I love reading about fictional people in Hollywood, and fake dating is one of my favorite tropes, so I was excited to read this one, but it fell a little short. I think the story was good and I enjoyed most of the plot points, however I found both of the main characters to be a bit annoying and childish. I wish that there was more character development from them. I also wish that there was just more lighthearted romance between the main characters as a lot of the plot was very heavy. Overall, it was an enjoyable read, but I wouldn’t be eager to recommend it.

I absolutely loved this book! It’s the story of Grey Brooks, a modestly successful actress, who is set up with Ethan Atkins, an A list actor who has been out of the spotlight for several years after the tragic death of his childhood best friend and collaborator. Their relationship starts as a PR stunt but evolves into something more. Both characters have issues from their past that create barriers to their budding relationship. I was extremely invested in the characters and the author did a wonderful job of creating multidimensional, complicated characters. Highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and Ava Wilder for the opportunity to read How to Fake It in Hollywood ARC!

I don't know why I expected a rom-com here, but I absolutely loved how this book kept me on my toes and played with my emotions. Fake dating, is one of my favorite tropes and this book did it so well! This was my first Ava Wilder book, and it definitely makes me want to read more!

This book is about established tv actress Grey Brooks trying to elevate her career after the end of her tv series by entering a fake relationship with the older and very reclusive A-lister Ethan Atkins. The PR stunt is meant to help Grey secure a big movie role while also bringing Ethan back to the public eye after years away due to the death of a close friend. I really enjoyed this book. Both characters are complex and flawed. Ethan struggles with alcohol use and trying to build a relationship with his kids. Grey has a complicated relationship with her mother and is trying to find her place in the acting world. Ethan and Grey are attracted to each other and eventually the fake relationship inadvertently turns in to a real one that includes some spicy romantic scenes. I didn’t give a full five stars because I felt the buildup of the romance leaned more towards lust than love, which is not my cup of tea. Overall, I recommend this book and will read more from Ava Wilder.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC! All opinions are my own.

I would like to thank Random House Publishing Group-Ballentine and Net Galley for the chance to read this ARC. I love to read about movies and Hollywood and this novel was just to my taste.
Ethan Atkins had come to Hollywood with his best friend Sam Tanner. They made an award winning movie together, Ethan married a beautiful actress and had 2 children. His world seemed perfect. Then Sam died, Ethan's marriage fell apart, he began to drink more and more and then his career evaporated.
Grey Brooks was a child actress who starred in a teen soap. She had a costar boyfriend.Both fame and love were fleeting. She and her best friend are trying to get a movie script made, but no one will take a chance on her.
Ethan and Grey's agents/publicists convince them to have a pretend relationship. It will get them seen, in the press, and hopefully jumpstart( restart) their careers. What could go wrong?
This is a well written book. The characters are not just one note actor types, but complex people with twisty lives and back stories. It is written against the back drop of Hollywood, fickle fleeting fame, social media and well meaning friends. I cared about the characters and their lives. I would have liked to know more about some of the lesser characters. I really wanted to know more about Sam's death, and I felt like there was more to Grey's family backstory that needed to be shared.Overall, this book was well written and highly enjoyable.

While this book is advertised for fans of Beach Read and The Unhoneymooners, I don't think it's an accurate comparison. I loved the concept of the book and it does start off light, but it quickly takes on heavy topics and doesn't really feel like a rom com. The initial attraction between Ethan and Grey makes sense, but we never really get any idea of why there's anything more meaningful between them. They flirt but hardly know anything about each other beyond the surface but they're madly in love. The author does too good of a job making Ethan incredibly unlikeable and I wasn't really rooting for them as a couple - Grey deserved so much better. Overall, it was a very easy book to read but definitely not light as advertised and not a couple that most will want to cheer for.

I thought this was going to be a light fake dating romance, but it was actually quite heavy. Some heavy topics like alcoholism were covered. This was well done, but wrapped up a little too neatly for me. My other dislike was that there was not a lot of chemistry between gray and ethan for most of the book. Keeping those things in mind, it was still an enjoyable book.

. CW: alcoholism, drug use, brief mention of history of childhood domestic abuse.

Fake relationships are my favorite trope. A book with the word “fake” in it? Auto-read.

My fave trope + the blurb + the cover= expectation of a light,breezy,funny banter filled romcom.

