Famous for a Living is an engaging novel with a very convicting storyline about society’s obsessive use of social media and encourages the reader to step away from their phones and enjoy nature and the people in their lives. Cat is a social media influencer who experiences being cancelled in NYC and flees to Montana to help establish a social media presence for Kannery Park where her uncle works. I enjoyed her time in Montana and how she connected with authentic people and experienced small town living. The cast of characters were all unique and the author did a wonderful job developing them and their relationships together. If she were to do a series I would like to see Mina, Jax, Kevin to get their own stories. The best part of the book was how it made me evaluate my phone use and am I present with the people in my life. The romance was sweet but not fully developed. I personally felt like the romance was rushed along in the second half of the book and therefore she wrote an epilogue to tie it up neatly.

Cat is a content creator who needs to get away from New York when it’s discovered that her business partner has been involved in illegal activities… and she’s implicated as well. So she goes to stay with her uncle, the park ranger, for awhile and help him with the park’s social media.

While there she meets quirky coworkers and gets an amazing(ly involved) roommate. Mina made me laugh out loud. And she meets another park ranger, Zaiah, who has some opinions on her social media lifestyle and isn’t sure she’s cut out for this outdoorsy lifestyle.

Really enjoyed this book! Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. Watch for Famous for a Living to come out May 16, 2023.

this was a cute book and a fun read, I really enjoyed it!

thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for an advanced copy of this book!

This was a cute book. The storyline, the characters, all good. I guess I was just hoping for a bit more romance, and more spice! This aspect was lacking a bit for me, but other than that, I did enjoy this book. I would rate 3.5 stars/5

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson - Fiction for the ARC of this book in exchange for a honest review.

This book is very fun and wholesome (truly, if you are not a spicy book read this book is for you!). The influencer storyline is really popular right now so I was kind of expecting the story to feel a little stale but this is the first book that really addressed “social media addiction” in a very non-threatening way so it was interesting.

The book doesn’t get super deep with the characters relationship. This is considered “women’s fiction” so the story really focuses on Cats growth as a person than her relationship with Zaiah but she’s such a likeable character that I wasn’t disappointed.

This is a fun and easy read. You could easily devour this one in an afternoon.

Thank you to Thomas Nelson Fiction and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

What a fun book! It was an interesting story. And I loved the relationships between all the characters. It was a cute and easy book to read.

Thank you to Thomas Nelson Fiction and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

This rom-com novel dives into the life of heroine, Cat as she falls from grace in her profession as an influencer, and proceeds to move to Montana to rough it out in a national park where her Uncle works. There we meet a cast of park rangers and love interest, Zaiah, who is quite uncertain about Cat and the world of designer and city life that she comes from.

This novel explores important and interesting topics such as the dangers of social media, its climate, and the rise to fame that comes with pursuing social media as a profession. On top of this, there is a charming fictional national park and a cast of side characters to swoon over. The cast of characters and the sweet moments we see between them really built the story and made it hard to put down. This book definitely read much more like women's fiction, and the romance was minimal and focused towards the end of the book (last 25% or so). I think that it did a wonderful job at diving into the natural landscape of Montana and unpacking lots of serious topics which I enjoyed as the romance was a much smaller part than I expected. While I enjoyed the story overall, there were certain points when the transitions had me confused and it took me a moment to be caught up, but I think this could have been an error due to the printing of the book online. As mentioned, the romance felt like a small side plot at best, and that made it difficult to develop the romance when it got very little screen time. I think as a comedy and slice of life, women's novel this book would be perfectly marketed, but as a rom-com the lack of romance and chemistry let some of my hopes down.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson - FICTION for allowing me a copy of this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

“Famous for a Living” is a quaint romance novel about technology, it’s effects on people and what it means to be addicted to it.
Ferguson does an awesome job exploring real issues and character growth without sacrificing the vibes of the story.

Our main character Cat has created her entire success around social media and when her reputation is ruined through a false crime she must learn to go back to her roots. Those being in the middle of the woods, working for her uncle at a National Park.

Add gruff and stoic Zaiah, an outdoorsy man with personal aversion to technology tasked with helping Cat acclimate to her new life.

What could go wrong?

There were parts of this story I loved and some that were lacking like the romance starting at 70% of the book. However, this was still a cute story for an easy reads.

For this I rated this book 3.5 stars out of 5 (rounded up to 4)!

Cat Cranwell is a disgraced influencer who takes on a job as a social media coordinator for her uncle's national park. Our hero, Zaiah Smith is a park ranger and he is not a fan of social media. Although the two couldn't be more different, they come together to work to increase visitors to Kannery National Park becuase the park the small park is in danger of losing it's autonomy.

