It’s not easy being royal. Sixteen-year-old Evangeline wears her crown proudly, but between her duties and her overprotective big brother, the idea of romance is just a dream. But a chance encounter in Chicago changes all that…. Sure, seventeen-year-old Tyler Evans loves playing hockey, but he’s more concerned about providing for his dad and little sister. Then he meets Eva–and falls … falls head-over-heels in love–and he has two more problems. One, she’s his best friend’s little sister. Two, she wears a crown.
But then Eva accidentally mistakes Tyler for a visiting prince, and for the first time, Tyler doesn’t feel like a nobody. He knows he has to tell her the truth…but not yet.
His plan? To keep up the royal charade as long as it takes to convince Eva he’s the guy for her. Even if he’s lying to everyone…including himself.
Disclaimer: May cause disillusionment. Those girls looking to find their Prince Charming might consider scouting out hockey rinks.
Each book in the Chicago Falcons series is STANDALONE:
* Just One of the Boys
* Just One of the Royals
* Just Pretending
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This is the book I was waiting for in Leah and Kate Rooper‘s The Chicago Falcons series. Just Pretending is the final book in the series and Tyler’s story. I was already in love with the shy friend of the trio and I couldn’t wait to find out more about him. Y’all I wasn’t disappointed. If anything, I fell more in love with him.
At seventeen, Tyler Evans has a lot on his shoulders. While he loves hockey, he worries about helping his dad provide for his little sister. Poor doesn’t begin to cover their situation, and my heart ached for him as he struggled to help his dad make ends meet. He’s passionate, has zero self-confidence, and hopeless in love with his best friend’s little sister who is completely off-limits. However after a mixup leaves him spending an entire day with the young queen, he begins wishing for a different reality, one that would allow him to love her.
Evangeline was first introduced in Just One of the Royals as Daniel’s little sister. Now queen she doesn’t get many opportunities to see her big brother or venture outside her kingdom. Deciding to take a vacation, she finds herself in Chicago being shown all the sights by Daniel. When her mother calls and tells her that a neighboring prince will also be in Chicago and that her job as queen is to welcome him and show him around, she reluctantly agrees. Through a series of hilarious events, she mistakes Tyler for Tiberius and finds herself falling in love with the down-to-earth “prince.” Eva is a typical sixteen year old with a big responsibility, one that weighs on her shoulders and makes her long for another life.
The plot surrounds Tyler and Eva as she hosts Christmas at the castle and Daniel and his friends attend. I loved Tyler and Eva’s interactions, but at times I wanted to smack Tyler for hiding his true identity. The will he get caught added an edge of suspense to their romance. And the steaminess?! I didn’t expect it. I expected a sweet story from Tyler, and I got one. But man the paint scene had me blushing.
Overall Just Pretending is my favorite of the series. Tyler and Eva were easy to root for. If you enjoy YA romance, I highly recommend you grab a copy.
*I received a copy of this book via the publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of this review.*
Leah and Kate Rooper scored a hat trick with the third and last book in the Chicago Falcons series, JUST PRETENDING. This is Evangeline Harwell’s and Tyler Evans’s story. Eva is Daniel Sacachelli’s (from book two, JUST ONE OF THE ROYALS) half-brother and teammate of Tyler. Eva is now the Queen of Eldonia. She is visiting Daniel in Chicago. While there, she mistakes Tyler for the prince of Perienza, as Tyler gets wrapped up in the charade. This hockey romance is suitable for young adults.
JUST PRETENDING is an entertaining and heartfelt read. I like that in each book in the Chicago Falcons series, there was a person pretending to be something else but ending up discovering themselves in the process. I appreciated that Eva and Tyler shared a love of art. The two could relate to one another. While it was not smart that Tyler to pretend to be someone else, it gave him the confidence to get to know Eva.
It is understandable why Tyler lacked confidence. I’m glad that he was put in a situation where he could eventually better himself. I love his little sister. Millie. She is sweet and adds to the story.
I enjoyed the plot. The story has some interesting twists that develop into the perfect ending. I would love to see a spin-off series or a reunion book in the future to discover what happens to the characters. I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book.
3.5*
Just Pretending was a cute story with a lot of heart. Eva and Tyler both want to be “seen” for who they really are, not just as a queen and a poor jock. Eva, as the young Queen of a small country, wants nothing more than to have friends and belong to the Falcon family her brother Daniel has created for himself and his friends. Tyler just wants a shot at being something more than who he thinks he is.
Although for all Eva’s posturing about how she wanted to fit in and not have people judge her for being queen, there were a couple of times that she sure was quick to judge Tyler, without knowing him or even giving him a chance.
When the opportunity presents itself to Tyler to become someone he’s not, he jumps at the chance, just to spend time with Eva. Before long he’s in deeper than he expected and unfortunately things implode on him.
I’m kind of embarrassed to admit to the tears I shed for Tyler towards the end of the book, but he pulled at every single one of my heartstrings! Yes, he made some questionable decisions and dumb choices, but I honestly can’t fault him for it, even with the fallout from his behavior.
Overall I thought this story was very sweet. Eva and Tyler both came to some realizations about themselves, and I liked that there was an underlying message of accepting yourself woven in.
This was the first book I read in the Chicago Falcons series- I hadn’t realized it was part of a series when I requested to read and review it. Although it can be read as a standalone I do think it would have been better if I had started at the beginning, especially with Eva and her ascension to the throne.
***Copy received courtesy of the publisher.
I loved book 1 in this series, sadly I missed book 2, but I have to say I struggled with book 3, Just Pretending. The storyline had so much potential, I loved the premise of Tyler pretending to be a Prince and I loved that there were some funny moments, especially with the real Prince Tiberius, who, I have to say was a complete hoot, and stole the show for me. I did however, struggle with how horrid and snooty Eva was, I struggled with how Tyler belittled himself and how he deceived his best friend and the girl he was falling for, all because he was insecure. I didn’t like how Daniel was with Tyler, none of it made me think they were a really tight knit unit. Overall it was a bit of a flop for me with a saving grace from the side characters, Millie, Madison and of course Tiberius. I will say however, there were some highly emotional scenes towards the end of the story, and once the characters were honest with themselves it redeemed itself somewhat. I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is my honest review.