This book has been out for a bit! I needed to send in my review and I just haven’t! Thank you to netgalley.
This book was published at the start of summer. Great timing according to me.
I have a good time reading about their relationship. I liked the banter and the dialogue. It was a great read and will be a good read for the summer!

Famous For a Living by Melissa Ferguson is a wonderful women’s fiction novel. The idea for the book hooked me from the start. The characters themselves were intriguing in their idiosyncrasies. I love this author’s writing and this book is no exception. Beyond the sweet romance and funny scenarios, this book has a really important message for today’s social media obsessed society. I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher with no obligations. These opinions are entirely my own.

Cat Cranwell is a very popular influencer, who on her 30th birthday is launching a company with a friend. It does not go to plan and she goes in naively and is accused of Financial crimes and her business partner is in the wind. Her entire lively hood has gone up in flames, and a friend of hers suggests she lay low and go work for her uncle. Her Uncle is a park ranger at a National Park in Montana, and offers her a job to set up and run the Parks social media accounts. When she arrives Zaiah, the other park ranger is waiting for her at the airport and from the get go They get off on the wrong foot. She is very ill prepared for living in the isolated winter setting but she is determined to fit in. As time passes Zaiah may warm up to her, and she may learn life is worth living in the moment and not online.

This one gave me It Happened One Summer vibes. The cast of characters were so likeable they all genuinely made me smile. The setting was stunning, the mountains, the hot springs, nature, and everything in between. The journey the 2 love interest went on was so well paced, it felt so believable and natural. This was a fantastic read.

This was my first read by Melissa Ferguson and I’m looking forward to reading her other books.

I enjoyed both settings in this book and the secondary characters were all amazing!! I feel like they really made everything click into place. The female main character had so much growth as she experienced life and the story overall was interesting and heartwarming. Highly recommend!

Thank you to Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions expressed on my own.

4⭐️

Thanks so much Netgalley for the advanced reader copy of Famous for a Living!

This book was absolutely adorable.
If you didn’t already know, I’m a sucker for the “city girl goes to small town” trope, and this book did it really well. The fmc was really likeable, and I absolutely LOVED the mmc. I was definitely crushing on him by the end of the book.

Not only was the romance great, but the side characters were incredibly loveable and made the story that much better.

Overall, Famous for a Living is such a cute winter romance that I would definitely recommend.

I receiveI this ARC thanks to Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I wished I saved this book with the cabin. It is a feel good, relaxing read that I needed right now.

Great beach read

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
This was a sweet book and I enjoyed reading about the main character Cat. Cat works as a social media influencer and loses everything when a manager convinces her to sign a bad contract that makes it look like she's selling her followers personal data. She moved to Montana where her Uncle is a park ranger in a national park. She rediscovers who she is apart from social media and there's a little romance. It is definitely a SUPER slow burn with the romance portion as they don't even go on a date until like 80 percent in.
Overall a cute one though and is recommend!

Cute and quick read. Perfect story for those days when you need something sweet to wash away thw bitterness of real life.

Thank you to Thomas Nelson--FICTION, Thomas Nelson, and NetGalley for providing an eARC for a honest review.

What a fun book! I live in Montana, so the National park setting for this book was perfect for me. I loved how the main character took herself from her life of luxury to the backwoods of Montana and became a different person, or rather she found who she was meant to be. If you love an enemies to lovers trope, this is the book for you!

A cute, clean romance about a mega-famous social media influencer who discovers that there's a wonderful world waiting for her outside of her phone.

This reads JUST like a Hallmark movie. Fun, light, not too deep. It follows the established conventions of the genre. It's what you expect from a clean contemporary romance published by a Christian house, but it's cute! I wouldn't stereotype it as a piece of cardboard or something to roll your eyes at—even though we're all tempted, aren't we? This is a mood read. When you're in the mood for this type of book, then this is the book you pick!

