For Her Consideration is an endearing romance with a lot of positives, but the narrative moves slowly. Oh so slowly. It grinds down and leaves the reader waiting for more to happen, ultimately resulting in a sense of herky-jerky pacing that puts a damper on the proceedings.
Nina Rice gave up her dreams of becoming a famous Hollywood screenwriter in the wake of a nightmare breakup three years earlier. Her ex gave her a list of twelve reasons why she was a terrible person as she broke up with her, which caused Nina to turn inward and isolate. Now, she keeps to her small apartment and works far outside the limelight, handling the accounts for her Aunt Lorna’s big-shot talent agency and taking care of the clients’ email correspondence.
Then she meets rising actress Ari Fox, her aunt’s latest client, at an agency meeting. Ari is considered something of a problem client by Nina’s aunt due to the fact that she wants to guide her own career. Ari’s urgency of purpose immediately strikes Nina, and Ari is determined to at least put her own stamp on her personal communications. They get along so well, and the chemistry is pretty instantaneous between them. Unfortunately, Nina has body image and self-confidence issues to tame. Will she give her dreams, true love, and Ari a shot?
This is a novel that has a lot of fun with the Hollywood scene, and Ari is a ball of fire to be reckoned with who delighted me. Yet while its characters are likable, Nina also had severe problems communicating with those around her, to the point where her reluctance feels ludicrous. I’ve been spoiled by great books about Hollywood-based romance (or novels with romance-centered plots) like Birds of California and Built to Last, and For Her Consideration doesn’t have the level of punch or big enough truths to tell about the industry, so it ends up... just sitting there.
Worse, there are some long, dull stretches of internal monologuing that read more like mental lollygagging than anything. Then, suddenly something major will happen – to Ari’s career, or Nina’s motivation, but it gets skimmed over instead of explored. The pacing really defeats For Her Consideration and and left me feeling frustrated. If you can get past the pacing issues, it might be worth reading for its engaging characters and how much fun the story has giving us a little glimpse into little explored parts of California’s social landscape. But I can’t give it a full recommendation.
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Sensuality: Kisses
Publication Date: 02/2023
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