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blacknbookish's review against another edition
2.0
ARC provided by Netgalley
The concept of this book was great, but the execution didn't cut it for me. Zoe really annoyed me and I found myself skimming through her inner monologue. For the majority of the book, she was constantly putting herself down, but never really came to terms with her insecurities. The fact that she told no one about dating her celebrity crush was hard to believe and the justifications for her lies were weak to me. Also, the idea of this celebrity suddenly falling for her based on her tweets alone was hard to suspend belief for. There were parts of Zoe and Chase's romance that were cute, but overall this book wasn't for me.
The concept of this book was great, but the execution didn't cut it for me. Zoe really annoyed me and I found myself skimming through her inner monologue. For the majority of the book, she was constantly putting herself down, but never really came to terms with her insecurities. The fact that she told no one about dating her celebrity crush was hard to believe and the justifications for her lies were weak to me. Also, the idea of this celebrity suddenly falling for her based on her tweets alone was hard to suspend belief for. There were parts of Zoe and Chase's romance that were cute, but overall this book wasn't for me.
neelz's review against another edition
4.0
3.75 stars
I enjoyed Starstruck, it was a good read. A sweet little romance.
However there were a few issues, it felt like the climax was a little predictable, it was just about the when. I did not like how late in the book the climax was either as it meant that the whole getting back together was just rushed.
I enjoyed Starstruck, it was a good read. A sweet little romance.
However there were a few issues, it felt like the climax was a little predictable, it was just about the when. I did not like how late in the book the climax was either as it meant that the whole getting back together was just rushed.
chloesherone's review against another edition
4.0
4⭐️
Sariah Wilson never disappoints me. This was so good. The tension was unbelievable OF COURSE.
I don’t know where to begin. I live for the secret relationship trope which was exactly what this was. It was very insta-love like though which I don’t normally mind but this was a bit too instalovey. HOWEVER the rest of the book made up for it. Chase has added to my standards. The things this man would do for Zoe. Bye
Side note: Zoe’s best friend annoyed me the whole book, couldn’t get on board with her. Loved her boyfriend though.
Content: closed door
Sariah Wilson never disappoints me. This was so good. The tension was unbelievable OF COURSE.
I don’t know where to begin. I live for the secret relationship trope which was exactly what this was. It was very insta-love like though which I don’t normally mind but this was a bit too instalovey. HOWEVER the rest of the book made up for it. Chase has added to my standards. The things this man would do for Zoe. Bye
Side note: Zoe’s best friend annoyed me the whole book, couldn’t get on board with her. Loved her boyfriend though.
Content: closed door
chelsea_not_chels's review against another edition
4.0
More reviews available at my blog, Beauty and the Bookworm.
I recently had a bunch of books become available from holds at the library, one of them being the somewhat heavy (but also, in retrospect, somewhat uplifting) When Breath Becomes Air, my reading challenge book for the "book about death or grief" category. Knowing that was coming up, I knew I was going to need some pure fluff to balance a deeply introspective memoir about dying and the meaning of life. You know, all that fun stuff. And then up popped #Starstruck. I haven't read any of Sariah Wilson's works before, but I've had Royal Date by her sitting on my Kindle for ages. Still, #Starstruck caught my eye. There's something intriguing about celebrity romances, and since I had such a great experience with Idol last year (though that celebrity was a rockstar, not an actor) I thought I'd give this a go.
Heroine and narrator Zoe adores Chase Covington, an obsession she picked up in order to bond with her now-best friend, Lexi, when they were children. Because Zoe didn't have friends and Lexi said that if they both liked Chase Covington (and Lexi loves Chase Covington), then they could be friends. And so when a Twitter exchange leads to Zoe eventually meeting and then becoming involved with Chase, she is starstruck indeed.
Was this the strongest celebrity romance book I've read? No. Something about it just seems to ring false, like how these people would ever actually meet, how fast they fell for each other, etc. For example, this book takes insta-love to a new level, in which the two characters love each other from before they even lay eyes on each other, just from a series of 140-character Tweets over the course of like, three days. However, there were a lot of elements I really liked here. Let's talk about a few.
First, despite Zoe's self-proclaimed "obsession" with Chase, she is not really obsessed with him. She's a fan, definitely, but she does not do anything crazy. Lexi is the one who makes Chase scrapbooks, who stalks his manager to get close to him, who would reportedly do anything to be with him. Despite Zoe saying how much she "loves" Chase even before they meet, she seems remarkably sane and her priorities always lay elsewhere. The "obsession" is really more just going along with Lexi. This was good, because Chase falling for a stalker would have been, uhm, weird to the extreme.
Zoe as a character is actually great in general. Her family is important to her. While she's attracted to Chase, she's also keenly aware of how fame can bite back, and so remains wary of their relationship. Additionally, Zoe is abstinent, and it's not because of religion. Whaaat? Yes. This is great to see--not because I'm anti-sex in romances (hey, if you can write a good sex scene, go for it) but because it suits her character and background. But Wilson has an abstinent-by-choice character who also doesn't feel the need to bash you over the head with religion every two seconds, which is so refreshing. While waiting for a committed relationship to have sex isn't strange at all, for some reason in fiction, it's always because of religion and not just because it's a personal choice. Consequently, this was refreshing. But never fear! Wilson can write a sizzling attraction and some delicious scenes of kissing and making out without anyone's clothes coming off. The one thing that bugged me was that, though Chase told Zoe how the media would spin things and that he'd tell her what she wanted regarding what was actually happening, she just freaked out at him whenever something happened. I understand jealousy and insecurity, but she really seemed to take it to an extreme.
