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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
Whitman 'Win' Tagore, gorgeous, British Indian actress and starlet, is trying to fix her reputation after a very bad, very public break up. She turns to Leo, playboy son of millionaire hotel mogul and reclusive ex-supermodel, to leak photos of a whirlwind romance to get her name in the press, but this time for good reasons. They've used this mutually beneficial tactic for almost a decade as the public can’t get enough of their relationship. What they don’t know is the entire romance is staged, but is it really all for show?
When this was billed to me as the same vein of Taylor Jenkins Reid's AU Hollywood, I was immediately interested, but skeptical it could live up to the hype. But I'm so pleased that it did and is exactly what I hoped for. I LOVED this book so much. Not only did I love the relationship, but I adored Win! While she's a prickly, singularly focused character, I completely understood every facet of her life that led her to be this way and how she has to be tough in the Hollywood business that is not only tougher on women, but especially women of color. She has to be perfect or all of her chances vanish and breaking into Hollywood and major movie roles isn't easy to begin with. She also lost her father who was her biggest champion and never fully saw eye to eye with her mother. She's a surprisingly relatable, multifaceted character for also being the glamorous starlet she portrays.
Leo is also perfect. I didn't know what to expect from the super handsome, rich boy who's never really understood true hardship. He's never had to try as an extremely good looking white boy born wanting for nothing. But naturally is far more than he seems as well. I adored their dynamic, specifically how they fundamentally care about the other from the get go even when making terrible decisions or are mad at each other.
There's so many fun twists and turns that I was constantly on my toes. It's a wild ride, but quite enjoyable and similar to TJR's work. I wish these two were real so I could love and support them in all their endeavors. A really fun look on the innerworkings of what might truly go into being a celebrity and living such a public life as well as always putting your career before every other aspect of your life, even to your own personal detriment. I was hooked from the beginning and it never let me go. Highly recommend to all fans of TJR, it very much as similar vibes in the best way.
SPOILERS FROM HERE ON
I loved this book so muuuchhhh! When you hold it up to the titan of TJR (who I genuinely think has yet to have a flop for me) I was really worried we were setting impossibly high standards, but damnit if it didn't meet them. This felt very similar to Evelyn for me with trying to juggle your real life and the celebrity version. It was such a fun beginning for the Leo love affair to be completely fake, but we all knew that had to be too convenient. For one, Leo is the most lovely, precious human, I was smitten so quickly. And then naturally, he was in love with Win. But I didn't realize there was PLENTY more drama to come, lordy lordy.
There's tons of flashbacks giving further context to Win and Leo's lives, but also the growth of this
staged relationship that is also very much not fake. They've loved each other from the beginning, but initially was fully platonic and born from mutual need and true friendship. When inevitable romance sparked, because duh they're both too hot for it not, they just knew that there were more important things than letting themselves be carried away by lust, also the positive press was so crucial to their careers, especially Win's, it wasn't worth it to truly give it a go. But they're so clearly the other's person. They drop everything when the other needs them, Leo much more than Win, but to be fair she has a lot more to lose than he does as she's had to create her career from the ground up whereas Leo was born into this world and never had to try very hard. But they each have their own screw ups and conflicts.
Win has had some really bad break ups, her most recent being the one who's constantly giving her public issues and getting in the way of her finally getting seen for serious dramatic roles. She has an entire curated media team around her and she literally separates herself into two versions of Win, the real and fictional celeb version, but it quickly burs when the latter becomes all that really matters to her. She can get pretty caught up in this, and quite selfish, and you can't even fully blame her because she's worked so hard to get where she is. She's constantly fighting against the racist and sexist general public and higher ups. It didn't surprise me, but it didn't make me any angrier at the truth in this. Leo doesn't get it as it's not the same for men, especially white ones and she's never wanted to play the race card for fear of burning bridges. She's also a huge control freak and flips out when anything goes slightly awry. Sometimes it's completely warranted, the main Leo drama I get and of course when she's being discriminated against, but she can also be just plain cruel. Like when she almost skips her best friend's wedding, who wants her to not only be her bridesmaid but maid of honor, because it may not be the best PR wise. I appreciate that her friend calls her out on this, on several of her bullshit actions while still being supportive and loving the shit out of her, it needed to happen. I'm also relieved that the boys put their foot down about Leo coming too, even though his bro is a POS (basically they met through Leo's deadbeat, alcoholic brother who's a jackass, but he loves Leo, and he's the best man and said he wouldn't go if Leo didn't soooo lol) but honestly fair and it needed to happen as well because Win was being absurd and may have taken even LONGER to recognize her love for Leo.
