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marieintheraw's review against another edition
3.0
A Hollywood romance, second chance, and friends-to-enemies-to-lovers all in one? Absolutely a shot I was interested in picking up. While I did not love one of our main characters or their motivations in this, it did feel uniquely like something a teen could still do.
I received an ecopy of this through netgalley; however all opinions are my own
I received an ecopy of this through netgalley; however all opinions are my own
noracalloway's review against another edition
3.0
3-3.5/5. It was fun, and once I got into it I could barely put it down (I put it down for a few weeks, but finished it in 2 days post-the first 70 pages lol).
I think the main reason I didn't rate it higher is the main character just IRKED me. So did all the characters tbh. The book has a good concept, I just wasn't in love with the execution.
(I also can't decide if I love or hate the cover. Like I genuinely don't know if I like it or not. I DO like the title being the Hollywood sign, that's cute.)
I think the main reason I didn't rate it higher is the main character just IRKED me. So did all the characters tbh. The book has a good concept, I just wasn't in love with the execution.
(I also can't decide if I love or hate the cover. Like I genuinely don't know if I like it or not. I DO like the title being the Hollywood sign, that's cute.)
deedoodah_reads's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Enjoyable if you're in the mood for romance, but the story lacked any real depth. Nothing particularly awful about the book but it's not one I will choose to revisit.
justkeyreads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This was a coming-of-age novel told in past and present after trying to forget the first love she met at summer camp who has now become a movie star. She's turned into a type A scheduled, valedictorian and everything comes crashing down when her best friend makes her hope that she can flush Carson from her soul to the boy she loves. I really wish she wouldn't made him beg more though he was more of a jerk to her and she should have just let him be and let him go.
rburns0017's review
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
ethannku's review against another edition
1.0
Thank you PenguinTeen for an eARC of this book. All opinions are my own.
Alexa Brooks has her whole life planned out. After meeting and then losing her best friend, Carson Knight, due to her impulsiveness, she’s decided to play it safe. That means becoming valedictorian, winning all her cross country meets and dating a football player. But memories of Carson come flooding back when she writes an assignment about him, and suddenly she finds herself wanting to reconnect with her former best friend. Problem is, Carson Knight, or rather, Cayden McKnight is now a famous actor with a bad reputation.
I did not enjoy this book at all. Reading it was borderline painful for me. Alexa, despite being the literal valedictorian, is very stupid and makes several decisions that a smart person would not make, such as spending thousands of dollars to better the reputation of someone she doesn’t know anymore. Carson, her love interest, is an actual jerk, and his attempts to redeem himself made me hate him more. The side characters, Lindsey and Heidi, were the best parts of the book since they were the only people who could think, but their dialogue was very cringe-y at certain points (most notably when one of them spelled out “WTH”).
The beginning of the book switches between the present day and flashbacks of Carson and Alexa when they were younger, and while Carson and Alexa’s banter was cute, I could not connect the Carson of the past to the present “bad boy” celebrity Cayden McKnight. Cayden was so unlikeable and infuriating, and at several points towards the end, when they are together, he straight-up gaslights Alexa and treats her horribly. I understand that he’s supposed to keep their relationship under wraps because he’s a celebrity, but come on, there’s gotta be a better way to treat your girlfriend. Especially one that you’ve been leaving subliminal messages to using the titles of the movies you’ve been in. (I’m not the only one that thinks that’s ridiculous, right?) The whole concept of these two being obsessed with each other since they were 14 years old, enough to change the entire course of their lives, is laughable to me. Maybe I’m just not a romantic.
I also disliked this book because of what wasn’t in it. As a queer POC (specifically South Asian), I noticed that there was something uniquely “white" about this book that I just couldn’t connect to. For example, Alexa’s parents barely blink when they find out she’s spent thousands of dollars from her college fund without letting them know. Her school doesn’t do anything other than suspend her from the student council when they find out she bartended as a minor. Somehow, she was able to buy PLANE TICKETS??? without her parents knowing and TAKE A FLIGHT ACROSS THE STATE after telling her parents she was going to her friend’s house for a sleepover. All of these things would not be possible at all if Alexa or her parents were South Asian, and because of that, I couldn’t connect to her at all.
The lack of LGBT characters wasn’t that much of an issue, since I understand that this is a straight romance book, but what I can critique the book on is avoiding the topic altogether. There was a spin-the-bottle scene in one of the flashbacks, and when the bottle landed on two people of the same gender, they just respun. This isn’t that big of a deal, but it felt so much like erasure and I couldn’t shake it for the rest of the book.
