They say fake it till you make it, and I’ve been a faker my whole damn life. But it was a lot easier pretending I didn’t want my best friend before I needed her to be my wife.
Just as I’m on the brink of making my dreams a reality, tragedy strikes. One minute I’m chasing a record deal, and the next, I’m temporary guardian of my niece and nephew.
In order to prove to the judge I’m the best fit, I need to show stability. I need…a wife.
Even though Natalie Haven swore she left Havenbrook for good, she comes the second I call—no questions asked.
But Nat’s always been too big for this small town, and she’s only back long enough to help me fool everyone. Trouble is, we’re starting to fool ourselves.
It was easier faking it with half a world between us. Now that we’re playing house by day and sharing a bed every night, it’s impossible to deny how much I want her. And how much I love calling her my wife.
Pretending to love Nat is the easiest lie I’ve ever told. Because the truth is I never stopped. The real problem is figuring out how to let her go when it’s all over.
*This book was originally published as Small Town Pretender in 2021 and significantly edited and updated in 2025*
| Title: | Faker (previously Small Town Pretender) |
| Author: | Brighton Walsh |
| Series: | Havenbrook (Book 4) |
| Pages: | 270 |
| Category / Genre(s): | Contemporary |
| Trope(s): | Best Friends to Lovers Small Town Romance Temporary Relationship |
| Point of View: | First Person, Past Tense, Dual Viewpoint (H & h) |
| Location: | Havenbrook, Mississippi, USA |
| HEA: | ✔️ |
| Release Date: | 13 March, 2025 |
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Sweet and emotional end to the series
The final Haven sister meets her match in this, the last book of the Havenbrook series. Well, I say meets her match but she’s already met him – since he’s been her best friend and partner in crime, all their lives. This is a reissue of Small Town Pretender – adapted and updated and now in first person viewpoint. The series follows four sisters from a small town in Mississippi. Of course, they’re all going to appear in each other’s books – but each stands completely alone and you don’t need to have read any of the others to read, understand and enjoy this (or any of the other) books in the series.
Nat is the youngest Haven sister and – in her mind at least – the outcast wild child of the siblings. A photographer by trade, she spends her life jetting around the world – never settling and definitely never in her home town of Havenbrook. And I’m going to be honest – I wasn’t sure I’d like her. Or at least I didn’t think that I would feel any kinship with her. But I was pleasantly surprised. Her feelings felt real but she wasn’t a stubborn wanderluster but genuinely conflicted. I liked her a lot.
Asher is a musician – again not my preferred occupation for my heroes – on the brink of superstardom when he’s called back to his small town. His first call to help him out is to his best friend, Nat. Asher is a stand up guy and just an all round sweetheart – but he has just enough cockiness to make him a little edgy. I felt his emotions, loved how tried to talk himself out of being in love with Nat and just all round was rooting for him to get his happily ever after.
“I flat out love, love, loved Nat and Asher as a couple.”
I flat out love, love, loved Nat and Asher as a couple. I actually loved them even when they were just friends. Sometimes I feel that the friends to lovers trope can have the couple’s relationship changing completely when they cross that line. What was perfect about Ash and Nat is that they were still best friends, teased each other, irritated each other but just took their friendship to that next level. But that’s not to say that they were without passion. It was hot – and probably even more so because they knew each other so well.
Another couple of things I don’t usually go for in a romance are 1) grief / tragedy – I want happy stories – and 2) children. And yet here comes this story with both those things. I’m not going to lie, the loss of Asher’s sister and brother-in-law was brutal. It was handled with care and the grief was never gratuitous or too much – but I still cried. And the kids were absolutely adorable. They were around a lot but they were just cute without being annoying and I actually really enjoyed them, too.
So this book, on the face of it, shouldn’t really be one that I enjoyed all that much – but I really, really did. I loved Asher and Nat, the kids, the whole family – and the story and small town life just gave me all the feels. This is Brighton Walsh at her best and it was such a wonderful end to an amazing series. Definitely 5 stars for this one.
* I received this book in exchange for my honest review
Award-winning USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Brighton Walsh spent nearly a decade as a professional photographer before taking her storytelling in a different direction and reconnecting with her first love: writing. When she’s not lost in her own made up worlds, she’s probably either reading or shopping—maybe even both at once. She lives in the Midwest with her real life hero of a husband, her two kids—both taller than her—and her dog who thinks she’s a queen. Her boy-filled house is the setting for dirty socks galore, frequent dance parties (okay, so it’s mostly her, by herself, while her children look on in horror), and more laughter than she thought possible. Visit her online at brightonwalsh.com.
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