense and sad day, a more complex and dramatic meeting.

The characters are intriguing in this story. I warmed to Edward with his quiet intensity and love towards Ovidia that he’s trying to hold back from. I deplored Jasper, he’s self absorbed and as the story progresses, he gets even more narcissistic and absorbed in his problems rather than those around him. His relationship with Edward is complicated, although Edward sees out for his brother and wants to protect him, Jasper is caught up in his own drama that he is unable to see beyond his own jury and recognise his brother’s psi and this makes for upsetting reading as Jasper seemed unaware of other people’s pain.

Ovidia is an interesting person, she paints a different character behind closed doors and it’s evident that like Edward, she is also struggling. Other supporting characters in the story make for interesting reading as Anne wonders about her own relationship and Holly is questioning her love for Jasper.

I was hooked from the start with this book, with each chapter, a new secret is revealed making this bold and dramatic debut a shocking noir. Brilliantly written and heartbreakingly honest, ‘The Pretenders’ is a compelling and reflective debut that touches on love, relationships and recovering from domestic violence that made for tender and upsetting reading in parts. This family drama had me enthralled from the first page.

You can pre-order ‘The Pretenders’ from Amazon and will be available from good bookshops from 5th November 2020

4.5⭐

I was fortunate to receive a copy of this ARC from NetGalley.

This novel is mainly about family and relationships with plenty of secrets where you're unsure who to trust!

My favourite quote:
"For a moment, he felt utterly humiliated at having been rescued by two strangers and mistaken for a drug addict by a third. Then he just felt hungry."

Aren't most of us pretending to be someone we're not, to at least some extent?

Edmond's brother, fiancee and their 2 close friends show up at his home unannounced on his and his girlfriend's worst day. What follows is a lot of awkwardness, discomfort and people pretending like everything is normal. This entire book takes place in one day, with some flashbacks to the past. Relationships are broken, secrets are uncovered, nobody will ever be the same.

For the first half of the book, I really struggled to get through. It was really slow and as a reader, I was just getting more information about the characters. It really picks up later in the book once more and more is uncovered about the characters and we get to some really deep dark secrets. At this point, I couldn't stop reading. It is a pretty short book compared to most.

Trigger warning: abuse, miscarriage, child loss

I recommend this book to anyone who likes reading a book more about human nature / character as opposed to varying settings / plots.

Thank you to Agora Books and NetGalley for the eGalley. All opinions expressed are my own.

I found this book a little hard to get into, but after a bit it got really interesting and I wanted to know what had happened to them in the past and what the future may bring.

Jasper and Holly get engaged, they surprised his brother Edmund with a visit along with his friends Anne and John. They are all stunned but not as much as jasper to find a woman in Edmunds house - his partner. We are taken between past and present, all 6 of them have secrets that are unravelling.

Thank you to netgalley for the copy of this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This started off really slow, and I had trouble getting into it at first (it was archived before I downloaded, but I bought it). Then, the story and characters got really interesting, and I ended up enjoying it.