Don't Pretend You Love Me

Perks #1

by Stephanie Street

Gorgeous and sweet, Connor was my dream guy. Too bad he was my best friend.


Allie
Popular. Hot. Quarterback of the football team. Connor could have any girl he wanted. I wanted him to want me.

But we'd only ever been friends. So, I did what any self-respecting girl would, I found someone else.

Connor
Whiplash. That's what happened when I saw Allie with that other guy. I thought I had time. Time to tell her how I really feel. After I figured out how she felt about me.

Because losing Allie? Well, I'd sooner give up my football scholarship. Or my throwing arm. But not Allie.

That's just not going to happen. So, I had to come up with a plan. One where we pretend to love each other. Only for me? It’s real.

If you enjoy sports romances with a dash of teen angst, you'll love Don’t Pretend You Love Me. Get your copy today!


Book 1, Don’t Pretend You Love Me (Connor and Allie)
Book 2, Don’t Forget About Me (Dylan and Eden)
Book 3, Don’t Kiss Me Breathless (Jamie and Bailey)
Book 4, Don’t Leave Me Behind (JJ and Quinn)

**The Just Don’t Romance series was previously published as The Perks Series (Perks of Dating You, Perks of Hating You, Perks of Kissing You, and Perks of Waiting for You). The author has re-titled and re-covered the books to better reflect the content and market.**

Genres: Young Adult, Romance, High School, Friends To Lovers, Contemporary, Sports, New Adult

216 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 5, 2017

Reviews

[Yoda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was on vacation for a week and in the mood for some romance novels, especially high school romance, therefore there will be a lot of reviews from this genre right now.

Perks of Dating You is a really sweet and simple novel, there is no big unexpected plot twist but that is part of the charm in this one. Absolutely adored it.

[Amara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was super cute for YA. I'm a bit disappointed though, because with some work on grammar, formatting, proofreading, and a cover that doesn't look like a wedding photo, this book could be 5 stars.

The author seriously overuses dashes. Take a look at some examples in my Notes and Highlights.

Connor was adorable, especially when he found out she slept in his shirts. I'm confused about Allie's height though, she said she was 5'7, but later Connor complains (twice) about how he hates to have to reach down to kiss her. How tall is he?

[Stephanie S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes!

I love a good, friends to more, story! They've been best friends all their life. He's a hot, popular jock. She's a tomboy, that doesn't recognize her own beauty, (inner and outer.) Her best friend steps in with a make over, and helps him to realise how much he loves her. The only part I didn't care for was the fact that he has dated lots of girls, but gets jealous and upset when she finally gets another guys interest. Hypocritical much? There is a HEA, no cheating, and it's a, "clean," romance. I found it refreshing, and enjoyed all the characters, along with the story that kept me interested. Enjoy!

[Abi · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNFed at 24% in. I got really frustrated by the characters, and it didn't feel like any sort of new variation on the genre. 2 stars.

[Denise R · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awwwww!!!!! This was such a great clean YA romance. I so enjoyed the characters. Connor is a realistically clueless super nice guy. I love that Allie is humble, not pathetic as a lot of girls are in this genre. Allie doubts how Connor sees her but she still has a good self image and self worth. I LOVE THAT!!! This was a nice weekend escape and I recommend it to for my teen friends as well as my mom friends.

[Booklover · Rating 2 out of 5]

super pg friendly!

[Coco.V]

🎁 FREE on Amazon today ONLY (8/20/2019)! 🎁

[Rachel Elisse · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a quick and easy read. I finished it in one day. I was pleasantly surprised by how cute the story line was. That cover does not do it any favors, and there are some grammatical errors to overlook and sometimes confusing. But the story worked and kept me wanting more from this little high school romance. I thought Connor's perspective was done well. I sometimes hate the guy's point of view and want to just stick with the girl's side. But not the case here. This story has been done a million times, so I guess I had low expectations. But I fell in love with the characters and that's what made the story sing in my opinion.

