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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
DNF @ 35%
Awful writing, almost zero plot, boring characters. In short, I can’t stand this book any longer.
Awful writing, almost zero plot, boring characters. In short, I can’t stand this book any longer.
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
lighthearted
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Well written romance in a Broadway/film industry setting!
There's a risk in reading an author's first novel after you've read the rest of her work. On the one hand, it's great to see how someone started and progressed through her work. On the other hand, there's a chance it fails to meet the expectations you have, which are based on the knowledge of the former.
To get to the point: this book is so very formulaic in the lesbian actresses genre, it's almost painfull. And that's coming from someone who, not long ago, gushed over the four books he read in the same genre. The only difference is that this one is more focussed on the theater scene, and less about movies. But all the elements are there, which are kind of expected. Yet this story failed to capture me and I found it down-right boring.
A major issue I hade is that the characters are too good to be true, and everything is amazing, and everyone is at a minimum gorgeous and nothing is happening besides the requisite stormy romance, the inevitable break-up and the getting back together. (which, I admit, is a staple in romance, and I really shouldn't be expecting anything else). And, because it's required, the award ceremony, which we can't possible do without. That's fine, but there's a distcinct lack of the witty banter that defines Ms. Braydens later works, and I didn't really like the protagonists. Even the supporting cast didn't add anything.
If this is your first foray in Ms. Brayden's work (or the lesbian actresses genre) don't give up because I think it sucks, because I genuinly enjoyed the novels that came after it. I can honestly say I wish I hadn't read it.
To get to the point: this book is so very formulaic in the lesbian actresses genre, it's almost painfull. And that's coming from someone who, not long ago, gushed over the four books he read in the same genre. The only difference is that this one is more focussed on the theater scene, and less about movies. But all the elements are there, which are kind of expected. Yet this story failed to capture me and I found it down-right boring.
A major issue I hade is that the characters are too good to be true, and everything is amazing, and everyone is at a minimum gorgeous and nothing is happening besides the requisite stormy romance, the inevitable break-up and the getting back together. (which, I admit, is a staple in romance, and I really shouldn't be expecting anything else). And, because it's required, the award ceremony, which we can't possible do without. That's fine, but there's a distcinct lack of the witty banter that defines Ms. Braydens later works, and I didn't really like the protagonists. Even the supporting cast didn't add anything.
If this is your first foray in Ms. Brayden's work (or the lesbian actresses genre) don't give up because I think it sucks, because I genuinly enjoyed the novels that came after it. I can honestly say I wish I hadn't read it.
I was thinking, "Oh, a story about a rising star, but with lesbians!" Maybe I was expecting it to be a lesbian version of Yuri on Ice, but I wasn't really into it in the beginning. I had the same problem with the main couple as I did in The Second Sister. I felt like they got together too quickly, and only built up chemistry with one scene when I really wanted more. I may have not read too much of it, but I feel like a lot of lesbian fiction has the couple get together too quickly. (Correct me if I'm wrong.) I'm more of a slow burn kind of gal.
However, the story did start to get more interesting when it got to the time skip. I liked seeing how the main character had adjusted to her new life, but also figuring out what is missing. And I liked the drama of becoming friends with your ex. Because it can be very awakward when you have to work with them.
I enjoyed a lot of things about the book including how theater people are portrayed. They weren't all divas or jerks, but the main character forms a close knit bond with her cast members. I also loved her friendship with one of the cast members, and it was especially sweet how they could've had a rivalryu at an audition, but instead became the best of friends.
The only thing I wasn't too crazy about was the main couple. I think they did have chemistry, and there were moments when they would help each other out to show they cared about each other, but I don't know. Like I said they only knew each other for like a few weeks, and then the way things ended really hurt? I just didn't buy it. I felt like I would've enjoyed it more if they said friends and as exes. Because I kind of want to see it more in fiction especially in LGBT fiction. Yes, I want to see more books where queer people have happy endings and live happily ever after, but I also want to see more resolutions that feel more true to life, and have couples break up when it doesn't feel like they'll work out. But also show that exes can be friends with each other. Cause it can happen!
However, the story did start to get more interesting when it got to the time skip. I liked seeing how the main character had adjusted to her new life, but also figuring out what is missing. And I liked the drama of becoming friends with your ex. Because it can be very awakward when you have to work with them.
I enjoyed a lot of things about the book including how theater people are portrayed. They weren't all divas or jerks, but the main character forms a close knit bond with her cast members. I also loved her friendship with one of the cast members, and it was especially sweet how they could've had a rivalryu at an audition, but instead became the best of friends.