That is not this book. It feels more Women’s Fiction than romcom/romance, even though it has a romance at the center of the plot and a HFN (maybe it’s an HEA, but felt more HFN to me).

Things I liked:

The beginning chapter did suck me into the story.
The pacing felt right and the writing was good.
I liked that Grey (heroine) has a solid relationship with her BFF, and that she develops a friendship with Ethan’s ex-wife.
I like that the ex-wife isn’t a catty b*tch.

I wasn’t fond of:

The lack of snappy, fun banter.
The fact a heavy issue like alcoholism is implied and then neatly wrapped up off page and at 90% of the way through the book.
Two conflicts that drive the couple apart. Too much angst for what I was expecting.
These two characters were a hot mess with issues that needed therapy. The fact all the wrestling with the clouds of doom that had been over the whole book happened off page and at the end- felt like glossing over the SIXTEEN month time jump.

Also- it felt like Grey went from in awe of Ethan (who’s 11 years her senior and a childhood crush), to just horny for him, to in love with him in a toxic way that left me feeling something was missing in their relationship arc that I cannot put my finger on.

If what you want is a light, funny, fake relationship beach read- skip this.

#HowToFakeItInHollywood

4.5 stars

What a debut! Character growth being the forefront—this was soo much more than just a romance. Tackling alcoholism to drown out grief and intrusive, diminishing, and insecure thoughts along the lines of always letting people down and being a disappointment. Grey and Ethan were a spark of instant connection. No insta love though, this was very much slow-burning with gripping sexual tension. A marvelous and moving piece of work from Wilder!

Grey is a 27-year-old just out of work actress still working on her big break. Currently jobless and never leaving her couch for social interaction, she gets set up for the fake dating publicity stunt with the older and out of work for five years, big show-stopping star of her teenage years, Ethan. He, however, not necessarily desiring coming out of grief-stricken, career & marriage ending hideout. But needing it in the hopes to finish a project he and his best friend Sam, had been working on before he tragically passed which catapulted Ethan's life into chaos and addiction. Connection was undeniable and the journey only starts there before we are thrown into a whirlwind.

Trigger Warning:
Addiction (mainly alcohol-speaks of other), SA, harassment, tragic death/grief

This book truly surprised me with just how much I enjoyed it. The characters, both the main characters and side characters, were so well developed and likeable. The book also managed to balance several fun tropes (fake dating, slight age-gap, forced proximity, etc.) with some heavier topics (addiction, depression, loss, divorce, etc.) in a tasteful, seamless way.

Thank you to the publisher for an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was so much more than a romance and I honestly love that. While I enjoyed the romantic aspect of Grey and Ethan's relationship, their personal growth was what truly sold me on this story.

Watching Ethan struggle through his grief by drowning himself in alcohol made me sympathetic. It could also be me coming off of a Euphoria (the T.V. show) high, but I was able to see things from his perspective and could be more subjective about the situation. I never once felt taken out of this book. Every moment felt real.

Grey's character was great to compliment Ethan's, but she was also just as complex. I loved that we got to see healthy female friendships, especially when it came to Ethan's ex, Nora and Grey. Not to mention Andromeda using they/their pronouns. That was lovely to see.

There is nothing wrong with this book in my eyes. I had so much fun reading this and connecting with the characters. The growth each character goes through was written so well. This was my first Ava Wilder book, but it certainly won't be my last.

TW/CW: addiction, SA, death, grief, harassment,

Tropes: fake dating, age gap, dilf, celeb romance

⭐️⭐️.5/5 stars (3 stars rounded up)
Steam: 🥵🥵

Overall, it was a decent read. After seeing the cover and synopsis, I was expecting a light-hearted rom com, but received angst-filled drama. The romance fell flat for me and the chemistry between the main characters was lacking. I loved the diversity of the characters and actually would’ve loved if the side characters were fleshed out more. Also, it has the angsty miscommunication trope which I abhor so that took away from me liking some of it. The first 85% of the book was very slow burn, resulting in a very abrupt ending. I was disappointed in the way the book dealt with grief and alcoholism. .

I think it should’ve been categorized as something other than romance and allow it wasn’t my favorite. Ava Wilder’s writing was descriptive and I did find myself laughing at the dry humor. I will look out for other reads from her.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for sharing this book in exchange for my honest review!

