Sarah Smith continues her 'I Heart SF' series with an ordinary woman meets Hollywood actor in 'I love Lewis Prescott'.

Architect Harper Ellorza, who is cousin to Naomi who was featured in the first book of the series 'The Close-Up', is taking a sabbatical from her job to renovate her late grandparents house in Half Moon Bay, California. A chance meeting with Hollywood heart throb Lewis Prescott results in her offering him refuge to escape paparazzi and negative media attention on him. In return he offers to use his dormant construction skills to help her renovate her home.

Sparks fly instantly. Both Harper and Lewis have insane chemistry. If I had any quibble I think I would've liked to have seen the sexual tension dragged out a bit longer with the friendship and connection developed more.

What's also refreshing with Sarah's books - indeed with her 'Unlikely Pairings' collaboration with Skye McDonald as Sarah Skye - is her characters role modelling good habits such as therapy, open communication and working on themselves as individuals as well as a couple.

While the main conflict is a result of one character resorting back to their injured self (over nothing!) its still relatable and understandable, with the appropriate amount of not just grovelling, but actions and work to reenforce their grovelling. Which is hugely refreshing. I find too often characters grovel, but I've yet to see evidence they've changed.

I also loved that the heroine is from a migrant Filipino family. As someone who has migrant south-east Asian parents, I recongised some of the large (though overwhelming) family gatherings where food is at the heart of their love language.

This book is as sparkling as the sea with a dash of spice, and characters you'll find yourself invested in. I wish I lived next door to these characters. Add this to your pre-orders, you won't regrest it.

Thanks to Netgalley and Carina Press for the ARC.

I looooved this book! Impossible to put down! Sarah Smith does rom coms so good! First I fell in love with Naomi and Simon's story. But I fell head over heels in love with rhe love story of Harper and Lewis Prescott. Lol two opposites attracting at the perfect moment. This book is a must read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Carina Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Architect Harper is fed up with people not taking her seriously. Especially the contractor working on the renovation at her grandparents’ old house. He doesn’t believe her when she tells him he’s messed up the work, so now she has found herself without a contractor and not enough time or money to get the job fixed. Cue Lewis, showing up unexpectedly in her life. The TV star is in hiding after being fired from his show and causing a scene in Hollywood. He needs a place to hide out, and it just so happens he has experience working in construction. The arrangement is supposed to be mutually beneficial…he gets a place to stay and hide out, in exchange for doing the work on the house. What could go wrong?

I found myself really rooting for Lewis and Harper at first. They seemed to be exactly what the other needed at the time. But Lewis’s overprotection of his privacy, and the lengths he felt necessary to hide…but then also pose nude for photos? It just seemed like a contradiction, and didn’t make much sense since then it wasn’t really brought up again. The spice was pretty good, especially the urgency between the two of them. It made their chemistry seem really believable. Once I got about two-thirds through and more of the negativity came into play, I just felt like it didn’t hit right with me. Some side plots could’ve been really good if expanded on further.

Overall, I give this one 3.5 stars, rounded down to 3.

Celebrity romances are my new jam, so I was pretty excited to get a copy of ‘In Love with Lewis Prescott. One of my favorite books from last year was Nora Goes Off Script and this gave me similar vibes - normal girl meets an A-list actor who needs to get away from the pressure of celebrity and the paparazzi and lets him move into her home. In this case he’s slightly disgraced and needs to hide away to let the hubbub die down. She agrees on the condition he helps her renovate her grandparents’ home for free. Of course, they’re insanely attracted to each other and easily fall into a passionate affair. But when they’re found out by the paparazzi and things get tough, he freaks out and leaves her, says they’re just from two different worlds and it will never work out. Or can it?

As much as I wanted to love this - the heroine is a burnt-out architect just like me - I had a hard time connecting with her character. And the chemistry between the pair was too easy and didn’t have much emotional depth, despite their individual backstories. I’m also never a big fan of the third-act breakup and conveniently over-the-top reconciliation. Overall this was a quick and easy read, but it lacked the nuance and emotional depth to be anything other than a touch juvenile (and vaguely wish-fulfillment).

