Just Pretending (Hearts to Follow #1) by Dana Burkey

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Title: Just Pretending (Hearts to Follow #1)
Author: Dana Burkey
Series: Hearts to Follow #1
Published by: Indie
Release Date: August 3, 2014
Pages: 33
Genres: Romance, Young Adult
Reading Challenges: CC's Goodreads Reading Challenge
Find it: Goodreads ✩ Amazon
My rating:

Blurb:

Everything in Cam’s life is finally going right. Despite many of her best friend being out of town for the summer, she is ready to have some fun. With her good friend Josh by her side, Cam is just starting to really enjoy the time off school, when Nick comes wandering back into her life. It’s been a year since Cam last saw Nick, but the wound is still fresh. The heartbreak Nick caused so long ago left Cam in pieces. Now that he is back, she is quickly falling apart one again. And the fact that he brought his new girlfriend Gina along for his vacation is only making it worse. Not wanting to see the shell of a person Cam once was thanks to Nick, Josh comes up with an idea: he will play the role of Cam’s boyfriend to make Nick jealous. Although the plan seems impossible, Cam quickly realizes it’s working. Or at least it seems like it’s working from the outside. But to everyone on the inside things get messy fast. With feelings, emotions, and kissing flying all around, will Cam ever stop the pretending and land the true love she’s been looking for?

My Review:

This was a cute, short summer romance that held my attention.  I liked the whole pretending to date that turns into real dating.  It was clear Cam had a good head on her shoulders.  She liked Nick and wanted to try to get his attention but at the same time she wasn’t blind to his faults. And she didn;t make excuses for his behavior.  She just kinda let it all in and percolated on it.

Even though this was a short story, it didn’t feel like the pacing was too fast or anything was skipped over. It was all very neatly packaged with just the right amount of words.  I have always thought that it was very difficult to write a short story that had all the elements of a good long one, kudos to the writer for accomplishing that.

The kisses were sweet yet steamy at the same time, my favorite kind! Josh did an excellent job of moving from the friend zone to the boyfriend zone.  He didn’t avoid the conversation, which I loved about his personality.  I look forward to what the next book has to offer because Ithink it’s about Nick.

BTW, this short story appears to be free on Amazon, so give it a shot if you are interested.  What have you got to lose?