Cat needed to find out who she was off camera. Zaiah, unknowingly was on a journey to find out the same. Full of humor, rich supporting characters, snappy dialogue, and great description, Famous For a Living was a heartwarming and inspirational treat. I highly recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley for this free ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This is the second book I've given a try by this author and, unfortunately, both times I was disappointed. Admittedly, I forgot that I wasn't a huge fan of this author when I requested to read this, but it sounded like it had great potential and I'm always willing to try an author again because not every book will resonate with you. As it turns out, I just don't like the way this author crafts stories.

Much like Meet Me in the Margins, Famous for a Living doesn't FEEL like a romance novel. When I think of a romance novel, I think of, you know, the entire story revolving around a romance. Obviously there are other plot lines, but the general story is about a relationship. For some reason, this author...doesn't operate that way. You genuinely forget there's supposed to be a romance...and who is supposed to be involved in said romance. I just really don't like or understand this. It just feels like the author is trying to do too much.

I also just don't like the writing style. The short, clipped sentences really disrupt the flow of reading, which makes it a harder read than necessary.

I wasn't invested in the characters or the romance, and the story just wasn't strong enough to hold my attention long enough for it to be enjoyable.

Famous for a Living's adorable cover and the opposites attract trope grabbed my attention. The subplot about influencer culture and social media addiction are relevant and somewhat relatable to readers. I enjoyed reading the parts of the book that featured scenes from Montana, and the secondary characters are unique and well-written. Mina is hilarious!
For me, the writing style and convoluted plot distracted from the reading experience. There are big gaps in the novel's timeline, the opening chapters are confusing, and the transitions between scenes are not smooth. The author devotes significant portions of the story telling readers about events that have happened instead of drawing readers in and allowing those events to unfold in real time. Also, this book is marketed as a romance yet there' are only a few scenes devoted to the development of the romantic relationship. In my opinion, this novel would've been far more enjoyable if it had been written in third person with alternating points of view and focused on the character arcs of both the Cat and Zaiah. Then the happier-for-now conclusion might've been more plausible.
Thanks for the opportunity to read an early copy. This one isn't for me.

The first thing that grabbed me about this title was the cover - it's adorable! Something about it just really spoke to me. Romances aren't typically the first books that I gravitate to, but this one was surprisingly light and fun to read. The resolution was surprisingly satisfying - even with less than 10% of the book to go, I was preparing myself for an unhappy/unresolved ending, but the author found a way to pull it out in the end that felt realistic for both of the main characters. The quirky side characters were fun, and I could see this author expanding the universe to write future books centering some of them. I wished for a little more development of the relationship between Cat and her uncle, but that might have been a distraction. Overall, a solid 4 star read that I will be recommending to my romance readers, particularly the ones who like their romance more on the "clean" side.

3.5 ⭐️

If you like the found family trope, this book is for you because it has all the feels! The story isn’t just about Cat and Zaiah, but also about Cat’s growth and the challenges she has to face. As I said, it’s very cute because everyone in that small Montana town seems so genuine and there isn’t useless drama or gossip.

I also really liked how Cat was immediately accepted: no one held against her or discussed her problem and tarnished reputation.
Zaiah was the perfect book boyfriend and that’s why I would have liked more romantic scenes involving the main characters.

This book has just a single POV, Cat’s, but Zaiah’s love is shown through his gestures such as cooking a whole vegan crockpot just for Cat!

I love small-town romances and this one also focused on the town’s traditions! However, I felt like sometimes while going from one chapter to another scenes weren’t really finished and something was missing. I also felt like this book was less focuses on romance and more on Cat’s growth and her dealing with her obsession with social media.

I think my rating was a little bit influenced by the weird formatting on my kindle and I know there won’t be similar problems when buying the ebook.
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I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own

Good clean fun! This was witty and I giggled throughout. The characters are unique and interesting, written authentically with flaws and all. I feel like the plot skipped forward a bit and it came across as disjointed. Overall a quick, easy, fun read that didn't require a lot from me as a reader.

It took me a little while to become invested in Famous For A Living by @our_friendly_farmhouse, but once Cat got out to Kannery, I was all in! An endearing tale of starting over and really having nothing left to lose!
#ilovetoread

I was very intrigued by this book because of the cover. It really draws you in. The blurb didn’t sound half bad either! For the most part I liked this book. There were some things that could have been developed better though.

The book is told from one point-of-view and it comes from Cat Cranwell. She has been a big influencer until a partnership goes wrong and it seems someone close to her had something to do with it. It was such an interesting set-up in the first chapter. It had me wanting to continue on which doesn’t always happen in the first 5%.

