I'm struggling to know how I feel about The Pretenders. I found it difficult to get into at the start and wasn't really warming to any of the characters. However, as I kept reading I found myself full of angst, I wanted to know what was going on between all the characters and why nobody was really asking all the right questions.

I felt as uncomfortable reading it as the some of the characters felt being in Edmunds house. I wanted to leave! Perhaps that's a good indication of a book written well and I was meant to feel uncomfortable, who knows. I will say that it covers some very dark topics and I honestly don't know how Edmund continued supporting Ovidia after everything she had done, all so dysfunctional.

A great read to get conversations going especially for book clubs.

I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed The Pretenders. Zaza cleverly weaves the storylines of six different adults (three couples), drifting in to past stories of how they came to know each other before returning to the present day. That the story is based on one single surprise encounter demonstrates Zaza's skill as an author. Where I had inklings about what may have happened in the past or be about to happen (your fed snippets to keep you guessing) I did not anticipate the ending, and actually had a jaw-drop moment (which I don't believe I've ever had whilst reading a book!). The ending isn't what you hope and expect, and for that I loved it more. I did feel it ended a little abruptly, but nonetheless I quite enjoyed this read.

This was an interesting book. I found it slightly uncomfortable in places, I did and I did not want to know what was to happen. It is a clever story, written from an unusual perspective. The familial and non familial relaltionships are very well drawn. It is in places incredibly sad but it deals very well with difficult subject matter. I enjoyed it and would recommend it.

This book is set in one day, three couples and 2 exes. Straight away I want to know what it’s all about.
Very strong characters, lots of lies between them that I just wanted to find out more.
An interesting story but considering it is set in one day it isn’t fast paced.

A very different book.

Let's be frank: the book market is awash with domestic noir. It's there at every turn: on the tables at Waterstones, on the shelves at the supermarket, and on online homepages. Why? Because the genre is a phenomenon, and no wonder when titles like The Pretenders keep upping the game.
The cover - a set of hands clinking wine glasses. The blurb: 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. So far, so expected, right?
I began The Pretenders expecting the expected: a decent weekend read. Who doesn't want to have a bit of scandal, guilt, and more to lose themselves in? And it didn't let me down.
This is bolder than many of the other domestic noirs I've read, and more hard-edged too. Set cleverly over the course of one day, the author has packed a heck of a lot of action in, and the denouement... well... I didn't see it coming.
If an intense, dark read is your thing, this is for you. Bravo, Agatha Zaza!

The Pretenders 


There are three couples, two exes, two brothers, just 6 people meeting to have a celebration on Saturday morning. We will read about that day, we will read flashbacks, we will go through that day discovering how they are all connected, discovering their secrets, witnessing different subjects that are really hard to get in touch with. 


I have to say I just finished the book, I'm heartbroken, I feel hurt and I've been crying since the half of the story. This is a sign of how well written it is, at the beginning  it was a little bit slow, the first pages were hard for me to connect with the book, but then it was difficult to stop reading it, it took me just one day and half. 


This looks like a gossip story, like it is about to discovering entertaining secrets of a group of people, but this book is deep, we are falling into complex topics while we're progressing with the reading. We read about domestic violence, bulimic, depression, love, infidelity, children, illness, family and friendship. This books show us how hard life can be sometimes, how strange and painful it is to be ourselves sometimes, this book is beautiful for the way it is written, exquisite narrative, but is emotionally awful.


It made me think and to have several reflections, something that I found awesome about this story, even when it is painful, it talks about subjects that are not usually  spoken about in real life or literature. Violence against men, how they are treated when they are the victim, also how heavy it should be to become conscious that you are/were an abusive person, that you physically and emotionally hurt somebody, that you were a monster and live with the guilt. I have never stopped to think that an abusive person also hurts themselves in the process.


The ending of this book left me hanging, left me going back to the situations to the characters. For my own sake I would highlight one point, family and friends are truly important, even when they are not perfect they can be life savers.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for my copy of The Pretenders. This is a very well written plot that keeps on surprising the reader, and not usually in a good way. The characters were all well delineated but seemed to be from a previous century and none of them were very likeable other than Hollie who we find out the least about.

This book really should have a trigger warning as I was immensely shocked by the ending if not earlier parts of the story as I could relate to it only too well.

I didn't particularly enjoy this book, even though I think the quality of the writing is good. Edmund has been living with Ovidia for 4 years but hasn't told his family because she was with his brother Jasper previously, and she left him in absolute pieces. Now Jasper has just got engaged to Holly, and, along with friends Anne and John, they go to share their good news. But clearly Edmund and Ovidia are going through their own personal hell which is threatening their relationship. I can't say much more without spoiling the story, but I found the characters to be very unlikeable, particularly Ovidia. When you find out what she's done you really wonder why Edmund is still with her! Thanks to NetGalley for a preview copy.
Copied to Goodreads.

I have never read a book like this before - I was hooked from start to finish. There were some incredibly thought-provoking themes such as abuse, depression, family secrets, and deceit. I could easily imagine this book being turned into a TV series.

This is so good. It almost reads like a play - the action is centred around 1 house, with 6 people who are connected to each other in different ways, all with secrets, all tied to this room unable to leave, descriptions are so full and vivid. The opening scene where Edmund destroys a play house and he and Ovidia sit slumped and separate in this magnificent house is intriguing but nuggets of information is fed into the story, sometimes in flashbacks, sometimes in conversation and gradually everything is turned on its head. Shocking, explosive, gripping - I couldn't stop reading it . A totally absorbing and satisfying read that will make you think long after you finish it.

