I wanted to like this but I couldn’t. The premise is great but the execution quite poor in my opinion

Hollyland is a Hollywood romance story about Ryder and Dee. Ryder and Dee meet and instantly fall for each other, even though they come from completely different worlds. Dee is an academic who lives her life quietly and in her head. Ryder is a famous actor who comes from Hollywood royalty and he lives his life on the pages of newspapers and magazines.

I love romance stories about Hollywood and was excited to read this one. Although the dialogue was a little cheesy at times, I still enjoyed Ryder and Dee’s story. I loved the way Ryder treated Dee and their story stole my heart.

Yes, it took one with Patricia's intelect to deliver this story. What happens when you start with an inclusive set of humans, mix in some art, with a dash of science then a pinch of drama, well you get a story you just cannot put down until you enjoy the masterpiece at the end. Way to go Patricia.

Hollyland sounded like it would be right in my "wheelhouse," but I was completely wrong. Unfortunately for me, the characters fell flat and I was never able to connect with them. I didn't have an issue with the storyline. It was nice to not have unnecessary drama built in just to "juice up" a plot for a change. That said, there just wasn't enough to keep me pulled into the story. The interaction and conversation between the main characters often felt stilted and the book just became.a struggle to push through. I hate to leave reviews like this because I know that the author put her heart and soul into this work. So, I am the first to say it's a me thing. I firmly believe there is an audience out there for this book, it just wasn't me.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to read and review it and the opinions contained within are my own.

It's refereshing to see the MCs be older than the typical romance couples. Dee is 40 and Ryder is 50, he's a Hollywood store, she is a writer, an art lecturer and an academic. While the insta-love aspect of their metting put me off at first, the more I read, the more I enjoyed the story. It's a sweet read, and it's good to see a HEA without a lot of angst getting there. It's pure escapism and we could all use a little bit of that in our lives.

Thanks to NetGalley and She Writes Press for the E-ARC of this book.

I read the blurb for this book and was so excited to get an advance copy from NetGalley. I love a good Hollywood based love story, but this one just missed the mark. I don't know how many books Patricia Leavy has written, but based on the "flow" of this book, I would think it isn't very many. I love reading romance novels and I have an unrealized dream to write one, but the reason I never have is I totally know I would churn out something like this and be forever disappointed in myself.

I requested Hollyland thinking it would be more Women’s Fiction than Romance. I was wrong. The plot is simple. Writer Dee meets movie star Rye and they fall passionately in love/lust within minutes. Four months later they are married. There’s a “situation” but they triumph and love happily ever after. I’m ok with this. What I didn’t like was the dialogue and the impossible events. For instance, when Rye brings Dee to a restaurant dinner to meet his equally famous movie star friends, Dee impresses them by knowing the producer who is the “most powerful person in Hollywood.” He asks her to critique his latest movie. If that’s not enough, a famous rapper comes to the table to ask Dee to take a few minutes to improve the song he has just written. Dinner can wait.

I hate to write bad reviews. Hollyland just wasn’t for me. 2 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, She Writes Press and Patricia Leavy for this ARC.

What happens when a seemingly ordinary woman with a passion for the arts falls in love with a Hollywood star known for his bachelor status and quick temper with the paparazzi? Something extraordinary.

I really wanted to like this book but it just wasn't for me. The author uses a writing style that is about 90% dialouge and I prefer a lot more description. The insta-love vibe and over the top cheesy romance was too much. However, if that's what you like you'll really enjoy this book. The one bright spot was main character Dee. I loved her career as an art intellectual. It was very unique.

Thank you @netgalley for allowing me to review this book and leave an honest opinion.

I was super excited for this one. I love Hollywood romance when it’s done well, unfortunately this was wasn’t for me.
It was mostly bland, the chemistry was almost non existent and yet we as an audience are meant to be invested in this “insta love”?

I do love character driven stories, but when there’s not much grit or internal angst I find it hard to stay interested.

I also found the dialogue cringey and somewhat juvenile.

This was a miss for me.

Sadly this was dnf for me . I didnt like neither of the characters. The writing was just okay didnt feel the story or the plot.

I was really hopeful about this book. I just finished another Hollywood rom-com and was excited to jump into this one. However, this was a DNF at 30% for me. I just couldn't get through the insta-love and the endlessly dry conversations between the MCs. They literally meet on the first page and are smitten within a few sentences. It might just be me, but I really loath insta-love stories. Not only are they more unrealistic than meeting your celebrity crush in the back alley of a concert hall, they also don't allow the reader to explore the characters separately and also doesn't allow for the characters to develop together over the course of the book.