[Angelique Duran · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really loved this book. It was so cute, even though it was very cliche which I don’t mind. Although the only problem I had with this book is I think the author had some kind of foot fetish because she was always bringing up feet in the story which at times would make me sort of uncomfortable. Besides that though the book was great.😁

[Doris Ware · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun book

[Caitlin (Thecaitlinchapters) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh this book 😂😂


It’s a best friends to lovers book and started out super cute. It was cute throughout , HOWEVER i probably would’ve liked this more if I was 14 reading this not 24 😅😅


The writing was kinda cheesy at times and cliche. The main dude Connor is super protective over Allie which I kinda like in male characters ( but not over the top!! I don’t like controlling)

Anywho, basically Connor is super hot and popular. Of course every single girl wants to get in his pants and he is the head of his football team. He is best friends with Allie and threatens any guy that looks at her the wrong way LOL

Allie was kinda clueless at some points.

Also there was some mean girl bully in parts that was very cliche and also a bit dramatic. Like calling Allie a home wrecker or making fun of what she wore or saying how she was going to regret what she did ..... EYE ROLLLL

PUHLEAZEEE 🙄🙄

It was a bit over the top with the high school stuff and nerd vs popular people.

It was still cute and their was a happy ending but the writing seemed like something from Wattspad (maybe it is from there ??) and there were a few errors in punctuation.

If you are looking for a SUPER surface level and cute/ cheesy read, this is for you!!

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was ok

I’m not sure if this story lacked depth and that’s why it was just ok? I feel like I didn’t really know the characters and then a wham bam and done. There were also several grammatical errors where the sentence didn’t even make sense so had to assume what was meant to be said.
Also, the story ended at 82% with 2 sneak peeks at the end for different books

[Krista · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 This book was really cheesy. Nothing was really original. Just your garden variety young adult book.

[☠︎︎༒︎✞︎ ѕℓιм ☠︎︎༒︎✞︎ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was actually good!!!!

https://ladiikeiii.wordpress.com/2019...

*** Let's see could be a spoiler or two maybe more let’s see how it goes once I write this review••••**


So okay; I don’t know how I ended up reading this book WRONG! What I mean is the description I thought they were in middle school smh 🤦🏽‍♀️ I was clearly excited to read this book because I said awe middle schoolers are falling in love... NOT 🤣 but other than that I realize once I re-read the description, it was high schoolers oh well!!!

So with that being said I liked Allie and Conner story, but yuck her name is Alberta I see why she doesn’t like that name it’s just “horrible”.... but other than that I thought they were cute together once they finally got together even if it was FAKE in the beginning... plus Conner parents were just horrible; I know no one wants parents like that especially ones that control your life yuck!!!! I was glad that at least he had Allie mom there for everything from taking care of him (feeding him, and taking photos of him as he was growing up; including homecoming) I already know she more likely added some prom pictures in there even though it didn’t mention prom...


But at least in the end he ended up going to STATE (but what STATE college he was talking about I have no freaking idea; I was like dude why the author didn’t mention the state they were in or something or even the college name) because I was clearly lost because of the school name, but at least she mentioned Harvard... but I still don’t know what school Conner and JJ ended up in smh!

Not only that I liked that Jamie did ask Allie out but felt bad for him because he ended up getting hurt and I clearly can tell that in his book (that I plan to read and can’t wait to read) is the girl (Allie) that he was clearly trying to get OVER! Since he was kissing so many females and the one girl was trying to help him yada yada... I clearly have to read book two ugh 😑 just to read book three in case I miss something if I go ahead of book two to three; so I’m a read it in order... but at least Jamie was there for her (Allie) plus Kayla was one horrible chick I wish Allie would’ve t-bone her *** (meaning kick 🦵 her ***) ... instead of ran out of the dance!!!!!


But I can’t wait to read about her friend Eden to see why she didn’t want to go to the games among other things and find out what happened with her......, but I hate that book is 30 some chapters ugh!!!! I hope 🤞 I don’t get tired close to the end when I do read book two ugh!!!!

[Sarah Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

*Allie and Connor
*Enemies to Lovers

Was that true? Had Allie never been on a date? I supposed it had to be and I was both relieved and saddened. Because as dumb as I was, even I knew girls wanted to meet some guy. Go on a date. Have fun. Feel loved and wanted. I was such an ass. How could I have never thought about this before? I mean, I knew how I felt. That the last thing on this earth I wanted was for Allie to date some other guy, but I’d never given a second’s worth of thought to how Allie might feel about the fact that she’d never been asked out before. And I had no idea what to do with all of that, because let me tell you, I really did not want to know the pain of watching Allie dating some other dude.

