Love, Unscripted by Denise Hunter is a feel good audiobook about finding love when you least expect it. Chloe is an author whose book is being made into a movie. The star actor, Liam, is the last person she’d have chosen for her hero. However, the studio believes he is perfect. And he needs to do some damage control to his playboy image. The studio decides that a fake relationship between Chloe and Liam is just what they need. However, what starts out as a ploy quickly becomes more. But how can they make it work? And can they really trust each other? Listen now and find out! You’ll be glad you did!

I love small town romances. Chloe Anderson is the MMF who is a author who just wrote about that is turning into a movie because everyone went crazy over it. Liam Hamilton is the MMC who has been cast to star in her movie. Chloe is horrified. The are find themselves in a fake relationship for their own personal reasons. They form a friendship and their chemistry and banter evolve into something more. The narrator does a good job bringing the book to life.

Tropes
fake dating,
forced proximity
celebrity status
small town romance

Thank you #NetGalley#ThomasNelsonFiction HarperCollins Pubishing for the audio ALC of the audiobook
#LoveUnscripted by #DeniseHunter. also narrated by #KathleenMcInerny in exchange for my honest review.

“I guess Love is complicated. No matter who you are.”

I listened to the audio of this book. It took me a little while to adapt to the narrator, but it went smoothly after that. I know it matters for some people, so know it’s a dual POV (told 3rd person), but with a unique narrator. (It was perfectly fine for me)
I found that fake-dating story very cute. Despite the fact the story happens during a movie’s filming, the main vibe remains “small town”, and I truly enjoyed that. Both Chloe and Liam were easy to love, even with (thanks to?) their flaws. I enjoyed that –despite some pretty loaded family history– most of the book turned around mundane things, the building of domesticity and intimacy. It made it a cute and relaxing read, where I often forgot “who” (a writer and a Hollywood famous actor) was involved, to see the humans first.
That said, the stakes are recalled more than once. I loved that under the cute love story we can reflect on the impact of celebrity, about how being a public person makes for someone losing their right to privacy, and how a person’s life can turn to belong more to their fans than to themselves. On the same line, the conflict resolution was interesting as it was about finding a way to live together, accepting ourselves, remaining who we are, more than absolutely working on every flaw (and asking for help). That made Chloe and Liam even more endearing.

Thank you NetGalley, Denise Hunter & Thomas Nelson Fiction for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A sweet, clean love story with likable and memorable characters. The narrator is enjoyable. The story deals with family relations, past trauma, therapy, and moving on.

Chloe Anderson’s best-selling novel is being made into a movie, and she has a lot to say about the Hollywood playboy chosen for the role. She shares those opinions freely…on speaker phone, with the actor, Liam Hamilton, unknowingly on the call. With their working relationship off to a rocky start, Chloe’s worried Liam won’t take his role seriously and she’s willing to go along with a PR ploy to make sure he puts in the effort – she agrees to date him publicly to rehab his playboy image and in turn he’ll do the research to make his portrayal of her fictional leading man perfect. But when they genuinely strike up a friendship, it’s just a matter of time until those friendship feelings turn into something more…

Love, Unscripted is the perfect, clean beach read <3 I’ve read a lot of Denise Hunter’s novels over the years and always enjoy her writing and characters. When I pick up her books, I know I won’t be disappointed. Love, Unscripted has the same sweet, clean romance I’ve found in her other books. Swoony characters and chemistry without explicit content. Definitely recommend Love, Unscripted!

My favorite parts include their first in-person meeting (lol), the sick scenes, and of course, the ending <3 I also thought the side characters were hilarious and enriched the story (and I’ll be steering clear of digital thermostats from here on out ;)

Intimacy: Kisses Only
Sensitive Topics: alcoholism, divorce

Thank you to HarperCollins Christian Publishing/Thomas Nelson Fiction for giving me the opportunity to listen to the audiobook of Love, Unscripted through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Chloe Anderson has written her debut novel and within it, created her "perfect man" as Ledger, the heartthrob and romantic lead. Ledger has all of the qualities she has found lacking in her own love life and has dreamed of finding in a real partner, wrapped up in literary perfection. The book is a smash hit with the female beach-read crowd, and the movie rights are soon picked up. Chloe is on cloud nine until the actor cast to play dreamy Ledger ends up being the complete opposite of what she had envisioned.

