Member Reviews

Could not get interested in the story or characters. Felt very cheesy and childish. Not a book I would recommend to anyone.My attempt to read this felt like a waste of time.

Was this review helpful?

Thad is a football player and Olivia is an opera singer. They have been thrown together for a marketing campaign for watches. ARC from NetGalley.

Was this review helpful?

This was my first Susan Philips book and I enjoyed it for the most part. This was a fun romance with and I loved all of the witty banter as well as the strong characters. I'll definitely be checking out the other books in this series soon!

Was this review helpful?

Maybe this would've been more enjoyable to me if I had read earlier books in this series? I honestly didn't realize they were part of a series when I initially requested this book! The book focuses on the budding romance between a NFL player and an Opera singer. This isn't exactly your typical romance though, as there is an element of mystery to it.

Was this review helpful?

What do you get when you have an opera singer with a back up quarterback? You get an absolutely fascinating and entertaining romance. No one writes a sports romance, like Susan Elizabeth Phillips. The banter, as always is highly entertaining, and always brings levity to the story. The romance is so well written, and you route from for the characters from the very first time that they meet. Projectory of the relationship makes sense and leads, of course to the conclusion that you want. All in all, it’s an entertaining book with fabulous characters and a romance that you will remember.

Was this review helpful?

I basically gobble up anything Susan Elizabeth Philips writes and this was no exception. I love her characters and as always I love me an enemies to
Lovers story. My only fault was the fault was the excessive use of the word diva. Read if you liked any of her other works or are looking for an alternative to Christina Lauren. I was given an advanced reader's copy via NetGalley, thank you to them. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Was this review helpful?

Opera superstar Olivia Shore and Heisman trophy winner Thad Owens are catapulted together on a marketing tour as brand ambassadors for luxury watch Marchand Timepieces: a month-long itinerary of radio interviews, dinners with account executives, photo shoots and press conferences culminating in a gala event. He perceives her as a stuck-up diva, which she thinks he’s an animalistic jock. Both are style icons and trendsetters, and have the skill to speak in sound bites and insert commercials for a product smoothly into any conversation about their respective careers. Olivia’s disdain and discomfort around Thad is based on a false accusation from early in his career. When she gets the story straight and tries to apologize, Thad is slow to accept and takes a little delight in dragging her out to a dive bar, when the paparazzi snaps a photo and starts a dating rumor. A grudging respect emerges, then friendship, with attraction simmering underneath all the while. There is more to Olivia than meets the eye; she has a stalker of some kind, and unraveling this mystery and keeping her safe becomes Thad’s welcome responsibility.

I didn’t find the characters highly relatable at first, but they became more and more complex and interesting as the story spun out. I’m not generally a fan of suspense, but the high drama worked with the personalities at play. I did enjoy the details of high society lifestyle; food, fashion, and travel; the sports allusions; the vocal instruction and opera details.

I received a free advance reader’s review copy of #WhenStarsCollide from #NetGalley.

Was this review helpful?

27 years and nine books in the series I enjoyed so much, and I hate to say I was bored with this one. Olivia is an opera singer with an ex-fiancé who committed suicide and Thad is a good-guy back-up quarterback whose career hasn't been as successful as he'd hoped. They go on a publicity tour to hawk a brand of expensive watches. Hating each other at first of course but that changes fast. There are threatening letters and stalking thrown in but not enough to make it very exciting. Thad's character is so PC and sensitive it only made him bland. A nice guy is great but there needs to be some fire and spark too.

Was this review helpful?

When Stars Collide is a fun, relatively fast-paced romance where the jock has a brain and a heart of gold, and the artistic diva is more down to earth than her career would have you believe. At times the plot felt overcrowded, as if the author wasn't sure which set of tropes she wanted to include. Personally, sticking with the story was tricky for the first chapters, but once the initial hate-on-sight conflict was resolved, things flowed much more smoothly.

A solid option for those who like a contemporary romance where the action is closer to the "fade to black" end of the spectrum, with just a little heat.

Was this review helpful?

I wasn't a fan of Olivia's and she kind of ruined the book for me. I did love Thad though. Very caring, loyal and protective while not over-bearing.

Was this review helpful?

This is the first book in this series and now I need to go back and the read the rest! Plus, being a Chicago girl there’s a certain aspect that just spoke to me in this book! I cannot wait to check out the next book.
.
Huge thank You to #avon and #netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

Was this review helpful?

This is my first time reading a Susan Elizabeth Phillips book in nearly 10 years. This title is more romantic suspense and mystery than rom-com. This is the 9th book in the Chicago Stars series but can be read as a standalone. I wanted to love this story, I really did, but it just didn’t do much for me. The storyline fell flat, the suspense wasn’t suspenseful, and I felt that the chemistry was lacking. Unfortunately this book didn’t live up to my expectations.

Was this review helpful?

I really enjoy all of SEP's work, and this book was good, but I think a bit predictable. The dynamic between Thad and Olivia had interesting dynamics, and the vast professional and social differences really create a lot of friction - but it's always great to see two talents come together in the end. The interaction between the two characters was excellent, and "enemies to lovers" is one of my favorite genres. The added suspense helped move the story forward and built up to the HEA. Well done!

Was this review helpful?

Loved the continuation of this series. Both Olivia and Thad are great characters that you really root for and I really liked that there was a bit of mystery. Love SEP.

Was this review helpful?

I'm sorry but I just knew what was going to happen in this book. Did I enjoy reading it even though I knew what's going to happen? Yes, I did. It past the time. I'm always game in reading any books that past the time. The more the merrier.

Was this review helpful?

I really enjoyed this book and the chemistry between Olivia and Thad.. This is the first book I have read by this author. I would recommend this book for a fun romance with witty banter and laugh out loud moments.

Was this review helpful?

I really enjoyed this book! It was a nice romance with a little mystery thrown in. I thought that the characters were interesting and I wanted to just keep reading. I would highly recommend this author and series.

Was this review helpful?

Good romance with mystery thrown in. I liked the dynamic between Thad and Olivia, and I didn't get who was behind all the letters until right before it was revealed. I will recommend for purchase at my library.

Was this review helpful?

When Stars Collide
by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Pub Date June 29, 2021
William Morrow

Book 9 of the Chicago Stars series. Can be read as a stand-alone. Contemporary romance.
This is a nice addition to the series.
In this age of stress and fear sometimes you just need a shot of fun: This book provides that!
"You have Wednesday and Thursday off between performances next week. Does Thursday work for you?"
She lost herself admiring the dark arch of his eyebrows.
"Thursday?"
Thanks to William Morrow and Netgalley for the ARC. This book brought a ray of fun to my life.

4 star

Was this review helpful?

I absolutely adored this book. I loved the writing style and the characters. I am definitely going to go back and read more of this author's work.

Was this review helpful?