REVIEW: Some Kind of Famous by Ava Wilder

OUR REVIEW:

Some Kind of Famous was such a nice surprise. I've read both of Wilder's previous novels and remember enjoying them so was excited at the opportunity to read this one too. When I reflect on what makes it such a good read for me, I think it's the focus on two characters that I don't get to meet very often. Merritt is coming off a long recovery period-life post being a world famous musician who ends up burning up and burning out. She starts off as tentative and internal--lots of things going on inside, lots of guilt or shame, and without the nudge of her sister (and Niko) I feel like she'd still be living with her sister, hiding from life. But she's nudged and she hires Niko and life begins to begin again. 

With Niko, we learn that this man who seems pretty stable and steady, is that because it's his armor and shield from his previous hurts. He craves a certain certainty and has been burned so many times that he sets the bar low for everyone else but himself. And so getting to know Merritt challenged him just as he challenged her. 

Seeing their care and respect for each other, their desire for the other to succeed, and their willingness to put the other's happiness first made this an all around superior read. 

BUY IT: https://amzn.to/3VBGOef

SYNOPSIS:
In this steamy and emotional small-town romance, a disgraced ex-musician and a local handyman try to resist their growing attraction for each other—until a broken-down house forces them together—from the author of How to Fake It in Hollywood and Will They or Won't They

It’s been a decade since Merritt Valentine’s peak as a celebrated singer-songwriter… and her subsequent career-ending mental breakdown. Since then, she’s abandoned the glitz of Los Angeles to move in with her sister, Olivia, in the sleepy Colorado ski town of Crested Peak, hoping to heal her lingering emotional wounds of the spotlight.

Life in Crested Peak would be uncomplicated if not for Merritt’s inconvenient crush on the local contractor and handyman, Nikolaos Petrakis. Niko is disarmingly handsome and too kind-hearted to ever be right for the complex and prickly Merritt. Though tempting, a fling with Niko would only bring the kind of drama Merritt has vowed to leave behind.

After his last heartbreak, Niko is done dating his fellow townies. Still, he can’t shake his fascination with the brilliant Merritt, even as he heeds their mutual friends’ warnings to steer clear of her chaos. But when Merritt needs help fixing up a house of her own, Niko is glad to be the only man for the job.

As the two spend more time together, their mutual attraction sparking a deeper connection than either one expects, they’re forced to confront the idea that they may have underestimated each other– and themselves.

 

REVIEW: Will They or Won't They by Ava Wilder

OUR REVIEW:

I really enjoyed How to Fake it in Hollywood so when I saw the newest Ava Wilder novel, I requested to review it immediately. Like her debut novel, Will They or Won't They also focuses on the love (hate?) story of two actors: Lilah and Shane. These two have a tumultuous relationship that we follow in flashbacks woven in with their current situation, which is less than warm and fuzzy--it's so NOT warm and fuzzy that their show ends up putting them in couples therapy (even though they aren't a couple) just so they can get along/get past their issues for the sake of a final season of work. As the novel progresses we come to understand the source of their continuing friction--a really yucky break up after the close of their first (and very successful) season--and both of them are holding some serious grudges and hurt feelings. Without going into it, I'll just say that Wilder did a good job of spreading the blame between these two, though I definitely had more frustration with Lilah than I did with Shane but maybe that was because of how passive (or passive aggressive? manipulative?) Shane was--he came off as less of the aggressor, even though he did some really crappy things too. To be fair to Lilah, the more you get to know her, the more you understand her motivations and mistakes and some of the sources of her issues. And as this is a romance, obviously they get past all of their hurts and manipulations to make a tentative peace that becomes even more than the first time they were together--the years apart did them some good, in that respect.

Other similar traits that this novel has to the previous one are things like a great ensemble cast of characters--they all enhance the plot between Lilah and Shane and make things entertaining and interesting, making our main characters seem even more real and well rounded because of the conversations and events undertaken with their friends. And Wilder doesn't shy away from digging in the things like anxiety and panic attacks, as well as the natural fear of career transitions and the unknowns that come with that.

Overall this friends to lovers to enemies to lovers really worked and leaves me just as interested and curious about what Ava Wilder will write next as I did after her debut. 

BUY IT: https://amzn.to/3IY4Mej

SYNOPSIS:

Onscreen, they’re in love. Offscreen, they can’t stand each other. Two costars with a complex history reunite in this tension-filled romance novel from the author of How to Fake It in Hollywood.

“Readers will be on the edge of their seats waiting for Lilah and Shane to just kiss already. Ava Wilder is a master of anticipation and satisfaction.”—Elissa Sussman, nationally bestselling author of Funny You Should Ask

Lilah Hunter and Shane McCarthy are madly in love—at least, their characters are. As the stars of the hit paranormal TV show Intangible, Lilah and Shane spent years pining for each other onscreen . . . until Lilah ditched the show at the end of season five in hopes of becoming a movie star. With no such luck, she’s back to film the much-hyped ninth and final season, in which Lilah and Shane’s 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 season one, the two of them have despised each other.

Now reunited on set 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 might just get blindsided by one final twist: a real-life happy ending of their own.
 

How to Fake it in Hollywood by Ava Wilder

 

OUR REVIEW:

I selected this novel on a whim and I'm so glad that I did. I really enjoyed the character of Grey and her strong sense of self. She went into this fake Hollywood relationship fully knowing what it was and I really liked that she had this confidence and desire to do good things for herself, even if this isn't exactly how she wished it would all go down. 

Ethan, on the other hand, felt so self indulgent in his grief and I didn't really love him at first. As he opened up more, I found that I was more open to him, despite my ultimate dislike for his inability to take a step back and see how messed up he was...and how he was directly contributing to his own downfall. It's definitely what made his redemption that much more ...he had so much growing to do and to see how he turned it around was *chef's kiss*.

I enjoyed their getting to know each other, their bumpy romance, and the friendships and side stories that surrounded them. I found myself trying to quickly come back to this novel when I could and am looking forward to the new things Ava Wilder writes next. 

BUY IT: https://amzn.to/3rvanjc

SYNOPSIS:

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 TV show 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: fake 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, struggles with drinking, and grief over the death of his longtime creative partner and best friend, Ethan has 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?