While I may love everything Sarah writes, this truly is not said with any bias! I love the worlds she creates, with such diverse characters and full of different families, good and bad. Honestly, her male lead characters are often unbelievably amazing, but I’d say that speaks more to the general population being filled with dirtbags in reality than her being unrealistic. Her words have always spoken to the possibility of a better world, if only she were the author, and this story is no exception. Harper’s Filipino family reminds me so much of my own, though thankfully less critical lol, and it’s so beautiful to see so much of our culture as if it were mainstream! Lewis gave such Captain America (with a dirty side) vibes that I eventually started picturing him as Chris E. while reading. Harper and Lewis had so much chemistry and good communication between them for most of the book. The conflict between them was understandable, but obviously heartbreaking to see, and I was so tempted to zoom further to see how it might get resolved. I would’ve loved to see a bit more of their getting-to-know-you phase actually take place, but I get that there’s only so much space on the page. My only qualm would be in the epilogue, where such an important subject is left to the last second, far further into a relationship than I think would be healthy in real life. Despite the cute timing. That brought my scoring to 4.85 stars, rounding up to 5. What else can I say but, BUY THE DANG BOOK! 😛

Lucky me, starting off February with a 5 star review!

Thank you to Sarah Smith and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Architect Harper Ellorza is in a pinch. She's taken time off from her corporate architect job to take on a passion project: renovating her grandparent's cottage in Half Moon Bay, California. The contractor she hired was a total dud and now she needs to figure how to start over, this time with way less money. While fuming about her circumstances, she literally bumps into Lewis Prescott, a Hollywood heartthrob who is hiding out in Half Moon Bay to escape some bad publicity. It turns out Lewis used to be contractor, and he has a great eye for design. Could they work out a trade? He'll renovate the cottage in exchange for a hiding place from the paparazzi and crazy fans. Harper agrees to the unconventional arrangement, as the project should only last three months. How bad could it be?


There was SO MUCH to love about this book. It was zippy, funny, and charming. The celebrity romance aspect worked because they were so different. Harper and her family brought out a side of Lewis that even he didn't know he needed nurturing. Lewis' character growth throughout the story was unexpected and definitely a highlight. It was fun to see Harper let loose a bit too - she was able to lean into her passions and let go of her obligations enough to be more fulfilled. And Harper - how could you not want to root for her? What a loving, empathetic, passionate person. The scene where she tells off the apartment building manager for being racist had me cheering practically out loud. They each brought out the other's silly side, and the playfulness of the sex scenes was fun, hot, and revealing.


Even though the premise is a classic (celeb dates normie, surprise, they actually have things in common), this book also touched on modern topics like racism, classism, social media, and wealth in modern ways. For example, Lewis is clearly in a different tax bracket than Harper but it really only comes up once, and they have a pretty honest conversation about it.

This book was so fun. I'm smiling just writing this review. It reminds me of that classic 90's romcom 'Win a Date with Tad Hamilton' - just a warm hug of a story.



Spoilers below:
The twist that Harper's family botched things by being SOO out of the loop was pitch-perfect. I kept waiting for the plot twist that would screw things up for them and while I knew it would be something having to do with his celeb status, I couldn't put it together. The fact that he was accidentally discovered through a family member's cluelessness on social media was both accurate to her family AND how things would/could happen in reality. I think that this twist should get special mention for its accuracy and for how well it fits into the story.

4 Stars In Love with Lewis Prescott by Sarah Smith was a wonderful follow-up to The Close Up. Harper Ellorza is an architect trying to figure out what to do about the renovation to her late grandparents’ house after a construction crew botched the job when she (literally) runs into famous TV star Lewis Prescott. After being fired from his TV show and having a public meltdown, Lewis is in hiding and as a former contractor, offers to fix Harper’s renovation if she’ll allow him to hide out there for the next few months while he completes the job. With both of them working on the house full time, there’s little room for Harper and Lewis to deny their attraction to one another. As they grow closer, Lewis becomes more vulnerable with Harper and begins to fall for her when he sees how she cares for him despite everything he’s gone through.

I had a goofy grin on my face while reading this one because of how absolutely adorable Lewis and Harper were. I loved their unconditional love and acceptance of one another, plus how they challenged each other to go after what they wanted professionally.