Thank you Netgalley and She Writes Press for letting me read this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is difficult to review. So I’ll just list the thoughts I had while reading:

- Waiting for the other shoe to drop
- Is it a dream?
- Insta love x eleventy billion
- This is nonsense, but I can’t stop reading - that restaurant scene?!
- Dee - I’m shy but I’m kind of famous
- How many times can they say “I love you with all my heart?!”
- Seriously, we’re 80% through and that’s when the drama starts?
- Why is it called Hollyland?

This was readable but pretty bland to be honest. It started off with a good premise and great potential, but got pretty boring pretty quickly.

I never like writing negative reviews but unfortunately I am unable to find anything I liked about this book.

I went into this book thinking it would give the same vibes as ‘how to fake it in Hollywood’ but was disappointed. I found this book extremely hard to read and actually DNF’d at 20%. The main characters Dee and Ryder meet outside a nightclub and within 2 minutes of their single interaction, Ryder kisses Dee. An hour later they are falling in love with each other.

There was no backstory for either of the characters besides their instant love for each other. The characters were very surface level. The dialogue was very stagnant and story was so rushed I had to go back and make sure that I was actually reading the start of the book and didn’t accidentally start halfway through. You can’t connect with the characters since the whole storyline was unrealistic and very poorly executed.

I always try to stick out reading a book even if I struggle to enjoy reading it but unfortunately I just couldn’t read this book.

ARC received from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review

Hollyland by Patricia Leavy is an insta-love romance between Dee Schwartz, a writer and art researcher, and Ryder Field, Hollywood's leading man. When the two of them meet, sparks instantly fly. From the first paragraph through the rest of the book, the two are inseparable. They just know they've met the love of their lives. What follows is a romance full of sweet moments between the two, however, the story often feels as if something is missing.

Because the characters meet in the first couple paragraphs, we never get to see Dee and Rye on their own. They're almost never apart. Because we don't see the characters separate, it feels as if the characters are not complete. It's never really clear who they are as individuals. I think there are only a handful of scenes where the two aren't together. There is no character growth throughout the whole novel. The characters feel very stagnant.

Because there is little character growth, there is also almost no conflict. The couple gets together, and then have a series of very happy interaction through the whole book. There's no will they or won't they, or question about whether or not things are happening too quickly. While this might be a very realistic story, it doesn't make for a very interesting one.

In the end, the book wasn't the best thing I've read this year, but it certainly wasn't the worst. If you enjoy sweet insta-love romances, and just want something fluffy to read, this book is for you. If you want something with more meat, then you should probably skip.

Thank you netgalley and She Writes Press for allowing me to read this book. This was an insta love romance and I just could not get into how rushed it felt. I also didn’t really connect or like the characters much and just felt like I needed depth to them. I liked that the writing was easy to read but the dialogue felt stale at times. I felt like the book jumped right into the story in a rushed way…I just felt very lost. I wasn’t sure what the plot was but the further I got into it I did like it more just felt very predictable. Not a bad read just not my cup of tea.

I super quick, fun and a cute read that I very much happened to enjoy!! I would highly be recommending it to the romcom lovers!!

You know when you’re talking to someone, and they keep talking and telling stories for minutes on end, but nothing they’re saying is actually interesting? Well imagine reading a story, but the plot doesn’t come in until you’re 79% in. And then it ends at 88%. For that reason, I think the advertised summary is pretty misleading. What it should have been was “Dee and Rye are in love, sickeningly so. They go on a lot lot lot of dates, buy each other presents, and compliment each other all the time. They might confront a certain past trauma at some point…in a galaxy far, far away.” In the end, this book was way too character driven for a story with two unproblematic, non-dramatic, totally communicative people who just happen to famous (although fame barely affects their lives). I need more plot, I need that plot to be twisty, unexpected, or new in some way.

This was a big NOPE for me. I DNF at about 30% when I realized that I was doing more eye rolling than reading. The characters are all boring and perfect, the conversation is soooo cheesy, and the plot is unrealistic. I hate giving up on a book, but this one just wasn't worth the time.

Thank you to She Writes Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was an interesting read. The synopsis and premise of the book hooked me from the start but I feel like the major plot line was just a quick point and moved on from way too quickly. There was no build up to any of the plot points or chemistry between any of the characters. Good book idea-not great execution.

DNF at 23%
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC for my honest review. This book just wasn't my jam. The writing was very tell not show. This was insta-love, but I didn't feel the love. I actually was surprised the two main characters were in their 40s and 50s as the dialogue was pretty cheesy.