From what Chloe has heard from the tabloids, Liam Hamilton is nothing more than a Hollywood player. She is devastated that this is who will bring her beloved character to life on screen and worries what this means for the movie. In an effort to get ahead of any issues, the PR team comes up with a plan. Chloe and Liam should fake a serious relationship to help soften Liam's bad boy image while bringing attention to the movie as it's being filmed and produced. Initially on the fence about this, Chloe and Liam eventually agree, and come to an arrangement. As they spend time together canoeing and picnicking and posting lovey dovey selfies on their respective social media accounts, Chloe realizes that maybe not everything you hear online about celebrities is true.

I listened to the audiobook of this story over a weekend, and it kept my interest the entire time. The story itself was light and pleasant, with some expected conflict and misunderstandings thrown in. The setting of Stillwater, North Carolina sounded beautiful and interesting, and I wish the small town had been fleshed out even more. I realized after I started the book that it was listed as Christian Fiction which is not a genre I typically enjoy. If I wouldn't have seen it shelved that way though I never would have known. The book was not preachy or overly religious in any way. The romance was a bit tamer than many of the other books I've read, but not prudish. Overall I would rate this 3 1/2 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the opportunity to listen to this advance reader audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

My initial thoughts of this book was it’s going to be a typical love story nothing special. Boy was I wrong. I truly enjoyed this book. I like how the author made the characters have so much in common despite his celebrity status and her being a small town girl.

The characters dealt with some real issues from abandonment to alcoholism within the family. I’m glad I continued to the end and didn’t judge this book prematurely. I recommend this book for anyone looking for a clean romantic story

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins Christian Publishing for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook.

Who doesn’t love a book about a writer? Author, Chloe Anderson finds herself entangled with the lead actor for her book big screen. A lovely fake dating, opposites attract, miscommunication novel. This was such a well written love story with some good side drama. It was very Macomber reminiscent.
#NetGalley
#DeniseHunter
#LoveUnscripted
#HarperCollinsChristianPublishing
#KathleenMcInerney
#ThomasNelsonFiction

A sweet story of when a jaded Hollywood star and a romance author collide. Tabloids can skew everything in the life of someone famous. It takes the love and faith of a good woman for Liam to trust again. Chloe eventually saw Liam for more than what his reputation made him out to be. With them spending time together she realized he was the leading man of her love story. It just took over coming misunderstandings and doubt to find their way. I’m so happy that this small town girl found her balance of being thrust into the spotlight with her small town values .thank you to NetGalley for this free advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

The reader was good and helped draw me into the story. Chloe and Liam's story was just a sweet romance, the side issues with his mother and her father were awesome for people who struggle with forgiveness and acceptance of how people are in your life.

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. I enjoyed listening to this new title by Denise Hunter. I enjoyed the many different characters and their stories and the slow development of the main character and Spencer.

I loved that the “normal girl” gets the guy. In our society we all want to be the most popular, the skinniest, the one with the nicest clothes. We want to look like the actors and women on social media that are constantly in our face. The hard-working, family oriented girl with a not so pretty past, gets the guy everyone wants. Loved it!! Can’t wait to read more by this author.

This had a plot idea that I thought I would enjoy more than I did, sadly, this fell flat for me. The characters just didn't jump off the page and into my heart. It was just okay. I finished it but really only because I was given access to an ARC in exchange for an honest review. It was cliche' in a way that rubbed me wrong, rather than in a comfortably predictable way.

Love, Unscripted was a fun love story.

Sometimes love stories are hard to believe and this was one of them. But also the good ending was exactly what you want to happen. So this book is more like a fairytale with a couple of twists. This is a great escape book that you read just for fun and entertainment.

I listened to the audiobook. I did not enjoy the narrator, Kathleen McInerney at first. After I got used to her voice it was not so bad. But she is definitely not my favorite narrator.

This is my first Denise Hunter book on audio and it was absolutely wonderful. She is great for readers of love, faith, and tugging on your heartstrings.

I loved this story about the writer and the movie star! Our heroine has her own skills and personality, and her love interest is misunderstood and not at all toxic. Oh, I got swept away in their story and could not wait to get more as I went through it. This is perfect for anyone looking for a well written romance!

Love, Unscripted is a quick, clean, romantic read with sweet characters and low-drama.

