I went into reading this with a super high expectation but unfortunately, this book did not give me the feels I wished for! It was an enjoyable read nonetheless, gave us a very real peek into the life of stars, being followed by the media, not having the privacy and enough boundaries.

Grey was adorable, but a bit naïve, although she has grown by the end of the story and stood up for herself.
Mr. Famous Actor Whose Life Is In Ruins (wow this was long), was a good example for what the inner unresolved traumas and regret can cause and give an upside down twist to your life. Their relationship was real and transparent to the reader (age gap romance hello there!).

All in all, this book has dealt with serious topics, was enjoyable, a bit monotonous in the middle, and the ending was really well executed!

Thank you so much PRH International and Netgalley for the free egalley!

Thanks NetGalley and Dell Books/Ballantine for the gifted eARC!

Read if you like:
*romance with depth
*books set in Hollywood
*fake dating

How to Fake it in Hollywood was a fun, mostly light-hearted romance about a talented Hollywood starlet and a reclusive A-lister that enter into a fake relationship to better their respective careers. Both of the MCs in this book have been through some stuff and it was portrayed well. There was a lot of emotional depth while still feeling like a pretty light read. I’m finding that I enjoy the fake dating trope— sometimes it feels too much like insta love but it didn’t here. This book has a bit of steam, but it’s not over the top. I found this debut to be a very enjoyable read/listen. I recommend it and will definitely be picking up future books from this author!

If you loved A Star is Born, get ready for How to Fake It in Hollywood!

With all the elements you need for a great dramady, HTFIIH brings the heartache and hope you look for when you're only laughing to keep from crying. I'll admit, I wasn't ready for it. I went into this thinking it would be along the lines of a Tessa Bailey book (although I couldn't tell you why) and got hit with a bit more reality/hardship than my poor heart wanted. But I kept reading. And reading, and reading, until I finished this book in a little more than a day. It was good.

Just be ready to delve into what it means to love someone who is deeply flawed while trying to put yourself first and still being able to hold onto hope.

I loved the first 1/3 of this book, but the last 2/3 were not what I was expecting. This is sold as a fake dating story set in Hollywood, but most of the book focuses on Grey and Ethan's real relationship and the different ways they both self-sabotage it. There was so much more drama and darkness than the cover and blurb would lead you to believe.

I do think it handled the topics (grief, alcoholism) relatively well, but I never was really rooting for their relationship to succeed. The physical chemistry was there, but not anything else that makes a relationship work.

Overall, there was nothing glaringly wrong with this, and if I had picked it up when I was looking for a more serious romance, I likely would have enjoyed it more, so it gets 3/5 from me.

The fake dating trope is a fave of mine and I enjoyed the premise of this one with the peak into a fake Hollywood relationship. I enjoyed the dual POV. I think I liked Ethan better than Grey character wise, however I felt there were some things with Ethan that could have been handled better (aka his alcohol abuse). Overall this was an ok read, nothing to rave about for me. I'd still try another book by Ava Wilder though!

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballentine Books for this eARC.

Overall this book didn't keep my attention. It was a little cheesy and predictable. I didn't feel attached to either character; wasn't rooting for them at all. My favorite was the ex wife.

3.5☆

Thank you for PRH International for providing a free copy for review.

Tropes: fake dating, forced proximity, grumpy and sunshine

I have rather mixed feelings about this book, because on one side I enjoyed it a lot, flew through it within 2 days, but on the other hand I often caught myself wanting to skip through several pages. Going into this book I expected an easy-breezy rom-com type of a book, but to my surprise it was so much more. It does discuss some heavier topics, like death of a loved one, alcoholism, definitely check trigger warning before reading it. Grey and Ethan were really likeable characters and I loved the chemistry between them, however I often found myself too annoyed about Ethan's behaviour and his environment allowing him to behave that way. I understand he went through a lot but still, I just couldn't deal with it at some point and wanted to yell at him.

All in all I enjoyed this book, I just felt like towards the end I ended up not enjoying the story as much as in the beginning and caught myself wanting to skip several pages and just get to the end. I am really excited however for what Ava Wilder is writing next, because this book was somehow giving me similar feels to an Emily Henry book and I definitely need more of those in my life.

The title and blurb make you believe you’re getting a light fluffy fun hearted fake to real romance. You are, but there is much more depth to this story than alone. Real world issues that may trigger some (addiction, child abuse, mental health), but these are a part of the storyline, not at all gratuitous and written about realistically with respect. Great characters, a lot of witty banter, some heartbreak, a lot of will they won’t they, a lot of humor and wonderful writing all make for a great read.

This was a Bookstagram Darling, but I really didn’t enjoy it. The story is fine, the writing is fine….but I didn’t like the characters. The story was more uncomfortable than romantic. I wanted Grey to RUN from this dysfunction. I never felt swooned by their love, only wary. If you like a really angsty romance, then give it a try. But even so, I just didn’t work for me.

