Famous For A Living by Mellissa Ferguson
Narrated by: Talon David
Rating: 4 stars
Steam: None
Pub Date: 5/16/23

Kat is a famous social media influencer who finds herself on the wrong side of public opinion when a misunderstanding gets her brand canceled. She leaves NYC in the wake of her scandal and heads to Montana to hide out for a while and to help her uncle, who works at a fictional national park.

During her time there, she forms a connection with the residents of the small town she lives in, her coworkers at the park, and Zaiah, a park ranger who owns a flip phone and hates social media.

This book was a delight to read! I loved the humor, the realistic characters, the down-to-Earth influencer FMC, and the lovable side characters. Kat had an Alexis Rose vibe if Alexis was more capable and adventurous. The narrator, Talon David, did an incredible job bringing Kat and all the supporting characters to life. Sometimes when there’s only one narrator, I can get lost in distinguishing who is speaking, but David had the perfect inflection and voice for even the male characters.

While I enjoyed this book, I was surprised by how little romance there was. This fish-out-of-water story leans more towards women’s fiction, as Kat spends most of her time in the mountains, coming to terms with the fact that her career might be over and learning to live without her phone. There is a touch of romance, but it’s not the main focus of the story.

If you're looking for a quick listen that is well-written and has just the right amount of humor, then this is for you! I can’t wait to get my hands on more books by this author! Thank you so much to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson for my gifted ALC.

This book was a good read. I loved every single character. It had the right amount of humor. The plot was interesting. Somrthing about books in national parks are always good. And this was it. I cant wait to read more from this author. I need this in paperback now.

finished this book in two days, pulled along through the pages by a dash of humor and an interesting setting (a fictional national park… national parks seem to be my weakness!).
One of the strengths of the author is her zany, lovable side characters. Both in her previous book, Meet Me in the Margins, and this one, the supporting cast is just so enthusiastic and also bonkers that I really warm to them.
It’s true that the previous book resonated more with me, with its bookish setting and strong “You’ve Got Mail” vibes, whereas this one is about a wildly famous social media influencer whose star seems to have set. Maybe not quite my scene… but I do think this story would make a lovable romcom movie. A lot of the moments played out in my head as if they were on a screen.

* Thanks to NetGalley for this copy for review. All opinions are my own.
*Read on audio
3.5

This was categorized as romance but reads more of women’s fiction with a bit of romance at the end. Overall, it was a cute and quick read but not anything astounding or anything that will stay with me. I liked that it addressed the dangers of social media addiction within a light fiction read.

Synopsis: Cat is an influencer who flees to a tiny rural cabin to escape her “cancellation” on social media. She falls in love with small town life, and with a small town man in the process. She learns that there’s more to life than her phone screen.

If you need a feel good book, then this is it. It’s also a reminder of being present for the moment and getting off your phone to constantly see how many likes you have from a post.

Kat makes her living by being insta famous. However, she decides to get into business with someone that has less than honorable ways. To do a reboot and have the insta world forget about the terrible things - Kat goes to Montana to hopefully help blow things over. Kat meets Zaiah a park ranger that doesn’t care about the insta works and still uses a flip phone.

Loved the sweet story telling and issues with the addiction of phones.

Thank you #NetGalley for the advanced read

“She’s insta-famous. He uses a flip phone.”

This was a sweet, chaste, slow burn romance.

Cat Cranwell in the mist of a life altering scandal takes her uncles offer to get away and join him at Kannery National Park. Far from the world of likes and filters that she knows.
Zaiah is a park ranger and hates social media.

I did feel like this was a little heavy on the “get off your phone” dialogue.

Sweet stand-alone novel

This comes out May 16, 23!

I received this as an audio book and would like to thank #netgalley and #thomasnelsonandzondervanaudio for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

Look, I know romance books and romantic comedy books are doing well right now, and I love it. I am here for it. It couldn't have happened to a better genre. But stop saying your book is a romantic comedy when it isn't. It is becoming a trend, and I hate it. I love women's fiction, which is what this is. However, if you tell me your book is a romantic comedy, it better be a romantic comedy.

I told myself to keep going; the romance has to happen soon. The female lead will go to the mountains, find love, and learn a great life lesson. I will smile and be happy. I never smiled, and I am not happy.

From page one, I was worried about this book. Cat is insufferable, and I know she is supposed to be at first, but I honestly felt like she had no character development. There was no character development on any level. There was also only about 10% romance and no romantic development between the characters. I never cared about them as a couple; they had no chemistry because they barely had enough time on the page to have any development.

I can't say I would have liked this more if it had been properly marketed. I did this via audio, which was done well. I don't know if I could have finished without the audio.

Thank you to Thomas Nelson for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Honestly, this book was great. It was well-written. The characters felt like real people with real struggles. Even the side-characters felt thought out.