Chloe’s debut novel is becoming a movie. While overjoyed about this process, she is less than thrilled about the actor cast as the leading man. Liam has a reputation as a Hollywood playboy, not befitting of Chloe’s hero. During production, the two agree to a PR relationship that slowly morphs into something more.

This was a quick, easy listen. The narrator was great and brought the characters to life.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

The prolific and professional Kathleen McInerney narrates this new beach read written by Denise Hunter. Chloe Anderson lives near the beach in North Carolina and has just broken up with her fiancée. One of her life's ambitions is to write a book so after the breakup, she throws herself into it. The hero of her book is her ideal man. The book is published and even gets picked up for a movie deal.

Chloe is thrilled, but then not so much when the actor chosen to play her perfect man has a less-than-stellar reputation with the laedies. And, she lets the producer know her opinion of the casting, Unfortunately, Liam Hamilton is not only in the room listening to the speaker call, he's already signed the contract. When he gets to her hometown where the movie will be filmed, they run into each other and the press concocts a romance. As a PR stunt to promote the movie and her book, the two of them end up in the facade of a relationship. Imagine Liam aned Chole's surprise as they get to know one another and discover they actually want a relationship.

But will the pitfalls of living on opposite coasts and the constant interference of the press shut them down? This was a fun, quick read. Perfect for summer time! Fans of Hunter's other books will appreciate this one as well.

Note: I listened to an advance audio book provided by NetGalley.

What a fun quick read. Chloe’s first book is being made into a movie. Hollywood star Liam was cast as the male lead. Chloe isn’t happy about this choice. Chloe and Liam come together and decide to work together to make the movie a success. Do they find a happy ever after?
Thank you to NetGally for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Christian Publishing for gifting me this ALC of the audiobook to review.
What I liked about the book:
- The small-town vibes
- The film set atmosphere
What I didn’t like:
- The connection between the main characters seems quite shallow. Chloe seems to like the looks of Liam and then he is nice and pays a bit of attention to her so they get together. From Liam’s side, it seems that he is actually quite lonely, and most people don’t care to get to know him as a person, so when Chloe pays attention to the things he is saying, it must be love. To me, it read a bit more like they were the first people of the other sex to come along that treated each other in a nice enough manner, but not like this is a once-in-a-lifetime connection or that there even was a lot of sexual attraction.
- The connection between the MCs might also feel shallow because we barely know anything about them, especially Liam.
- There’s a side romance between Chloe’s best friend and her brother. It felt a bit unnecessary and not that romantic either, because the brother asks out multiple people at the beginning of the book and then professes his love for Chloe’s best friend a few weeks later.
- The third-act conflict felt very unnecessary and predictable when there were so many other things that already complicated the relationship between the MCs.
- The resolution on live TV was also very cringy and felt like a major breach of trust to talk about your intimate relationship on TV without getting consent from the other party involved, particularly considering Chloe had to sign an NDA and could have been sued for doing the same as Liam. This in itself would be a big no-go for me and not chivalrous at all. Liam could have found a better way to make a big gesture, especially because he didn’t even try to contact her in any other way. It also seems strange to me that everyone else applauded this behaviour when they were so sceptical of Liam before.
- The family drama was full of cliches and how the characters handled it, spoke about it and came to their own conclusions seemed like the issue lay dormant until the start of the book and now suddenly deep psychological revelations are being made. This ‘quick fix’ seemed a bit disingenuous and shallow.
- There are a lot of scenes that are meant to be quirky and funny, but they did not come across that way. I think there was some unused potential here that could have been fulfilled if there was a bit of randomness, cleverness, self-satire or sarcasm added. Chloe herself doesn’t seem very humorous, so those scenes also don’t make that much sense. (That Chloe came across that way to me might have to do with the narrator and that her intonation didn’t come across as humorous.) For example, there’s a scene where the FMC is on some medicine that makes her loopy, usually, these kinds of scenes in romcoms crack me up, but altogether there was nothing funny about it. The FMC just makes some weird noises, and talks of a UFO and the MMC’s hands. If I were her, I wouldn’t even be embarrassed about it because those drugged-up ‘revelations’ aren’t even real revelations – nothing funny or scandalous about them.
- The narrator seemed a bit too high-pitched at times, especially when it came to speaking as Chloe.

--> If you are looking for an easy read with a guaranteed HEA and Hallmark vibes, this book is for you; but if you are looking for more complexity I would suggest skipping this one.