Something about the second half of this book didn't work for me even though I enjoyed the first half. This book was trying to be too many things and it became muddled.

Thank you so much @RandomHouse & @NetGalley for giving me this eARC in exchange for my honest and unbiased review (Release Date | 14 June 2022)

SYNOPSIS | Grey has been an actress since she was 8 years old, however it's been nearly one year since her last role & she frustratingly doesn't have anything else lined up. Ethan is an established actor who took a break after the death of his best friend & has been struggling with the associated grief. In an effort to boost both of their careers their publicists propose a PR relationship.

WHAT I LIKED:
- the discussion around the invasion of privacy, addiction & recovery as well as the downsides of being famous
- the fact we got a dual POV

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
- the romance was too insta-love for my liking
- constant miscommunication throughout (aka my least favourite romance trope)
- Ethan's recovery mostly happened off-page & felt like it was kinda brushed off & rushed

It took me a while to get into the rhythm of the story. At first, I felt the tone was off-putting and covered the characters from too far a distance, but things eventually got into a better groove. There were some lovely, truthful turns of phrases that clearly took the author time to polish and I appreciated the care she put into her debut novel. There are plenty of times when you're thinking this story that becomes a co-dependent romance will end badly, but thankfully we get to a fair resolution.

4.5 ⭐️
I really really REALLY liked this book. Fake dating is my favorite trope, and it was refreshing to read one that wasn’t all sunshine and roses. I really loved Grey, and thought really related for her desire to make the most out of an extremely difficult situation. My only complaint was the ending was a little rushed, but I did like the resolution.

Oh, the angst.

This one was full of it. It's an angst-ridden emotional ride into the darker side of Hollywood.

This was definitely a fun read! I really enjoyed the romance between Grey and Ethan, but the pacing felt a bit off to me. I think I was just expecting a bit more from this one, but I still had a good time. Overall, I gave it 3.5 stars.

I absolutely adored Ethan and Grey. The grumpy/sunshine trope is my absolute favorite. I love the major turn around Ethan's character made and the "not so obvious" happily ever after we were given. Very quick and satisfying read. 4.5/5

7 Sexy and Sweet "Bed First, Feelings Later" Romances

How to Fake It in Hollywood by Ava Wilder

However much we all cynically believe that most Hollywood romances are more likely business arrangements to make each star sparkle for the paparazzi, you have to assume that the celebrities involved are at least baseline attracted to each other, if they’re going to spend so many candlelit dinners and long beach walks together. But what’s especially fun about Ava Wilder’s fake-dating-a-movie-star contemporary romance is that both parties are hopelessly horny for each other—or, at least, idealized versions of each other.

Grey Brooks literally grew up with a poster of Ethan Atkins on her wall in his heartthrob phase; the fact that the man her publicist pairs her up with is divorced, approaching middle age, and sorely in need of a career comeback only increases the attraction, like seeing the pretty boy roughed up by time and misfortune. (His issues with alcohol, however, keep her crush from being too starry-eyed.) And Ethan, used to the dissonance between his idolized persona and his current self, is intrigued by Grey’s passion to advance in her own career beyond a teen primetime-soap star. The sexual tension stretches taut as they keep challenging themselves to be authentic (even as they’re putting on a show for everyone else), culminating in a scene of mutual letting-off-steam that brings together all of these themes—public versus private, performance versus reality—superbly. And then things really get real.

Grey Brooks was the star of a long-running teen TV show that has ended. Now she's unsuccessfully trying to keep her career up and running. With a life-changing role on the line, her publicist suggests she fake date another Hollywood star so they both can get the needed publicity.

Enter Ethan Atkins. After a very public divorce, his struggle with drinking, and the death of his best friend he just wants to be left alone. If Ethan is going to clean up his reputation and get back into the spotlight he needs to fake date Grey, no matter how badly he doesn't want to.

Grey and Ethan use their acting skills to fool the public into thinking they have a picture perfect relationship that is anything but perfect behind the cameras. But soon that chemistry they are faking for the cameras starts to feel real. Will they be able to put their past behind them and make their fake relationship something more?

How To Fake It In Hollywood was not the lighthearted romcom that I thought it was going to be. This book delved into the not so bright side of Hollywood romances. Both Grey and Ethan went into their "relationship" with their own struggles and insecurities from their pasts. Their love story wasn't always butterflies and rainbows, but it was raw and real. Ava Wilder did an amazing job writing about some very touchy topics that some readers may find triggering. I really enjoyed this book because it showed us the true reality of relationships and what we will do for the people we love.

Give it all the stars!!! A perfectly paced, non-schlocky romance. It's a book I know I will revisit in the future and enjoy it just as thoroughly on the reread.

This was a cute, delightful book. Classic story of two Hollywood stars trying to rehab their images, so they agree to fake date for the good publicity. Of course, things go haywire when they discover that they have more in common than they thought. A really good light end of summer read!