Release Blitz + Review: "Great Pretender" by Khardine Gray

Congratulations to author Khardine Gray on today's release of "Great Pretender," a standalone Cocky Hero Club novel inspired by "Park Avenue Player."

 

Pulmonology resident Dr. Piper St. Claire is having a rough month. After announcing that he's leaving her for his secretary, her ex-boyfriend is evicting her from the house they shared, which he owns and plans to sell. Low on funds after paying for her father's recent stint in rehab as well as covering his gambling debts, Piper has nowhere else to turn for help besides her lifelong best friend, Chad Holdsworth, a retired football player who now works for his father running a professional team. Chad, however, is busy dealing with problems of his own after being photographed drunkenly skinny dipping with an infamous model. His father is about to retire and has informed Chad that if he doesn't clean up his act and settle down with a suitable woman within the next 18 months, he will turn the team over to Chad's odious cousin, Georgiou, instead of Chad. Unfortunately, Chad's not ready to settle down, so his friend Murray convinces him that a fake marriage to Piper would solve all of his problems. 

I wasn't totally sold on the chemistry between Piper and Chad in the first half of the book, but it improved over the course of the story. I think the main problem is that they were constantly in crisis mode dealing with Piper's dad and his health issues, as well as trying to figure out what to do about Chad's father's demands, which didn't leave them much time to focus on their relationship. Once most of those external issues had been resolved, their love story was actually pretty sweet. They had a number of insecurities and fears to work through, but it was easy for me to root for them to overcome those challenges.

 

Overall, I enjoyed "Great Pretender" and recommend it for all contemporary romance readers. This was the first book I've ever read by Khardine Gray, but it won't be the last.

 
*Review copy provided by the author/publisher via Give Me Books Promotions. All opinions expressed are my own.

 

About "Great Pretender"

He needs a wife so he can get his inheritance.
I’m up to my eyeballs in debt with a sick father who needs treatment.
When he offers me a million dollars to be his fake wife, am I supposed to say no?

Chad Holdsworth is one of the wealthiest football stars in the country.
We’ve been best friends since birth.
So his shenanigans are nothing new to me.
The idea of getting married should have been easy.

Until he kissed me.

We then forgot we were supposed to be pretending.
And broke all the rules.

I know better than to fall for a playboy.
Even if he is my friend.
But I’m so lost in him I can’t see my way back.
With that panty-melting smile and his bedroom baby blues, he could get a nun in trouble.
What chance do I have of resisting?

If you play with fire, you will get burned. 

Loving this man might be a mistake I’m not prepared for.

Great Pretender is a friends to lovers/fake fiancée romance inspired by Park Avenue Player.