Talk about a PR stunt gone right! I loved this fake dating storyline and the stand-off-ish, yet playful banter between Grey and Ethan from day 1. I really liked how vulnerable Ethan was with his sadness around losing his best friend, Sam, because that’s really how it is. Then there’s Grey; supportive as shit but also throwing in the ultimate ultimatum, giving Ethan no choice but to figure it out. Also, two words: s e x u a l t e n s i o n. If you’re looking for a book with a spicy scene- this is the one 🌶!

Thank you NetGalley for this amazing read! I sped through it and already started recommending to all my friends.

When two Hollywood stars who need a boost in their career enter into a fake relationship, they have to know that sparks will fly. Ethan has been hiding from the spotlight since his best friend died and Grey hasn’t had an offer since her TV show finished.

While not desperate for a fake relationship, they both agree and over the course of the book they banter, try to avoid flirting, and appear to be in love when in public.

I’m sure you can guess what happens - throw in some ex’s, tabloid stories, lots of drama, and two strong personalities with some trust issues and you have a great summer read for the beach!

First of all, I loved the cover of this book - the artwork is beautiful and really drew me in. This book represented a really well done fake dating trope with the interesting spin of being played out by Hollywood celebrities. The author set the stage well introducing Grey Brooks, a type-cast actress trying to get her next big break after a long running series ends, as well as Ethan Atkins, a washed up actor/director with a lot of baggage. Their subsequent set up and fake-dating to real dating adventure makes for a really fun and quick read. Overall I was really impressed that this was a debut novel, it was well written and planned out.

**I will warn that for those with difficulty with subject matter surrounding Addiction, this might be a touch read especially near the end. I loved the book but definitely the first 3/4 is more light and fun and the last bit feels a bit rushed and more heavy.

I’m a little confused on how to rate this one. I thought there were parts of this story that were handled so well but then other parts where I was not as intrigued. Ethan was well fleshed out to me, but even after reading this whole book, I feel like I didn’t really know Grey. There were moments that seemed so contradictory to the way she was described that I was a little confused. Overall though, the ending was well done and wrapped up all our loose ends in a sweet bow.

~Special thanks to NetGalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

I really really enjoyed this book. I have been in a contemporary romance slump lately and this book cured it. In this book we get romance, laughs, and also some trauma the characters need to work through. Some together, and some on their own.

First, i love love love a good fake dating trope. The author executed that perfectly in this book with all the tension, heated glares, and lusty emotions raging from Grey and Ethan. Oh and i loved the age gal, single dad aspect of this book too.

Second, the characters. There wasn’t a character i didnt enjoy in this book. I absolutely love when aide characters are amazing too! Grey and Ethan are two very compatible maim characters. I see why they are drawn to eachother and i really loved reading all of their interactions and conversations. With their relationship, they have a ton of very well executed development. And that is the individual character development and the development and growth of their relationship. A lot of tough topics are brought up and you can relate to the characters based on their emotions during those scenes. They really feel like real people, and i love when an author has the power to do that.

This book was a journey for Grey and Ethan’s relationship. But it is done very well and round of applause to the author!!

Umm…well, that wasn’t what I thought it was going to be 🤔. Honestly, idk if this was totally categorized properly. Ok — Yes, a relationship develops as part of the story. However, more frequently the book doesn’t read like a romance imho. I guess why I’ve been so stuck on the review for so many days is because I’m so thrown by that. Along with the general tone being so much heavier than I anticipated.

It goes from Ethan discovering his first glimmer of hope in ages as things between him & Grey stop being completely for show, then from there the book’s focus evolves more & more into this downward trajectory about his inner demons rearing up until he unravels to his final breaking point. Where he has to commit to change, find his self-worth again & believe in that or lose more than he already has for good. Much of the tone was so depressing until reaching that point in the last 1/4 tbh. My heart broke again & again for Ethan along the way as I could feel how his emotional demons were suffocating him one on top of the other.

Although it’s not my preference to read heavier books for entertainment purposes — I read for fun to get out of my head/for escapism, not get further in —, I’ll give Ms. Wilder her due. For the most part, the writing was quite solid (definitely above average) as was some of the early sarcasm & all of Ethan’s pain & his struggles felt palpable.

I mean — it’s not without a few flaws. Namely the heroine, Grey. I’m not so sure she was the best thing for Ethan nor am I certain how deep her feelings were. Sometimes her behavior didn’t sit well. i.e. when she coerced him a bit in one situation. To be clear it wasn’t abhorrent behavior. Just a little uneasy there for me because his ability to keep his struggles at a semi-manageable level was very tentative at best & she was aware. Other times she & the hero’s ex both were enablers, yet put him in a situation late in the story they knew could go badly, then acted all worried like it came out of nowhere & was all his doing when it hit the fan. It’s not that he bears no responsibility, but he needed them to listen when he expressed resistance going into the situation beforehand. All that did was further depress me for him & made the second half arduous to get through.

