This is a poorly written rom com that will not remake as a bad soap opera. Sorry to report, don’t bother reading this often told boy meets girl, they break up, they still love each other, etc etc etc.An overtold story with all the Hollywood excesses. Sex, drugs, abuse, infidelity and a cast of characters stereotypically portrayed. I pushed myself to finish and advise no one starts.

Loved this book. It was full of emotions, love, disappointments, heartbreaks… just about everything. I did have a hard time connecting to the characters, but the things they went through and how they got through life were pretty relatable and flowed very naturally. Trigger warnings: there are multiple abortions and infertility that is a pretty big part of the story. Over all it was very well written and I would recommend.

i have mixed feelings about this one. the story definitely sucked me in and I was hooked on the drama, however, I wanted things to end up slightly different for the main characters. I really love fame tropes but it also covered some really difficult topics like familial estrangement, abortion, addiction, death of a loved one, loss of pregnancy, and domestic abuse. These definitely incited a lot of emotion for me but overall I enjoyed the story I just wish things played out differently. I would still recommend this book, just be mindful of all the trigger warnings if you do decide to read.

I cannot bring myself to rate this book, but I really want y'all to know that I did not like it.

If Elissa R. Sloan has million fans, then I'm one of them.
If Elissa R. Sloan has one fan, then I'm THAT ONE.
If Elissa R. Sloan has no fans, that means I'm dead.

But that said, please don't read this book. Like Sloan's previous two books this is set in Hollywood, we are chronically the rise of a famous individual and the path that led them to where they are in the present. In this instance we have model turned actress Maiko and actor Adrian. The two meet on set one day and begin a relationship that would eventually become something of a tabloid staple. In the middle of the book we see what drives these characters apart, sending Maiko off to be in an abusive age gap relationship with a producer and Adrian into a relationship with a rising musician.

It's really in the middle that this book feels off to me. It tries to tackle themes of infertility and I'm not sure that they really hit the mark there. I could be reading too much into things, but it just really left a questionable taste in my mouth. Adrian also is an addict, and that's part of what breaks him and Maiko up along with just some general misogyny...

The book never feels complete though. All the beats are there, but it feels like the story just needs a little more meat on the bones. It felt like I was making through a seven course meal of dishes entirely composed of interesting foam concepts and nothing that I could actually chew on. Because it is a romance you know where the story is eventually going to end and so having something to chew on in the middle would be nice.

I didn't always appreciate that this was a dual perspective book. I did appreciate that Maiko and Adrian had a lot going on separately though and we weren't wasting our time seeing the sae thing from both people which feels like it is becoming something of a lately. In previous books Sloan has used time to bounce back and forth between the past and the future, here we get a mostly linear narrative. The issue becomes we are spending about two decades with these characters with every chapter coming with a time jump that did sort of add to the disjointed feel that I had with this particular book.

Maybe people that go in with different expectations will have a better time than I did... but I think that either of Sloan's previous books, The Unraveling of Cassidy Holmes or Hayley Aldridge Is Still Here would be better places to start for most readers unless you are really determined to read a romance and aren't interested in books that are solidly more general fiction.

While reading Double Exposure, I'm also riveted by the marriage and possible break-up of Ben and JLo. This could be their story. Two huge stars in love - who then break up - and 20 years goes by, and they reconnect.

I think this is a fun look at celebrity and the lifestyles that seem so exciting. That said, the writing was a bit cold. I knew they loved each other but didn't sense any warmness.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review.

This book had me hooked shortly after it started. I loved reading about Adrian and Maiko and honestly wish it hadn't ended so I could be in their lives for longer. There is some heavy material that might be hard for some to read but other than that I would highly recommend for anyone to read.

3 Stars This is my first book by Elissa R. Sloan and it was fine. Not great, not bad. It was an easy read and follows a former couple of A-list stars over a span of 20 years. The writing style isn't my favorite.

This was a good plane read, but I think the clinical writing style prevented it from being as deep and emotional as it wanted to be. I felt like I was being held at arm’s length. It was also rather choppy and disjointed.

Discovering a new author can be a deeply moving experience, especially when the characters feel so real and their stories resonate on a personal level. I recently delved into a novel where the emotional depth of the male protagonist struck a chord with me. His journey, filled with struggles and raw vulnerability, was compelling and unforgettable.

