To Be or Not To Be: The Actors

To Be or Not To Be: The Actors, The New York Artists,  Cathrine Goldstein

Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews

Genre: Women's Fiction, romance

*Sigh * Women's fiction once more – why write off half the population, who says men don't read romance? They do, and write it too!

So I read Cathrine's first book in this series, The Rock Star, and liked it but wasn't swept away by the story, found it a bit sweet and simple, but decided I'd try this one and see if it was maybe that story and not Cathrine's writing style that didn't suit me well.

I really enjoyed this, almost to the five star loved it, just a little short of that. Its got a fun story line, lots of emotion, though I so hoped Maggie was going to be a lot nastier....I do love the b itch characters, but it wasn't to be :-(

Trevor was lovely, very genuine, great with his fans even though he tires of the series that's made him a Name and lots of £££. He needs that, his sister does anyway, as her husband skipped out when their son was seriously ill, and Trevor supports all the expensive medical bills. I loved his sister and nephew, not that we saw much of them but they added a feel of reality to the story. Ill health hits many of us, changing lives, meaning many are in Trevor's position, though not such a monied career usually....
When Trevor sees Jenna he's swept away, not just by her acting talent but also the attraction he feels to her. That shocks him, he's not felt this way, and of course he's in a relationship with Maggie, and that's also connected to his career....

Jenna made me feel two ways. I admired her determination to act, her sheer talent that she'd honed through hard work, her care for her family and friends, she was so giving to them. And yet she irritated me with her “I am right” stance, she was almost rude, actually at times she Was rude, to those she felt were out of step, didn't agree with her. For a young actress in a position few find themselves she's full of opinions, and seems to have little respect for others at times, even though they've been at the trade far longer. I know youth and enthusiasm go hand in hand, but it was the way she waded in, spouted her opinions at times without thinking how it affected others. There are different ways of doing that, and for me she chose the wrong way.
She feels attracted to Trevor too, and yet has reasons why she won't act on them, not just the fact he's with Maggie, but reasons that are personal to her and which she won't reveal. When they did come out I was shocked, not seen that plot-line before, though its something that's very real, in fact for many people very needed. Could I do it? I don't know, she felt it was her only option but I think its a tough thing to do, and did understand her reason for avoiding relationships, even while I didn't agree with it.


Its a fun read, a very real feeling romance, with barriers on both sides, and yet they can't seem to keep away. I could feel that magic pull between them and love that. It wasn't a clothes off, sex on in second chapter romance, but a slow burn one where for much they are nothing more than friends secretly attracted to each other, and then friends who admit attraction but understand it can't go further....til it does ;-)

Stars:Four and a half, not quite the magic five and TBH I'm not sure its a re-reader but its a story I really enjoyed as a one off.

ARC supplied by Netgalley and Publishers

I was pulled into the stories of Jenna and Trevor pretty quickly, as the author does a fantastic job in construing their big personalities and up-and-down relationship. I liked both characters for much of the beginning chapters, but as the story progressed, I started feeling pretty blah about Jenna and her decision-making. It seemed over-dramatized and I couldn't help but roll my eyes a few times. It was like making a mountain out of a molehill while going against every natural instinct she had about Trevor. Sometimes the continuation of those dramatics just got to be a little much.

The anticipation of when Jenna and Trevor could FINALLY be together really drove most of the book, and I think the ability to keep the reader feeling the chemistry and tension between the two characters was the author's strong point. So even though I didn't love all of the "reasoning" for the "impossibility" of their relationship, the dynamic between them was on fire.

Overall, it was a short book that got right to point of the story from the start, which I'm always happy to find when reading. It didn't drag and at the end, I felt like I had read a complete story that I was satisfied with. Minus the epilogue (which was a whole lot of telling vs. showing), the overuse of Jenna saying, "Huh," and Trevor CONSTANTLY telling Jenna to look at him (like, chill out man, good grief), this was a very enjoyable book that I would recommend to fans of New Adult Romance.

*I received an ARC from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

3 1/2 stars

Acting is in Jenna’s blood, but she feels as if she is under incredible pressure to succeed because she made a choice that disappointed her mother: to become an actor. If she hadn’t made this choice, if she’d become something more concrete that would bring in a lot of money, her brilliant younger sister would have an immediate chance at her future. Instead, Jenna is trying to make her life as an actor work and finding other means to earn money in order to provide for her mother and sister.

Trevor loves being an actor but feels stuck in the role of Caspian Locke on the daytime soap. He has dreams, but like Jenna, he has others to think about besides himself, his young nephew, Toby, who has a congenital heart defect. Without the money from the soap opera, how can Trevor take care of his sister and her son?

Like Cathrine Goldstein’s first novel in the The New York Artists Series, Summer of Irreverence (reviewed here) which I adored because, well, Rock Star, To Be or Not To Be takes the reader to a different world with unexpected characters. Jenna is a brilliant actress, feisty, sometimes temperamental, yet vulnerable; Trevor is kind and nerdy, not at all like his bad boy soap opera character. Their attraction is immediate, almost too immediate, and by this I mean that it was too immediate for me.

While I liked all of the unexpected qualities of the two main characters, I wasn’t as enamored with the story itself, but part of that may also be because I just didn’t buy into Jenna’s reasons for wanting to keep Trevor from her life. It all hinged on one thing, which made her seem very young and immature, probably too young for Trevor. For a brilliant woman, she wasn’t very good at thinking outside of the box, which was also in contrast to her penchant for the Bohemian lifestyle.

Still, To Be or Not To Be is a good romance for those of you who are a little tired of the predictability of the endless trope-driven stories, especially if you find romances between actors to be your thing.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this opposites attract storyline and I think you will too. Trevor and Jenna are great, well-rounded characters and I enjoyed their sweet love story. In fact, I liked this book so much I immediately downloaded the first book in the series to my Kindle.

Highly recommend.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

I would like to thank The Wild Rose Press, Inc. (Champagne Rose) and the Netgalley website for this partnership.

I was immediately attracted by the cover and the summary. We see on this cover Jenna and Trevor on a public bench.

It all starts when Jenna is asked to play in Ophelia's play starring Trevor except that she does not support him but she needs money to save her family.

As for Trevor, tired of playing his Caspian character is forced to continue having family worries.

Jenna and Trevor will get to know each other.

I struggled to hang on to the story but in the end I was just eager to know what would happen to his two endearing characters. A story a bit long to start but I loved it.

This title has been on my TBR pile for a while and im so glad i had a chance to read it...
Jenna Joyce finally lands a paid job on a off - broadway production of Hamlet....her only issue is the main actor is Trevor Hughes a well know soap actor who has a passionate dislike for.
After her father passed Trevor had made a promise to attend a charity event to support Jenna's cause however, he failed to attend and so starts the battle between love and hate.
I really enjoyed this book and found both of the main characters well rounded and passionate...a real page turner.
thank you for letting me read it :)