{Review} A Tale Of Two Pretties by Magan Vernon & Dawn Pendleton

Title: A Tale Of Two Pretties

Series: Hopeless In Hotlanta #1

Author: Magan Vernon & Dawn Pendleton

Published: 19th May 2014

Age Group: New Adult

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Source: eARC provided by author for fair & honest review

Rating: 4/5

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BLURB:

MacAllister "Mac" Barlow thought she was living the life she always dreamed of. When she catches her fiancé in the act with his secretary, she high tails it out of their apartment without looking back. Looking for a new life, she drowns her sorrows in a pitcher of beer at Tony's Pizzeria.

Darcy Pepper isn't one for long-term relationships. Bouncing from guy-to-guy to get what she wants isn't satisfying her anymore. Walking out on her current boy-toy, she finds herself at a tiny hole-in-the-wall pub. More disappointed in herself than she's ever been, she sees Mac, a girl she vaguely remembers from high school.

Left flat broke, the girls quickly enlist the help of a waiter at Tony's and before they know it, they've got an apartment, jobs, and possibly even love interests beckoning.

Maybe things aren't so hopeless after all.

*This is a new adult romantic comedy and is recommended for readers ages 17+*
This book is the first in a five book series.

Sarcastic & Witty With Fun & Interesting Characters!

REVIEW:

The story:

Mac & Darcey are both going through a rough patch in their lives, which relationships ending, no jobs and being flat broke. Although they went to high school together, they don't really know each other, but they decide to pool their money move in together, the question is where? And that's where B-Rad comes in and offers them a crappy little apartment above his family's pizzeria. And he just so happens to live down the hall.

After learning they both want to be writers they plan to write their first novels and plan to save for a trip to a writer's festival. I loved the dynamic between Mac & Darcey, they didn't just instantly become BFFs and tell each other their deepest darkest secrets while braiding each other's hair. Instead they took their time getting to know one another and actually kept a few secrets from the other.

The characters:

On the surface Mac & Darcy have similar personalities and are both survivors, doing what they have to. But as we get to know them we start to see they are quite different. Mac loves high fantasy novels, while Darcey prefers a nice contemporary romance novel. But somehow these two develop a nice balanced friendship with each other.

B-Rad came across as a bit of a douche at first, with his self-righteous attitude and cocky personality. But when it was just him and Darcey in a scene, he was a completely different guy and I preferred this kinder, sweeter side to Brad so much more.

Mac's love interest, Preston was a little more mysterious. He doesn't have as much 'screen time' as the other 3 characters, so we don't get to know that well yet. I can't wait to see more of him in the next book!

The romance:

Mac doesn't warm to B-Rad at all, seeing him as a creepy sleaze, but Darcey sees there is more to him than he's overconfident attitude. She gives him a chance to just be himself and loose his tough persona. They spent a lot of time together and are a really cute couple

After being cheated on by her ex Mac isn't looking to jump into a new relationship, but after meeting Preston at the pizzeria she can't resist his charms. Before letting things go too far with him she runs. Little does she know he's friends with B-Rad and they end up seeing a lot more of each other. I expect great hotness from these two in the next book!!

The writing:

This book is told in dual POV, but it's different from your regular Male/Female love interest MCs. Instead we have to friends POVs with two separate love interest, which actually gives up four main characters in a way. My only small issue was the character voices of Mac & Darcey did sound very similar in the beginning, but as we get to know them their voices started to develop and take on their own sound.

FINAL WORD:

This is no sweet and sappy romance story, this is sarcastic and witty with fun and interesting characters!

CONTENT:

Sexuality: medium / some sex scenes

Violence: none

Language: strong / frequent f words

Drugs & alcohol: mild