This was such a cute and enjoyable book! I loved all the characters and the meaning deep within the story. I liked this narrator too! I might have to book a trip to Montana!

I really really loved this book! It's the perfect mix of cute and funny, while still touching on some pretty tough topics.

The story is about Cat, a 30-year-old influencer, who discovers the hard way that one should not sign contracts without submitting it to the lawyers first. (But I mean, even my beloved Rose Calloway Cobalt was tricked the same way, so Cat should be blamed anyways)
Her friend Selena and her uncle Terry encourage her to take some time away from the city, so she moves to work for her uncle in Kannery National Park.
There she founds a group of people that slowly become her family, and of course, Zaiah, the broody ranger.

I really enjoyed Cat's growth, it really goes to show that working on one's self is a lifelong work in progress and even the most successful people need some time to just step back and reflect. I also related lots and lots with her struggle to always be what is expected of her, and especially her self-sabotaging cycle of putting thoughts in other's people heads, which, in reality, is just her insecurities reflecting on others.

What kind of feel short for me, is the romance aspect. Cat and Zaiah, while having lots of interactions and much tension, don't go on a date until the 75% mark of the book, which is late for my standards. And they get together for real only in the last chapter before the epilogue.
Also, it is important to note that there's no spice, not even a little bit.

The writing is impeccable, funny and kept me entertained throughout the whole book. The characters are well described and I truly hope for more books set in this world, I need to read about Selena and Mina and Kevin falling in love!

All and all it satisfied my need for an "It Happened One Summer" type book.

Super cute romcom. Ruggedly handsome outdoorsman meets down on her luck big city social media influencer who is trying to hide from some bad publicity. LOVED it

This was my first book by Melissa Ferguson and I really enjoyed it. Famous for a Living was such a sweet listen. I loved it from the very beginning and listened to it in one day! It’s sweet, funny, romantic, but had a message of being present and to put down your phone and to stop obsessing over likes. I laughed out loud several times while listening to this audiobook. The narrator was amazing and captured the characters perfectly. I highly recommend this book if your looking for a sweet romance.

Another book about a big city influencer that gets into trouble and moves to rural Montana to let the drama die out only to fall in love with a local park ranger. Spoiler Alert that's not really a spoiler - after she is exonerated she moves back to the city to resume her "old life" only to find the park ranger on her doorstep where she moves back to the country, gets married, has baby and lives happily ever after...it was cute though and the characters weren't super annoying so I gave this one higher marks even though it was a sort of canned plot.

Thank you to netgalley, the publisher and Melissa Ferguson for an ARC of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
As much as I wanted to love this, I feel it wasn’t exactly what was promised. I felt that there wasn’t a lot of romance, it was mostly other storylines that featured.
It was well written though.

This was my first book by Melissa Ferguson and I really enjoyed it. This was a cute romance with some surprisingly thought provoking scenes. There was a large focus on social media and the way it can both positively and negatively affect people and our society. The story had a great balance of romance and humor. I laughed out loud several times while listening to this audiobook. The narrator was amazing and I binged this in one sitting. I highly recommend for clean romance lovers.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to love this read since rom-coms are my favorite genre, but this read just wasn't a home-run for me. My largest gripe is the marketing of the book as a romance, when the budding relationship between the two mains was definitely almost more of a subplot.
The focus centered heavily on the FMC and her imploding career as a social media influencer. As a bookstagrammer/influencer myself, I was turned off my how shallow and insecure the FMC was so it was hard for me to connect. However, I loved the exploration of themes such as the overusage of social media and how it can damage your self-image and relationships. Once the FMC reached the mountains for her fresh start, I enjoyed some of her adjustments to wilderness but wished this would have been the focus of the book!

I listened to the audiobook as I read along with the e-book and was so glad I had the audiobook version; it helped add me wage through and help my attention to finish a book I might have set aside. I applaud the narrator, Talon David, for creating a captivating audio which raised my review from a 3 to 4!
I think readers who love women's fiction and can related to a social media influencer will still enjoy this book!
I appreciate the advanced listeners' copy from NetGalley and Thomas Nelson publishing in exchange for my honest review.