The narrator did exceptionally, as well. Truly one of my favorite reads of this year from a list of almost 20. Thank you for the chance to read it early!

This was a cute story about a famous social media influencer who needs to take a break at her uncle's place in a small town. I would appreciate it if these stories weren't marketed as romance since the romance isn't even part of the story for 80% of the book. It was a women's fiction book.

Thank you NetGalley for the audio ARC of this book. This was a fun and fast read. I really enjoyed it and also the underlying messaging of how the world is obsessed with social media and our phones. I definitely recommend this for a beach read!

Thank you Thomas Nelson and Netgalley for this audio. I was really curious about the opposite atraction and I got many many lovely and not only aspects and moments. I would love to go to Montana now zo be honest. I love the nature but I also can not be without my phone.

Cat is a social media influencer that is pressured to sign a contract, on her birthday, which becomes a huge mistake. She is blamed for fraud because of that contract. Until the real culprit can be found, she will remain public enemy number one. She has lost everything.

Three months later, her Uncle Terry asks Cat to come to his national park to help run their social media. Cat makes a terrible first impression, and an even worse second impression with ranger Zaiah, whom she met on the birthday that changed everything. But…the park desperately needs her help. Can she pull of two miracles? Rejuvenate her career and save the park?

This book was adorable. The secondary characters were a riot, the park was a beautiful setting, and it dealt well with the issues regarding our addition to technology. I loved some of the things the town did for “fun”. Those t-shirts! I appreciated how Cat tried her best to help people, both in person and with her social media. Her growth as a person was well written and sparks hope for everyone. I appreciated the slow development on the romance. I am not a fan of the instalove trope, so the characters getting to know each other (and Cat learning about herself) is something I’d like to see more in books. If you want to read a sweet story about finding yourself and finding love along the way, definitely dive right into this book.

Thanks to NetGalley as well as Thomas Nelson and Zondervan Audio for an arc of this audiobook. I apologize if misspelled any names or locations, I read this via the audio narration. Thanks to narrator Talon David, who did a marvelous job bringing the characters to life.

After reading and loving Meet Me in the Margins, I knew I had to get my hands on whatever Melissa Ferguson wrote next! When I saw this was based in a national park, I flipped out a little (okay a lot)!

This story follows a social media influencer who is forced to spend some time off the grid after accidentally getting involved in the legal battle of the century.

We follow her from her penthouse in New York to living with her uncle in a park in Montana. Think Beverley Hilbillies, Green Acres, you get the picture 🖼️

Hilarity and lots of tender moments ensue when she learns a lot of meaningful life lessons and may even find a little bit of live along the way 😉

I love the way Melissa writes all of her characters; they're always so fun and quirky and help add so much dimension and personality to the stories!

Also, all the bonus points for the world's cutest cover art 🎨😍

This audiobook will be available for purchase on May 16, 2023!

The narrator is very easy to listen to and adds a lot to the story!

Thank you so much to Thomas Nelson for the ALC! I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

GUYS. This book was so cute! It gave me It Happened One Summer vibes, but I thought it was a tad bit better. I thought the characters were very well rounded and the story had the perfect pace. The narrators were fantastic, and listening to this audiobook made me wish the story was longer. I want more than eight hours of these characters! I will definitely be buying the physical copy so I can reread the book and add it to my collection. If you're a fan of books where the main character is rich and spoiled and gets sent to a place that is drastically different than what they're used to, this book is for you. I can't recommend it enough.

Cute, quick read!
Famous for a Living is a Hallmark-esque big city/small town closed door romance. Super fast paced with likable characters and beautiful scenery.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

This was such a fun opposites attract romance between a disgraced influencer who escapes to rural Montana to lick her wounds and finds a new appreciation for the beauty of the natural, disconnected world. I liked this characters a lot and the setting!

Cat was an especially relatable character as someone who posts a lot on IG. Her struggle to find balance and the dangers of getting too obsessed with followers and likes really came across in this book, particularly in light of what happened to Zaiah's ex.

Great on audio narrated by Talon David and recommended for fans of books like Chick magnet by Emma Barry or the upcoming debut You, with a view by Jessica Joyce. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for early digital and audio copies in exchange for my honest review!

Steam level: kissing only

This took two tries to get through. I was able to finish it through the audiobook. The narrator was Fantastic!

I have mixed feelings about this book. The whole city girl, gotta look perfect all the time and share all of my life on social media, is not at all relatable to me. I had a really hard time believing in the romance since the couple is SO opposite of each other. But I do love happy endings and characters who grow past expectations.

I’ve always wanted to jump in a hole in the ice, so the polar bear swim (and the following dip in a hot spring!) was my favorite part!

I’m not quite sure why this was published by Thomas Nelson. The romance was completely clean and there wasn’t any profanity, but there was absolutely no mention of God.

Thank you to Thomas Nelson and Zondervan Audio and NetGalley for the chance to listen to this audiobook.