Still, I feel why I’m primarily so indecisive to rate the story even now, a week after reading the book, is more because it’s barely in the periphery of the genre I thought was getting. And although those points just above were negatives for me, I think it fit with this whole melancholy, cyclical, meandering vibe of the book. So I’m not actually giving this a star rating, I’m just putting the 3 star because NG won’t let me send my review without one & 3 is right in the middle, but not necessarily a reflection of the book or my thoughts.

*This ARC was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

***I apologize for the lateness. I really struggled to make sense of how I felt with this unexpectedly not being much of an actual romance.***

In all honesty, I loved this book so much more than I thought I was going to. I think the cover is fantastic, but it doesn’t convey the depth of the story. There’s so much going on here, it’s not a light and bright fake dating trope that you might think you’re getting into. There’s grief, substance abuse, stalking, an age gap—lots to unpack. It may throw some readers for a loop, but I hope that won’t deter folks from picking it up. A really great debut. I’ll definitely be on the lookout for more in the future.

Fun read but I feel like the development was skipped over a little. Their relationship was a bit dry, and I don’t mean their fake one. The actions of the characters were just a little too obvious and I found them a little boring and everything too easy. I still was entertained through this though and I think this is great for a debut!

Thank you Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book.

Typical romantic book
But throw in arranged dating scenario
Doesn't mean I didn't Enjoy it!
To have her career take.off some more gRey enters into a fake relation ship but soon they realize it's more than fake.

THIS! I loved everything about this book! I loved the way it played out, and that things weren't just smoothed over and made okay. I loved that the couple in it had to work through the issues in their relationship but also had to work through their own, personal issues. I loved the way the author was able to make the story feel like real life, with all of its difficulties, without sacrificing the swooniness you want from a fictional romance. Seriously, it was just SO GOOD! I can't wait to read what Wilder writes next!!

4 1/2 Stars!

Just because the cover is a cartoon definitely does not mean it's a rom-com. In the case of this book, it is absolutely not a rom-com. It's a book where two people are somewhat lost and struggling and in need of a reboot. Their reasons may be different and they are completely coming at it from different backgrounds, but they have a common goal. They both need to put a fresh face forward in Hollywood and for that, they decide to try giving the press a fake relationship to toy with. The problem is that along the way, their feelings become true which can lead to a lot of real-life pain when they aren't both in sync.

Grey is a young actress who has already had her heart broken once by a leading man. The thought of leaving herself vulnerable again with Ethan is almost unthinkable. Their relationship is supposed to be a fake one for the media. Something to create positive attention for both of them. Ethan has struggles of his own. He's mourning a life that is broken. He might be wealthy and deemed an A-list celebrity, but life has dealt him a great deal of pain. He's still trying to find his way through all of it and isn't exactly dealing with things in the healthiest of ways. Even though a relationship is the last thing on either of their minds, fate has other ideas. Their chemistry is off the charts no matter how much they both try to deny it. But before they can move forward with a future, they both need to deal with their pasts.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to read and review it and the opinions contained within are my own.

I love Hollywood / celeb romance and how to fake it in Hollywood is no exception! This one was so emotional and raw. I loved the sensitive subject matter handled and thought the romance was so well executed.

3.5 Stars

If you love celebrities and celebrity romances then this one I for you!

I loved that both characters, Grey and Ethan, were both celebrities but their characters were raw and real. We get to see their real lives and their struggles – not the “picture perfect life” that celebrities are portrayed to have. It’s not just a love story with the faking dating trope, it’s also about the characters dealing with their own, serious issues. This is not a light read, there is a lot talk about grief and alcoholism, but the author handled the subject matter perfectly. Overall, the two main characters compliant each other perfectly and I love how they came together and supported each other.

A huge thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review,

How it Fake It in Hollywood turned out to be exactly the sort of book I needed right now.

I love reading books featuring famous people, and the concept of this novel hooked me instantly! It was fun to read the behind the scenes information about what a fake relationship looks like when done for publicity. From the very first chapter I felt completely engaged with the story. I meant to only read a few chapters, but ended up reading for nearly three hours instead! It only took two sittings to finish and I couldn't help by fly through it. Ava Wilder created an addicting story that was difficult to put down.

