I can't believe that this is Ava Wilder's debut! There's so much about this book to love and it makes me excited to look forward to her future books.

The mood of this book can be summed up in one word: angst. And that's not a bad thing! I had forewarning from a friend but based on the cover I'd been expecting a lighter rom-com feel. This is so not a rom-com.

Grey and Ethan are just such great MCs from the beginning. Ethan is just surrounded by a cloud of grief that he can't pull himself out of, even 5 years after the death of his best friend. Grey has her own baggage stemming from her oh-so-Hollywood mother who controlled her child-star career and money for far too long. What I loved about them is that none of this was brushed aside - they were dealt with head on and Hollywood was not shiny and perfect. We got to see some of the many imperfections. I like messy characters and this author delivered.

The book also deals with serious addiction issues - Ethan cannot stop drinking and it gets worse and worse throughout the book. It's not hidden and is a major issue. I appreciated the way it was handled.

I loved the ending (no spoilers!) a whole lot but there is a part right before the ending that I wish was expanded a bit more so that we could have seen what happened more in depth there. But beyond that, I really loved this book.

CW: off page child abuse in the past, toxic parental relationships, off page death of friend, grief, alcohol and drug abuse, gross invasion of privacy

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
The synopsis of this book sounded interesting to me so I requested a copy to read.
Unfortunately, I have tried reading this book on 2 separate occasions and during this 2nd attempt, I have
decided to stop reading this book
and state that this book just wasn't for me.
I wish the author, publisher and all those promoting the book much success and connections with the right readers.

OTD: What's your favorite TV show?
My A: GREY'S ANATOMY (seasons 1-11) and SVU
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I'm not going to lie, I chose this book on NetGalley specifically for the cover. I love the amazing covers we've been getting with romance novels the last few years, and this is no exception! That being said, it wasn't my *favorite* book.
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I had to stop around 60% through and just skim around to see if things picked up or got better and I just couldn't get into this one. The two main characters have ZERO chemistry. It was almost a little buzzare when he told her he didn't have feelings for her and her immediate thought was something along the lines of... oh he SO wants me. The vibe between these two was just... Off. 🤷
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That being said, there's nothing bad about this book and I think plenty of people will really like it! There's some interesting topics tackled and sides of the celebrity life I think we normal people sometimes forget. The ending was nice, I just wish it'd been a little longer so we could see more growth.
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BLURB:
Grey Brooks is on a mission to keep her career afloat now that the end of her long-running teen soap 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... faking 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, his struggles with drinking, and his grief over the death of his longtime creative partner and best friend, he's 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?

Grey and Ethan are both actors who need a boost to help them get back into the spotlight. Obviously, the solution that their PR agent comes up with is that they have a fake relationship! Get some pictures taken of her going into his house at night and leaving in the morning, go on a couple dates, a red carpet visit, and then break up after six months or so and move on with life!

Of course, that's not exactly how things turn out. The two both end up developing feelings and neither of them are happy about it.

I absolutely LOVED this book! Grey and Ethan were both well thought out characters who had great supporting characters around them. Fake dating is so much fun to me, but usually kind of hard to believe, but these two getting set up makes perfect sense to me and watching the highs and lows of their relationship made me want to root for both of them (even when they were making some really dumb choices).

The book also spends time discussing important issues! Ethan struggles with grief over the death of his best friend, alcoholism, the impact of an abusive parent in his childhood, and trying to co-parent with his ex-wife (who, just to be clear, is incredible. It's possible Nora is my favorite character). Grey experiences sexism, invasion of privacy from paparazzi, was cheated on by a co-star boyfriend in the past, and has a fraught relationship with her mother due to her being the "breadwinner" of the family from such a young age. They've both dealt with their fair share of trauma, and watching the two try and communicate and do what they can to be good for one another is honestly beautiful.

3.5 stars! I liked this book. I enjoyed the writing and thought it was good. I love fake dating so I was excited to read this. I liked the tension between Grey and Ethan leading up to them getting together, but I wish there was more of that. It was also a heavy book at times, so be aware of that and look up trigger warnings. If you want to read a book that’s not just a light, fluffy rom-com and deals with some difficult things, this is the one for you!

Such an amazing debut from Ava Wilder. This book has everything. It's sexy, heartbreakingly romantic, and touches on heavy things with such thoughtfulness and grace. I was rooting so hard for Grey's success and Ethan's sobriety. They fought so hard for their happy ending and I absolutely loved going on the journey.