I understand that having characters of color or queer characters in a book like this isn’t a priority to some people, but it’s something I feel strongly about, and this review would feel dishonest if I didn’t mention these aspects. There are several other reasons that I disliked this book, and my notes have things like “how does she keep driving 300 miles in a days time” and “this is literally stalker behavior,” but I hope I’ve said enough to show that I would really not recommend this book to anyone.
Alexa Brooks has her whole life planned out. After meeting and then losing her best friend, Carson Knight, due to her impulsiveness, she’s decided to play it safe. That means becoming valedictorian, winning all her cross country meets and dating a football player. But memories of Carson come flooding back when she writes an assignment about him, and suddenly she finds herself wanting to reconnect with her former best friend. Problem is, Carson Knight, or rather, Cayden McKnight is now a famous actor with a bad reputation.
I did not enjoy this book at all. Reading it was borderline painful for me. Alexa, despite being the literal valedictorian, is very stupid and makes several decisions that a smart person would not make, such as spending thousands of dollars to better the reputation of someone she doesn’t know anymore. Carson, her love interest, is an actual jerk, and his attempts to redeem himself made me hate him more. The side characters, Lindsey and Heidi, were the best parts of the book since they were the only people who could think, but their dialogue was very cringe-y at certain points (most notably when one of them spelled out “WTH”).
The beginning of the book switches between the present day and flashbacks of Carson and Alexa when they were younger, and while Carson and Alexa’s banter was cute, I could not connect the Carson of the past to the present “bad boy” celebrity Cayden McKnight. Cayden was so unlikeable and infuriating, and at several points towards the end, when they are together, he straight-up gaslights Alexa and treats her horribly. I understand that he’s supposed to keep their relationship under wraps because he’s a celebrity, but come on, there’s gotta be a better way to treat your girlfriend. Especially one that you’ve been leaving subliminal messages to using the titles of the movies you’ve been in. (I’m not the only one that thinks that’s ridiculous, right?) The whole concept of these two being obsessed with each other since they were 14 years old, enough to change the entire course of their lives, is laughable to me. Maybe I’m just not a romantic.
I also disliked this book because of what wasn’t in it. As a queer POC (specifically South Asian), I noticed that there was something uniquely “white" about this book that I just couldn’t connect to. For example, Alexa’s parents barely blink when they find out she’s spent thousands of dollars from her college fund without letting them know. Her school doesn’t do anything other than suspend her from the student council when they find out she bartended as a minor. Somehow, she was able to buy PLANE TICKETS??? without her parents knowing and TAKE A FLIGHT ACROSS THE STATE after telling her parents she was going to her friend’s house for a sleepover. All of these things would not be possible at all if Alexa or her parents were South Asian, and because of that, I couldn’t connect to her at all.
The lack of LGBT characters wasn’t that much of an issue, since I understand that this is a straight romance book, but what I can critique the book on is avoiding the topic altogether. There was a spin-the-bottle scene in one of the flashbacks, and when the bottle landed on two people of the same gender, they just respun. This isn’t that big of a deal, but it felt so much like erasure and I couldn’t shake it for the rest of the book.
I understand that having characters of color or queer characters in a book like this isn’t a priority to some people, but it’s something I feel strongly about, and this review would feel dishonest if I didn’t mention these aspects. There are several other reasons that I disliked this book, and my notes have things like “how does she keep driving 300 miles in a days time” and “this is literally stalker behavior,” but I hope I’ve said enough to show that I would really not recommend this book to anyone.
rebecathebookworm's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
mrsjoylovesbooks's review against another edition
4.0
Second Chance
Friends to More
Celebrity trope
I enjoyed this quick read about Alexa and Carson/Cayden. There were some cringy scenes but it’s one of those stories where you just have to keep watching and hoping for redemption as the MC makes bad decision after bad decision. The ending was unrealistic, leaving a big mess with school and friendships, so that kind of bugged me. I did like the exploration of first love. It was a fun and easy YA read that kept my attention enough that I read it in a day. I did a mix of audiobook and ebook. Thank you to Penguin Teen for the digital ARC and PRH Audio for the free audiobook.
Friends to More
Celebrity trope
I enjoyed this quick read about Alexa and Carson/Cayden. There were some cringy scenes but it’s one of those stories where you just have to keep watching and hoping for redemption as the MC makes bad decision after bad decision. The ending was unrealistic, leaving a big mess with school and friendships, so that kind of bugged me. I did like the exploration of first love. It was a fun and easy YA read that kept my attention enough that I read it in a day. I did a mix of audiobook and ebook. Thank you to Penguin Teen for the digital ARC and PRH Audio for the free audiobook.