Let's Play Make-Believe (BookShots)

Quick & Dirty HighlightsEven as I write this up-front summary, I've not yet decided how many starts this novella warrants, for me.I'm nearly gobsmacked, knowing that I actually read a booklet with a main character whom I did not empathize with to even a remote degree. Yet, technically, the writing was excellent, save for that aspect.What I mean is, the mechanics were good: editing, flow, dialogue and so forth. The main character is well-drawn in terms of believability, at least until the end --- I won't elaborate, lest there be no need for you to read the story. Suffice it to say that I was impressed the the main character, a woman, sounds pretty much like a woman but, the catch is, she is the creation of a male writer; not sure if she is the creation of James Patterson or of James O. Born. At any rate, she's well drawn.Yet, I never really connected with her or this story.Length: Print, 144 pages.Target Audience/Genre:Q - How was this book obtained?A - Bought on Amazon.Q - Is this a book that I can read without having to read others first?A – Yes. In fact, of the six stories in this series, this is the only one I've read. I do not expect to read any of the previous five.Q - Are there a lot of typos/misspellings, grammatical errors or other editing failures?A – No.Q - Is this a fast, easy read or is it more of a leisure read?A – Fast, but, for me, not incredibly fast.Q - What sort of language does this writer use to amplify the points made?A – Adult English. Just one f-bomb (an unnecessary expletive that did nothing artistically to improve the story), but s--t pops up in a number of occasions. Personally, I was not bothered by this, as I would expect any of the characters to utter such mild profanities.Q - What age group is this suitable for?A - if this was a film I would be rated PG-13.Q - My biggest pleasure or disappointment?A - I just never felt any empathy for any of these characters or the predicament. I was surprised by the ending, but I did have some trouble suspending my disbelief.I’ve included a small excerpt below, so readers can peruse the style of presentation utilized by the author.EXCERPT'Disney World was all I had dreamed it would be. At least the attractions were, anyway. Somehow, when I was a kid, I’d never calculated how many people were crammed into the park every day. Especially on a beautiful Saturday like this. We managed to make it onto most of the rides, though the longest waits were at Space Mountain and Pirates of the Caribbean. I might have enjoyed a trip to the Magic Kingdom more when I was eleven, but being here today with Marty was really special too. Maybe the most important thing was that I realized how carefully Marty had listened to me and how badly he wanted to see me happy. This guy would do anything for me, and no one had ever made me feel like that before.Walking hand in hand with Marty made me feel like no matter what choices I had made, I had the right man in my life now. He was just what I needed.But after lunch my mood started to change. It began with the salesman from the Bentley dealer calling Marty and asking how he liked the car. Marty handled it perfectly, telling the salesman we were still undecided but we’d bring the car back later this afternoon. As Marty stuffed the phone back into his front pocket, he smiled at me and said, “I just won’t answer the phone again until we’re about to drop the car off.”The call had brought me back to reality, and my problems were no longer a world away. I started thinking about the court hearing and that pompous ass Brennan. While we were floating in our boat through It’s a Small World, I noticed our conversation had turned darker as well.Out of nowhere Marty said, “Disney makes a fortune separating people from the real world and the ugliness around them.”"Whoa, what brought that on?” The little girl in front of us had been peeking behind the seat since the ride had started. She might not have understood what he was saying, but she picked up on Marty’s attitude and quickly twisted around to sit low in her seat, out of sight.Our conversation drifted back to normal, Magic Kingdom–related topics as we shuffled our way through the Haunted Mansion and Frontierland. Once we landed in comfortable seats and under air-conditioning at the PhilharMagic 3-D, with no one sitting close to us, I acted on the urge to kiss him.Marty said, “I’m glad you’re having a good time. I’m sorry you missed out on Disney...'Bottom Line:For my personal interests, this would merit three stars, as I didn't enjoy it even a little. Others, though, especially women who have an axe to grind with someone, this would probably rate four stars.Thus, I'm charitably awarding four stars out of five.Comments regarding your opinion of this book or of my review, whether favorable or unfavorable, are always welcome. If you buy the book based on my review and become disappointed, especially, I do want to know that and I want to understand how I can improve as a book reviewer. Just please be polite.Thank you.

Christy was in the process of getting a divorce from her rich, well-to-do - arrogant - husband Brennan when she met Marty. He was divorced and when the two of them realised they both liked to play games, the fun and excitement the two were involved in saw their adrenalin surging. Until the game of make-believe that wasn't a game any longer...Let's Play Make-Believe is one of James Patterson's Book Shots and I can understand why the ratings are so low. Not one I particularly enjoyed, and not one I'd recommend.

Christy Moore and Martin Hawking have emerged from recent marriage break-ups a little bitter and angry. They start an intense relationship, and they bring out the exciting and dangerous side of each other, engaging in high-risk scenarios such as a dine-and-dash and taking Ecstasy. However, these games risk getting out of control and leading to death.I'm not sure how I feel about the idea of "BookShots". A large part of me suspects it's a way for James Patterson to line his pockets even further and monopolize the entire publishing industry. At this rate, he'll be the ONLY person writing books anymore. But I thought I would give an original title a try. (I didn't want to grab any BookShot that was simply designed as an intro to a future series, or a teaser for a book in an existing series, which a lot of them seem to be.)"Let's Play Make-Believe" had a good idea at its core, but as read, it plays out as little more than a story outline, lacking fleshed-out characters or interesting scenarios. It also failed the read-in-one-shot test, as it was too easy for me to put down and do something else, despite the little time required to read it.The book has a rinse-and-repeat pattern to it. Christy and Martin complain about their exes. Christy remarks constantly on how awesome she thinks Martin is and how he makes her happy. Christy and Martin attempt to get a little nooky but are interrupted by a knock on the door. (You'd think they would learn the first time they get a noise complaint). Christy and Martin play a high-risk prank/game. That's about it before it heads into its end-game, ending exactly as you'd expected it to after that opening prologue.However, I'll give a couple more a try. Ultimately, they're well-priced, so even if you don't like it, you haven't wasted too much time on something that isn't very good.

I enjoyed this book very much. I read a lot and sometimes prefer something short. This one held my attention all the way through.

I chose this rating because this book held my attention,like most of James Patterson's reads. It has a lot of humor at first BUT just wait! It doesn't stay that way,BEWARE!!

Christy Moore is going through a divorce from her husband Brennan. Through a friend, she meets Martin Hawking and finds out that he likes to play games.This was a very interesting book because I never knew what was going to happen.

This Book Shot Let's Play Make-Believe was not as great as I expected it to be, it just didn't have that page turner but did have the twisted ending

You'll zip right thru this one and enjoy hiw it ends.

These little Book Shot books are not necessarily written by James Patterson so don't be fooled into thinking that!However, on a cold wet day they are ideal to curl up with.This one was quite good, with the old story of marital disharmony & divorce.The respective spouses of each couple seemingly fall in love and begin to play risky 'make believe' games.However there is a nice little twist at the very end and although the story is not edge of the seat reading it's worth a few hours of reading.

really good book

GREAT

The best bookshot yet!!!! Thoroughly enjoyed it from beginning to end!! I loved how the twist I thought was coming didn't come and instead was replaced by a completely different turn!!! Highly recommend!!! Xx

Excellent book from James Patterson as usual keeps you guessing to the end. Lovely. Cant wait to get stuck into next book.