Fake dating is one of the oddest romance tropes--and one of the few that actually works better when combined with a celebrity romance, because at least it is somewhat plausible. And this is one of the more plausible fake-dating celebrity romance stories I've seen. More akin to The View Was Exhausting than something like The Decoy Girlfriend by Lillie Vale or Lucky Star by Susannah Nix, this book follows the fake turned real romance between two celebrities, big-name star Ethan Atkins who has become a recluse since the death of his best friend, and up-and-comer teen drama star Grey Brooks. While neither is sold on the idea of fake dating, they each agree for their own reasons--including an undeniable attraction to each other.

This book gets dark at times, and trigger warning for substance abuse, stalking, and privacy violations, but it seems to more accurately portray the ups and downs and nitty gritty of Hollywood (but what do I know--I live a normal life on the East Coast). It's a bit more epic romance than romantic comedy, but I have no problem with that and rather found it a refreshing change of pace. The writing is beautiful, the characters complex, and the plot relatively logical. And, of course, there's steam, celebrities, and fake dating. What more could we want in a romance?

Thanks to Ballantine Books for my eARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

5 stars - 9/10

This book was wonderful. It was a fantastic debut novel from Ava Wilder and I hope she keeps writing because I will read everything.
It was way more than just fake dating for the sake of some good PR. Grey is looking for her next big thing, but after not working after her long running series ended she needs something to help elevate that. Her publicist suggests she starts a relationship with an A list actor, who has essentially been in hiding for the last 5 years and also needs some good attention, so they can really help each other out. With a role that could really change her life, she agrees and so does Ethan.
Ethan wants nothing to do with anyone. Ever since he best friend died in a car accident 5 years ago, Ethan’s basically been a shut in. He’s deeply depressed and grieving without really grieving. He keeps so much inside and he doesn’t have anyone to talk to, but he likes it that way.
The first half of the book is just them trying to figure the other out, and the tension was SO GOOD. Ethan is older and Grey watched and obsessed over him when she was a teenager - so really this is her dream come true. And Ethan clearly wants more than just their contractual relationship but he knows that he can’t have it nor does he deserve it. But the more Ethan’s true self comes out the more she realizes that he has a lot more going on than he’d like anyone to know.
There was a lot of depth in this story - depression, grief, alcoholism, the result of child acting, cheating and now NOT glamorous Hollywood can really be. I thought it was all written well. It was clear that Ethan was struggling but for a while, when things were good with Grey, so was he until he had to really deal with his issues. And Grey was trying to hard to help him the whole time, but without him wanting her help it was impossible. And Grey had to realize that.


Thank you so much to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for this ARC in exchange for an honest review! It comes out June 14, and I cannot wait for everyone to read it!

I’ll post this to my Instagram ARC highlights which is always available. I’ll post it on the release date of June 14, and add that link as soon as possible. It is also available on goodreads, Storygraph and BookBub, which is also linked.

Love, struggles amd Hollywood drama. I enjoyed reading Grey and Ethans story. Young actress meets childhood Hollywood crush in an unexpected way. Navigating boundaries and trust limitations. I felt the author did a great job addressing a few struggles between the couple and showing a more realistic approach towards one of their biggest hurdles.

This was so boring. The characters had no chemistry. The dude had a ~tragic backstory~ (sorta?) and the woman had the personality of a cardboard cutout. It was just so...mediocre.

3 ★

“You were wrong. It’s you. It’s always been you.”

¿Un libro que habla sobre una relación falsa entre 2 estrellas de Hollywood? Obvio que lo voy a leer.

Para poder mantener su carrera a flote, Grey Brooks es convencida por su publicista a estar en una relación falsa con Ethan Atkins, la superestrella que por un fatídico accidente lo pierde todo. Pero, conforme van pasando más tiempo juntos, descubren que quizás la relación no sea tan falsa.

La verdad que la primera mitad del libro estuvo interesante y bien desarrollada. Sin embargo, el drama de la vida de Ethan consume demasiado la otra mitad del libro y hace que la trama se sienta repetitiva y cansina. Además, que el desarrollo del personaje no toma un buen rumbo, se vuelve un poco tóxico consigo mismo y destructor.

