Play Shop: Let's Pretend Sets

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I found Let’s Pretend a real eye opener into the world of celebrity dating. How true Vaughan’s got the shenanigans that are orchestrated by agents and PR, who knows but I felt the apple she wrote didn’t fall too far from the tree.

For someone like me who has never been to a party where anything stronger than weed was smoked, the lines of cocaine on the table where the wine is usually laid out, was a real eye-opener, though I hope I never experience it. I’d like to keep my septum thanks very much.

Let’s Pretend is a well-written multifaceted novel comprising exceptionally well-developed characters and a tremendous economy of storytelling weaved woven into a brutal psychological thriller. But the brutality has very little to do with gore of upsetting scenes (there are none), but with the choices that our cast of characters will have to live with.

It’s awful to think real people out there, actors, singers, sportsman in the eye who think this is still the only option available to them! Many never do come out for fear. Just when you think it is ending, another story comes through that didn’t even have a real ending to it, felt it was just left hanging.

What bothered me was that none of the characters in this book were likeable, not even Lily who we were supposed to root for. Therefore towards the end of the book I didn't really care who was responsible for Adam's death as none of the characters would have been a surprise. This took away a lot of the intrigue from the revelation and the book felt flat at the end. 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.