Can We Pretend? by Sana Khatri

 

This novel jumps right into the action by introducing us to Vera on what could quite possibly be the worst day of her life. After facing a brutal assault in an alley on her way home from work one night Wane find her lying in the street and rushes to her aid.

She rejects him at first but slowly she allows him to become her knight in shining armour and rush her to the emergency room so she can get the care she needs. After this fateful meeting he gives her his number and asks that she stays in touch, but she does not. Fast forward to a few years later and who walks into his shop to interview for the assistant vacancy, none other than Vera.

From this point we follow all the twists and turns of Wane and Vera reconnecting and trying to fight the automatic attraction they feel for one another. We get to meet a colourful cast of characters including the other employees in the shop and both Vera and Wanes families who seem to realise that they are destined to be together long before they do.

This added perspective from the other characters really helps to ground Wane and Vera’s relationship and stops it falling into some of the typical scenarios which may have been expected. Vera is an extraordinarily strong character and I like how Khatri was able to demonstrate this and allowed her to keep this attribute throughout despite her having to lean on Wane for support at times.

I feel that there could have been a bit more included in the book, but that’s maybe just me wanting to make it longer so that I can see what happened to the supporting cast and how they all found their happy ending also.

Finally I wanted to say a big thank you to Sana for sending me over an advanced review copy, why not go check her out on Instagram @isanakhatri and be sure to pick up the book when it launches on 12^th of November this year!