Given society's addiction to social media and all things influencer, this is a very timely and super fun read/listen. It's a cute, feel good love story that highlights both the toxic and positive sides of social media. The characters are fun and memorable. If you're looking for a fast and fun book - this is it!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

quick summary: an influencer gets wrongly accused of fraud and has to disappear to her uncle-father figures home (the national parks of montana) where she meets a guy who uses a flip phone and decides to change her life around

4/5 stars because I really like the plot! it’s very hallmark movie in a way you don’t often get to see anymore. the only thing is even though the characters all have a lot of personality, it prevents the romance from happening the way i would have wished! but it was still a really good read!

*** Thank you NetGalley, Thomas Nelson and Zondervan Audio for the Advanced Audiobook ***
Release Date: May 16, 2023
Synopsis: Famous for a Living tells the story of Cat Cranwell, an influencer living in the big city who feels on top of the world and is about to sign the biggest deal of her life on her 30th birthday. Before signing her life away, her uncle Terry, a park ranger from Montana, calls her to let her know he is in the area for a conference and has a birthday present. As uncle Terry meets Cat in the building – a mountain man (Zaiah) who she has never met is with him – and arguing with a hotel receptionist on a flip phone. Cat signs the contract which ends up putting her in the headlines for all the wrong reasons – for a scam she knew nothing of. After lawyering up, it is advised that Cat cut some costs and moves to Montana. The “fall from grace” for Cat ends up showing her what the bond of true friends made family and searching within yourself to find true happiness are far more important than the hit of dopamine that comes from social media likes.
My Review: I immediately wanted to get my hands on Famous for a Living based on the summary and the cover alone – National Parks meets the world of social media? Count me in. I was going into this book thinking it would be a run-of-the-mill romcom and I was soo wrong. The story of Cat is much more complex and while there is a small amount of romance in this book, there was also so much more. I often find small town stories to be more wholesome and fill me with a sense of community that I don’t normally expect living in a “city”, but this book hit me in all the feels. I thought at first I would be comparing this book to It Happened One Summer and Things We Never Got Over but it’s in a different league of it’s own. The narrator did a great job as well. The only thing I wish I got from the book was dual P.O.V. just to get a better feel on Zaiah but the mysterious mountain man with a big heart is where he’ll always be. I will definitely be checking out more books from Melissa Ferguson.

I honestly was disappointed when it was over! This was the perfect mixture of sweet and plot that it kept me fully engaged. I absolutely loved the story like and the lessons Kat learns along the way. I also adore the work friends and think they should have their own book!

Cat Cranwell has the perfect Insta-life… until she’s accused of fraud. The lovable influencer heads to Montana to lay low. She has a lot of run ins with park ranger Zaiah, and tons of funny times with her adorable roommate Meena.

I loved the mix of trying to have a “slow life”, but the desire to document everything, all the time.

Not sexy, rather incredibly sweet.

Excellent narration.

This story lacked excitement for me because I am so not attracted to the whole “I’m famous but I’m having everything taken away from me” thing. I don’t find this trope relatable or even interesting, but once the main character gets going on her journey, things get better. It’s hard to deny a hot ranger, okay?

Reads similarly to Tessa Bailey and reminded me of It Happened One Sumner, but zero (and I mean absolutely no) steam and hardly any real romance. This is more a story about found-family and coming to terms with one's faults, like social media addiction. If that speaks to you, I think you'll enjoy it. If you're looking for open-door romance, you won't find it here.

Overall just an okay read for me personally!

I received an ARC through NetGalley for my honest review.
2.5⭐️ No spice (which is fine with me, I’m just informing you)
Unfortunately I was not a fan of this book. I really wanted to dnf it but decided to push through so I could give a full review. The first 40% of this extremely boring. I honestly didn’t care about our FMC or the story at all. It finally gets better from 50%-85% and then it’s back to being completely boring and everything is just magically resolved. The heroine is also extremely annoying and honestly just a shallow whiny character. I couldn’t stand her through pretty much the whole book. Think of Alexis from Schitts Creek but with zero charm or personality. At the end of the book she actually asks the MMC if he thinks she’s pretty because he’s never said so, After he flies from Montana to New York to see her!🙄

Famous for a Living was a quick and light read! It was a perfect read as we are headed into the spring/summer seasons, although most of the book was set in a winter scene.