Chase was harder to get a handle on. This is probably because he's not the narrator, and consequently we can't really get inside his head. We only have what he says, and while Zoe believes him, she also has doubts from time to time, and those spill over to the reader. But at the end of the book, I was left with this key question: Why did Chase go out with Zoe? Once they were together, it's easy to see and understand why they would keep it up. I don't have any issues with that. But I have trouble believing that, upon re-entering the dating world, Chase and everyone around him would decide that Zoe was "the one" based on literally a single Tweet, which only said that she didn't think his most recent movie was his best.
Overall, I liked this. It was a fast read, the two characters had a lot of chemistry even if they never, ahem, got down to business, and I liked Zoe as a main character. But I never felt like the actual meeting and initial connection rang true. But hey, Wilson can write a really good kissing scene!
4 stars out of 5.
I recently had a bunch of books become available from holds at the library, one of them being the somewhat heavy (but also, in retrospect, somewhat uplifting) When Breath Becomes Air, my reading challenge book for the "book about death or grief" category. Knowing that was coming up, I knew I was going to need some pure fluff to balance a deeply introspective memoir about dying and the meaning of life. You know, all that fun stuff. And then up popped #Starstruck. I haven't read any of Sariah Wilson's works before, but I've had Royal Date by her sitting on my Kindle for ages. Still, #Starstruck caught my eye. There's something intriguing about celebrity romances, and since I had such a great experience with Idol last year (though that celebrity was a rockstar, not an actor) I thought I'd give this a go.
Heroine and narrator Zoe adores Chase Covington, an obsession she picked up in order to bond with her now-best friend, Lexi, when they were children. Because Zoe didn't have friends and Lexi said that if they both liked Chase Covington (and Lexi loves Chase Covington), then they could be friends. And so when a Twitter exchange leads to Zoe eventually meeting and then becoming involved with Chase, she is starstruck indeed.
Was this the strongest celebrity romance book I've read? No. Something about it just seems to ring false, like how these people would ever actually meet, how fast they fell for each other, etc. For example, this book takes insta-love to a new level, in which the two characters love each other from before they even lay eyes on each other, just from a series of 140-character Tweets over the course of like, three days. However, there were a lot of elements I really liked here. Let's talk about a few.
First, despite Zoe's self-proclaimed "obsession" with Chase, she is not really obsessed with him. She's a fan, definitely, but she does not do anything crazy. Lexi is the one who makes Chase scrapbooks, who stalks his manager to get close to him, who would reportedly do anything to be with him. Despite Zoe saying how much she "loves" Chase even before they meet, she seems remarkably sane and her priorities always lay elsewhere. The "obsession" is really more just going along with Lexi. This was good, because Chase falling for a stalker would have been, uhm, weird to the extreme.
Zoe as a character is actually great in general. Her family is important to her. While she's attracted to Chase, she's also keenly aware of how fame can bite back, and so remains wary of their relationship. Additionally, Zoe is abstinent, and it's not because of religion. Whaaat? Yes. This is great to see--not because I'm anti-sex in romances (hey, if you can write a good sex scene, go for it) but because it suits her character and background. But Wilson has an abstinent-by-choice character who also doesn't feel the need to bash you over the head with religion every two seconds, which is so refreshing. While waiting for a committed relationship to have sex isn't strange at all, for some reason in fiction, it's always because of religion and not just because it's a personal choice. Consequently, this was refreshing. But never fear! Wilson can write a sizzling attraction and some delicious scenes of kissing and making out without anyone's clothes coming off. The one thing that bugged me was that, though Chase told Zoe how the media would spin things and that he'd tell her what she wanted regarding what was actually happening, she just freaked out at him whenever something happened. I understand jealousy and insecurity, but she really seemed to take it to an extreme.
Chase was harder to get a handle on. This is probably because he's not the narrator, and consequently we can't really get inside his head. We only have what he says, and while Zoe believes him, she also has doubts from time to time, and those spill over to the reader. But at the end of the book, I was left with this key question: Why did Chase go out with Zoe? Once they were together, it's easy to see and understand why they would keep it up. I don't have any issues with that. But I have trouble believing that, upon re-entering the dating world, Chase and everyone around him would decide that Zoe was "the one" based on literally a single Tweet, which only said that she didn't think his most recent movie was his best.
Overall, I liked this. It was a fast read, the two characters had a lot of chemistry even if they never, ahem, got down to business, and I liked Zoe as a main character. But I never felt like the actual meeting and initial connection rang true. But hey, Wilson can write a really good kissing scene!
4 stars out of 5.
em_reads_romance's review against another edition
1.0
1.5/5 ⭐
Huge miss. Several jokes about "man-hating feminists" and feminism in general. Very juvenile.
RTC
Huge miss. Several jokes about "man-hating feminists" and feminism in general. Very juvenile.
RTC
andi__lachi's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
aublar's review against another edition
4.0
Zoe is a regular college girl who randomly tweets her celebrity crush one day and is shocked when he not only tweets back, but follows and DMs her. They meet and start dating but try to keep their relationship private. It’s a little predictable- tropes I’ve read before- but a really fun ride. I loved the scenes at Disneyland, especially.
Content warning: very steamy kissing, but a big plot point is that Zoe has chosen to be celibate until marriage (although there is innuendo)
Content warning: very steamy kissing, but a big plot point is that Zoe has chosen to be celibate until marriage (although there is innuendo)
meghaan98's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
div_hufflepuff's review against another edition
4.0
There is no smug in this book. It is a slow burn romance that will melt your heart. So if you're in need of a low angst read with cute, adorable characters, then this is the book for you.
kaitrenwick's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0