#NetGalley #LikeaLovesong
I thank NetGalley for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review :)
All I have to say is this....everyone pick this book up when releases. It was quite good

Fake dating? Cinnamon roll love interest? Latina pop star? This book ticked off lots of boxes before I even read it.

My 4 star rating is probably closer to a 3.5 simply because I felt the story was a bit rushed. Nati and William's relationship just changed so quickly and there wasn't a lot of actual interaction to move it along? I think I just would have liked to see more development there.

I liked the characters- William is a sweetheart and Padma and Brenda are good friends who support and love Nati. Getting to see the three of them spend so much time on the page together, having fun and supporting each other was one of my favorite parts of the book. Often, friendships seem to take the back seat in romances (YA or adult) and I enjoyed getting to see their relationship play out on the page.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an eARC!

Like a Love Song follows Brazilian pop star Natalia ‘Nati’, who has the misfortune of becoming a meme queen after she’s unfortunately dumped on live television. In an attempt to salvage her image and career, her PR team sets up a plan for her to date William, a British indie film actor who is a 180 from her ex.
I’ll be the first to say that Natalia — or Natalie, as she’s known at the beginning of the book — and I didn’t exactly get along. I found her a little self-centered, and was a little disheartened at how much of her culture (and herself) she’d stripped away for fame, and to assimilate. But as I kept reading Like a Love Song, she really grew on me. I also think it’s important to remember that Nati is 17, and is handling stardom a lot better than I would at 17. As a result of her music and her celebrity status, Nati’s relationship with her extended family is a little tense. Her Portugese isn’t as fluent as the rest of her family, and she’s concerned with how others view her. Nati’s character arc was one of my favorites, and I loved watching her reinvent her image (a total reputation moment), and reconnect with her family. By the end of the book, I was really rooting for her happiness and success.
But Will? Oh, I adored Will. As a love interest, he was soft and charming and adorable and just sweet. How could someone not fall in love with him? With his heart of gold, and his sock collection, I could totally understand why Nati fell for him. I’m tempted to buy myself some fun socks in his honor. Like a Love Song is filled with so many wonderful tropes — not just the fake dating one, and there were times where I had to put down my kindle just to text my friend a no-context ‘EEEEEEEE!!!’. I really enjoyed Nati and Will’s dynamic, and loved how they understood one another on a deeper level. You could tell they really wanted the best for each other, no matter what.
Brenda and Padme, Nati’s best friends, were another highlight of Like a Love Song. Their friendship with Nati was so wholesome, and I loved their text conversations, and how supportive they were of one another.
At its core, Like a Love Song is a love letter to celebrity culture, yes, but more so, identity and belonging. Nati’s journey of discovering where she is is one that I loved following, and her diasporic experiences hit so close to home. I loved how authentic and real she was, and how we got to follow her messy, raw, embarrassing, and ultimately, wholesome journey. More importantly, I loved how Like a Love Song touches on privacy and entitlement, and how it criticizes the media’s role in our lives.
Although quite predictable, I really loved Like a Love Song, and found it to be exactly what I was in the mood for: a quick light hearted, rom com read. I will say that I wished it was longer; at 304 pages, it felt really short and there were moments that I wanted to see more of! I would’ve loved to know more about Nati’s family, or how her rebranding went, and I did have some unanswered questions about William too, but ultimately, I loved how everything was neatly tied up at the end.

First of all, thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book!

Here is my honest review:

I first heard of this book a few months ago and I really liked the plot and also that it was about a Brazilian character, written by a Brazilian writer. It was on my TBR list ever since then. One information about it didn’t really get to me: it’s a YA book. It is mentioned briefly in the Goodreads page, but to me (a person who reads a lot of romance) the synopsis and the cover made it seem that it was a new adult book. And the whole reason I’m saying this it’s because I think it would’ve worked better to me if it was.

I liked the characters (William is such a sweetheart) but I think the conflicts should have been handled by more “mature” minds. I think their relationship would have a better development if they were 23? 24? and also Natalia’s relationship with fame, with the celebrity world and her Brazilian roots. I’m not saying the author handled these things badly but I feel like she could have explored more if we had an older main character. I was very intrigued to know how she was going deal with the main conflict (that isn’t the relationship! but the struggle of Natalia with her origins!) but it didn’t really deliver much.

