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kaydeedickins's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Sexual content
Moderate: Mental illness, Cursing, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Death, and Physical abuse
Minor: Child abuse, Drug use, Violence, and Drug abuse
kerrythefire's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
3.5
I picked this up because I love a good fake dating story. But I didn't expect this to be quite as heavy as it turned out to be, so I think that threw me a little bit. I was expecting a romantic comedy and this was more of a comedic drama. The characters' trauma and addiction and substance abuse and mental health issues and the toxicity of Hollywood was believable and heartbreaking, it was just a lot. Especially the one major conflict scene at the end in the car after the interview. Oof.
The plot and pace was pretty good. And it was nice to see Grey being soft and giving to Ethan, but standing her ground and holding her boundaries too.
I may have rated this higher if I went in intentionally expecting a drama, but... I wasn't.
The plot and pace was pretty good. And it was nice to see Grey being soft and giving to Ethan, but standing her ground and holding her boundaries too.
I may have rated this higher if I went in intentionally expecting a drama, but... I wasn't.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Addiction, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Sexual harassment, and Toxic relationship
headinthepages's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Abandonment, Alcohol, Blood, Addiction, Alcoholism, Car accident, Death of parent, Drug use, Grief, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Mental illness, and Sexual content
katekatiekait's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
1.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Alcohol, Mental illness, Sexual content, and Grief
Moderate: Drug use, Toxic relationship, Death, and Drug abuse
Minor: Vomit, Physical abuse, and Misogyny
kfmcf's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
First off I want to say that I really enjoy Ava Wilder's style of prose. I think her dialogue is believably conversational and her descriptions are, well, descriptive without getting too bogged down. I appreciated this being a dual POV and genuinely don't think this story could have worked any other way.
I enjoyed this book. I liked the characters, appreciated the candid look at what being a celebrity living in LA is like and the toll fame has on the human psyche. I think Grey was layered and fleshed out to feel like you really knew her but I think Ethan was missing just one layer more.
I do think this book was too long. It was a 5 act story which isn't inherently bad, but the last act felt a bit phony. The continuation between the 3rd and 4th acts also felt a little too contrived but I like that it felt like fresh pacing overall.
This book is funny, but it gets pretty dark in its depictions of addiction and mental health - which I appreciate but do encourage those with triggers to tread carefully.
I enjoyed this book. I liked the characters, appreciated the candid look at what being a celebrity living in LA is like and the toll fame has on the human psyche. I think Grey was layered and fleshed out to feel like you really knew her but I think Ethan was missing just one layer more.
I do think this book was too long. It was a 5 act story which isn't inherently bad, but the last act felt a bit phony. The continuation between the 3rd and 4th acts also felt a little too contrived but I like that it felt like fresh pacing overall.
This book is funny, but it gets pretty dark in its depictions of addiction and mental health - which I appreciate but do encourage those with triggers to tread carefully.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Addiction, Alcoholism, and Grief
Moderate: Alcohol, Mental illness, and Stalking
Minor: Drug use, Abandonment, Car accident, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Body shaming, and Drug abuse
libraryinthecountry's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
WHAT!?! A TOP READ OF THE YEAR RIGHT HERE. MY HEART FOR THIS BOOK. 😭😍
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug use, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Emotional abuse, Grief, Mental illness, Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, and Drug abuse
Minor: Car accident
kayaks's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
“But they still wanted each other. They would still choose each other over anyone else on earth. And in a way, that was even better.”
How to Fake it in Hollywood is ever bit as glamorous and enchanting as the blurb leads us to believe. Although it’s promoted as a romcom and certainly delivered on that front, it is much more than that. I signed up for a fluffy/spicy trope filled blast but received something…deeper. It was angsty and difficult at times to read but I was okay with being duped. The first half was hilarious, adorable, and steamy but toward the second half things started to get angsty. The angst that’s in this book isn’t just there because the author couldn’t think of anything better to do. It serves a purpose. And it was so heartwarming to see these characters truly grow and become better versions of themselves.
Grey Brooks is at bit of a standstill in her career after ending her six year stint on Poison Paradise, which is a teen soap opera (think Riverdale). Ethan Atkins is an A-Lister whose life went off the rails a few years back after the death of his best friend. He’s spent the better part of those years in a drunken haze—which is why, when his publicist suggests that he fake dates one of his clients (Grey) to, he begrudgingly agrees, if only to satisfy his publicist. He wants to make a comeback and show the word that he is Okay (including his ex-wife and children). Grey is hopeful that by agreeing to this plan she will finally get Hollywood to take her seriously. Or at least for them to even notice her, truly notice her. Plus, it doesn’t help that the man she has to fake date is her celebrity crush when she was younger. We all know how fake dating schemes though…it always ends up real.
The amount of emotions this book made me go through is insane. Laughing, crying, swooning, annoyance, you name it. I was immediately connected to Ethan and Grey as characters despite the fact that they were messy. I think it was because they were a mess that I found it so easy to love them (even when I really wanted to hate them). Full disclosure despite the sugary sweet cover and blurb How to Fake it in Hollywood is a heavy hitter. It deals heavily with grief, alcoholism, and mental health. Even when things were fluffy between Ethan and Grey there was always this looming sense of dread in the background. The audience knew what was coming and so did our characters which made it bittersweet.