Cat is always on her phone due to her job but also because that’s where everything is. It’s a relatable thing because it’s how we all are. One device takes over our life and what others think can really take a toll on us. I liked the vulnerability that Cat shared. It’s also a good reminder for our own life. There is so much more out there when we look away from our screen.

I did think that this book would have a bit more in the romance department though. There were hints eluding to some sparks between Cat and her love interest but their first date didn’t happen until well past the 50% mark. I love a good slow-burn but this was too slow for me.

Another issue I had with the book was that it felt like she learned a lot from being away from the media but when the chance to get right back into it happened she just went for it and her love interest kind of just went along with it after a bit of moping. I didn’t really see him being that supportive after his past relationship. I also wish that there would have been more about the whole lawsuit as well.

Overall, the book was good but it just needed a bit more.

dnf at 37% - unforch this isn't for me, but i would pick up future stuff by melissa ferguson!

so, i really liked meet me in the margins, i thought it was a really solid book and i'm still excited to see what ferguson does next, but famous for a living was not for me.

this is, of course, largely my own fault. i knew that the main character was going to be an influencer and i could deduce that the guy was going to be a stoic, lumberjack type. none of these things work for me, and it was foolish of me to think they would work because i liked an entirely different book by the same author.

so, the thing is, i hate influencer culture, and i don't think there is a way to make me feel sympathy for a main character who is an influencer. i don't hate lumberjacks, but i am soooo sick of stoic male leads. i don't CARE if they have a heart of gold or whatever. i like it when men SMILE, goddammit :(

so yeah, this is not for me. sorry. i hope this book finds it's audience <3

i was asked to put this in my review, but do you really think they would pay me to write THIS review - I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

thank you to netgalley, melissa ferguson, and thomas nelson for the arc <3

What a fun story to read! Cat Cranwell is famous for being famous. Today's sweetheart; tomorrow's villain! When her partner absconds with her partnership investment money, she takes a big fall for his deceit. To get away from all the negativity, she heads to the wilderness for time with her Uncle Terry. What she didn't count on was the menacingly cute Zaiah Hudson, who does not think highly of Cat's chosen profession. Can they put their differences aside to save Uncle Terry's National Park? Or will everything continue to fall apart for Cat?
I recommend this book for everyone!
I received an early copy of this book. My review is my opinion alone and I received nothing in return for it.

This book held such an accurate representation of today's Insta-age--much of which is the frantic need to know exactly how many people are engaging with your posts and following you. As an influencer, most of Cat's life has been about which "friends" can garner the best partnerships and deals. What are you supposed to do when everything you know and are familiar with is stripped away as scandal strikes?

The non-romantic relationships developed in the book are really great to see as Cat makes real, in-person friends at Kannery National Park, where her uncle works as a park ranger. It's refreshing as she takes a step away/back and just lives life. In those new experiences, however, she still uses her Instagram connections to help her real friends and family.

This is not a forget-my-entire-former-life book or even a book about self-discovery. It's about coming to value true friendship, camaraderie, and community. Even though the book explores some deeper themes, there's plenty of humor interwoven throughout.

I LOVED the "Instagram post" at the beginning of each chapter; it added such a fun dynamic to the book layout!

I really appreciated the fact that even though there was some romantic tension between Cat and Zaiah, they're not perpetually thinking about what it would be like to kiss the other (my personal pet peeve with romance books). They're coming to love/appreciate the other for the true person they are. While I do enjoy the immediate attraction, falling head-over-heels in love trope, there's something refreshing about discovering love with a close friend.

This is the first Melissa Ferguson book I've read and I'm so glad I discovered her! Many thanks to @netgalley for the ARC of this book. A positive review was not required; all thoughts and opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed Meet Me in the Margins, so I was excited to try Famous for a Living by Melissa Ferguson. This was an overall delightful read that also touched on a heavier topic - social media addiction. I loved the growth of the main character!
Cat Cranwell is a famous influencer living in NYC. When a partnership goes terribly wrong, Cat is basically cancelled. She goes to visit her Uncle who is a Park Ranger at Kannery National Park in Montana. I loved getting to know the characters who worked at the park office. I didn't feel too bad for Cat from her fall from grace at first, but was rooting for her the more I got to know her character. I'd say the romance was a smaller part of the book than I was expecting, and that was just fine!
I was not expecting this to go into the dangers of social media addiction, time spent scrolling, looking at your phone while driving. But I think it played a very important part of the story and love the challenge at the end to look at my screen time habits!
Definitely will read more by Melissa Ferguson!
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you, NetGalley for the ARC!