Let's Pretend is a novel about the world of acting and fame, and the kinds of performances it causes people to undertake. When former child star Lily Thane is approached by her old stage school acquaintance Adam Harker for a fake romance to stun the red carpet with, it seems like a great opportunity. It seems like maybe her struggling acting career could be on the rise, but she'll have to content with their toxic dynamic. When Adam is found dead in a swimming pool, Lily knows something was up, and gets drawn into finding out who supplied the drugs that killed him, and if they're still dangerous.

The narrative follows Lily from reuniting with Adam after not having seen each other since stage school to her quest to unravel the mystery of exactly how he died. The opening draws you into an upper echelon world of fame, party drugs, and money, where reputation and gossip are key, and it is a horrific world at times, with a lot of unlikeable characters and plenty of reminders of the fickle nature of things. Lots of the acting elements are similar to or ripping off existing things, building up a picture of a landscape close to the real world, though it does occasionally get a bit tiring to hear about.

I've read Vaughan's previous novel The Favour and this one is similar in the twisted character relationships and general sense of terrible people who might be capable of murder, though I didn't quite enjoy the atmosphere of this one as much. I found the pace of the first part wasn't for me and I was left a bit confused that it was suddenly the end of her agreement with Adam, but the party that forms the central moment of the book was good. I found that I wasn't connected to the characters, but that was fine because they're all intentionally awful.

This is a light read that combines mystery with a depiction of the toxic nature of fame and acting. I would've liked it to look a bit deeper into some of the things in the narrative, especially in terms of Adam's public self and also what is revealed at the end, as it felt like it only engaged superficially with a lot of the elements of the acting world that it was delving into, but the whole vibe of the book was staying at arm's length anyway. It was good to see a fake relationship played as toxic and complex, rather than as a set up for romance, anyway.

The second of Laura Vaughan’s books I have read and I enjoyed it as much as the first. Set in the acting world,the scenarios seem believable but with a final twist you just won’t see coming. With this, Laura Vaughan cements her place as a must read author.