Lucy Parker

“Lucy Parker’s books are all fabulous. Her writing voice never fails to make me giggle, while the chemistry between her characters makes me swoon.”—Frolic This just in: romance takes center stage as West End theatre’s Richard Troy steps out with none other than castmate Lainie Graham Richard Troy used to be the hottest actor in London, but the only thing firing up lately is his temper. We all love to love a bad boy, but Richard’s antics have made him Enemy Number One, breaking the hearts of fans across the city. Have the tides turned? Has English rose Lainie Graham made him into a new man? Sources say the mismatched pair has been spotted at multiple events, arm in arm and hip to hip. From fits of jealousy to longing looks and heated whispers, onlookers are stunned by this blooming romance. Could the rumors be right? Could this unlikely romance be the real thing? Or are these gifted stage actors playing us all?

Act Like It

Lover of Romance 

This review was originally posted on Addicted To Romance

Act Like It  has been on my watchlist for the longest time now, especially when I read so many raving reviews so I definitely had some high hopes for this book and I wish that I could say that I loved this book, that it swept me away and I couldn't put it down....sadly though that wasn't the case with Act Like It.  I KNOW I am in the minority here, I definitely know that many won't agree with what I thought but you know....that is okay. So what issues did I have with this book? Well, there isn't too many, but one of the most important factors in reading (at least for myself) is that I am able to be fully engaged in a story. I almost reached 50% of the story before I started liking it. I really struggled with the first half, it just started so slow for me and even though I am a lover of dry humor (which was great by the way) there was just something off in the first half that I couldn't put my finger on. It was enough though that I almost put this away. But I just pushed my way through the story until half way and then the story started to really improve for me.

Act Like It  is a story about two involved actors in the London West End. Richard Troy is really rough around the edges, he says exactly what he thinks and isn't shy about it and is not a "People Person" and needs some positive feedback and soon. So this is where we bring in our heroine, Lainie Graham. Lainie is ordered to pose as his girlfriend, to show the world that he has turned a "new leaf". But the job they are asking her to do is much more difficult than she even thought it would be. Soon these two go from enemies who don't really like each other, to really liking each other and this fake relationship starts to turn very real for them.

I will admit that the whole fake relationship set up is one of my favorite tropes to read and rarely do I ever see it in a contemporary setting. And I really enjoyed how the romance played out in the end even if the first half was a bumpy road for me. But once Richard and Lainie started connecting, the story just explodes. I did feel like the drama though was a bit overdone at times, however, the romance that develops between Richard and Lainie was refreshing. They don't have the most conventional of relationships and I liked that a ton. The hidden depths we see from both Richard and Lainie is heartwarming and tangible.

Overall....even though Act Like It wasn't an explosive romance that I was expecting, it was entertaining and an endearing read.





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Elizabeth Clement

Completely addictive. Can't wait for another book from Lucy Parker.

Arianna M

2.5 stars - I liked it but it did not resonate with me as much as  Pretty Face, nor did it stay with me much longer than after I finished it, unlike its sequel, which I heartily recommend! That said, it's nice, and a fun light read.

Haley Murray

Aditi

Pretty boring. Idk why grumpy is synonymous to asshole in so many of these stories. Lainie is basically teaching Richard to be a decent human being and that's not hot at all. The fake dating aspect didn't do anything for me. For being so short it seemed to drag on forever and I can't say I enjoyed much of it.

Nedu

this was refreshing given the mediocre to bad books I have been subjected to for the last couple of weeks

This just in: romance takes center stage as West End theatre's Richard Troy steps out with none other than castmate Elaine GrahamRichard Troy used to be the hottest actor in London, but the only thing firing up lately is his temper. We all love to love a bad boy, but Richard's antics have made him Enemy Number One, breaking the hearts of fans across the city. Have the tides turned? Has English rose Lainie Graham made him into a new man?Sources say the mismatched pair has been spotted at multiple events, arm in arm and hip to hip.ÿFrom fits of jealousy to longing looks and heated whispers, onlookers are stunned by this blooming romance. Could the rumors be right? Could this unlikely romance be the real thing? Or are these gifted stage actors playing us all?

Act Like it

I now know what the hype was about. This was the most fun book I've read in ages. I seriously contemplated reading until 5 in the morning to finish, but then remembered that as it was mother's day I should probably show me face in the morning.

Everything about this book was fantastic. I finished it and wanted to read it again. Why are there not more Lucy Parker books in the world? I would seriously binge read everything she's written and not get bored. This is the good kind of romance with a fantastic story and a totally awesome romance that you will never grow tired of.

17.10.17 update

Look, I have very nothing extra to add other than I could reread this 100 times and still not get bored. I adore Richard and Lainie and theie fake real relationship. This book isn't overflowing with drama but is just good old fun. It has the best romantic banter and it reminded me I adore fake relationships, grumpy men and anything Lucy Parker writes.

If you've not read this already all I can say is why not?

Becky

Grace O'Callaghan

Romance books are so hard for me to rate for some reason. I either connect with it or don’t and it’s so difficult to explain why I didn’t.

