actor/actress
B-
Sam can’t escape the smash hit “Lost Boy” because, well, he is the lost boy. His pop-singer ex immortalized him in a song about his childish ways, and now his comedy career is on the line.
At least he still has Bree, his best friend and confidante. Bree has always been there for Sam, but ...
In the first few chapters, Flip the Script by Lyla Lee seems like it isn’t going anywhere special: heroine Hana Jin has landed a lead role in the K-Drama Fated Destiny opposite K-Pop star Bryan Yoon in his first acting gig, and to boost ratings for their show, they are asked to have a fake relatio ...
Back in 2020, I chose Marie Sexton’s Winter Oranges as my read for that year’s December prompt in the TBR Challenge, and really enjoyed it. It’s an unusual and charming story, a gorgeous slow-burn romance with a magical twist, and I was delighted to see that the author was writing a sequel. Of ...
Built to Last is sweet and charming read that reminded me of a couple of books I’ve read this year and mashed them into a single volume. You have the child star who’s gotten involved in life outside of their gig acting (a la Birds of California), you have the reunion that takes place for a publi ...
Nora Goes Off Script is Annabel Monaghan’s first adult book and one of my favorite rom-coms this year. The story is fresh with humor and heart.
Nora is a screenwriter for a romance channel. Her self-centered husband leaves her and their two children so of course she writes a screenplay about it ...
A
Reel is the first in Kennedy Ryan’s Hollywood Renaissance series featuring Black creatives. Director Canon Holt’s six-month search for the woman to star in his biopic of a forgotten Black musical legend comes to an end when he sees Neevah Saint take the stage as a Broadway understudy. He doesn ...
How to Fake It in Hollywood is an age-gap, fake-relationship contemporary romance début that delivers a Real Deal Romance packed into a slightly uneven story.
Grey Books (real name Emily) is a child actor-turned-teen TV star (think One Tree Hill) of moderate fame. At twenty-seven, after almo ...
A-
Début novels can be a bit of a gamble, but I’m glad to report that Lily Chu’s The Stand-In is a risk worth taking.
Gracie Reed is the biracial daughter of a white Canadian man and a Chinese mother now struggling with dementia. First, her boss sexually harasses and then fires her. Next, a pap ...
Birds of California is one of the better post-#MeToo showbiz-kids –grow-up-in-Hollywood novels. Warm and inviting,with engaging characters who are enjoyable, it gets slightly dinged for pacing issues.
Fiona St. James was once the child star on the family dramedy The Birds of California, which ...
I’ll admit that I cheated a little on TBR Challenge this month. I usually try to dig deep into the archives of my TBR, but when I saw the “Grumpy” prompt, all I could think of was the grumpy/sunshine romance I’d picked up from Amazon First Reads last month, based entirely on the author’s h ...