This book was so Cute and sweet! This was an amazing closed door romance and I loved every word of it! I adore Rachel and Lucas!! This book will not stop replaying over and over in my mind. 6 stars if I could !
I just reviewed Love Interest #9 by Mia Summers. #LoveInterest9 #NetGalley
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It was so refreshing to read a closed-door romance book! Not because I think spice is bad, but because I think that sometimes the spice can overshadow or be used as an excuse for poor character development. However, that was not the case with the sweet small-town romance.

This book takes place at the same time as the first book in the series (which I didn't know, but I don't think you need to read the first book to be able to enjoy this one). I loved the setting, the way that the relationship slowly developed between the characters, and ultimately the happy ending they got.

This was a cute story of opposites attract. Rachel finds herself back home, dealing with a break up and job loss, as well as a complex relationship with her father and stepmother. While trying to figure out her next move she gets a job with her old high school employer providing guided nature tours.

Lucas is a Hollywood star, but he’s ready for his career to pivot. Desperate to make it as a writer, director, and producer, Lucas comes to the the small town to scout locations for the movie he wants to make and he gets paired up with the spunky Rachel.

As they traverse the local terrain in search of the most camera-perfect places, Lucas and Rachel overcome their relationship baggage to find their happily ever after. A quick read, with some funny and heartfelt moments.

Rachel, recently back in her small hometown and disillusioned with wealthy men after breaking up with her ex-boyfriend, finds herself reluctantly working with famous actor Lucas Stone as a location scout for his upcoming movie. Despite her initial reservations, Rachel discovers that Lucas is nothing like the entitled celebrity she expected. While the characters are likable and the writing enjoyable, the story's pacing feels rushed, leading to an abrupt and somewhat unsatisfying ending. Despite this, the book offers an appealing narrative of a regular person meeting a glamorous movie star, with just enough glamour to be believable. However, the social commentary on wealth and nepotism feels forced and detracts from the overall enjoyment of the story.

This was a cute book! Probably not my favorite by Mia Summers, but it kept my attention and I did like the characters. I wish there would have been more chemistry between them, it felt like they were more like best friends than 2 people falling in love. The ending felt rushed in my opinion. After they finally realize they are in love and tell each other, it just wraps up a little too quickly for me. Overall, i'm glad I read it, and give it 3 stars! Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

these characters had more chemistry of friends than lovers, everything was very repetitive (more than all the FMC dialogues) there was a super unnecessary drama almost at the end that was resolved in a very wtf way?????

ARC REVIEW

My Star Rating: 3.5/5 ⭐
My Spice Rating: 1/5 🌶️

What you’ll find:
🏕️Dual POV
🥾Closed-Door Romance/Kissing Only
🏕️Forced Proximity
🥾Movie Star
🏕️Slow Burn
🥾Small Town
🏕️Only One Bed/Tent

Love Interest #9 is the second book in the 'Big Star, Small Town' series. Like the first book, this is a closed-door romance with kissing only.

Rachel leaves New York and moves back to her small hometown (Canyon Ridge) after feeling betrayed and misled by her wealthy ex-fiance. With no options in sight, she ends up working her old high school job giving local wilderness tours. Lucas Stone, an action movie star turned producer, shows up in Canyon Ridge while looking for locations for his next movie. Lucas hires Rachel to show him around and help him scout the locations. Although there is an attraction between them, Rachel has made it very clear she will never fall in love with a wealthy man again.

I enjoyed Lucas and Rachel's story. Mia Summers did a wonderful job setting the scene for where this story took place. It felt as though I was right there with them on the hiking trails and I could easily visualize their surroundings. The author also does a great job creating characters that are believable, likable, and relatable even though they sometimes get on your nerves with the decisions they make. The characters are well-developed and always have interesting backstories. I loved the crossovers from the first book in this series.