The strength of this book is in the colorful cast of characters. I don't want to spoil it, but Melissa Ferguson does a great job of mixing together distinctive characters who stay consistent throughout the book and who create sparks (good and bad) when they're thrown together.

Our main character, Cat, is a social media influencer based in NYC. It's her job to act as a walking billboard for brands and influence people to buy stuff. But SHE'S the one who has been influenced by the pressures of living a public life online. She knows she has an unhealthy relationship with her phone and (as a result) herself. Because she's under so much pressure to DO and BE, she makes a bad decision that gets her canceled.

So, she escapes to the boonies of Montana where her only living relative, Uncle Terry, gives her a job as social media manager for the tiny national park he works for as a ranger. So, glitzy NYC glamour girl gets dropped in small-town middle of nowhere against her will. Hallmark!!!! Of course, there is a hunky and sensitive park ranger looking for commitment. Hallmark!!!! And she comes to appreciate "real living" and the wonders of nature. Hallmark!!! Seriously, if you love Hallmark, this book is for you.

The romance is clean but not completely sterile. I'd feel comfortable giving it to a mature teenager.

Thank you to Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Synopsis: “This. This is what I do. I’m Cat Cranwell. Half owner of the platform about to take the world by storm. And famous for a living.” As an renowned influencer, Cat Cranwell has it made. She lives the high life in New York with all the perks of being popular on social media. But when all her fame is tainted with a bad deal, Cat finds herself feeling depressed, lost, and hopeless. Given the opportunity to get away, Cat takes up residence in Montana with her park ranger uncle and his crew, including a young handsome, yet broody, man who doesn’t approve of Cat’s lifestyle. But maybe there’s some validity to his criticism. Cat begins to ponder if maybe there are things greater than being famous for a living.

Analysis: Famous for a Living is a short, sweet story that makes for a quick, easy read. It has cozy, getaway vibes (almost like a summer camp) and excellent supporting characters. Cat was a little difficult to swallow and has a very typical influencer personality especially at the beginning. But she does grow and change while still being true to herself. I also loved Cat’s love interest! The romance was underplayed until the very end, but I loved how it turned out! I think the big thing to know going into this book is that while it’s marketed as a romcom, it didn’t necessarily read as a romcom. Yes, there’s fun and humor, but there are deeper themes and messages that I think are so important today. If you’re looking for a refreshing take on some clean, summer fiction, this is a great book for you!
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Star Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

It’s cute, but I didn’t connect with the characters as much as I wanted to and found things to be a little too far removed from reality at some points.

I really enjoyed this refreshing read. I have loved this author for a while, and this book did not disappoint. She continues to be on my "must-read" list. Definitely pick this one up today!

Cat Cranwell, a former famous NYC socialite and our FMC, rediscovers herself in Montana away from her hectic lifestyle in New York. Zaiah Smith, a park ranger and a nature lover and also our MMC hates Cat’s old life. It's the old opposite attract trope and I thought I would love it but there wasn't much romance involved, This book is more women’s fiction than romance. Romance only comes into play after 3/4th of the book honestly.

This book is more about the self-discovery journey of Cat more than romance. In fact, romance was barely present till much later in the book. Cat's character development was amazing though, But I think there's not much to this book than Cat's development. Therefore reader of women's fiction would enjoy it more than a typical romance reader.

“Famous for a Living” was my first novel by Melissa Ferguson and I truly enjoyed it!! First, I loved the concept of the story and the way Melissa used the plot to urge readers to analyze their relationship with social media. This central message impacted me a lot and got me thinking about “unplugging” from social media platforms more often!!

Second, the romance between Cat and Zaiah was super sweet!!! This story definitely leaned more towards Women’s Fiction rather than romance/romcom, but the light romance elements were super adorable😍 I mean, who doesn’t enjoy a rugged, bearded mountain man with a flip phone??🥹❤️

Third, can I just say how much I ADORED the Kannery crew—Mina, Jax, Kevin, & Uncle Terry!! Kevin in particular must be protected at ALL COSTS😭❤️ I loved his passion for nature and limitless knowledge of the outdoors!! He might’ve been my favorite character from the whole book😂😂

Finally, I’d like to note that I listened to this story on audiobook and really liked the narrators’ voices🤩 I definitely recommend giving the audiobook a try if this story interests you!!