2.5 Stars, rounded up.

I have to admit that this isn't my usual genre to reach for, but it sounded like a fun and lighthearted quick read, which is just what I was in the mood for. Unfortunately, what I got wasn't at all what I expected, and it just didn't hit the mark for me.

How to Fake It in Hollywood was much darker and heavier than I expected, and though the fake relationship aspect was a lot of fun at the beginning, it quickly turned into...I'm not even sure how to describe it. It just felt very slow for awhile, and then the chemistry kind of fizzled into something weird that then felt really rushed and unrealistic towards the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read/review early.

Fake Dating. Hollywood romance. Age gap. Childhood crush. Only one bed. This book ticks all my boxes and more.

I absolutely LOVED this book. I've read a lot of fake dating stories recently, and this one stood out by far.

I loved Grey Brooks from page one. She felt so very real, and instantly felt like someone I'd known my whole life and would want to be best friends with. I loved how MESSY Ethan was. Wilder didn't shy away from showing his struggles with addiction, whilst also making him a very sympathetic character. I really appreciated the way the ups and downs of what it's like to love someone with addiction was handled in Grey's POV as well. It would have been too easy to gloss over Ethan's alcoholism or make Grey have zero backbone, but Wilder handled it perfectly, in my opinion. I was rooting for each of them as individuals (both had full lives outside of each other) and as a couple. I truly felt like their HEA was not only earned, but that their relationship would last beyond the final page.

Anxiously awaiting to see what Wilder writes next!

I think I might love all Hollywood romances filled with celebrity culture and fake dating. This was the first time in a while that I didn't just tolerate the female main character in a romance book but liked her. Grey was easy to like and that alone made reading this that much more enjoyable. I also really loved the mixture of their POVs throughout instead of switching every chapter, it felt more natural.

This has more debts than seemingly a book about Hollywood and romance would. About an actor and a star - a romance that starts out as a stunt and turns into something unexpected. I love Hollywood stories

3.5
this was a fun read overall. i expected more and they kinda lacked chemistry sometimes but the smut was good !! hadn’t read a hollywood romance in so long and it brought back romcom memories

Eek! I love all things pop and celebrity culture so when I read the blurb about this book I was so excited! Seeing the behind the scenes of a PR relationship?! YES PLEASE. That grows into more?! SIGN ME UP.

In the beginning Grey Brooks hasn’t had any large acting roles since the final season of a popular television series she was in and is up to audition for the biggest female role in an upcoming fantasy trilogy.

Ethan Atkins is an A-lister who hasn’t worked in a few years who could use a bump in public profile, so their shared publicist suggests that together Ethan and Brooks enter into a PR relationship contract.

There’s a lot of really good stuff in here, the PR relationship growing into more, Grey’s relationship with her BFF, Kamilah and some sweet and spicy moments.

However, the majority of this book surrounds Ethan’s struggle with addiction (alcoholism). Though not what I was expecting from this book, I felt that it was handled in an incredibly well manner. It showed the raw impact loving someone with an addiction can do to themselves and everyone around them and that ultimately nothing can “save” them unless they choose to do so themselves and put in the work.

A really worthwhile read, five stars.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I love a celebrity romance, and this one definitely lived up to expectations. It’s sweet, very sexy, has a lot of substance (beyond the romance) and if you love a slow burn fake dating, this is the book you want.

This is a little aside, but I’m pretty sure Ava Wilder reads Deux Moi, and if you’re a DM fan, you will know exactly what I mean when you read it. Enjoy 😘

This book follows Grey, a talented Hollywood starlet, and Ethan, a reclusive A- lister, as they enter into a fake dating situation to help benefit them both.
This was to me not a romcom but more of an angsty drama romance and I actually loved that! I love angst and actualy real life struggles portrayed so well in books! Happy endings aren’t always easily achieved and I felt like this book showed that! We had fake dating, age gap and famous tropes that were done so well! I enjoyed that the author took care with Ethan and showed his struggles and his journey. I didn’t always connect well with the characters and I think the main reason was it was written in 3rd person and soemtimes it was hard to determine whose POV you were getting. But overall a great story that I would recommend and I will read more from this author!
Thank you NetGalley for this advance copy!