Felizmente, quien salva el libro es Grey, el personaje me gustó bastante, pero me hubiera gustado que la autora se centrara un poco más en ella que en Ethan, porque en sí muchas cosas a ella no le pasan y hasta un punto la sentí aburrida. Es un personaje que sabe lo que quiere, sí me hubiera gustado que hablen de la relación con su madre, ya que sentí que no cerró completamente ese aspecto de su vida y solo se dedicó a ser el soporte de Ethan.

Pero bueno, ha sido una lectura entretenida y me ha gustado, hubo algunas escenas interesantes que no vi venir, pero que suelen pasar en Hollywood. Creo que este libro lo podrían leer si les gustó cualquier libro de Christina Lauren.

Don’t let this cute cover convince you this is a light rom-com. This thing was heavy. We had alcoholism, unwilling publication of private photos, a deep depression spiral, and just a whole bunch of pain.

Overall, I enjoyed it. Their chemistry was super hot especially since it started from an agreement in a PR office. I was proud of Grey the entire book for standing up for herself no matter who was dumping on her.

Her career was wildly important to her but she managed to find and maintain important female friendships that weren’t related to the main love storyline and I really liked that. I don’t feel like some books I’ve read recently would pass the Bechdel test. This did with flying colors.

Pub date: 6/14/2022

Thank you to Netgalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are my own.

How To Fake It In Hollywood
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Romance
Format: Kindle eBook
Date Published: 6/14/22
Author: Ava Wilder
Publisher: Dell
Pages: 368
Goodreads Rating: 4.14

TW ⚠️: Child Star Molestation, Addiction/Alcoholism, Grief, Loss of a loved one, divorce, and references abuse as a child.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dell for providing a digital copy of the book for me to read in exchange for my honest opinion.

Synopsis: With Grey Brooks life-changing role on the line, she's finally desperate enough to agree to her publicist's scheme... faking a love affair with a disgraced Hollywood heartthrob who needs the publicity, but for very different reasons. Between Ethan Atkins high-profile divorce, his struggles with drinking, and his grief over the death of his longtime creative partner and best friend, he's slowly let himself fade into the background. 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.

My Thoughts: With the cover and synopsis, I was expecting a light rom-com, but this was more of Women’s Fiction, which I also like very much. The characters are well developed and have depth, tragic problems that they have to cope with, emotional, chemistry, and insecurities that are absolutely relatable. The author’s writing was complex, creative, and emotional. The author did a good job at describing the scenes, I felt I was there with Grey and Ethan. I tend to like fake dating trope, so this was right up my ally. Overall, this was a enjoyable read, even with the heavy trigger warnings. I enjoyed the book and would read more by the author.

4.5 stars

Do I dare make this hot take and say that this is my favorite debut romance since The Love Hypothesis?

I think I do.

My friends, I started this book at 10am while embarking on a road trip and finished it by the time I reached my destination at 4pm. I couldn't stop reading it! It was steamy, it was heartbreaking, and it gave me those Hollywood feels. I must say that it was definitely heavier than the cartoon cover led me to admit with alcoholism and the loss of a loved one playing a huge part in the narrative, but I think that it lent a wonderfully rendered emotional edge to the story. Honestly, the one thing that I think would have made this better for me was just one more chapter from the hero's perspective to round out the lead-up to the HEA.

All I have to say to Ava Wilder is...more, please!

Thank you to NetGalley and Dell for an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review!

In the wake of Elissa Sussman's Funny You Should Ask, HTFIIH will be perfect for fans dying for the next proto-Hollywood romance. This book lively, witty, and deeply concerned with addiction, grief, and family dynamics. It is not superficial as the name might suggest, but ellabortive, engaging, enjoyable, and generally gorgeous. Aside from the clean writing, stunning and revealing imagery, and perfect plot, this book houses a bright cast that could easily walk in the flesh on the red carpet. Timely, effective, and vulnerable—this book is headed straight for the big screen.

4 stars. How to Fake it in Hollywood is a fake relationship to lovers romance but it isn’t trite or routine. Ethan is a famous movie star whose career and drinking spirals after his best friend and co-star/collaborator dies in a car accident after a night of drinking. Grey has been working in the entertainment business since childhood but can’t seem to make it big. That’s when their publicist decides that a fake relationship might help both of their careers.
What I loved about this book: both characters were well rounded with strengths and flaws. Ethan self-medicates with alcohol to numb his guilt which causes more self-loathing. Grey has a hard time trusting people and finding her voice at times. However the book was funny and cute at times too.
I just reviewed How to Fake It in Hollywood by Ava Wilder. #HowtoFakeItinHollywood #NetGalley

How to Fake it in Hollywood is a terrific debut by Ava Wilder, and is much more than your typical romance book. What I thought was going to be just a fun story on fake dating between two celebrities trying to make their star status shine brighter, was much more. As a content warning, the book shows the downsides of putting your life on display for everyone to see, and how the characters struggled with grief, alcoholism, and harassment.