'In Love with Lewis Prescott' is the second book in a series by Sarah Smith. This is the first book I have read in this series, but this book was totally stand alone. Thank you to NetGalley for this advanced copy. I did enjoy the book and the premise and while it is similar to some other books I've read with a similar plot. This wasn't the best that I've read, but it was pretty good. I liked Harper and I really loved Lewis. Lewis is the most down to earth celebrity that I've read in quite some time. Harper had a pretty good sense of self-worth, so she wasn't like other h in these stories thinking they weren't good enough. She wonders if their worlds would work together, but not that she isn't good enough. That was a refreshing change from the other books I've read that are similar to this one. That said, this book dragged in a few sections and I am never a big fan of people falling in love quickly and due to circumstance. I don't always buy that their love is going to last (but that is just me, took me five years to marry my husband!) I did really like the epilogue, it was a great sneak peak into their future. Strong 4 stars.

I read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I found that this book started off really well, and I liked both Harper and Lewis as characters. They had chemistry etc. and their situation made it inevitable that they'd get to know each other.
Then, with the unnecessary scenes about the nude calendar, I found it was too contradictory of Lewis' attitude towards privacy. The story then focused on them sleeping together a lot, which is fine, but it took away from the two of them really developing their love.
The ending was very similar to the Notting Hill movie, and it was probably intentional due to the movie star trope.

Argh! This one started so strongly for me! I was charmed by the meet-cute and, initially, the writing. I adore a good celebrity romance, and the premise of this one really appealed to me.

But, it fizzled out quickly for me. I wanted to FEEL more. I wanted more banter and pull between the characters. I was a little taken off guard the way their physical connection flared up, but it didn't pair with an emotional connection that I was looking for. And then - once I felt myself disconnected from the story, I grew bored and skimmed through another 20% before I decided it wasn't my cuppa.

I sincerely appreciate the opportunity to read and review. Unfortunately, this one didn't work for me.

I wanted to devour this novel but I knew I would have to read slowly because I wanted to savor Sarah Smith's romantic writings. I had so much fun reading about Lewis and Harper's adventures and getting to know about their personal struggles with fame or family and work. They really complemented each other well and I wanted them to end up together after their huge fight. They were so sweet on each other and it made me melt, always a pleasure reading great love stories by her!

Harper is looking for a low-key, low stress life in Half Moon Bay. She’s come to town to renovate her grandparent’s old house. Then recently disgraced Hollywood star Lewis Prescott comes to town, and he offers to help her with the renovation if he can hide out at the old house. They’ll be living together and working on the house together. The sparks fly immediately. Great steamy sexy sparks!

Harper is an MC with integrity and assertiveness as well as having a soft lovable side. She faces problems head on, like so many of us wish we could do, so we admire her for it. Absolutely hunky Lewis is a deep character, not just a fluffy Hollywood throwaway. He was fired from his last project for blowing the whistle on the show runner for his sexual misconduct with many of the crew members. Harper and Lewis are easy to admire and, let’s face it, they are sizzlingly passionate. What’s not to love here? Though part of a series it can easily be read alone.

Thanks to NetGalley and Carina Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Architect Harper Ellorza is renovating her grandparents home in San Francisco as a love letter to her family, but an unscrupulous contractor did a shoddy job without her oversight and she can’t afford to lay out her renovation on repairs too. She forms an unlikely alliance with disgraced actor Lewis Prescott when she not only doesn’t fangirl over him, but helps him hide from crazed fans. He conveniently did contracting work before his big break, and in return for a place to hide out, he will right the wrongs and finish the job with her help. It has to be a secret, due to the paparazzi stalking him — he was abruptly fired from his tv gig and no one knows it’s for being a whistleblower on the director’s sexual harassment of female cast and crew members. He offers to pay her, and she urges him to give his million dollars to the charity she works for.

Forced proximity is always a device to build physical and emotional intimacy; theirs is heightened when Lewis goes along with Harper’s suggestion to control the narrative with a nude calendar charity fundraiser and scantily clad teasers on social media. The drama comes when Hannah breaks her promise not to tell anyone her contractor and roommate is a celebrity.

Smith channels Olivia Dade in a press conference scene near the end, and also in some ways through the commentary on fame, celebrity, immigration, race, and the #metoo movement. Deeper discussions such as these always add depth to story for me. The details of the renovations, Filipino culture, and California setting are delicious. The sex is consensual, smutty and detailed, and the characters move past their trauma and insecurities to make their relationship work.

I received a free advance reader’s review edition of #InLoveWithLewisPrescott from #NetGalley.

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for an arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

Publication: February 21, 2023

This is my second book by Smith but my first "romance" by her. The first book I had read was "What We Remember" which fell in the classification of women's fiction. "In Love with Lewis Prescott" shows just how much talent Smith has. She has a very versatile way of writing!

