1.5 stars

Dating Sim games an be awesome if you choose the right path and make the right choice. You usually have a lot to pick up from, and eventually, you go for the guy you think is safest, because in real life we don't want the douchy assholes we read about.

This book felt like a dating sim game. The MC (Layla) is surrounded by super hot rockstars because circumstances (which were extremelllllly convenient) and she gets into an insta-relationship with one of them, a drummer who has a much personality as my rag carpet. The twists are dull and dumb, there was no actual climax, the writing was shallow and factual. At some point, it even felt like the Sims, when Layla was looking around trying to think how she should react, then acting when (someone clicked the mouse) gave her a creepy smile or look.

In short, I was all down for a good, quick-paced, exciting chick-lit romance that is at the very least written decently. I wouldn't even mind shallow characters and soapy romance stories, but dear author, don't make me read 300 where basically nothing happens. Please, and thank you.

Kind of Famous revolves around Layla, our main character who manages life between her passion music and her job working around famous people for a magazine. Layla at times, sounded immature for the her age depicted and the story has a lot of emotions, which i felt confusing sometimes. It was hard for me to keep reading and to get into the story. The other characters Jo and Shane were good and I really loved how supportive Jo was towards Layla. The ending was heartwarming. Honestly, the story has a lot of potential of being a good novel, but it fell rather short on the narration part.

This book has a lot of great things going on. The plot has a fun and fresh angle and I loved learning about online band fan sights. The characters are interesting and diverse. It’s got great pacing, sexy sex and many chapters that made me laugh, smile and seriously consider joining a fandom.

My only advice readers: leave your reality hats at the door because things fall into place pretty easily in the opening chapters for the MC. I.e. She walks into her first job, has a brief conversation with a stranger who invites her to live with her and her sexy famous musician boyfriend and shenanigans ensue.

That being said, some of the cutest books come from less than realistic premises (if every book was true to life, we’d be seriously lacking in the secret princess book section.)

If your looking for something light and fun (especially when life is not so), add this book to your read list.

Honestly, ended up not finishing the book. I read the first 10% and I couldn't stand the main character. She felt about a decade younger than she actually was, more like a girl in her young teens than a woman. While I was excited to read someone that was as part of the internet community and it affecting their real life, the way she almost felt like a spy on the group felt weird to me. It was also too unbelievable to me that the girlfriend of the rock star invited her to stay with them after knowing her for just a few hours. Who does that?

This is my first novel by Mary Ann Marlowe but I'm looking forward to reading more! The characters were likeable and well written, I loved the secondary characters as much as the main which makes for the best read! Layla and Shane are both great characters and so good together.

This book was so good! The characters were so well rounded, you felt like you actually knew them! The plot was so good you didn't want the book to end!

***Thank you to NetGalley and Mary Ann Marlowe. I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All opinions are my own.***

I loved the premise of Kind of Famous, but unfortunately the story fell flat for me. Layla gets her dream job at a music magazine and tries to keep the band fan site she runs hidden. She struggles to find balance between the famous people she’s meeting and her secret pastime, especially with the drummer she’s falling for.

I’m a huge music fan and there was so much about Layla for me to relate to. Only strangely, I didn’t. Layla and Shane seem really immature for 28 and 31 respectively. Layla made bad choice after bad choice checking the board at work or while she was with Shane. Her priorities were so messed up. I really didn’t understand why her friend at the board, Ash, who was helping her run things couldn’t do the simplest thing like asking people to be respectful or locking a post to prevent further comments. She had to contact Layla every time. For that matter, why the heck did Layla always have her volume up on her phone, especially if she was trying to keep her online activities hidden? It was incredibly unprofessional to me, as was the taking time off so quickly into a new job and arriving late for the morning meetings. She wasn’t much better in her personal life. I get being a little starstruck when she meets famous bands, but there’s a difference between starstruck and ogling. And she did it in front of Shane numerous times.

Shane was no picnic either. His intensity came across as a bit much to me. He seemed like a genuinely nice guy, but also a bit of a smotherer. I thought his insecurities were well explained, but it was hard to overlook his enormous overreaction to finding out about Layla’s website. Maybe that was part of the problem for me. Everyone’s reactions seemed exaggerated, from Noah’s stormy behaviour and inappropriate, often mean comments, to Ash’s behaviour with regard to taking advantage of her connection to Layla, to Gabe’s ever-present come-ons, assumptions and insults, not to mention the depths he resorted to trying to get his way. It was all too much and made the story feel immature and slightly disjointed.

