REVIEW IS ALL SPOILERS so you might want to skip it if you like the author or the theme or just plan to read the book.














I am not the audience for this book about very young women; I'm not a fangirl/con attendee for anything, certainly not a TV show. While I know little about that world, I don't believe the author really knows that world, either, or at least, she wasn't able to make me understand it, so here's a description of a key plot point https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/2016/02/ship-wars-what-it-means-when-fans-don-t-agree-who-belongs-together..

I read a lot of cozy mysteries and a fair number of romance books, and I expect them to be entertaining, at best, to include strong characters and dialogue, and to be able to read them in a day or two. This one had none of those elements, and it seemed to last forever. I would not have finished it if I had not needed to review it.

I feel the author failed "show don't tell" big time. The characters, despite the fact that we're told about a lot of trauma/drama, don't grow or change in any way through the book. The dialogue between the two main characters is basically the same thing repeated throughout the book. There are explicit sex scenes, again repeated, but no sexual tension or resolution.

We should be taken behind the scenes at the fan convention, and in Hollywood, and in big time soccer, but we're not. We're told the character speaks Vietnamese and that her mother speaks it almost exclusively, but there is not one Vietnamese word in the book. Disappointing.

As I said, I'm not the target audience, and while I was shocked to find out the author had written other books, I wouldn't read one, and I can't recommend this one. Unrealistic, tedious, boring and pointless.

My first time reading an Olivia Jansae book, and it's make me look for more

This a lovely sweet romance, two great characters with fab friends, what more can you ask for

A chance meeting turns in to more, well written book with cool story.

Would I recommend: Yes

This was a sweet, predictable romance. Freddie attends a convention where she meets a famous actress (Andrea). Andrea is in closet because of her career while Freddie’s family isn’t very accepting. Overall, this was a good read with low angst.

Thank you NetGalley and Ylva Publishing for the ARC.

I am familiar with fandoms and this one is fandom heavy. Freddie is attending a “con” for one of her favorite tv shows and Andrea is an actress in the tv show in which the con is centered around. This story really reminded me of fan fiction. Two characters in the closet for different reasons, celebrity romance…was it realistic? No…. At the same time I enjoyed reading it. I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Freddie meets Andrea at a convention for her favorite show and they have great chemistry from the start. There are a few stumbling blocks along the way, the biggest being that Andrea is one of the stars at the convention and is not exactly out of the closet. Freddie has some hold ups of her own in the form of her family but she's got a great group of friends, both IRL and internet friends from Discord, to help her along the way.
I am a big fan of the celeb trope and this one was well done. They have a nice lead up and though they have great chemistry it wasn't instant love. They have a ton of interaction with each other and their meet ups go beyond surface level talk. I liked the build up here and it felt well paced. I also felt like both characters were likable and were entertaining. You don't get a big sense of Andrea's inner circle, she has one friend that appears and she talks more about her mother and agent but neither really has a lot of page time, I'd have liked to have a bit more there to feel more well rounded. We do have a lot of page time with Freddie's friends and family. I liked Lex and Red a lot, they added some fun to the more serious nature of Freddie and Andrea and I enjoyed the scenes they were added to. Freddie's parents were a bit less likable but also only had a couple of scenes and added another dimension to Freddie's part of the story. I think this was a fun quick read with a happily ever after and was a great interlude between some more intense fantasy books I've been reading. Highly recommend, especially if you're in the mood for a good celeb trope.

Such a dream story!

After a chance encounter at a convention for her favourite show, Freddie finds herself closer to her favourite actress, Andrea in a way she couldn’t have imagined. But with Freddie’s family making things with her sexuality difficult and Andrea admitting she can’t come out of the closet due to worries about her career, they are in a difficult position.