As for the characters, I loved them both. I think Grey was a stunning protagonist and I enjoyed her chapters immensely. She felt so down to earth and like someone I could hangout with and just talk to for hours. She felt achingly real. I also liked Ethan, but felt like he was a huge hot mess. I'm really happy with how the author grew him as a character, but I also felt very frustrated with him and his behavior. I did love the two as a couple and I feel like these characters are so perfect together in an authentic way.

My only real critique (and the reason this is four stars, rather than five) is the second half of the novel had some plot points/pacing that put me off. It almost felt like there were two difference climaxes for the book. So, after the first big "climax" occurred I felt weird about the pacing and felt like I was then just waiting to get to the ending. I felt almost bored throughout the real climax because I felt like I had already read the big "everything goes bad" moment for the story.

Other than that note, I did really enjoy this book! It was a lot of fun to read and I definitely will be picking up other books from this author in the future.

How to Fake It in Hollywood by Ava Wilder is as juicy of a novel as they come! It centers around Grey Brooks, an actress struggling to move past her teen soap opera television image, and Ethan Atkins, a former A lister who now lives a reclusive lifestyle. As fate would have it, they're set up as a PR relationship by their publicist and what starts out for the cameras ends with true, genuine love. I found myself devouring this book over the course of a single weekend, I simply couldn't put it down! What I loved the most about this debut is that the characters were so fleshed out that, much like a Taylor Jenkins Reid novel, I found myself wondering if I should google these people and their filmographies in case they were real. There were plenty of winks and easter eggs to real life inspired scenarios/celebrity figures (my favorite being a Taylor Swift-esque character mentioned only in passing early on in the novel). However, this isn't a lighthearted read by any means. It's thought provoking and raw in the choices the characters make and the directions in which their relationships and dynamics go, which is something I really appreciated. As a reader, you can tell there was a lot of care and research that went into this book to get it as true to life as possible, and the pay off was incredibly satisfying. I genuinely can't wait to see what Ava Wilder writes next!

• How To Fake It In Hollywood • thanks @penguinrandomhouse for the #gifted eARC in exchange for an honest review •

Happy pub day to this fantastic debut! I loved this Hollywood, fake dating, age gap romance. The story and characters had me interested from the start and Wilder’s writing kept me invested. It reminded me a bit of both Seven Days In June and The View Was Exhausting.

I really enjoyed how their relationship developed over the course of the book. And don’t let the cover fool you - there’s definitely some heavy topics involved. I did find that it dragged at the start of the last third, and there were a few things that we kind of jumped by quicker than I’d like. But otherwise, this was such a great read and I can’t wait for more from this author?

Have you read this one yet? Is it on your TBR?

CW: Drug Use, Grief, Alcoholism, Death of Friend, Driving Under the Influence, Sexual Harassment, Child Abuse

This books was so fun! It has so hard subjects, not all light and fluffy, but a great read. I’m a fan of the fake dating troupe and this was so well done. Definitely recommend to my romance lovers.

3.5 stars, rounded up. Don't be fooled by the cover, this is a romance with a lot of depth as the main characters, particularly Ethan, are navigating difficult life circumstances and issues. While their romance starts off as a publicity stunt, it quickly becomes real. While sometimes in romance the issue that pushes people apart feels trivial and like it could be solved with a conversation, the very real issue of Ethan's addiction is certainly not that. I felt that the story was a little too long, but overall it was a good debut from an author I'd love to read more from.

This is an excellent Hollywood read! There is a lot of depth here as well as great romance. Grey and Ethan are both complicated characters with a lot of baggage to sort through. They complement each other well, and I love the way they lift each other up.

First let me say, I throughly enjoyed this book. However, my own assumptions bit me in the butt with this one. I thought I was going to be reading a light and fluffy romance about two actors fake dating for the benefit of their careers. And don’t get me wrong, that was part of it, but this book was so much more than that. I don’t mind a heavy read, but if alcoholism/addiction is a trigger for you I just wanted everyone else to have the heads up I didn’t have. I’m grateful I don’t personally struggle, but it is/was an issue for extended family members, so this was a heavier read than I anticipated.

Having said all that, if you don’t mind a romance that isn’t what I call a “fluff read” I would absolutely recommend this book. I read it in less than a day- because I couldn’t put it down. Ethan and Grey had such amazing chemistry, and the way their relationship blossoms is so beautiful. I couldn’t help but root for them despite the fact that it was not an easy path. I think the best thing about books that are a little bit heavier is they become some of my most celebrated HEAs.

Sorry if this review is a little all over the place, but I guess then it matches my emotions while reading it. If you're up for a great romance with some depth, I highly suggest this book.