The Pretender

"My Jean-Marc's uncle was married to an English woman, and she told us once, a very long time ago, that in this world there are men of two kinds. The one, the knight, is a man possessing only strength and quality of moral character. He will never ask a lady to compromise her honor for less than a vow, and never, ever, will he consider another once he has captured her heart. A knight keeps his vow, even when it hurts, and the honor of the knight is a thing a country is built upon. A knight comes along only seldom these days.

"Now, a blackguard is a man who can be found quite easily, for it is an easy thing to be a blackguard. He attempts to trick young ladies into taking them home and caring for them, making them believe their honor can be given away as a mere trifle, offering no vow, and making only demands. The blackguard is to be avoided at all costs, for to settle for someone like him is to settle for something less than ideal..." ~ Sophia Pasquelucci, Italia, April 1945

For 17-year-old Tillie Caselli, she has always learned the differences between the two men thanks in part to her parents who have taught the two types of men in this world. Everyone she has ever been interested in she silently compares them into the two categories to judge whether they are worth her time or not. She wasn't looking for anyone the night two of her classmates disappeared into a bar in South Dakota, while attending a Junior Arts Competition. She found Noah Hansen, attractive but drunk out of his mind. However despite being drunk he was able to convince another man to leave Tillie alone so she and her friends could return back to their hotel. After giving him an opportunity to impress her once again, this time sober, she couldn't help but think that Noah fell into the knight category and gave her heart willingly when he proposed to her after a whirlwind weekend and vowed to wait til she turned 18 to marry her.

However when she returned again on an unexpected trip with her sister in law and older brother, she had called him in hopes of getting to meet up with him again. She just wasn't expecting another woman to kiss him moments before she was to walk into Maggie May's Bar again. Before he saw her, she ran back to her sister confessing she had made a huge mistake and now realized how easy it is to fall for the wrong guy. She vowed to never think about Noah again for as long as she lived and would have no contact with him despite how broken her heart felt. Her mother has been praying for Noah Hansen and there is no connection at first at to why this is, and when she finds proof that Tillie has fallen for Noah, she isn't sure what to do or say, until she returns from her trip and vows the relationship and her love for Noah is over.

I received The Pretender by Ta'mara Hanscom compliments of Reata Publishing and Litfuse Publicity. I know at times some of the story lines we readers find ourselves in can be a bit unrealistic such as falling in love within 2 days and accepting a marriage proposal from someone you hardly know. Even though they both feel they have met before, they are willing to do whatever it takes to ensure their love never dies even if it means waiting. For Noah, it leads him to give up drinking and start to get his life on track since he has spent most of his life being drunk and getting high, hanging out with all the wrong kinds of people and suddenly is able to give it all up. I am always one to root for the heroes, but in this case, I wasn't that happy with the way this novel rolled out. It is divided into two parts, Noah and then Ty and the series is slated to continue as the novels appear listed at the back of this one. There are too many story lines and characters that are launched onto the reader in the very beginning and you struggle to maintain the connections of who is who while you are going through the novel. This one to me, lacked the appeal to want to know what the outcome would be, as the ending of this one will leave you hanging in hopes of wanting to pick up the next one. I would rate this one a 3 out of 5 stars in my opinion.

For more information about The Pretender, Ta'mara Hanscom or where you could pick up a copy of this book today, please click on the links below:

The Pretender by Ta'mara Hanscom 

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Despite just meeting each other, Tillie and Noah's lives have been mysteriously intertwined for many years in Ta'Mara Hanscom's The Pretender. From the moment they met, Tillie and Noah wanted to spend the rest of their lives together, but a deliberate omission will keep them apart-and that same omission will be responsible for the escape of a murderer, and a bride's deception.

Join Ta'Mara in celebrating the release of the second printing and new covers by entering to win her $75 prize basket giveaway!

One grand prize winner will receive:

• A copy of The Pretender
• A $75 Amazon gift card
• A decorative box containing measuring cups, ten recipes from the book, a potholder, a kitchen towel, pepper and salt grinders, kitchen utensils, and an olive oil dispenser

Enter today by clicking the icon below, but hurry! The giveaway ends on October 11. The winner will be announced October 12 on the Litfuse blog.