Tag: ava wilder

Book Review: Will They or Won’t They by Ava Wilder

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 384 pages
Author: Ava Wilder
Publisher: Dell
Release Date: June 27th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

On screen, they’re in love. Off screen, they can’t stand each other. Two co-stars with a complex history reunite to film the final season of a beloved paranormal drama in this tension-filled will they won’t they romance from the author of How to Fake It in Hollywood.

Lilah Hunter and Shane McCarthy are madly in love— at least, their characters are. As the stars of the hit paranormal TV show Intangible, they spent years pining for each other on-screen… until Lilah ditched the show at the end of season five in hopes of becoming a film star. With no such luck, she’s back to film the much-hyped ninth and final season, in which their characters will get together at last.

But coming back means facing one of the biggest reasons she left: Shane. Ever since their secret behind-the-scenes fling imploded at the end of the first season, the two of them have despised each other.

Now back on set together for the first time in years, with the world’s eyes on them and their post-show careers on the line, they’ll have to grit their teeth and play nice. But under pressure to give Intangible’s fans the happy ending they’ve been waiting for, Lilah and Shane are forced to get closer than ever. And if they’re not careful, they just might get blindsided by one final twist: a real-life happy ending of their own.

LIKED IT.

I was up and down and all around on how I felt about this book. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Hollywood romances are a hard sell, but I enjoyed Wilder’s last book and wanted to give this a go.

For second chance romance I thought it was a good execution. I liked that therapy was a part of working through things and there were some choice forced proximity moments to remind Lilah and Shane just how much of a connection they still have. I really liked both characters. Even with flaws and mistakes, the relationship and growth felt true.

I absolutely loved the audiobook and dual narration. And I will keep my eye out for Wilder’s next book! If you enjoy Hollywood/Actor romances, definitely give this one a try!

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: strong
  • Romance: 3 open door; med-high explicit
  • Violence: low
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: anxiety, brief mentions of drug use

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Book Review: How to Fake It in Hollywood by Ava Wilder

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 368 pages
Author: Ava Wilder
Publisher: Dell
Release Date: June 14th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A talented Hollywood starlet and a reclusive A-lister enter into a fake relationship . . . and discover that their feelings might be more than a PR stunt in this sexy debut for fans of Beach Read and The Unhoneymooners.

Grey Brooks is on a mission to keep her career afloat now that the end of her long-running teen soap has her (unsuccessfully) pounding the pavement again. With a life-changing role on the line, she’s finally desperate enough to agree to her publicist’s scheme… faking a love affair with a disgraced Hollywood heartthrob who needs the publicity, but for very different reasons.

Ethan Atkins just wants to be left alone. Between his high-profile divorce, his struggles with drinking, and his grief over the death of his longtime creative partner and best friend, he’s slowly let himself fade into the background. But if he ever wants to produce the last movie he and his partner wrote together, Ethan needs to clean up his reputation and step back into the spotlight. A gossip-inducing affair with a gorgeous actress might be just the ticket, even if it’s the last thing he wants to do.

Though their juicy public relationship is less than perfect behind the scenes, it doesn’t take long before Grey and Ethan’s sizzling chemistry starts to feel like more than just an act. But after decades in a ruthless industry that requires bulletproof emotional armor to survive, are they too used to faking it to open themselves up to the real thing?

BETTER THAN I THOUGHT.

I picked this up on a whim from a friends recommendation. It was even better than I could have hoped! And a lot deeper too.

The deeper angle was actually a really nice touch. I liked the exploration behind the darker side of Hollywood and the way grief can keep its claws in us. I’m very grateful that Ethan got the help he needed in the end and I liked a lot of the conversations with characters and development he had.

Fake dating is totally my jam. And while I do think this got off to a quicker start than expected I did like the relationship. They were real sweet on one another. While I’m usually not a Hollywood actor set-up fan, this landed in the exception column and I’m so glad it did.

I loved the audiobook and definitely recommend that avenue. A solid read that I’m happy I picked up!

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: strong
  • Romance: multiple open door; med-high explicit
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: child physical abuse mentioned, parental abandonment recounted, familial estrangement, divorce, dieting/weight discussed, alcohol abuse, drug abuse recounted, grief and loss depiction, death of a friend in a car accident, death of parent mentioned, stalking

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