
The Art of Pretend
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Narrated by:
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Karissa Vacker
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By:
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Lauren Kuhl
About this listen
Gossip Girl meets Saltburn: A tantalizing novel about a woman drawn into the orbit of her friend's wealthy family in New York City and the complications and consequences that arise when she embarks on a secret relationship with the golden-boy older brother
“A delicious take on class, friendship, and desire.” —Christina McDowell, author of The Cave Dwellers
Pretending is an art, and all art comes at a price…
Ren loves and hates Etta, her best friend since they met at NYU nearly a decade ago. Etta defines Ren's New York. She lavishes her with designer hand-me-downs and takes her along to parties at trust fund lofts and Hamptons estates. But when Etta moves to Barcelona with no warning, Ren is left to face who she is without her, her unremarkable life of shoebox apartment, thankless job, and estranged family.
Enter Archer, Etta’s older brother, whom Ren’s always been infatuated with. In his sister’s absence, suddenly he’s inviting Ren to visit his art gallery, to prestigious galas, on weekend trips with his friends to Amagansett. Archer’s interest makes Ren feel alive in whole new ways, but she knows Etta can't find out. As their relationship intensifies, so does her unease. If it all blows up, who will she be on the other side?
Set over a heady New York summer, The Art of Pretend is an alluring novel about love and friendship, wealth and power, art and ambition—and the stories we tell ourselves and others to get what we want.
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Story
Isolated and embroiled in a custody battle, Mary is desperate for a friend. So when she meets the charming and enigmatic Willa at a Brooklyn playground, their connection feels fated. But during a margarita-fueled moms’ night out, Mary shares her darkest secret about her ex, George, and the next morning Willa simply disappears. No calls, no texts, nothing.
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Story kept me guessing but…
- By Eric HD on 06-25-24
By: Leah Konen
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Little Cruelties
- By: Liz Nugent
- Narrated by: Sam O'Mahony, Stephen Hogan, Paul Hickey, and others
- Length: 10 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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From the internationally best-selling author of Lying in Wait, a biting and masterful new “dark jewel of a novel” (A.J. Finn, number-one New York Times best-selling author) that explores the many ways families can wreak emotional havoc across generations, appealing to fans of HBO’s acclaimed series Succession.
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Creative, but a Mixed Bag
- By Tawny on 11-28-20
By: Liz Nugent
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The Devil and Mrs. Davenport
- A Novel
- By: Paulette Kennedy
- Narrated by: Lauren Ezzo
- Length: 12 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Missouri, 1955. Loretta Davenport has led an isolated life as a young mother and a wife to Pete, an ambitious assistant professor at a Bible college. They’re the picture of domestic tranquility—until a local girl is murdered and Loretta begins receiving messages from beyond. Pete dismisses them as delusions of a fevered female imagination. Loretta knows they’re real—and frightening.
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I didn’t think I would Like this book
- By Bonnie on 01-14-25
By: Paulette Kennedy
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The Night Olivia Fell
- By: Christina McDonald
- Narrated by: Kelly Burke, Laurel Lefkow
- Length: 10 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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In the vein of Big Little Lies and Reconstructing Amelia comes an emotionally charged domestic suspense novel about a mother unraveling the truth behind how her daughter became brain-dead. And pregnant.
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A long, less dramatic episode of SVU...
- By Michael Dodson on 03-27-19
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The Couple at the Lake House
- By: James Caine
- Narrated by: Hope Shangle
- Length: 6 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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When newly engaged Sidney is out on a date with her fiance, she runs into an old flame, Cole, and his girlfriend. Initially, Sidney resists when Cole invites them to join his table, but when the couples hit it off, she sets aside her reservations.
By: James Caine
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Clever Little Thing
- A Novel
- By: Helena Echlin
- Narrated by: Ashley Tucker
- Length: 11 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Charlotte’s daughter Stella is sensitive and brilliant, perhaps even a genius, but a recent change in her behavior has alarmed her mother. Following the sudden death of Stella’s babysitter, Blanka, the once disruptive and anti-social child has become docile and agreeable. But what’s unsettling is that she has begun to mirror Blanka’s personality, from Blanka’s repetitive phrases to her accent, to fierce cravings for Armenian meat stew after being raised a vegetarian.
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Slow but keeps you interested
- By Autumn Sullivan on 03-08-25
By: Helena Echlin
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And There He Kept Her
- By: Joshua Moehling
- Narrated by: Linda Jones
- Length: 9 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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When two teenagers break into a house on a remote lake in search of prescription drugs, what starts as a simple burglary turns into a nightmare for all involved. Emmett Burr has secrets he's been keeping in his basement for more than two decades, and he'll do anything to keep his past from being revealed. As he gets the upper hand on his tormentors, the lines blur between victim, abuser, and protector.