Please: I’m not trying to diss the book or saying that YA books are silly and shallow!!!! I’m just not sure if the whole scenario fit with the age of the MC. The whole thing felt a little surreal to me the way it was handled.

Other than that, I felt that some dialogues were a little unnatural, specially the ones with here mother. It seemed to me that the author was trying to really show how Brazilian they were but it led to a lot of repetition of some words like “filha” and “merda”. I am Brazilian so this is not coming from xenophobia, but it really felt a bit too much and not really natural to have her mother saying “filha” in every sentence.

The relationship was sweet but I felt like they needed more time before the conflict hit them. I could see that they were really great friends, connected to each other and were developing feelings but it felt a little quick. I didn’t really understand why the author chose to have a little fight at their first meeting, it looked like she was going to write a haters-to-lovers romance but gave up and forgot to change their first interaction.

Anyway, I did enjoy reading it and I really hope we get to see more YA stories with Brazilian characters.

Absolutely loved this swoony and delightful YA. Young readers certainly will too. Martins provides relatable characters, despite their fame and unique situations, and a romantic plot that will have readers turning the page. Issues of identity are deftly explored and provide depth to the story. Highly recommended.

This was a sweet, fun book that will entertain many teens. I liked the romance but wished there was a bit more of a character arc for Natalie because I felt like some of the emotional changes she went through weren't delved deeply into enough. I definitely shipped her and William and loved reading about all the side characters, especially Natalie's two best friends. This was a fun, quick read.

This was a very sweet YA romance about two celebrities who fake date for publicity. There was a lot of diversity and LGBTQ+ representation in this book and lovable main characters. It was a quick read for me, but I really enjoyed it.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC!

I desperately needed a light, fun, romantic book- and this was the perfect one! A perfect teen rom-com, but the romance isn't even the best part. The discovery of Nati's identity as she works through what fame means to her is beautiful. The supporting characters- mainly her two best friends- are supportive and strong. A really great light read with strong, empowering messages.

Natalia, an American pop star of Brazilian descent, is up for a People Choice award when she is embarrassing dumped by her boyfriend Trent. Unfortunately the situation was on a livestream and everyone has seen it. Even though “Natalie” won the People Choice Award for Best Female Artist minutes after the live breakup, she is ridiculed everywhere- in tabloids, in memes, on Tik Tok, Twitter and Instagram. After Trent does not attempt to apologize or mitigate the situation, Natalia asks her manager and publicist to figure out a way to fix the damage the situation is causing to her career. Their suggestion is that she fake date a promising British indie actor named William Ainsley. Ainsley, who she had briefly spoken to at the awards show before she was dumped, had given her the impression that he thought awards shows and Hollywood people were fake and pretentious. They begin their fake relationship and end up becoming friends despite their differences. Natalia is finally embracing her Latinidade, her natural hair and her fear of not fitting in with her family in Brazil. William loves acting and the money it brings to provide for his family (who are deeply in debt) but he’s uncomfortable with fame and the intense scrutiny it brings to him and his family. They do kiss for real and develop romantic feelings for each other but a very public scene with Trent (who claims he wants to get back with Natalia) makes William wary of any relationship they might have. Will they end up together or will Natalia have to accept that he’s gone for good?

I am a sucker for Hollywood rom-coms, and Like a Love Song did not disappoint. I throughly enjoyed this book, and appreciated that it wasn't entirely fluff. There are certain times that Natalie, a world famous pop star, but learn to face and accept her Brazilian heritage.

Everything changes for pop star Natalie when she is ambushed by her boyfriend and dumped on live TV. Her life becomes fodder for memes and her career begins to slip. Her agent and publicist come up with a plan for Natalie to hire a fake boyfriend to divert public opinion. Enter William Ainsley, a British indie actor. Natalie and William have to navigate a publicity-orchestrated life in the spotlight as fake boyfriend and girlfriend. William is unprepared for how being "suddenly famous" would affect his life and family. Natalie is forced to face her heritage, songwriting, and icky ex-boyfriend.

I liked all the characters, especially Natalie's friends, as well as the "glimpse" into the Hollywood driven life. There are so many issues the author addresses, and I think it will be a good addition to my library.