
Let's Pretend This Will Work
A Novel
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Narrated by:
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Helen Laser
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By:
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Maddie Dawson
About this listen
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.Listeners also enjoyed...
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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
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We all have things in our life that we should know by now, but don’t. Absences in our knowledge and skillset that are frankly shameful in an adult. Things that would be too embarrassing to ask anyone to explain – except our very best friend. Listen in as Mel and Sue tackle their ignorance head on, asking each other to explain something that they still don’t know - but absolutely, as adults, should - from how to parallel park to fully understanding bread (why has it got all those holes in it? What, honestly, is yeast?).
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Love, love, love!
- By Camp_David_II on 03-26-25
By: Mel Giedroyc, and others
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The Best Man's Ghostwriter
- By: Matthew Starr
- Narrated by: Glen Powell, Nicholas Braun, Ashley Park, and others
- Length: 4 hrs and 37 mins
- Original Recording
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
A bad best man’s speech can ruin a wedding. Why do we plan every detail of a perfect day and then give the groom’s idiot best friend five minutes of total power? Enter Nate (Glen Powell), a speechwriter-for-hire who helps people write incredible best man speeches. To keep the best man from embarrassing himself (and the newlyweds), Nate uses his list of don’ts: Don’t mention the exes, don’t be rated R, and don’t bum everyone out. Nate’s system never fails. That is, until he meets Dan (Nicholas Braun).
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SO GOOD
- By Csutty on 09-23-24
By: Matthew Starr
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Classic forgetful Emma—she’s done it again, this time accidentally ruining a Valentine’s Day surprise for her best friend Mel. Desperate to make up for it, she promises Mel a birthday trip to Edinburgh—a girls’ weekend to end all girls’ weekends. There’s just one massive hitch… Emma has already promised her grandma that she’ll go on a coach trip with her to scatter her grandad’s ashes…In Edinburgh. On Mel’s birthday weekend. Oh God.
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For Young readers
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tried to edit
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Enjoyed the book
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Vivian Quackenbush enjoys a typical life. She has winesday evenings with her two best friends. Her son is in college. She and her husband, Mitch, are planning the next move for their empty-nester future. But to Vivian’s blindsided surprise…not together. After nearly twenty-five years of marriage, Mitch wants a divorce. He confesses that he doesn’t love her anymore. He never even liked her chicken salad! Brutal. What is Vivian to do but channel her anger, frustration, and pain into a video she posts online.
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Womanhood and friends
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Bad Reputation
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Cole James’s reputation as Hollywood’s favorite himbo no longer suits him. His fans can’t separate the real man from the character he played on a soapy teen drama decades ago. But that’s going to change with Waverley, the hit streaming historical romance series. Maggie Niven hates her own notoriety. Fired for directing a divisive play, Maggie takes her fight against censorship public. When Hollywood comes calling, she becomes the new intimacy coordinator for Waverley. But it’s harder than she imagined to focus on the job.
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Just okay
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Plot Twist
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Siobhan Harris doesn’t think of her minimum-wage life in Manhattan as aspirational, but when her debut novel is published, she becomes an instant bestseller and a romance sensation. With fame comes foes, however, and Siobhan finds herself embroiled in a Twitter feud that’s about to change the course of her career just as it’s beginning.
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Couldn’t finish it.
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Heart Restoration Project
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Story
Who is the real Plum Everly? Wouldn’t she like to know. Raised in front of the cameras on her family’s hit reality show, Plum has reluctantly ridden the wave of D-list fame for way too long. Fading under the spotlight, she’s ready to ditch Hollywood forever when a new opportunity arises: a DIY in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region. Château Mirabelle and Plum’s identity. Both in need of restoration.
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I wanted more!
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By: Beth Merlin, and others
What listeners say about Let's Pretend This Will Work
Highly rated for:
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Debbie Mc
- 06-07-24
Captivating!
I really enjoyed this book. It was sweet, frustrating, sad (teary eyes for me) and funny. Character development was awesome.
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- Jenna freitas
- 09-13-24
Love!
Such a cute book! Love it! I couldn’t stop reading (listening!) love the day care and all the crazy people in it
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- Lulu Dx
- 03-14-25
Really Good
It’s so great to listen to a story that’s written really well and has incredible characters. At times there were laugh out loud moments, a few that really I felt my heart break, and then so much unconditional love and care and support. Living thru the eyes and ears of those amazing kids helps put so much of even real life into perspective. I adored Mimi and especially Alice. Children are amazing and resilient and they also are incredibly insightful. Love how it was conveyed in this book. Really enjoyed listening to this book.
Helen Laser was excellent at narrating this book and providing unique voices for the main characters and the adorable children. It really felt genuine!!
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- Francisca A.
- 08-11-24
5 stars
Let's Pretend This Will Work by Maddie Dawson is a great book! I almost DNF when I saw it was based in 1982, but the writing drew me in to the point that it didn't matter. Full disclosure, love triangles and enemies to lovers are my favorite romance subgenre. However, this time it wasn't so immediately clear who Mimi would end up with as both men acted immature and unreasonable at times. I enjoyed the journey and will read more of Maddie's books.
Helen Laser is a great narrator. I enjoyed the range of her vocals. Most narrators do an annoying child voice, but hers is very believable.
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- Heidi
- 10-10-24
SO funny
Fun book! Lighthearted and entertaining. Excellent narration. Fun twists and great ending. I enjoyed it
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- noname
- 11-14-24
Not the same old thing. . .
Story line was unique. Thoroughly enjoyed all the characters, especially Mimi. Great narrator - her voice and inflections were uplifting.
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- yankeefan
- 11-16-24
Funny, sweet and unpredictable
I laughed out loud at the main character Mimi’s musings. Great plot with a few surprises. Takes place in the early 80s. Funny to hear them use pay phones and answering machines!
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- Kathy B.
- 10-06-24
My favorite Maddie Dawson story yet!
This story was quirky (to be expected) and so much fun. The fact that so much of it takes place in New Haven, CT was also a treat having grown up in CT myself. I thoroughly enjoyed going on this adventure with Mimi and loved her positive, free spirited nature.
The narration was spot on, bringing Mimi and the others to life.
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- D. N. Fox
- 07-16-24
Excellent narration
Lovely story with an entertaining narration. This is my second Maddie Dawson book and I sort of started reading it by accident - but I was hooked from the beginning.
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1 person found this helpful
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- BranWick
- 06-25-24
Pretty good
The story was different than I expected from the publisher's description, but that was okay. The narrator was very good.
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