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Meh…
- By Anne M. Reichner on 07-15-22
By: Joshua Moehling
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All the Dark Places
- By: Terri Parlato
- Narrated by: Christina Moore, Stephanie Cozart
- Length: 10 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Snow falls softly outside Molly Bradley’s home on a frigid January night. Inside, half a dozen close friends are gathered to celebrate the fortieth birthday of Molly’s psychologist husband, Jay. Candlelight gleams against dark wood, wine flows, and the house rings with laughter. Everybody loves Jay, Molly most of all. Yet next morning, Molly discovers Jay dead on the floor of his office, his throat brutally slashed.
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Story meh, Rita was GREAT
- By Monica on 01-21-23
By: Terri Parlato
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The Silent Bride
- By: Shalini Boland
- Narrated by: Katie Villa
- Length: 8 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Alice and Seth are a perfect love story: the handsome doctor and his beautiful fiancée. They’re wealthy, well liked and made for each other—the envy of all their friends. Alice can’t wait for the day of their dream wedding. But when she arrives at the altar, she doesn’t recognise the man waiting to marry her. When this stranger insists he’s Seth, her husband-to-be, the entire congregation seems to agree. Even her parents try to persuade Alice to go through with the wedding.
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Too Slow
- By Aiyisha Adams on 06-09-23
By: Shalini Boland
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Over Her Dead Body
- A Bailey Weggins Mystery
- By: Kate White
- Narrated by: Julia Gibson
- Length: 13 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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New York Times best-selling author Kate White, editor in chief at Cosmopolitan, knows the glossy magazine world like the back of her hand. Her Bailey Weggins mystery series serves head-scratching whodunits with healthy dollops of dishy dirt. Fired from her job at Gloss, Bailey lands a new gig at celebrity gossip mag Buzz. When her slave-driving boss is murdered, Bailey investigates. Her friend and co-worker Robby is the chief suspect - but there’s a long list behind him.
By: Kate White
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The Man in Room Seven
- By: Karin Nordin
- Narrated by: Katherine Fenton
- Length: 12 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Six years ago, Tweety came home from work to find her husband Dodge had left, taking their child with him. Utterly broken, Tweety vows that she will do anything to get her baby back. After years following a trail of breadcrumbs, finally: a lead. Someone looking just like Dodge stays at the same run-down motel for the motorcycle rally every year without fail. This time things will be different. This time his ex-wife is a few steps ahead of him.
By: Karin Nordin
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One Little Spark
- By: Ellie Banks
- Narrated by: Courtney Patterson
- Length: 10 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Jenna Abbott’s life went up in flames even before the fire started in Tenmile, Oregon. She was still coping with her husband's affair—and the revelation that he got a much younger woman pregnant—when the fire finally died down, and Ryan was among the missing. Chelsea Goddard still can’t explain how her estranged husband got back to Tenmile from out of the country the day of the fire, and she also can’t shake the nagging feeling that the secrets they’ve kept between them for the last twenty years might just be the tinder that made it all burn.
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Courtney Patterson nails it.
- By Anonymous User on 10-18-23
By: Ellie Banks
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The Hollywood Assistant
- By: May Cobb
- Narrated by: Brittany Wilkerson
- Length: 12 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Cassidy Foster is heartbroken, stuck in life, and getting a little too obsessed with plants. Then when a well-connected friend becomes sick of Cassidy’s moping and gets her a gig with famous Hollywood couple, Marisol and Nate Sterling, Cassidy jumps at the chance to move to sunny L.A. All Cassidy has to do is be available a few hours a week for errands. But Cassidy learns she was hired for a different purpose. The Sterlings aren’t the perfect couple. Marisol isn’t the perfect wife. And when one of them is found dead, Cassidy becomes the perfect suspect.
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Kept me entertained
- By Amazon Customer on 12-17-24
By: May Cobb
What listeners say about The Art of Pretend
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Emily Smith
- 09-16-24
Masterpiece on class and the feeling of being in NY in your 20s
Loved how I almost felt what it felt like to be the different characters through the amazing descriptions, and the commentary on how class differences impact life. Also couldn’t stop reading it - listened to it all in one day it was so captivating
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- Suzanna
- 02-15-25
Loathsome Creatures
This felt like a modern take on House of Mirth but not a good version. Unless--of course--this was meant to be a parody. To me, all of the characters were annoying and stereotypical. Yes, there was an obligatory gay friend who served no purpose but to be a gay friend. I give the author points for making the three primary characters flawed and unlikeable, which I usually enjoy. However, the social climbing heroine being the rich girl's bx*%$# was disempowering for anyone who has a modicum of self-respect and will make the most patient reader lose patience. Enter the rich girl's brother--an self-proclaimed artist (not a good one)--who ended up breaking the law and getting off Scott-free due to mommy and daddy (while perfect for our current justice system). Maybe the only good thing is that the social climber and the amateur artist/criminal end up together, so they'll both get what they deserve. I just wish the book was more about that disaster than how we got there!
The book isn't poorly written. The author, who has talent, wasted it on this tale.
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