Loved every moment of this! It was the perfect celebrity romance and such a dream of a story. I loved how Freddie was kind and caring, sensitively handling things when they were difficult or out of context, and I had a tiny touch of envy because she had more than one amazing opportunity. If convention experiences could really be like this, I might enjoy them more. Freddie had it tough but she dared to dream and was focused on her goals to succeed despite her failed soccer career, and the way Andrea could support her in doing that was what really brought them close.

They made a great team, each having understanding and patience with one another as they navigated through uncertainties and challenges to be together. My heart broke for both of them, Andrea having to protect her career and how she was perceived, and Freddie having to keep their relationship secretive from her family and friends. Everything they went through was tough but worth it for the more intimate moments they got to share.

I know I’ll be thinking about this story for the longest time, it was just so good. Enjoyed every moment and didn’t want it to end. Hope for more Freddie and Andrea in future stories!

I received an ARC from NetGalley. Writing this review voluntarily.

I loved Olivia Janae's book 'The Loudest Silence'. The story was thoughtful and remarkable. It also dealt with the issue of the term 'inclusion' in the means where able-bodied people just for their comfort creating spaces such as inclusive technology, inclusive education, etc converting their guilt into 'development of resources' for the 'minority'. It was a delicate subject and explained in detail how a system initially excludes people and then tries to be inclusive to feel they are working for the 'greater good'.

This book, however, has a different theme but still deals with the issue of coming out in a world where 'normal' is different. It talks about how even living in the 'progressive' world, people still get judged by their sexual orientation, race, communities, etc. I loved Olivia Janae's book just for this. There is always an angle where the author delicately brings a larger issue upfront to the masses. The larger industries like Hollywood with its so much diversity and 'inclusion' of LGBTQAI+ people still have prejudices when it comes to certain aspects of their 'normal'. Who are 'they' here? You and I both know who here is. How 'they' controlled every day of our life, what should we say to let them feel comfortable in their skin, why to dither from 'normal', etc.

The book has premises of a fandom, actors of a particular TV series, and of course the fans. The fans are attending a convention organized for a TV series which one of our MCs, Freddie, is attending to support their 'ship'. The Colstead. The two TV characters from which our second MC is, Andrea. Both MCs met for the first time at the start of the convention and the story begins. Freddie is a former football player. She got injured during one of the college football training sessions. She has to retire from her dream and is still struggling to accept and even talk about it. Andrea is an actress. She has a role in the hit TV series and fans are going above their head with her co-star of the same series. Hence, Colstead.

This book has many folds. It's not a coming out per se book. But, how the world forces one's acceptance into hiding just to survive among 'normalization'. This is a book you can read to understand how the pressure of being 'different' from 'normal' has adverse effects on the well-being of people.

I'll recommend this book.

This story didn’t work for me. I couldn’t get into to either character. Freddie was a total clutz. The beginning of the book was very repetitive with Freddie gushing over Andrea. And Andrea falling for her at first sight was not believable.

I struggled reading this and gave up at the fifty percent mark. Sorry for accepting this arc. A friend recommended it but it was not for me.

When Freddie heads to a convention with her best friends, she has no idea that her life is about to change! Freddie and Andrea Canton, one of her celebrity crushes and star of her favorite show, unexpectedly meet throughout the weekend convention and even spend time together. There's a connection between them, the more time they spend together, the closer they become.

The two navigate through the weekend and vow to make it work once back in the real world. Andrea isn't out and neither is Freddie (completely). Andrea is worried coming out will affect her career and Freddie's mother doesn't acknowledge Freddie being a lesbian. Add to the fact that Freddie needs to keep their dating a secret from her best friends...what could go wrong?

This cute romance touched deeper topics, but with Freddie's clumsiness and her friends' humor, the story wasn't bogged down in the negative. Andrea's friend and co-star Rachel also added a bit of fun to the overall narrative. It was very apparent that being in the closet was taking a major toll on Andrea's mental health. Her fear of losing her career was palpable as were Freddie's struggles with her loss of her soccer career and her strained relationship with her parents. These plotlines were handled delicately with enough drama to add to the tension.