I really liked Jo. I liked how quickly she adopted Layla as part of her family and supported her unconditionally. I think she was my favourite character. I thought the ending was completely adorable, and loved that Shane and Layla came to terms with the situation independently, both doing what they could to make things better.

Thank you to Netgalley for the preview of this book. It was an okay read. I found the characters to be immature & very hard to relate to. It was hard to get into this book also as I felt the plot was slow & unrealistic

I was in a mini reading slump and this book pulled me out of it! I've read one of Ms. Marlowe's books before and I wasn't impressed by it but I was determined to give her books another chance and, oh boy, am I glad I did.
The story was interesting and kept me reading well into the night. I liked the heroine, Layla, but what really made this book a 5 star read for me was the hero, Shane. I really, really loved him. He's a breath of fresh air in the flood of aplha jerks authors try to convince us are romance heroes these days. He wasn't perfect and he definitely didn't have if figured out, but this flawed hero just did it for me. I fell IN LOVE with him. Layla was a great character too. I loved Layla and Shane as a couple. They were so similar in some aspect but at the same time so different. They were perfect for eachother. The chemistry between them was blatant. The building of the romance wasn't paced as good as it could be but that doesn't take much out of the story. Oh, and the grand gesture HEA ending was just what I wanted and needed.
Can I say it again? This book was really, really good! I loved reading it and I can't remember when was the last time I stayed up all night reading but I did for this book.

Thank you for allowing me to read a preview copy of this book.
I’m afraid it wasn’t for me though. I found Layla to be way too childlike and naive.
Not a book I enjoyed I’m afraid which is a shame as the description sounded as though it would be a book I would enjoy.

This is a cute book. I struggled to believe most of the characters. The story premise is good but the characters made it a bit of a struggle to enjoy this book.

This was a cute and light read but not a book that will stick with me.
I love rockstar romances but this one didn't do mych for me, I just didn't connect with the characters much and the heroine wasn't my favorite.
Overall, I enjoyed it and finished fast, I just wasn't particularly drawn to the story.

"Kind of Famous" was all kinds of wonderful!

I have a guilty secret, I just love the celebrity trope, and this was the most wonderful addition to my "collection".
While it is the third in a series, there is no problem whatsoever in reading it as a standalone.

I seldom give five stars to a book, but this one made me a fan. It has some adorable characters, especially Layla who has this wonderful little nerdiness. I found it very entertaining, the dialogue was cute and witty, and I was engaged from the first page.

The storyline itself was interesting with not too much angst, which is something I loathe. Finally, the grand gesture end the end was to die for.

Thank you to Mary Ann Marlowe and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fast and fairly cute read, although the heroine's naiveté and star-struckness got old for me real fast. I liked the premise, of a shy person with lots of online history venturing out into the real world, in a new city, new joy, finding her place and new friends. However, even with the heroine's shyness and adorable dorkitude, she came across as being written too young for her age. The romance was sweet, but I was definitely not expecting the sex to be quite so graphic - that did not feel true to the way the character of the heroine was otherwise drawn.

It took me a second to get into this book but when I did I really liked the story line. It was an easy read from the third chapter all the way through the rest of the book. So give it a chance if you find yourself stuck in the first bit. It really is a great book.

Perfect Meet Cute ...until it’s not.
Layla has the ultimate job at a nyc rock band magazine when her alter ego runs an online fan site for one of the hottest bands. She has to keep the site anonymous from her coworkers for obvious reasons. When she falls for the drummer and sees in him what most don’t- she thinks this is perfect. What happens if he finds out about the site??

I really liked this one. Such a fun and easy read, I will definitely recommend this book to some of my friends.

This book is a nice light hearted book overall and I enjoyed it. But the characters are super shallow overall and the twist was so obvious it was painful. The MC was really hard to like but I really did like the H. He was so genuine and so straight with the h that it was super refreshing. Also for being a rock star, he was really down to earth (besides his ridiculous fru fru good and water and sheets lol - which just makes him more endearing) and not that famous as the drummer everyone overlooks. He really saved the book. Him and all the friends were very well written and were great - I’d love to read Jo and Eden’s stories.

Thank you to netgalley for the arc. Rock star romances are my jam but this one fell flat for me. I felt like Layla was really immature and a lot of this was far fetched.

Thank you, NetGalley for the ARC. Kind of Famous is a cute, fast read. Mary Ann Marlowe does a great job writing her characters so that you feel invested in their lives and the outcome. I thought the beginning of the book was a little annoying, especially when Layla was being a total fangirl. But after finishing, it was necessary for the story and showed her growth as a character. Overall I would give it 3 stars.