"Who knew that pretending you're not falling for someone would be so much more difficult than pretending that you are?"
Stephanie Kendrick gave up her whole summer to ace her NYU film school screenwriting course, so she's pissed to be stuck with a preppy, spoiled frat boy as her writing partner. Then again, with her piercings, black-rimmed eyes, and Goth wardrobe, Stephanie isn't exactly Ethan Price's type, either. He's probably got his eye on some leggy blonde with a trust fund... or does he?
As the summer scene kicks off in the Hamptons, Ethan is desperate to make his snobbish mother forget the pedigreed girl who broke his heart. While Stephanie's a stretch as a decoy, the right makeover and a pastel cardigan just might do the trick. She may not love the idea of playing Ethan's brainless Barbie girlfriend, but the free rent and luxurious digs make a tempting offer. So does the promise of a ready-made screenplay idea inspired by their charade.
But when Stephanie steps into Ethan's privileged world, the "acting" begins to feel all too real. The kissing and touching that were intended to fool the Hamptons crowd wind up manipulating "them." And Stephanie faces a question she's too afraid to ask: Is Ethan falling for the real her or for the dolled-up princess he wants to see?
“For a weird moment our eyes lock, and she
tilts her heads a little and looks at me, and for a second, it’s as though she
gets me. Like she knows I’m full of shit and my life is one bif mess beneath
all the luxury brands and trust funds.”
At the beginning of the book, I think the best
word to describe Ethan and Stephanie is bitter. And that’s pretty much the only
thing they have in common. They’re both taking a film class over the summer to
avoid their home issues, and they end up being partnered up to do a film
project. Ethan is the rich boy with enough problems to make anyone realize that
money doesn’t solve everything. Stephanie is the goth girl with an icy glare
that shows she has a tough exterior to cover up lots of issues. Put them
together and you know what you get? Lots of sarcasm and sexual tension. It was
so much fun to read and watch them fall in love.
“I may be the Pygmalion in the story, but
you’re the statue. All that black shit you hide behind? That’s just your
version of ivory. You have the chance to become alive, Stephanie, and you’re
choosing to be a lifeless piece of rock.”
Ethan needs Stephanie to pretend to be his
girlfriend to cover up the fact that his ex-girlfriend, who he’s known since
they were children, cheated on him with his best friend. The three families are
the triumvirate of wealth and they have and always will run the same social
circle. So, Ethan’s mother wants him to stay with Olivia. That’s where Steph
comes in. They decide that this will help them figure out the characters and
the plot for their Pygmalion-esque screenplay. But what happens when the line
between their fake relationship and their real relationship start to blur?
Ethan has other issues too, and I really liked him because he was just too cute
not to. Yeah, he was a little stereotypical, and yes it took him way too long
to own up to his relationship, but he’s so sweet. He’s adorably awkward in this
situation, because it is an awkward proposition. But, I enjoyed it.
“And I hated, hated that some superficial,
gorgeous rich-kid who’d walk away from me without a second glance was the one
to make me feel desire and pain. Two emotions I’d thought were long dead inside
me.”
So, how did Ethan get Stephanie to get a full
attitude, makeup, and wardrobe makeover in order to play the part of Ethan
Price’s girlfriend? Well, her relationship with her father is very estranged
after he remarried six months after her mother died of cancer, so she decides
to take summer classes. But, she’s broke. So initially, she tries to stay in
the apartment with her ex-boyfriend who cheated on her. Oh and this
ex-boyfriend thinks it’s a brilliant idea to also have the girl he cheated on
Stephanie with in the same apartment. When Ethan lays out his deal, one of the
stipulations is that she can stay at his place with her own bedroom and
bathroom and all. Of course she accepts. And the fun begins. I really felt for
Stephanie more than Ethan, she was a bit more relatable. I loved seeing who she
becomes in the end. She had been hiding behind that exterior for so long, and
it was great to watch her grow into her own skin.
“I don’t tell her how I feel, for fear she
won’t feel the same way back. I don’t ask her what’s going to happen when out
screenplay’s done and after she’s moved on. Because I’m scared of the answer.
Scared that what we’re experiencing now is due to the atypical situation that
we’ve put each other in, and that we’re not cut out for the long haul.”
Obviously, this book is a bit angsty. But, I liked
that it was more cute than anything else. And there’s a bunch of secrets that
come out, which make good plot twists and also distinguish the story from all
the other Pygmalion stories or rich kid falls for wrong girl type stories. The
writing was easy to go with, and it was definitely fun to fall in love with the
characters. I would recommend this to anyone in the mood for something short
and sweet. The ending was too adorable for words, and I kind of wish we could
have more Ethan and Stephanie. I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to their
quirkiness or to their undeniable attraction.
“My screenplay doesn’t have a happy ending.”
“So which ending do we choose? Indie-angst,
or romantic comedy?”
Lauren Layne writes contemporary romance for Grand Central
Publishing (Forever Yours) and Random House (Loveswept).After dabbling in an e-commerce career in Seattle and Southern California, Lauren moved to New York City where she now writes full time.
Lauren graduated from Santa Clara University with B.S. in Political Science that she has yet to put to good use. She lives with her husband and plus-sized pomeranian in a tiny Manhattan studio.
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