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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
Love a romance, even though they inevitably frustrate me. This was lush, escapist, frothy, sparkling, ridiculous, self-aware, racially conscious and yet STILL blatant capitalist propaganda. I ate it up.
Reading The View Was Exhausting was an absolute pleasure. It's as cinematic as its subject material, lush and atmospheric without being overwritten, high-stakes enough to make you constantly want to know what happens next without getting to the point of absurdity. Win & Leo are both fully fleshed out, flawed but ultimately easy to root for. It makes complete sense that the first two blurbs on the back cover are from Taylor Jenkins Reid and Emily Henry—TVWE has all the glamor and intrigue you'd expect from TJR, along with the deeply human relationships that make Emily Henry such a standout. I hope it's the first of many collaborations between Clements and Datta.
Read If You Life:
- Slow Burn
- Angsty
- Humor
- Fake Dating
- Friends to Lovers
- Celebrity Main Characters
This was my first read from married duo Mikaella & Onjuli and I truly enjoy reading this story from beginning to end.
As you start to follow the life of movie star/celebrity Whitman 'Win' Tragore you see the behind the scenes of what it's like to be a woman of color in the limelight of Hollywood life.
With her most recent breakup and the rumors flowing, Win struggles to keep a well known name from it all. When the gossip start rolling she calls on her trusted long-time friend/faux love interest Leo Milanowski to dim down the negative talks. Leo, a rice playboy from family money, is always willing to jump in and help Win out of a jam.
As you read you get some back story how Win & Leo met and become friends, or partners in crime. They realize that their new found friendship can truly become magic in her lifestyle. So they create a faux on-again off-again celebrity romance that the world can’t get enough of. That’s what they been for each other for the past seven years, but it they most recent get together things start to become a lot more intense for the two. The charade of their relationship starts to blur and things don’t seem to be at a professional capacity anymore. Trouble starts to loom as Leo’s past comes knocking and Win’s gets some sad family news and turns everything upside down.
Through all the PDA and semi fake smiles, Win and Leo start to see maybe there’s more than all what they thought could be there between each other and they needs to decide on whether its all worth it behind and in front of the camera.
I loved it….. you could see that there was so much more between Win and Leo that they just are afraid to realize and their back and forth through out the year shows you how their friendship has become so much more than that. I will say that there are some part in the book that where a little dragging, some chapters or scenes were extended longer than needed but overall great story, great writing.
- Slow Burn
- Angsty
- Humor
- Fake Dating
- Friends to Lovers
- Celebrity Main Characters
This was my first read from married duo Mikaella & Onjuli and I truly enjoy reading this story from beginning to end.
As you start to follow the life of movie star/celebrity Whitman 'Win' Tragore you see the behind the scenes of what it's like to be a woman of color in the limelight of Hollywood life.
With her most recent breakup and the rumors flowing, Win struggles to keep a well known name from it all. When the gossip start rolling she calls on her trusted long-time friend/faux love interest Leo Milanowski to dim down the negative talks. Leo, a rice playboy from family money, is always willing to jump in and help Win out of a jam.
As you read you get some back story how Win & Leo met and become friends, or partners in crime. They realize that their new found friendship can truly become magic in her lifestyle. So they create a faux on-again off-again celebrity romance that the world can’t get enough of. That’s what they been for each other for the past seven years, but it they most recent get together things start to become a lot more intense for the two. The charade of their relationship starts to blur and things don’t seem to be at a professional capacity anymore. Trouble starts to loom as Leo’s past comes knocking and Win’s gets some sad family news and turns everything upside down.
Through all the PDA and semi fake smiles, Win and Leo start to see maybe there’s more than all what they thought could be there between each other and they needs to decide on whether its all worth it behind and in front of the camera.
I loved it….. you could see that there was so much more between Win and Leo that they just are afraid to realize and their back and forth through out the year shows you how their friendship has become so much more than that. I will say that there are some part in the book that where a little dragging, some chapters or scenes were extended longer than needed but overall great story, great writing.
adventurous
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
At its heart this book is a love story, but beyond that it’s an exploration of race and gender, told through the world of celebrity. I read this book in one day, couldn’t put it down! It’s not plot-heavy, but I absolutely loved the characters. Win is a British Indian actress in a white man’s world, constantly under the public’s scrutiny. And Leo is the rich socialite who finds himself going through life aimlessly. He’s been Win’s on again off again “boyfriend” for the past several years, set up by her publicist whenever they need to sway the public’s opinion. I was very invested in their relationship, but also in the Win’s dedication to her career. There were public criticisms of Win dating too much and questions of why she didn’t represent the Indian community more; there were moments where Leo didn’t understand why Win just didn’t talk back when directors would make racist comments. I thought these were all very realistic issues to be explored. The book is extremely comparable to The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid so if you liked that book I would definitely recommend checking out this one
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
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
Imagine the best fan fiction you’ve ever read, then make it three times better. This book is genuinely so good and entertaining it’s actually scary. Every second of this had me squealing with joy and also so stressed about what was coming next. This was just amazing.
Kudos to Clements (and publishing team) for allowing BOTH the male and female leads in this to be unlikeable, at least during parts of the novel. That's rare in a romance. But - and I NEVER say this, because I'm usually willing to accept any love story - I didn't find the HFN believable. Win and Leo seemed kind of terrible for each other.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I love a good drama but the cherry on top was the incredible writing. I saw it said that this book isn’t very plot driven, and I’d have to agree. Regardless, it was an entertaining behind the scenes look at the relationship between a Hollywood star and her long-term “fling”