Rachel and Lucas are perfect together. This is a slow burn, so their relationship developed over time and was not rushed. Lucas knows Rachel is hesitant to get involved with him in any way, and although he is falling for her, he respects her decision. Rachel ends up pushing aside her blanket judgment of wealthy men and realizes Lucas is genuinely an amazing guy.

I did not enjoy the accusations and horrible things the main characters said to each other, but as with any story, there must be some sort of conflict for the characters to overcome. The grand gesture with the different exhibits at the makeshift museum was so sweet. They made things right and achieved the happy ending I was waiting for.

Thank you Mia Summers, Sterling & Stone, and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for my honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

2.5 ⭐️

I really had fun reading this book! Rachel doesn't want to date anymore rich men because she was betrayed by one and Lucas doesn't want to date anymore not rich and famous women because he was betrayed by one, and yet, they still found each other and fell in love with one another because deep down we all know that love is not about money or social class, it's about being happy and trusting the person you're with. I loved Lucas so much and even though Rachel sometimes annoyed me with her prejudice I still liked her a lot.

I received this book as an ARC from Netgalley for my honest review! Thank you Netgalley! As I said in my review of the author's last book, I think she does the Hallmark, cheesy, fluffy books well. It's not for everyone, and it's not a feeling I'm drawn to often. I do appreciate that it isn't love at first sight and is at least a bit of tension. It was enjoyable and easy.

I couldn’t get into it. The characters felt flat and unlikeable to me. 3.5 because I’m sure some people will love this romance, it’s just not for me.

A cute small town, forced proximity, celebrity rom-com with zero spice.

I enjoyed sexy but sensible actor-turned-producer, Lucas Stone, as a supporting character in Hooked on Hollywood, so I was looking forward to seeing where he landed his next big move. Which happened to be yet another charming small town with another female lead, Rachel, that had tried out city life only to return to her hometown and high school job (while swearing off rich boys) after a spoiled engagement. Mr. Hollywood hires Rachel as his local tour guide, against her better judgement, to trail him around in hopes to find a landing spot for his next film.

Summers is brilliant at setting the scene and describing surroundings in detail (add trip to Washington to bucket list — check!), as well as creating relatable characters in realistic relationships, and intertwining Hollywood without damaging her small town set. Unfortunately, those qualities are the same things that keep this book from being great. The characters have depth, the plot is interesting, the pace is captivating (at least at first), then it falls flat. There is an overall lack of genuine conflict and chemistry in the end. Especially given the forced proximity of two adults in their twenties who are as attracted to each other as Summers wants us to believe. A romance novel doesn’t have to be spicy to be swoon-worthy, but I can only describe this one as purely platonic. Cute. Sweet. Borderline boring. Suitable for tweens and young adults.

Book #2 in this series follows the story of Lucas Stone, the best friend of Ryan Jones (the famous actor in book #1) and he is also a Hollywood hunk. In book one, Lucas is scouting a film location for the majority of the book and this is the story of what he's doing while Ryan is handcuffed to Olivia. Rachel has recently broken up with her wealthy, cheating ex-boyfriend who has moved back home to Canyon Ridge, WA from New York City after being let go her museum job. After living with her dad and stepmom (who is also her former college roommate) she gets her old high school job back as a wilderness tour guide for a local hotel, which also gives her a room of her own at the hotel. She is an experienced local guide who ends up helping Lucas scout locations for his film and she is not a fan of rich people so you can imagine how spending loads of time together goes for them.

I really liked the crossover from the first book with Lucas, as we met him in the first book and he was a likable character. The nature descriptions are excellent and make you feel like you're really walking around in Washington state nature. The detail included in the hiking descriptions is exceptional. I like Lucas's character more than the male MC in the first book, he comes off as a very happy and all around nice guy. His character also has some depth, regarding his childhood. I don't know why but it seems like he's softer than the male MC in the last book, which is more appealing to me. The ending was super sweet and I really did enjoy this book. I think I liked it more than the first of the series, actually.