I've loved Allie forever. For some reason, I'd always thought I had all the time in the world. But now, I was freaking terrified I'd waited too long.

What just happened? Whatever it was, it had my emotions so tangled up, it was gonna take a month to straighten them all out. I mean, Allie... When she walked into her mom’s kitchen, I have never been so thankful for a glass of ice water in all my life. It took more restraint than I knew I had not to dump it over my head.
Allie’s always been gorgeous. But that dress... That dress sent Allie from cute to dang hot in less than ten seconds and I had a sudden and irrational desire to murder Eden. It wasn’t just the dress, though. When Allie had come around that corner, a huge smile on her face-she hadn’t only looked beautiful, I could tell she’d felt beautiful and she’d flat out floored me. All the emotions I’d been keeping on a short, tight rein were suddenly running away like a hound off his leash. How would I ever catch them back?

Connor had pretty much always seemed like he was the center of my universe, but it was finally feeling like I might be the center of his.

Holding Allie, I saw my future-all my tomorrows, spent just like this-with her.

I'd meant to give her a little kiss, like the one I'd given her that day, but as my lips touched hers, Allie melted against me and I couldn't let go.

[Pheena Cruickshank · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now this is a story we have all read before or seen on television. The childhood best friends who are in love with each other but cant find it within them to tell the other, or cross that line in fear of losing the most important person in their life. However, many times this story has been told it is all the same with a few different twist and turns here and there, we can never find it within ourselves to not love it. An old story that has been told so many times you just are not surprised by anything that happens and yet you love it.

I fell in love with this book as Connor and Allie found ways around telling the other their true feelings. Having that one person in your life who knows you better than anyone else is something that just pulls you in. The way in which they were outlined and realized made you go back in time to those days in high school when life was easier and everything that happened no matter how small mattered in a great way.

Connor and Allie (Alberta which she hates btw and i can't blame her) are best friends who after a few ups and down have to figure out what they really want from each other after a set of events. Aka a meddling best friend and a guy in love with hair, yeah that bit had me going for a few moments there.

With all that being said let's see if you will enjoy a nice simple read, a story retold in its own way and yet still entertain the reader.

(\__/)
(='-'=)
(")_(") love it...

[Brittany Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I fully admit that I was looking for something light and airy to wind down my summer, and I got that with this insanely cute story!!

Is it deep, meaningful and thought provoking? No. But it is fun, silly and adorably sweet. It was so much fun to read and get to know the characters. Connor was a great leading male MC and Allie was just as good as his female counterpart.

I won’t give you the whole plot again- just know that it takes place in high school and Connor is the top dog in his school. Allie is the sweet, girl next door who’s in love with him (but is clueless to his feelings about her).

The characters are what you expect in a high school based YA novel. The banter with all characters especially between the two MCs and one very strong support role (Eden) make for a laugh out loud book. I found myself giggling out loud and then holding my breath the next. It’s super easy to get sucked into and I can’t wait to read more.

People who liked To All the Boys series this is a great next read for you! Great summer read and I’d read it agin!!

[Myndi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very cute and sweet "Friends to lovers" romance. Very PG-13, so it's definitely safe for younger readers, or those of us who like the sweet fluff from time to time.

I have always loved the friends to lovers trope, especially when they've been friends forever and everyone around them can tell how they feel about each other, but they're unwilling to admit it to themselves or each other. This is the epitome of that trope and I found it cute and enjoyable to read. A lovely escape from real life, when real life can be so traumatic and complicated.

I also enjoyed how we kept getting little peeks into the best friend, Eden's life, and how there must be a story there too. I'll admit to checking when I was done reading and we will get to read Eden's tale as well in this series.

If you enjoy sweet romance, or this type of trope, I'm sure you will enjoy this book.

[Anita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect Bestfriends to More Troupe

This is the perfect best friends to more troupe - after I got past the very beginning I was hooked!

Starting off, though, was a little rough. The tense it was written has the narrators saying “she was...,” and “he was,” - and it just felt awkward, like - are they dead?! But once I allowed myself to get over this I barely noticed it. I think the author found her groove a few chapters in and that helped a lot. I did find some of the cutesy language of the narration a little annoying (eg. they are talking to the reader directly - I don’t really want to be spoken to in a book). Again, the story itself makes up for this.