This celebrity romance kept me engaged and turning pages right til the very end!

Imagine you are going to a con for your favorite cop show, are meeting an amazing online friend in person for the first time, and see one of the stars of said show when you check into your hotel at 4 am.....welcome to Freddie’s life. While the meeting in the lobby didn’t actually go great (thanks, overactive security detail), Freddie found that she just kept bumping into actress Andrea Canton. When they find themselves both taking refuge in the quiet of a wine bar down the street from the con hotel, they get along and understand each other better than either could have imagined. But, Andrea is straight, right?

The way this book unfolds is delightful. The insight into the frenetic nature of the con makes me think Janae has attended a few. The energy and expectation that is felt on both the actor and the attendee sides is tangible to the reader and I enjoyed seeing how Freddie’s perception changed as she understood what it was like from Andrea’s side. The relationship develops in a believable fashion and both women are struggling with living in or partially in the closet. Freddie is Vietnamese-American and knows that being fully out will be a problem with her mom and the broader community and Andrea is a newly popular actress who crammed herself back into the closet for her big break. It’s a bit of an unusual coming out story, as both women have experience with being at least partially out, but I appreciated that this brought a realness to the situation as being out has many stages and permutations for so many in the community. I appreciated how Janae handled that nuance in this book.

Overall, it was an enjoyable read, particularly if you have experience with any particular fandom.

I received an advance review copy for free from NetGalley and Ylva Publishing, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

A book with a lot of happy coincidences that were just a bit too lucky and convenient, maybe.
I like the way the book is written but I have some issues with how both characters struggle with being gay and coming out. Both for different reasons, but the way it is handled is a little convenient and easy.
While I like a book in which things are easy and it providing me some form of escapism, I was just annoyed by how easy it all was in this one. Even with the ship… I mean… COME ON!

A bit too good to be true, still enjoyable. I think I might have been too grumpy too fully enjoy this one ;)

This book is perfect for anyone who has ever been part of a fandom or had ships. It follows Freddie, a fan of the show "Crime and Punishment", as she attends a convention for the show with her friends. There she meets Andrea, the actress who plays one half of her favorite ship, and finds herself drawn to her.

I really enjoyed seeing Freddie and Andrea get to know one another at the convention, and start to realize they have a mutual attraction. That was one of the highlights of the book for me. As well, I loved Freddie's friends Lex and Rachel. I did think that the second half dragged a bit for me, there was a little too much focus on fear of coming out and general angst that made it hard to get through. However, I did enjoy the way the story wrapped up with a nice HEA for all of the characters. Also, bonus points for the book title! I didn't get it at first but once I understood, I liked it a lot. 4/5 stars for this one!

This book take on very actual themes.

Andrea Canton is popular actres and has to deal with fans and tabloids everywhere. The theme privacy is very important today as ever.

Freddie Nguyen comes from different culture and has to deal with her parents, which they try to avoid the gay thing. It is sad, that today, this is still a thing.

I really liked this book, because it shows, that there are still fights to fight - for acceptance, tolerance etc.

What would it be like to meet and talk with one of your television idols? Welcome to Freddie's world when she shows up at the Crime and Punishment convention and comes face to face with one of the stars of the show. I have never been to a convention for fans of a show, so some of the terminology was lost on me. The meet-cute story was indeed meet-cute.

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for letting me read this book.
It was a nice comfort read, an easy read, great for anyone who likes fan fiction or fandoms.
It managed to deal well with the coming out stories of both Freddie & her Vietnamese family and Andrea the celebrity.
There was some language to do with the fandoms that I wasn’t particularly familiar with, but it was all pretty easy to figure out, I’m sure it would also make perfect sense to regular fanfic readers.

The blurb for the book says fast-paced lesbian celebrity romance with one bed -- it is all those things minus fast-paced. I found the storyline to be a little lean and lacking tension and development overall -- which lead the read to feel actually quite long.