Cat heads to Kannery National Park to be with her uncle after social media influencing took a toll on her life. Cat meets Zaiah and their relationship builds throughout the second half of the book.

I would have loved more romance and connection chapter between Cat and Zaiah. However, still recommended!

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy of the audio version of this book in exchange for my review.

I received this book for free from netgalley for an honest review.

So sweet and a real page turner. The character development between the two main characters was very good. The setting was perfect.

The premise of this one is SO IMPORTANT. I honestly think people need to read it just to realize they need to find a balance between online life and real life. The further we get into social media the more important it becomes that more stories help us put our phones down. It’s different from what I’ve read before and I liked the love story part of it too.

🌀Synopsis
Cat is an influencer for a living. That basically means she lives on her phone say and night. One small incident though and she’s shunned from the community and her career is in shambles. Left with no other options she decides to escape to Montana where her uncle Terry runs a National park staff. She’s sure it’s the end of her but the experience really ends up showing her a new way to be herself.
The cold and wild nature of the park helps her realize she doesn’t have to be glued to her phone and not everything will be picture perfect. With the help of a handsome co-worker, Zaiah, Cat starts to realize what’s truly important in her life.
Even when she returns to the city and to being famous for a living she still gives herself boundaries and sticks to them.

This book is a journey but for me it was not a romantic journey (yes, there is some romance) but more the journey that Cat Cranwell takes while learning what is important in life. Cat Cranwell has millions of followers as an influencer but when an app partnership goes wrong, she loses followers and is shunned by the social medial influencer community. Her uncle Terry offers her a job working at a small national park in Montana and she accepts.

It's not what she was imagining. She will not be living the life of luxury. She is not prepared for the elements; or is she with her coat with a built in heating device, or how much she will come to enjoy her time there. She also doesn't know that she was brought on to try and save the park.

Zaiah Hudson, the rugged, handsome ranger is not a fan of social media. He thinks it is the root of everything that is wrong in this world. He is a nature lover and proud of where he lives. He does his best to show Cat just how beautiful the park is even in the winter.


Famous for a Living is more women's fiction or chick-lit than it is romance. Yes, there is romance, but Cat does not get asked out on a date until the 78% mark in the book. For me this was about her learning that there is more to life than being on your phone 24/7. She finds purpose and has fun along the way.

There is some wit and charm in this book. I think calling this a romance is a stretch. Yes, yes, there is romance but for me it occurs so late in the book (which I am not complaining about) that it is more women's fiction in my mind.

I enjoyed how the romance built slowly actually. Opposites do, as they say, attract. There is no insta love in this book, which I am glad for. But I do love how Cat changes and grows in the book. There is also a lesson here about the dangers of social media and being plugged into your phone and knowing what is happening around you. There is some food for thought in this book.

I look forward to reading more of Melissa Ferguson's books in the future!

Enjoyable, relevant, cute, thought provoking.

*I listened to the audiobook and enjoyed the narration.

3.5 stars

3.5⭐️ rounded down because although it was marketed as a romance, it’s women’s fiction. This book follows Cat, a social media celebrity - famous for nothing more than her looks, if seems - as she navigates the tumultuous waters of internet stardom and a deal gone wrong. The Montana national park setting was quaint and enjoyable, if a bit one dimensional. Enter Zaiah, the gruff yet handsome park ranger who helps Cat see the world without the hashtags.
If I were to call this a romance, it is a clean romance. But because the romance is not central to the plot, it simply isn’t a romance novel. If you’re looking for a quick summer read with outdoorsy vibes and lots of commentary on social media in modern society, this book has got what you want.
I listened to the audiobook and enjoyed the narrator.
An Arc of this book was provided to me by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.