The only thing I wasn't too crazy about was the main couple. I think they did have chemistry, and there were moments when they would help each other out to show they cared about each other, but I don't know. Like I said they only knew each other for like a few weeks, and then the way things ended really hurt? I just didn't buy it. I felt like I would've enjoyed it more if they said friends and as exes. Because I kind of want to see it more in fiction especially in LGBT fiction. Yes, I want to see more books where queer people have happy endings and live happily ever after, but I also want to see more resolutions that feel more true to life, and have couples break up when it doesn't feel like they'll work out. But also show that exes can be friends with each other. Cause it can happen!
Meh. I’m not sure how much I buy into the main conflict in this and I’m less than impressed with the sex negative portrayal.
I FINALLY GOT MY HALLMARK LESBIANS BOOK.
also: whew. a million fire emojis. but also!! feelings about falling in love and just...being gay and career choices. all of this felt so true and real.
4 stars for the transition to the second half of the book; it felt a little messy and overexplain-y but then picked right back up once it found its footing again.
also: whew. a million fire emojis. but also!! feelings about falling in love and just...being gay and career choices. all of this felt so true and real.
4 stars for the transition to the second half of the book; it felt a little messy and overexplain-y but then picked right back up once it found its footing again.
Jenna is ready to start her professional career on the stage, and by fortune, talent, and hard work, she lands a dream role on a show that's generating some amazing noise. Her role is awesome: she plays the "sweet" best friend who is revealed to be a betraying villain, and she gets to play opposite Adrienne, a once-teen-star who is blowing the theatre world away with her singing, her dancing, and her performance. Being a part of this musical with Adrienne is everything Jenna thought she wanted out of life: her big break, and a chance to start her way up the ladder to entertainment success.
Things get a bit complicated when feelings get involved, and it turns out there's chemistry to spare between Jenna and Adrienne. As the show goes on, the feelings get deeper; is this just a theatre romance, or is this something more?
Too soon that decision has to be made, and while the show must go on, it's not without heartbreak between the two women. Worse, the entertainment world isn't a big place, and later in life they find themselves once again forced to work together, something neither of them are finding easy to do.
But sometimes the best love stories happen in the final act.
Jenna is a joy to read, another gift from Brayden, who always manages to craft characters you want to take out to lunch (and maybe slap them with some advice, to boot). The dialog in this book just zings, and the supporting cast were so solid and well-drawn that I initially wondered if this was a series where we'd get some of the other characters in later books (alas, no). The characters develop and change (this book takes place over years, which was a refreshing take, actually: so often in romance everything is very immediate), and nothing feels forced or awkward at any point. And the payoff is just sweetened for the wait.
The audio performer was solid. The right amount of emotion was portrayed, and the characters had some great vocal quirks (especially the supporting cast of strong personalities). Intentional or not, there was cadence to the performance that made the descriptions of dance quite easy to visualize, and I found myself wishing the musical described in the first quarter of the book was a real presentation I could nab a ticket to go see. Brayden's theatre background is very much clear in this book, as all the notes strike true, and that translated through the performer's voice.
Things get a bit complicated when feelings get involved, and it turns out there's chemistry to spare between Jenna and Adrienne. As the show goes on, the feelings get deeper; is this just a theatre romance, or is this something more?
Too soon that decision has to be made, and while the show must go on, it's not without heartbreak between the two women. Worse, the entertainment world isn't a big place, and later in life they find themselves once again forced to work together, something neither of them are finding easy to do.
But sometimes the best love stories happen in the final act.
Jenna is a joy to read, another gift from Brayden, who always manages to craft characters you want to take out to lunch (and maybe slap them with some advice, to boot). The dialog in this book just zings, and the supporting cast were so solid and well-drawn that I initially wondered if this was a series where we'd get some of the other characters in later books (alas, no). The characters develop and change (this book takes place over years, which was a refreshing take, actually: so often in romance everything is very immediate), and nothing feels forced or awkward at any point. And the payoff is just sweetened for the wait.
The audio performer was solid. The right amount of emotion was portrayed, and the characters had some great vocal quirks (especially the supporting cast of strong personalities). Intentional or not, there was cadence to the performance that made the descriptions of dance quite easy to visualize, and I found myself wishing the musical described in the first quarter of the book was a real presentation I could nab a ticket to go see. Brayden's theatre background is very much clear in this book, as all the notes strike true, and that translated through the performer's voice.
it's taken me more than three months but i finally finished it!! i initially didn't really feel it and it still wasn't as good as melissa's other books but i still liked it and there's just something about her stories that just,,, make me feel things.
so yeah i'm giving it five stars even though i might come back some time down the road and change it to four, i don't know.
so yeah i'm giving it five stars even though i might come back some time down the road and change it to four, i don't know.