I struggled to get into this book. It felt very clichéd and, for the promise of a clean rom com, it sure didn't feel like it. I'm all honesty, I gave up after the second chapter. I know that romance comes are notoriously predictable, but this one left nothing to hope for.

This was a fun read.
Summers knows how to craft realistic characters and fun dialogue.
I'm not usually one for an insta-love plot, but I did enjoy this.
I received a copy via NetGalley and all opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author/publisher for a copy in exchange for a review.

I have found myself a big Mia Summers fan and I enjoyed this one as I have her others. This one had some fun elements and very small crossovers if you have read Hooked on Hollywood. I did find myself enjoying her others more than this one but I think it was just because this one didn't have much depth to the storyline. I still will be wanting to read her others :)

Posted to Goodreads 1/14/24

Mia Summers does it again. Love Interest #9 may be my favorite by her. I enjoyed bringing other characters from previous books into this one, and the relationships/struggles everyone has. Definitely will be buying a hard copy of this.

This is Book 2 of the Big Star, Small Town series and was an absolute delight to read. If you haven't read the first book, no worries, this can be read as a standalone. It was a cute and sweet story with likable characters, and was full of charm. Rachel has had some pretty tough breaks recently, and she finds herself heading back to her small hometown, Canyon Ridge, for a fresh start. She settles for a job as a tour guide at the local bed and breakfast, which also provides her a place to stay. Not the ideal job, but it's a start. Then Hollywood action star, Lucas, comes to town and shakes things up a bit. He's looking for a location to film his new movie, and finds Canyon Ridge the perfect place to do so. He needs a local tour guide to show him around. Rachel isn't thrilled to take him on as a client, perceiving him to be an entitled, spoiled, jerk. But as she spends time with him, she realizes he's not at all what she thought him to be. They slowly starting developing a relationship, but after what happened with her last relationship, she wasn't in a hurry to get involved in another one. Lucas senses her reluctance and gives her the space she needs to let things progress slowly, and Rachel realizes what a genuinely caring and understanding man Lucas is.
It was nice to see their relationship develop slowly, and not be rushed. They seemed to have a really good connection, and that played out nicely. The author did a nice job of bringing the scenes and the characters to life. A delightful and charming story!
Thanks to Netgalley for providing a complimentary copy. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Okay I thought I loved the first book in this series but I was wrong cause this one was even better. I love the slight crossover of stories and characters without being too much and the weird dynamics they added like the step mom best friend. Short And sweet read but left me wanting more of their story.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

3/5

"Love Interest #9" by Mia Summers is a fun and enjoyable read with a slow-growing and evolving romance. Rachel, after facing heartbreak and being displaced from her apartment, returns to her hometown and takes a temporary job as a tour guide. Hollywood hotshot Lucas Stone enters the scene, demanding her as his personal tour guide, sparking an entertaining and sweet romantic storyline.

What I liked was that I had immediate interest from the beginning, the enjoyable nature of the book, and the ability to read it as a stand-alone. The descriptions of Canyon Ridge are appreciated, and there's a lot of potential in this book/series.

What I didn't like were that situations in the plot were drawn out, leading to a rushed ending that was not entirely satisfactory. The evolving relationship between the main characters feels more like a friendship than a potential romantic connection. The male POV is inconsistent with the character's description, and the handling of the big disagreement in the plot is was very unsatisfying. There are a lot of similarities between the female main character in this book and the one from the first book in the series, and there are many events happening simultaneously, potentially making the plot feel overwhelming.

In summary, "Love Interest #9" is presented as a book with entertaining elements and sweet romance, but it faces criticism for certain plot developments and the resolution of conflicts.

I really enjoyed this book! It’s definitely my favorite of Summers works so far I think. There were a few inconsistencies within the book I’m sure will be fixed for the final novel, but that did not impede my enjoyment in any way. I really loved getting to see the characters and am really looking forward to the next book.