It was a great slow burn romance with great banter, between Grey and Ethan when they agreed to enter into a fake relationship and Ethan did everything in his power to keep Grey at arms length. The story alternates between both Grey and Ethan's perspective and I loved seeing it from both sides and knowing what the other was thinking.

Grey and Ethan are both characters who are struggling in their own ways and both learn throughout the book how to lean on others for support. Grey is used to shutting people out when things don't go her way and Ethan turns to alcohol to escape the trauma of his best friend's death years ago. As their relationship progresses, they both try to help the other as much as they can and I really enjoyed the growth journey that each character went on.

Fake dating and famous people, what more could I ask for!!! As someone who’s favorite pastimes include reading rom coms and listening to celebrity/pop culture podcasts, this book was made for me!

I loved how realistic the Hollywood elements of this book seemed. From Grey’s backstory as a mildly successful child star to a young woman trying to break out from her role in a teen drama to Ethan’s struggles with grief and alcohol, it felt very familiar and easy to understand. The character growth for both of them throughout the novel was strong and the chemistry between the two of them was palpable. The push and pull dynamic of their banter, especially at the beginning, is enticing and keeps you invested in their relationship.

The supporting characters are also fully developed and work well in the story. I enjoyed the friendship between Grey/Kamilah and the coparenting dynamic of Ethan/Nora. While the romance is allowed to flourish throughout the story, the author also tackles tough issues of grief/trauma, complexities of family relationships, career worries, and alcoholism.

All in all, I would thoroughly recommend this book. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for access to this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a great debut novel that I was so excited about as I’ve been hearing raving reviews.
I knew from the beginning that I was going to enjoy this book. First of all, it revolves around two celebrities which are always fun to read about. For the first half of the book it your typical fake dating rom com. I was able to quickly appreciate the characters and loved their banter back and forth. Then the book does dive deep into grief and alcoholism. While the mood of the book changes, it continued to keep me engaged and stay connected with the characters.
As someone who enjoys hearing about the lives of celebrities I really enjoyed this book. I am so excited to see what else this author comes out with.

I was expecting a pretty lighthearted book based on the cover and synopsis as well as the comp titles. What I got was something different than that. This book tackles issues (such as alcoholism, fatphobia, and death) in the overarching plot of the story. This book is a fake dating book – but they also do have an age gap, if that makes anyone uncomfortable.

I enjoyed the writing style of this book as well as the pace. To me it read easily and with interest. Sometimes you get books that are hard to get through because of the writing style, but I quite enjoyed it. The style did feel light and airy, despite the fact that it dealt with some darker topics.

There is quite a bit of will they won’t they in this book. At times I felt that there wasn’t chemistry between them, and at other times I did. I think that was partially because the characters themselves were trying to resist the romance between them. And then sometimes they just lacked chemistry together. I liked the banter Grey and Ethan had, I thought it was amusing at times. At others I felt it was a little forced.

This book has some lighthearted moments, but it is a very angsty book. This isn’t a light fluffy book – but it still works. I don’t want people to go into this book unprepared; this is not one of your beach reads or rom-coms or light hearted, it is a much more intense romance.

As far as being angsty goes; there are some scenes in this book that are just frustrating. I get that there are supposed to be obstacles, yet at times I felt like it was drawn out unnecessarily.

I did like some of the side characters though. I enjoyed Nora and her relationship with Ethan, as well as Renata’s relationship with Grey. I liked seeing the differences between Ethan’s relationships vs the relationships that Grey has.

The book is still good though. It flows well and tackles sensitive topics accordingly. I wasn’t as invested in this book as I wanted to be. At 56% I was wondering what else the author was going to throw at them – they’d hit obstacles, overcome them, and then???? More obstacles! I am not good with super angsty reads, and this one definitely was on the fence of being too angsty.

In the end, I think the resolution was good. Overall, I’m not quite sure how I feel about this book. I wasn’t expecting it to be as angsty as it was.

This book was 3.5 stars for me.