I enjoyed Freddie and Andrea's connection and stolen moments throughout the convention. Their connection was a bit tough for me to get into because I found myself seriously questioning a celebrity who would pick up a fan at a fan convention. Even with that being true, I enjoyed the characters (for the most part).

I appreciated that both main characters were women of color. I think this might be my first story - ever - with a Vietnamese main character. Big props for inclusivity there, but I was very disappointed that the Black MC's blackness felt a bit awkward or forced at times. With her randomly timed usage of "sis", "sista", "mama", and the dreaded "can I touch your hair" storyline, these racial stereotypes felt like throw-ins to remind the reader of her racial identity instead of leaning on her actual character development. Freddie's Vietnamese identity was MUCH more woven into her characterization.

I gave this a 3 out of 5 stars. It was a decent (slightly predictable) read, but still a fun story that any fandom member could only dream of!

If you’ve ever been to a convention for fans you’ll enjoy the beginning of this book. Although this seemed a small fandom compared to the cons I’ve attended. Andrea Canton is in her early 30s and stars in a successful police show on TV. She is grateful to be getting a break by being on the show but is firmly in the closet for her career. At a small fan convention she meets Freddie Nguyen who is 28. Freddie's dreams of making the US soccer team came to an end after injuries and she is finishing her Masters in social work. The first half of the book covers a cute meet, and running into each other at the con.

I actually enjoyed the second half as much where the pair try to figure out if they can date. I love Andrea on their first date saying they aren’t going to be intimate yet and they take time for a few dates even if it is snuggling on the couch watching Buffy. Both have issues about coming out. Freddie is out to her traditional Vietnamese parents but they don’t accept it. The paparazzi are very cringe worthy in their invasiveness. I really enjoyed this romance. It is thoughtful, playful and with serious and funny moments. This is coming out March 2024 and looking at Goodreads it may be a reworking of a previous book by the author. (4,5 Stars)

This was my first book by this author and it was a very enjoyable read.

Freddie is a huge fan of a tv show and goes to a convention for her favorite couple on the show and can't believe her luck when she meets Andrea Canton is person multiple times and even on her own. She can't believe her luck and has a massive crush, but she never expected it to be anything more as she assumed Andrea was straight.

Andrea is the closet for the sake of her career and listening to people she believes know what they are talking about. It works for awhile until she meets Freddie and everything else becomes secondary.

This a pretty low angst book with fun characters, witty dialogue and a great setting. Who wouldn't want to fall in love with this book.

Wonderful job and one I recommend. I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

It was totally worth the wait for Olivia Janae second novel, we are slowly drawn into the attraction and journey of both main characters but also feel for the secondary individuals who make a great community to the whole story. This is definitely a book that you will want to add to your personal library collection.

This follows the general structure of all queer celebrity romances, but the focus on the fandom and the convention helps it feel a bit more original.

Andrea Colton can’t quite believe the break she’s gotten as one of the stars of her police tv show. The lesbian subtext and the fandom it’s created are overwhelming. So when she meets Freddie, a fan and college soccer star who suffered a career ending injury, she’s immediately charmed but not sure what to do. During the con, they keep running into each other, which wouldn’t be a problem except Andrea is not out.

The main storyline is obviously Freddie and Andrea figuring out how they can have a relationship without Andrea being out. Unfortunately, I didn’t think this was particularly well executed. The characters' actions didn’t seem consistent. At times they were hiding away and others they were way too open with their interactions like they didn’t care who saw.

Another major storyline was Freddie’s parents denying / ignoring her sexuality. I enjoyed the nuisance here. It was clear her father cared and wanted to be supportive but wasn’t quite sure how to connect with her while also minimizing confrontation. While Andrea also complained about her mother she never really showed up in the story which was odd given her supposed involvement in Andrea’s career.

Overall, this was an easy read that met expectations, but didn’t blow me away.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!