The story unfolds as he and the female lead, both carrying the weight of their painful pasts, navigate a tumultuous relationship. Their initial connection, filled with hope and intensity, eventually crumbles, only for them to reunite under the spotlight of a stage. The way their paths intertwine again is both heart-wrenching and beautiful.

What captivated me was how authentically the author portrayed their individual and shared hardships. Both characters endure difficult relationships, and it's clear they deserve more than what life has handed them. The author's ability to capture their struggles and aspirations made their eventual reunion all the more poignant and satisfying.

This novel left a lasting impression on me, as it skillfully blended emotional depth with a compelling narrative. It's a testament to the author's talent and a reminder of how powerful storytelling can be when it touches on the complexities of the human heart.

Genuinely one of my favorite books I’ve read this year. I’ve always loved Elissa Sloan, but this pacing and character building in Double Exposure was the best from her yet. I will say the ending was the only part that felt rushed, but other than that I loved this book.

quick to read but dealing with heavy topics. with the 20 year time span i was hoping this would be like before sunrise by. way of like. evelyn hugo. but it wasn't as strong as either of them which. bummer

Double Exposure follows Maiko and Adrian, a former couple and A List celebrities, as their paths cross over a 20 year period. This book was fine. It wasn’t great but it wasn’t bad either. It was a fast read and I was rooting for the main characters. It does cover so heavy topics, so be aware. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really had fun reading this book. There is a lot of heavy subject matter though. I am a big fan of the author and I feel that Sloan is really the queen of late 90s, early 2000s pop culture fiction. I think I would have given this five stars if the time period was slightly shorter and there was more time to get into the darker subject matter, which is similar to how I felt about Sloan’s other two novels. But this one was my favorite book by the author so far.

I do love a Hollywood story and this author does them so well. Just like her previous books, I found Double Exposure hard to put down. I was so caught up in the lives of the rich and famous, the behind the scenes gossip is just too much to resist.

Early 2000s and Maiko and Adrian are the hottest new things in town. Young, beautiful and talented, everyone wants a piece of them. Things just keep getting better, professionally and personally.. that is until they don’t. We follow this couple over 20 years, though good times and bad. We really get to know them both so well, and become invested in them completely.

This is a quick and fun read, but it also covers some dark and triggering subjects. It felt like watching a Netflix documentary on the 2 actors, unable to tear my eyes away.

Thank you so much William Morrow for my advanced copy of this book to read. Publishes on September 10th.

Im so glad I finally read this. I’m making it my mission to find books with this vibe. I loved following Maiko and Adrian through the years, getting to know them, feeling for them! Stories like this always make me think about real life celebrities, they are in fact also real people and how the media plays such a crazy role in their lives is mind blowing to me! This book made me, once again, appreciate authors and the work they put in their books! How someone can write words on a computer and elicit so many emotions out of me is truly amazing.
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for this arc! I love finding new favorites!

I love Elissa’s books! I signed up for Book of the Month just so I could read her first one early, and she’s been a fave ever since.

The story revolves around Maiko and Adrian, and they were a compelling couple to me. I love just about any book that deals with the celeb world, and this delivered nicely. It takes place over about 20 years with them getting together, falling apart, and getting their second chance. I was rooting for them the whole time.

Thanks as always to NetGalley for the ARC.

This was…fine. Not bad by any means, but nothing remarkable. I love second-chance romances and the Hollywood setting, so that was nice, but something about this just didn’t hook me. It was a very fast read though, and I always like when books include epistolary elements.

I will read any celeb romance. I liked following Maiko and Adrian's struggle to make it in Hollywood, and the way their romance and careers blurred the lines and made their lives more difficult. I also liked the scope of the story, taking them from early twenties to late thirties/fortyish, and the emphasis on Maiko's biracial identity and how that affected her experience in Hollywood compared to Adrian's.

this was fine. very readable and easy to get through, which is what i've come to enjoy about elissa sloan's writing. however, double exposure ultimately didn't deliver on anything special. while i appreciated maiko and adrian as individuals, i really wanted more scenes of them together. it felt like just as we were getting somewhere, they were thrown apart. maybe that was the point, but i couldn't really connect to them as a couple as much as i would have liked because of it. however, i was entertained until the end and think that says a lot about sloan's writing.

A good dose of spice and stars! I liked this story and the settings. I didn't love the entire thing and skipped around some - overall three stars. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.