ARC Review: Pretending with the Playboy by Tracey Livesay

This was my first read by Tracey Livesay and it was fantastic! I absolutely loved “Pretending with the Playboy.” This is the second book in the “In Love with a Tycoon” series. Although I did not read the first book this is can easily be a stand-alone and readers won’t be lost with the series.

When the story begins our playboy Carter Richardson is doing just that, acting like a playboy. He is just waking up with his latest fling with a hangover. This is a common occurrence in Carter’s life. His philosophy seems to be “work hard, play harder.” Lauren Olsen shows up on his door step when all this is happening and throws his world upside down.

First, I loved Lauren so much. She was an incredible heroine. One thing I loathe in romance novels is when a successful, smart, strong woman becomes a moron the minute she is attracted to a guy. Livesay held true to her heroine and I loved that! Lauren has known Carter, practically their entire lives. She is now an assistance to his very wealthy aunt, Dorothy. Dorothy was such a great character as well. The author really took time to develop her character and show the strength in her relationship to Lauren and to Carter. It was heartbreaking to see how much she loved and how easily she gave her love to both Lauren and Carter. In a way Lauren and Carter are both “orphans.” Dorothy plays the mother to both and she is passionately loyal and loving.

Carter is a typical rich, spoiled, no- worries -in –the- world playboy. He is very successful in his career but he is also very selfish and self-absorbed. Laurens sole purpose is to bring him to visit his aunt Dorothy before she passes away. Unbeknownst to Carter she has cancer and doesn’t have much time left. I had a hard time warming up to Carter but it became part of his charm! Livesay held true to her hero also! I loved that he didn’t magically change overnight and I also loved his relationship with his aunt and eventually the real relationship he developed for Lauren.

Aside from these wonderful characters, the author also makes the hero and heroine so enjoyable! They had great chemistry and fun banter. She also adds some villains to the mix as Carter has to re-evaluate his goals and priorities and think of the people he loves first. Livesay has been added to my to-read list! I really enjoyed her writing and can’t wait to read more by her!

**ARC provided by Publisher**

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