3.5 stars. After seeing all the positive reviews on CBR for this little romance book, I had to check it out to see what all the fuss was about. Turns out you all have great taste (this wasn’t a surprise). I hadn’t read much contemporary romance until this past year, but this is a good addition to my ever-growing shelf of fun, modern romance.
Act Like It centers around Lainie Graham and Richard Troy. Lainie is a stage actress on the rise performing in the same play as Richard who is almost as well-known for his moodiness as his legendary ability to act. To get a little positive PR for the play, they’re forced to drum up a little publicity by acting out a fauxmance. Neither of them are too keen on the idea and are pretty vocal about their opposition.
This dabbles in so many of the romantic tropes I love. Seemingly jerk who actually has a sensitive side? Check. Pretend relationships getting steamy because of secret feelings? Check. Belligerent sexual tension? Check. The characters namecheck Beatrice and Benedick for their similarities and I think that’s fair. There are plenty of similarities there. With a little bit of Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester thrown in.
Anyway, I’d definitely recommend this one. Especially at a slim 200 pages, it’s well worth procuring a copy from the bookstore or library.
It’s just such a sweet read and I adored every minute I spent in the world with those two.
I just finished re-reading this. I liked it even more on the second read.
I like how much Parker likes Lainie as it feels like she is writing about a real woman not a Romance Novel woman.