Overall, I recommend this story!! This story is great for readers who would enjoy books that take place in wildlife settings, have light romance, and contain an overarching message of the dangers of social media❤️

I would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
This was the first book I had read by Melissa Ferguson and I am looking forward for more.
I really enjoyed this book, but I wouldn't categorize it as a romance book specifically.
It highlights the struggles of life in the limelight and the journey of self discovery.
I would definitely recommend this book!!

2 stars

I love a Hallmark movie romance plot as much as the next person but I require them to be at least a tiny bit original or, you know, accurate. This book was perfectly set up with Cat being a disgraced influencer who moved back to a small town (or into a national park her uncle was the...something of? Head ranger? Overlord?) and a hot mountain man guy who helped her survive her idiotic City girl impulses like improper footwear and driving a convertible Mercedes in the snow. Sounds great, right? Well you would be WRONG.

This book, in the year 2023, requires you to believe:
- mason jars were never popular and this influencer made them sell out across the country! I did not suffer through the hipster and Pioneer Woman eras where we made small batch pickles and poured carafes of water into mason jars for this crap.
- a national park needs a City girl influencer to make them popular and boost attendance so they aren't absorbed into Glacier National Park??? ???? In what world would a national park in Montana, you know, where the 10th most visited park is, not also be popular? ???? The least visited parks are in remote parts of Alaska a park in Montana you can easily drive right to would not have these problems. And not having enough visitors wouldn't lead to them being not a national park anymore ???? They are for preservation not making a profit?? And how on earth would more Instagram followers help any of this anyway. Absurd.
- that a side character with a full time job can easily sew 200 intricate custom cozies at a time for the new mason jar trend and not want to throw themselves and their sewing machine into the nearest river from burnout.

But those aren't even the worst parts. Nope. That would be that the entire book is actually a Very Special Episode about the dangers of social media because it will lead you to text while driving, cause a car crash, and go to jail like the male main character's (whose name is Zaiah...) ex girlfriend. So flip phone Zaiah now hates everything to do with social media and how will he and Cat the influencer who is addicted to her phone work this out??? Through the power of love and her leaving her phone at home during a date obviously. And eventually her changing nothing about herself, staying an influencer, and Zaiah getting over his phone trauma I guess.

Oh, and also there is an epilogue baby. Gross.

This is the story of Cat, an influencer, who after an unfortunate business mistake leaves the big city for a remote cabin in Montana. She works for her uncle tasked with revitalizing the social media for the park to increase visitors & prevent a shutdown. Along the way she meets a quirky but likable cast of characters and is introduced to the National Park and all it has to offer. She has a sweet, very closed door, romance with a very like able mountain man with a past. I had a tough time really getting into the romance. It moved very quickly and lacked development. Major topics were brushed over and forgotten immediately. But the setting was fun and the secondary characters were interesting. A nice Hallmarky love story, quick, easy read.

This was a nice wholehearted story. I would not categorize this as a romance. It’s more of women’s fiction with a splash of romance. I liked the message it reflects about dependency on social media. This is a great book that discusses some heavy topics. The nice part is it’s partly set in a national park.
I recommend this for anyone looking for a clean wholehearted story.

Famous for a Living was very much about Cat’s journey figuring out what’s important in life without trading in her identity. Cat was likeable and thoughtful from the beginning, so it wasn’t like she needed major positive changes, but more that she got swept up by fame and maybe missed the important bits of living, like being in the moment and not concerned with every “like” or with being at the top of popularity. Social media can be really great, but it can also overtake a person’s life, and I thought the story captured the positives and negatives well.