When Richard lands himself in hot water with the press after being seen losing his temper, he has to clean up his image. Lainie is devastated after finding out her boyfriend and fellow cast mate was cheating on her. Now as a PR stunt Richard and Lainie must put on their best act and fake date to mend Richard’s reputation. They both disdain one another, but what if the fake feelings start to turn into real ones?

For whatever reason, Lainie and Richard didn’t click with me. They were fine, but they should’ve been characters that I love. I enjoy moody heroes and sassy heroines. For some reason I didn’t buy their chemistry and it just felt hollow. This could be partly a me thing as I haven’t been reading much lately, perhaps I’m just in a reading slump.

Something I can definitely say was that the side characters were so bland and stereotypical. You can sum up each of their roles in the story with just a few words. I kept getting them confused with one another because they were shells of characters.

I’ll admit that there were some funny moments that I enjoyed. The plot itself was also pretty fun, if a little formulaic. The ending was my favourite and added some conflict that wasn’t just about internal character but was something outside their control.

Something I was also able to spot was the fact that the author isn’t British. The writing felt like a caricature of British writing in a way I can’t really describe. I’m just able to sense things as it seemed to hit all the stereotypes. It’s something that I’m sure hasn’t bothered most people that have read it so if you don’t know England then you’d probably still enjoy it.

All in all, if you’re looking for a quick British romcom, I’d recommend it. It just personally didn’t click with me as much. I think I will continue in the series to see if it improves and whether it was these characters that hindered most of my enjoyment.

b.andherbooks

A classic case of I read too many rave reviews and my expectations were too high. I found this London theater actors romance okay, but nothing mind-blowing. The acting and theater details were nice but the actual romance featuring a cranky Darcy-type and a hardworking and heart-broken actress were not my favorite couple.

Well it took me some time to get to it because September sucked so hard, but I finally finished my reread of Act Like It for the 
  Kissing Book Club
 and I actually ended up giving it a higher rating this time around. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed the book the first time I read it, but I loved it even more this time. I am such a sucker for a grumpy hero and man is Richard a good one. I adored Lainie, too. We'd totally be besties IRL. I'm convinced. Their slow burn romance had me swooning all over the place. I can't wait to reread the rest of this series!

Find this review and more at 
  kimberlyfaye reads.


I remember when I first saw this book in a Harlequin blogger newsletter. I swooned over the cover and almost requested it, but I had so much on my plate that I didn't want to take on another book. Shame on me! I'm not even sure when it popped back up on my radar, but it wasn't all that long ago when I saw it on another blog I follow. This blogger praised it so highly that I bought a copy for myself and just waited for the time to read it. With the release of the second book in the series, well today, what better time than last weekend to read it? The binge of the two books is going to be wonderful, but I'm still kicking myself for not reading this one sooner.

Charming is the first word that comes to mind when I think about this book. (And yes, I totally said that with a British accent in my head.) I'm a total sucker for the fake relationship trope, so it should be no surprise that this one worked for me. But, it was more than just the trope that I loved. The characters — smart, strong, sassy (and funny) Lainie and sexy and semi-surly Richard — won my heart. (Especially Lainie, if I'm totally honest. She's everything I want in a romance heroine ... or a friend!) The banter between these two was absolute gold. They had loads of chemistry and I couldn't wait for them to recognize it and take their relationship from "fake" to something real.

Act Like It also gave good sexual tension. And, unlike a good majority of the books I read, it was more in the sweet than sexy category. It's not entirely closed door, but it's definitely far less graphic than most of what I read. It worked, too! I don't exactly shun books that don't give up the good stuff, but I lean towards those that do. This book didn't need that. Most importantly, I didn't even realize it was missing until I was thinking about it later. The entire book was so well-written and I enjoyed the swoons and laughs so much, I never stopped to think about what it didn't have. It was a total breath of fresh air. 

So, yes, I loved Act Like It. As I write this, I'm already several chapters into Pretty Face and I can't wait until I get more reading time later today so I can finish it up! Lucy Parker is a new favorite "new-to-me" author for sure! 

FAVORITE QUOTES

  Go from genuinely dating Will Farmer to fake-shagging Richard Troy? It seemed like a lateral move.

The pretty-face fairy had been awfully generous where those two were concerned. And had obviously just whacked the good-manners fairy right out of her path. 

It was ironic, given that their relationship was a complete hoax, but she never felt there was much pretence between them.

Amy Arthun Lorton 

Lacey

This was grump/sunshine heaven!!! I can't wait to continue with the series.

Riya

azliana aziz

Petaco

Shreya Punj

Natalie

Juliana M

sophia n

꙳⸌♡⸍꙳

Sára

This just in: romance takes center stage as West End theatre's Richard Troy steps out with none other than castmate Lainie Graham Richard Troy used to be the hottest actor in London, but the only thing firing up lately is his temper. We all love to love a bad boy, but Richard's antics have made him Enemy Number One, breaking the hearts of fans across the city. Have the tides turned? Has English rose Lainie Graham made him into a new man? Sources say the mismatched pair has been spotted at multiple events, arm in arm and hip to hip. From fits of jealousy to longing looks and heated whispers, onlookers are stunned by this blooming romance. Could the rumors be right? Could this unlikely romance be the real thing? Or are these gifted stage actors playing us all?

Act Like It

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