Let's Pretend This Will Work

A Novel

By: Maddie Dawson

Narrated by: Helen Laser

Length: 10 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's summary

The search for happiness turns a woman’s life upside down in a warm, quirky, and bighearted novel about the joys and chaos of finding love by the bestselling author of Matchmaking for Beginners.

After too many dates, thirtysomething Mimi Perkins is still single, unmoored, and longing for love. So when Ren Yardley—a handsome, divorced fellow drama teacher and single father—falls in love with her and proposes, she’s sure this is at last the good news her psychic predicted.

Soon after proposing, Ren receives the devastating news that his ex-wife has been in a debilitating car accident, prompting him to temporarily move back into his former home to care for her and his daughters. The unfailingly loyal Ren also wants to keep Mimi close, so she packs up her life in New York City and follows him to New Haven, Connecticut. There, she finds a job and unexpected community at a quirky local daycare. But as time goes by, it begins to seem that Ren and his estranged family might be slowly reuniting, and Mimi has to figure out what she’s willing to fight for and what she needs to let go of.

One thing is for sure: she would have never guessed that her psychic was right after all. Life’s twists, turns, and disasters just might lead her to unexpected happiness.

©2024 Maddie Dawson (P)2024 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“Readers looking for a story that captures their full attention and doesn’t let go will enjoy every page of this book.”—Booklist

“An utterly delightful read, proving that sometimes fate isn’t written in the stars but within the walls of one’s own bruised heart. I absolutely adored this feel-good novel!”—Laura Barrow, author of Call the Canaries Home

“I challenge you to read the first page of Let’s Pretend This Will Work and not shut off your camera during Zoom meetings, cancel dinner plans, and stay up late into the night to finish it. It’s that good. If you’re not reading Maddie Dawson, you’re not laughing, sighing, or living right.”—Ann Garvin, USA Today bestselling author of There’s No Coming Back from This

Captivating!

I really enjoyed this book. It was sweet, frustrating, sad (teary eyes for me) and funny. Character development was awesome.

She’s done it again!!🥰🥰

I don’t know how this author has managed to do this, but every time this Arthur creates characters worlds situations that completely hook me from the very first word to the very last. This is a type of book that heals the cynical so that social media and viral short videos are trying to envelope us with. I simply loved this book and was in tears at the ending.

The performance was stellar. The voiceover artist made me feel as if I knew each character. Her range from little children to grumpy. Old men is awe inspiring. Thank you for sharing such a beautiful piece of art.

Pretty good

The story was different than I expected from the publisher's description, but that was okay. The narrator was very good.

Cute.

Story was cute, I probably wouldn’t have finished it though if I would have read the kindle version, honestly. I didn’t get the set in the 80s vibe…could have easily been 2024. The performance was great, she really kept the story going.