Just Pretending by Leah and Kate Rooper

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Title: Just Pretending
Author: Leah Rooper, Kate Rooper
Series: The Chicago Falcons #3
Published by: Entangled: Crush
Release Date: November 5, 2018
Format: eARC
Pages: 210
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Sports Romance, Young Adult
Source: NetGalley
Reading Challenges: Lenoreo's 2018 Finishing the Series Challenge, Lenoreo's 2018 Netgalley and Edelweiss Challenge, Lenoreo's 2018 New Release Challenge
Find it: Goodreads ✩ Amazon ✩ B&N ✩ Google ✩ Kobo ✩ iBooks
My rating:

Blurb:

It's not easy being royal. Sixteen-year-old Evangeline wears her crown proudly, but between her duties and her overprotective big brother, the idea of romance is just a dream. But a chance encounter in Chicago changes all that….

Sure, seventeen-year-old Tyler Evans loves playing hockey, but he's more concerned about providing for his dad and little sister. Then he meets Eva--and falls head-over-heels in love—and he has two more problems. One, she's his best friend's little sister. Two, she wears a crown.

But then Eva accidentally mistakes Tyler for a visiting prince, and for the first time, Tyler doesn't feel like a nobody. He knows he has to tell her the truth…but not yet.

His plan? To keep up the royal charade as long as it takes to convince Eva he’s the guy for her. Even if he’s lying to everyone…including himself.

Disclaimer: May cause disillusionment. Those girls looking to find their Prince Charming might consider scouting out hockey rinks.

Each book in the Chicago Falcons series is STANDALONE:
* Just One of the Boys
* Just One of the Royals
* Just Pretending

My Review:

I received a free copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review/opinion.

4 stars — After my mixed feelings on Daniel and Madison’s book, I was wary of what this book was going to be like for my adorable Tyler and Eva….but I need not have worried, I was sucked right in and feeling all the feels!  I will admit, there were still times I *really* had to suspend my disbelief (mostly when Tyler was playing Tiberius), but as long as I did that I was fine.

I was half in love with Tyler in the previous 2 books, but he just confirmed my love in this story.  Which is not to say he didn’t behave like an idiot…he did.  And more than I was expecting.  But my heart just ACHED for him.  Reading his POV parts just always got to me.  He really honestly felt like a nobody, like nothing.  And even though he was wholeheartedly wrong, I got why he fell into that trap.  It’s funny, b/c I was empathizing with him so hard (even though I don’t specifically have anything in common with him), that when Daniel starts giving him some hard truths, my back got up automatically.  But Daniel was right.  And I so appreciated that Tyler had someone in his life that wasn’t afraid to call him on his bullshit.  Tyler really went through a journey in this story, but the core of who he was was totally swoonworthy: a genuinely sweet and good guy.  And I loved all the little aspects of his character that we learned, from his artistic talent to his struggles with dyslexia.

I will admit that I found I didn’t *quite* connect with Eva as closely.  Like, I did, but her story seemed overshadowed by Tyler’s in this one.  Which was okay, because I think much more and it would have been too much in one book, but I do feel sad that I never really got down and dirty in what it was like for Eva as a newly appointed Queen.  I wonder if part of the reason I felt like her story got lost is that I just finished reading another story about a young Queen, and so I could see the difference between what we learned about that other Queen’s struggles vs Eva’s.  But I did appreciate her struggle with being liked and *seen* for who she was.

As for the romance — it was both sweet and hot at the same time.  The sweetness I expected.  But damn, some of those kisses got steamy!  Not graphic, this is still YA…but definitely steamy.  The whole paint scene was…wow.  I really felt their connection, and it made my heart hurt when Tyler kept mucking things up.  I got it to a degree, but there did come a point when I was ready to smack him.  Luckily Daniel was there.

All in all, this was a solid conclusion to the series.  And while they can be read as standalones, I think if you enjoy any one of them, it’s worth seeing what the other Falcons are up to.  I also really appreciated that we got an epilogue that nicely wrapped things up and gave closure.  Otherwise I was worried I was going to have to beg for a bonus novella…  😉