How to Fake it in Hollywood
By Ava Wilder
Release Date: June 14, 2022
A talented Hollywood starlet and a reclusive A-lister enter into a fake relationship . . . and discover that their feelings might be more than a PR stunt in this sexy debut for fans of Beach Readand The Unhoneymooners.
Grey Brooks is on a mission to keep her career afloat now that the end of her long-running teen soap has her (unsuccessfully) pounding the pavement again. With a life-changing role on the line, she's finally desperate enough to agree to her publicist's scheme... faking a love affair with a disgraced Hollywood heartthrob who needs the publicity, but for very different reasons.
Ethan Atkins just wants to be left alone. Between his high-profile divorce, his struggles with drinking, and his grief over the death of his longtime creative partner and best friend, he's slowly let himself fade into the background. But if he ever wants to produce the last movie he and his partner wrote together, Ethan needs to clean up his reputation and step back into the spotlight. A gossip-inducing affair with a gorgeous actress might be just the ticket, even if it's the last thing he wants to do.
Though their juicy public relationship is less than perfect behind the scenes, it doesn't take long before Grey and Ethan's sizzling chemistry starts to feel like more than just an act. But after decades in a ruthless industry that requires bulletproof emotional armor to survive, are they too used to faking it to open themselves up to the real thing?
Grey Brooks is on a mission to keep her career afloat now that the end of her long-running teen soap has her (unsuccessfully) pounding the pavement again. With a life-changing role on the line, she's finally desperate enough to agree to her publicist's scheme... faking a love affair with a disgraced Hollywood heartthrob who needs the publicity, but for very different reasons.
Ethan Atkins just wants to be left alone. Between his high-profile divorce, his struggles with drinking, and his grief over the death of his longtime creative partner and best friend, he's slowly let himself fade into the background. But if he ever wants to produce the last movie he and his partner wrote together, Ethan needs to clean up his reputation and step back into the spotlight. A gossip-inducing affair with a gorgeous actress might be just the ticket, even if it's the last thing he wants to do.
Though their juicy public relationship is less than perfect behind the scenes, it doesn't take long before Grey and Ethan's sizzling chemistry starts to feel like more than just an act. But after decades in a ruthless industry that requires bulletproof emotional armor to survive, are they too used to faking it to open themselves up to the real thing?
Review:
Fake dating is one of my all time favorite tropes, and I’m also a sucker for the “famous person” trope where one or both MC’s are celebrities.
Imagine my squeal of delight when this book scrolled across my feed!
The entire time I was reading this book I couldn’t believe it was a debut. When I say that I devoured this one, I mean that I literally did nothing else all day other than flip pages because I was obsessed.
We meet Grey who is an aging starlet who was on a semi popular teen drama and is now struggling to be taken seriously in the acting world.
Ethan is an A list actor who’s seen better days after experiencing trauma. When these two are set up to “fake date” to help their images… things don’t go as planned fast.
While this book has all the makings of a rom com, it deals with strong themes such as drug/alcohol abuse, grief, death of a loved one, etc…
I felt these issues were dealt with tastefully and in a real manner that made my heart ache for the characters as they went through heart ache.
This book is not all rainbows and butterflies, but it is so so enjoyable and I loved it. I found myself comparing it at times to Daisy Jones and the six - the storylines are 100% different but the feeling this book gave me was reminiscent to the vibes I felt then.
And for this to be a DEBUT! Seriously, I give a major round of applause to you Ava Wilder. You kept me up half the night reading and broke my heart just to put it back together.
Huge thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
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