I am really astounded by how well these topics were handled. There was none of that “I can fix him/she can fix me” going on. There was but ultimately at the end of the day the characters had to come to a realization that it’s not a healthy to thrust that responsibly on someone else. They had to accept the help in the first place for it to even more. There was no sugar coating going on: it doesn’t matter how much you love someone, you can’t magically “cure” someone of alcoholism or depression. Obviously I don’t want to go into spoilers but I felt like it was necessary to be upfront because I feel like the cover/blurb is a tad misleading.
The romance between Grey and Ethan was so overwhelming. Fake dating is one of my favorite tropes because I eat up the tension, the slowburn, the whole “there is no way ___ will ever truly love me.” Sometimes I just sit there like a Disney villain and cackle because come on. Come on!. They are always so delusional and idiotic but we still love it anyways. Surprisingly, the author didn’t drag out the whole delusional part that long which is refreshing because some of these books takes like 80% just to get to that point. I was so emotionally connected and invested to these characters that they had me legit crying over dumb stuff (waffles…iykyk). The spice was…Yeah. It was for sure spicy but it was also super tender and had me all up in my feels. And the side characters were wonderful too! They were fleshed out better than I would have initially thought. Nora (Ethan’s ex-wife) really said No Thanks to being the vindictive ex-wife. She was such a sweetheart and a total badass—I love that she genuinely was one of Ethan and Grey’s biggest supporters. Kamilah was also delightful along with Audrey, Lucas, and Renata. I just have so much love for these characters.
Read this if you like:
❄️ fake dating
❄️ age gaps (between consenting adults & won’t make you feel icky or weird)
❄️ hollywood/pop culture
❄️ well rounded characters
❄️ fluff w/ a heavy dose of angst
❄️ if you hate the “love interest cures all trauma” trope
❄️ the sunshine/grumpy trope
✨4.5 out of 5 stars✨
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Grief, Addiction, Sexual content, Drug use, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Sexism, Sexual harassment, Death, and Mental illness
natashaleighton_'s review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug use, and Sexual content
Moderate: Mental illness
Minor: Domestic abuse, Child abuse, and Physical abuse
wandertales's review against another edition
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
First off, thank you NetGalley and Penguin Random House for the digital arc!
I pretty much read this in one sitting, very quick and easy read. I started it before dinner and I stayed up and finished it at about 2am. From the beginning, I was looking forward to this one because of the fake dating, which is probably my most favorite trope of them all and so I went into it with higher expectations. I enjoyed it, it was fast-paced, fun and sweet and it most of the sweet spots that I look for in my romance novels. I'm not usually a fan of rom-coms with large age-gaps (in this case it's only about 11 years) largely because they place too much focus on the age gap but Grey (the female main character) as the ex-child actress working her way up in Hollywood while Ethan (the male main character) as the reclusive A-list actor/ex-heartthrob wanting to make his big comeback, they surprisingly worked well together. Grey was very mature for her age and felt incredibly relatable for someone who works as an actress in Hollywood. With that said, although that Ethan got a lot of development throughout the book, personally, I felt that Grey had a lot less development as a character (for example, the whole storyline involving her mother didn’t turn into anything or add anything?). Her character remained essentially static from beginning to endbesides her slight career change .
I also wish we had more development in their relationship- instead the main lead is almost instantly attracted to her, it was almost insta-love. The last bit of the book also kinda veered off into another direction that I caught me off guard. I felt that it wasn't necessary and maybe too heavy of a subject. I would have rather had more of a lighter moments with the main characters, more fake dating and getting to know each other besides the “falling in love” questions. I think due to the cover I was expecting a lighter read and this book didn’t necessarily deliver on that front, maybe this book should’ve been marketed a bit differently. That being said, I did enjoy it so my rating is 3.5/5.
I pretty much read this in one sitting, very quick and easy read. I started it before dinner and I stayed up and finished it at about 2am. From the beginning, I was looking forward to this one because of the fake dating, which is probably my most favorite trope of them all and so I went into it with higher expectations. I enjoyed it, it was fast-paced, fun and sweet and it most of the sweet spots that I look for in my romance novels. I'm not usually a fan of rom-coms with large age-gaps (in this case it's only about 11 years) largely because they place too much focus on the age gap but Grey (the female main character) as the ex-child actress working her way up in Hollywood while Ethan (the male main character) as the reclusive A-list actor/ex-heartthrob wanting to make his big comeback, they surprisingly worked well together. Grey was very mature for her age and felt incredibly relatable for someone who works as an actress in Hollywood. With that said, although that Ethan got a lot of development throughout the book, personally, I felt that Grey had a lot less development as a character (for example, the whole storyline involving her mother didn’t turn into anything or add anything?). Her character remained essentially static from beginning to end
I also wish we had more development in their relationship- instead the main lead is almost instantly attracted to her, it was almost insta-love. The last bit of the book also kinda veered off into another direction that I caught me off guard. I felt that it wasn't necessary and maybe too heavy of a subject. I would have rather had more of a lighter moments with the main characters, more fake dating and getting to know each other besides the “falling in love” questions. I think due to the cover I was expecting a lighter read and this book didn’t necessarily deliver on that front, maybe this book should’ve been marketed a bit differently. That being said, I did enjoy it so my rating is 3.5/5.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Grief, and Mental illness
Minor: Suicide
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