I enjoyed that this book was light hearted and quite steamy. However, what didn't work for me as a reader was the chemistry between Lewis and Harper. It seemed really forced so by the time the steam came along, I didn't really feel into it as a reader should. Those parts left me feeling- "meh".

Overall, a cute romance that has steam. Perfect for fans that like the tropes: insta-love, romance, banter, realistic characters, celebrity love

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my copy in exchange for my honest review.

This was the second book in the series, which you don’t necessarily need to read the first book as this can be a read as a stand-alone. Characters from the first book do show up in this book.
I love the author’s previous books. So I was very happy to read this one.
I loved Harper and Lewis as a couple. Their love story evolved beautifully from housemates to lovers in a sweet way. And the sex scenes were extremely hot. Harper’s family were adorable and very supportive in her work and personal life. I also enjoyed the epilogue which tied the story nicely. It reminded me of Notting Hill the movie. Which brought a huge smile to my face.
Overall, it was a sweet love story. Definitely recommend!

In Love with Lewis Prescott
By: Sarah Smith
Review Score: 3 3/4 Stars

Five Key Feels

-I love Harper’s friendship with her cousin Naomi.

-Lewis is a really interesting character, and I like how he ended up with Harper.

-Harper and Lewis are a really cute couple.

-I really enjoyed Smith’s family contrasts in this book.

-The epilogue was very sweet.

——


In Love with Lewis Prescott was kindly provided as an ARC by Netgalley and Carina Press. Thank you for allowing me to read this wonderful book!

Release Date: 2/21/23

This was a cute book. Fun and flirty, but still with some very real depth.

I loved seeing the evolution of Harper and Lewis, and the care they felt for each other.

I also liked that this book felt different in terms of the “regular girl falls in love with a celebrity” trope. Smith gave a new life to that storyline, and it was fun to read.

#bookstagram #books #readingnow #boogiereadsbooks #fivekeyfeels #audiobooks #audiobook #fiction #arcreview #netgalley #inlovewithlewisprescott #sarahsmith #carinapress

Loved this! It was paced just correctly, with a lot of slow burn buildup in the first half, and lots of vulnerable conversations and swoony moments throughout the book! Definitely teared up at the third act breakup 🥲

This book combined a few things that I really like: falling for a celebrity, home renovations, and humour. And I truly enjoyed it, but not as much as I expected to. The thing what worked against the story was actually the sex which (I know) is something you kind of expect in a book like this. But the opening where Lewis decides to pleasure himself after she mistakenly grabs his member, and Harper almost does the same didn't work for me; and as a result, it took me a lot longer to get into their chemistry and romance. And then, the sex just felt sloppy and thrown in rather than part of the story. I also had a hard time believing that a celebrity like Lewis would want to do a calendar like he did, even if it's for charity. I understand controlling the narrative, but it felt a bit out there even for a book about a normal-celebrity romance.

That didn't make this a bad book. It just didn't make it a great book either. I liked the characters, I liked all of the players Harper brings into the story, and I'm sure that if you had read the book about Naomi and Simon it would be fun to see them later in their story. (Sidebar: I did find the whole strip scene at the combined bachelor and bachelorette party a little odd but I wrote it off as odd because I hadn't read their story.)

Last negative: the conflict, when it happened, felt very contrived and unnecessary. There was enough going on in the book to not have to make that scene play the way it did. No spoilers though!

All in all, it was a fun read. Quick enough but I'm not sure if I will read another Sarah Smith because this one didn't blow me away either. And with all the romances I read, you have to blow me away to get me to pick up more of your books. Or to become a die hard fan.

I wanted to love this more. It ticks off quite a few beloved tropes and devices - celebrity romance, forced proximity, hurt/comfort. The plot was so thin though that not even such lovely characters as Harper & Lewis could keep me invested in their journey to a HEA.

Thanks to NetGalley and Carina Press for the ARC. I voluntarily read and reviewed this book.
I didn't know this was the second in a series and I didn't read the first, but you can absolutely read this as a stand alone and not be lost. Really funny, per usual by Sarah Smith, and a quick read. Only reason for giving this 4 stars instead of 5 is because it's basically "Notting Hill" in book form so you know exactly what's going to happen, chapter by chapter, if you've seen the movie. No surprises here. but still entirely enjoyable.