[Belle · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story revolves around Allie & Connor who are friends from childhood falling in love with each other. They both share a very beautiful friendship which they don't want to spoil by confessing their love to each other. The understanding between them is very good and both value their friendship very much.
This is a super cute and simple YA romance read which you know for sure has a HEA.
This one has both of their POVs which at some point repeats the thoughts they are having.
Overall the book is sweet & I loved all the characters.

[Aneesa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Street does it again!

So I barely finished Save Me (another amazing book by Stephanie Street that you will love) before I found this amazing book also by her. Honestly, I haven't been able to do anything else. I'm a college student and it's all I've been doing even with class and homework, which I've been skipping because I could not put this book down. Seriously, the chemistry that illuminates the pages is seriously tangible. You will fall in love with Alberta (a.k.a. Allie) and Connor before you finish reading the first chapter.

[Alexandria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok, overall I was not very impressed with this book. The characters were not very developed and word choice was not very efficient. It honestly reminded me of an 8th grade creative writing project. For example, the main character Conner was describing his dad’s very expensive car. While describing it, he used the word “sic.” There were also many times when the characters would simply describe people as “assholes.” With no context whatsoever. But, it was a sweet story and a good storyline. If you are looking for a simple, easy read this book is for you.

[Lynn's books · Rating 4 out of 5]

The perks of reading this book...

Sweet and well balanced. Kind of what I thought a high school best friends romance would be. I did like the main characters Allie and Conner. I really loved how sweet Conner was. He kind of stole a piece of my heart. Also very happy with the ending and closure. I hate loose ends in a storyline all twisted and knotted up with no conclusion. This was a sweet light hearted read with a neatly wrapped up ending.

[Shannyn Schroeder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Screaming as I type

There were not many devastating scenes that break your heart, however I couldn’t imagine this book any better. I loved it. I SCREAMED at the end. So loudly. The epilogue fulfilled my every hope. I just really really want a plot line for Jamie. He was so sweet and cute and funny. I also loved JJ and this book, I must say, has given me goosebumps. I am in complete love with this book, I definitely recommend if you like the best friends to lovers trope.

[Kaitlyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Perks of Dating You

Okay, so this was an okay book. I thought it was cute at times. However, if I’m being honest. I felt like this story was just thrown together. Also, I hate Conner he is a douche. Jamie is who she should have ended up with. I was not impressed. I mean and the whole fake dating thing getting thrown in there. The storyline was just not developed enough. I would give this a 3.0

[Vikki Bulmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perks of reading a fab book.

Had a link for free books by this author and thought I would give it a try. Love a series that has interlinking characters, makes it more real and you can really get to grips with the story when you know there's more to come. Loved this story of best friends secretly loving each other but not wanting to mess up their friendship by doing anything about it.

[Alex L Criddle · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
This was a cute high school romance. I liked reading from both Allie’s and Connor’s perspectives. The story was good, though I felt the whole fake dating chapters were unnecessary and made the novel drag a bit. There were so many grammatical errors—missing words, extra unneeded words, unfinished sentences/thoughts, etc. I would have probably given this a higher rating if the writing had been tighter and had contained less errors. Overall, it was a fun story and had a HEA.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The perfect young adult, friends-to-lovers romance! Allie and Connor were so sweet! I loved that they were so close and I ached for Connor and his messed up family. I found these characters to be well-developed and entertaining; they were fun, sometimes quirky, yet completely believable. To me, the story read like a teenage film that I'd love to watch! Oh, the angst! This is the first book of Stephanie's that I've read and it definitely won't be the last. This girl can write!

[Miranda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was an excellent YA clean romance. I read it in a day and was very happy with the story. While it followed an expected trajectory I thought there was a lot of originality in the plot and felt the actions of the characters were quite realistic -- I especially loved how the characters were using Snapchat. Goodreads only has the Perks branding but I much prefer the new series title 'Just Don't' and updated branding.

[Carmen Peirce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wish I had their history. I think this book is a combination of fun and sweet and deep. Like srsly Conner is like a very (a little too) possessive,loving and sweet boyfriend/husband. Allie's character could be more developed like all we know about her is she is in love with her best friend but for Conner we know he is smart and has family pressure to do well in school. Their feelings for each other is amazing!