Although the premise definitely gripped my attention, the execution and the overall flow of the story was not really to my liking.

The Pretenders, set in London, centers around two brothers. Edmund is the successful older brother who, nearing age 50, has never been in a loving relationship; and Jasper is the brother who is not nearly as successful and dependent on Edmund for his psychological needs.

We learn early on that while Edmund has a beautiful Victorian home that's been renovated to appear modern, his surprise girlfriend Ovidia who apparently shares this home still keeps a separate flat of her own across the road. As the story unfolds it becomes apparent that there is a grim undertaking that Edmund and Ovidia must confront.

To celebrate Jasper's engagement to Holly, Jasper, along with Holly and his good friends, John and Anne, decide to make an impromptu, unplanned visit to Edmund in his new home. In scenes that bring Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolff to mind, it's apparent that Ovidia, who turns out to be Jasper's old girlfriend and the cause of his psychological distress, and Edmund are in a very strange relationship and their home is not all that it appears to be on first glance.

As the darkness in Edmund's home becomes apparent, Anne, who is a nurse, tries to keep everyone calm while Jasper is forced to deal with ghosts from his past. I enjoyed the banter and the ways in which abnormal behavior can somehow be justified by those who perpetrate it. If I hadn't figured out the surprise ending early on, I would have rated this book as a 5. Although I expected it, the ending completes the story quite well if not to the benefit of all the characters.

I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, and I'm grateful for having had the opportunity.

Although this story is set over the course of a single day the depth of the back stories of the six characters is revealed slowly over the course of the book. I really like this onion peeling way of storytelling which gives an exquisite tension and mystery to the book. All the characters are revealed by the end and the book’s title makes more sense. The writing is very good and the story is original.

This title is perfect for the book!! Everyone is a pretender. This book intertwines the lives of 3 couple and their secrete or not so secrete lives. Dealing with mental illnesses and abusive behaviors make this book stand out.
While I actually love this book it was written to piss you off and want to kick someones ass, I absolutely hated the ending but I believe that is what the author wanted you to do.

SPOILER ALERT:
Ovidia and Edmund, you are assholes

This was a very interesting book. I am still processing about how I feel about this book and the events that happened over the course of the day. This book is about a group of people and the secrets that they discover about each other over the course of the day. This book deals with some disturbing themes such as domestic violence and the death of a small baby. I would not recommend this book to everyone but did enjoy the different direction of a thriller.

I was excited to start reading this book but sadly it didn’t live up to expectations. The premise of 3 couples coming together each of them holding a secret, was enticing but sadly the story was slow and the narration very confusing. I often had to read pages again to understand who’s POV I was reading.

On many occasions I contemplated adding it to my, very small, DNF pile but I wanted to know the secrets, so I persevered hoping that the narrative would improve.

The topics within are highly emotive but, unfortunately, I felt that they were not given the attention they should have. For me it felt as though I was reading the initial thoughts of the author rather than a completed novel..

Sadly, this was not for me.

Thank you to Agora Books and Netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

The Pretenders is a dark, atmospheric, perfectly written character study. Tension builds as the unavoidable problems in their lives bubble to the surface over the course of one terrible day. This story has such depth and soul as 6 people meet in one house where they then proceed to untangle how their lives have interconnected. It takes a day like this, where Edmund and Odivia are exposed as having had a relationship for years, a relationship which has lasted for years yet been kept from all their families. But why? A day when Jasper, Edmund's brother, and Holly are announcing their engagement. So why isn't everyone over the moon for them? Jasper's best friend John and wife Anne are having a rare night off from their children and their work, so why can't they fully throw themselves into being happy? Flitting back and forth in time between both the past and present, the narrative slowly unfolds revealing truths and shocks. This clever narrative structure jumps without warning to past events to provide background. It feels quite jarring at times, with one paragraph in the present giving way to a paragraph set a number of years earlier and it knocked me off-kilter a little. I think that we’re supposed to be feel disorientated and have far more questions than answers. To say anything more detailed would ruin the reading experience. Please just go in blind. This was a welcomed surprise and I really enjoyed it!

Unfortunately I really struggled with this book. It was so slow and nothing much seemed to happen. I also found it very confusing and difficult to finish. Sorry it just wasn’t for me at all

I read this title without reading the synopsis, so the story was quite a surprise to me as it unfolded. This is a fascinating debut, so well written. A surprise visit to Jasper's brother's house with his friends to celebrate his engagement sparks off a day that none of them envisaged. Three couples with their own mysteries and flashbacks to what brought them to this day is very cleverly laid out. It is a compulsive read filled with mystery. Can't wait to read more by this author.
Many thanks to Netgalley/Agatha Zaza/Agora Books for a digital copy of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

I can’t believe I almost gave up on this book after only a little way in. I decided to check out some reviews to see if I felt encouraged to read on, I was and I am so glad I did.
Beautifully written with the biggest shocks seeming to simply pop out at you from a one line comment. So sad but such a clever telling of a sad tale. The characters all with secrets kept from each other were engrossing to get to know. I can’t say much more without spoilers so I will just leave it as a book I thoroughly recommend.