Let's talk about my sweet Leo because obviously he fucked up, but I still adore him. Basically he believed Win had moved on and he was lonely. My sweet boy has always been so lonely because he feels like he's never really had anything for himself. No one's ever fully believed in him to be more or push himself and every project he's ever started he quits eventually because he fears failure. He's never had to fully throw himself into anything because his dad is extremely wealthy so he wants for nothing and his moms are super loving/supportive so he's always had a safety net. Win is one of the few people who made him feel wanted and seen because he was good at their fake relationship and a great real friend to her. But when she was doing well career wise and seemingly happy in her relationship, he wasn't her top priority so he just didn't know what to do with himself and the fool got swept up in a shotgun wedding with this rando roadie. I hate Lila, not gonna lie. I know I'm not supposed to it's not her fault, but I think this is the one moment that differs from a TJR work. Lila is a Daisy Jones type, sexy, hippie musician who doesn't want to be tied down and always goes with the flow, never caring about anything or taking anything seriously. Except while TJR would make her a fully fleshed out, dynamic character with depth we didn't see, Lila doesn't really have that, she's just that manic pixie dream girl trope that constantly fucks up Leo and Win's relationship. When they're really hitting it off she pops up at the party to jump on Leo and make out with him and introduces herself as his wife, despite being fully aware of their situation. Then she blabs about their relationship being fake completely destroying their years of good press work, Win's current career hopefuls, and the spark of true love they FINALLY rekindled and acted upon forcing Win to choose her career over Leo. Like yes, does this stem from Leo being impulsive and burying his real feelings for Win trusting some rando biddy he never should have? Totally, as I said, he fucked up. Worse is he had ample opportunities to come clean to Win and her image team before that party to warn them and figure out how to get out on top to spin the story. But I get why he didn't because he's in love with Win and didn't want to screw things up. But even worse, later filing for divorce without telling anyone leaving a literal paper trail because he just wants to be with Win and didn't think about it. He's an angel, but not too bright.
That's what real climax of this story that broke my heart and why I empathize more with Leo despite totally understanding Win's POV. He loves her and always loved her. He knows and owns when he's epically screwed up, but he's only angry when he thinks Win is hiding her true feelings and is cold/callous about the true relationship they have. That's why they have their initial riff because she's more upset over her image than their relationship and can't blame him. But even when he's livid with her, the MOMENT he finds out her mom is sick he literally drops everything and goes to her, even if it's not what Win initially wanted, it's always what she needed. And that leads to my favorite stretch in the book. Leo winning over her tough exterior mom and being the bridge to them finally forming a real bond and seeing eye to eye and then her meeting his moms and them FINALLY acting upon their super obvious love. I was OBSESSED, I adore them so so much, ad the sex scene was everything I wanted (though 100% could've been longer, I'm so spoiled with my other smutty books, but still so excellent). Naturally the book had too much left so I was waiting for the shoe to drop, but god was it good while it lasted. But then here we are again, my sweet angel Leo begging her to choose him for once.
I'm RELIEVED that she finally does in the end, it takes FOREVER and WAY too long for her to reach the conclusion I had made pretty much from the moment Leo was introduced, but ugh, I needed it. I needed Win to finally do something impulsive and real for once in her life. She needed to choose not only Leo who's been desperately in love with her for years, but to follow her own heart instead of her calculated brain so she can be happy. I love that we get that sneak peek of their future that her career has of course bounced back and they're happier than ever. Of course people are suspicious because it was fake before, but people will always be sus about celebrity couples. Everyone loves a conspiracy and I adore they'll always have their fans. Also that Win repaired her relationship with her mom and takes her to premieres, that's so fucking cute (she never did originally as it was always her thing with her dad and she thought her mom didn't get it). Ugh it was just so lovely.
It's another situation where both characters have moments of being assholes or making dumb decisions, but the solution is them coming together and figuring out that they have to take a risk and be vulnerable to truly find love leading to a happy, fulfilling life. The rest falls into place, it was so satisfying. Again, I wish we saw more of them happy together and that they weren't apart for so long by the end. I also wish more was explained with Leo's brother, like he's such a dickhead to Win and gets zero comeuppance for it. While Win partially deserves it, I know if Leo heard how he spoke to her he would've punched his lights out. But oh well, she woke up in the end for her man, thank GOD, I adore them so so much.
Just genuinely such a good read. I wish this Alternate Universe Hollywood was real because let's be honest, Win would be best friends with my Riva kids from Malibu Rising, specifically Nina, and I would LOVE to see it. Ugh, give us AU Hollywood connected universe, I need it.
When this was billed to me as the same vein of Taylor Jenkins Reid's AU Hollywood, I was immediately interested, but skeptical it could live up to the hype. But I'm so pleased that it did and is exactly what I hoped for. I LOVED this book so much. Not only did I love the relationship, but I adored Win! While she's a prickly, singularly focused character, I completely understood every facet of her life that led her to be this way and how she has to be tough in the Hollywood business that is not only tougher on women, but especially women of color. She has to be perfect or all of her chances vanish and breaking into Hollywood and major movie roles isn't easy to begin with. She also lost her father who was her biggest champion and never fully saw eye to eye with her mother. She's a surprisingly relatable, multifaceted character for also being the glamorous starlet she portrays.
Leo is also perfect. I didn't know what to expect from the super handsome, rich boy who's never really understood true hardship. He's never had to try as an extremely good looking white boy born wanting for nothing. But naturally is far more than he seems as well. I adored their dynamic, specifically how they fundamentally care about the other from the get go even when making terrible decisions or are mad at each other.
There's so many fun twists and turns that I was constantly on my toes. It's a wild ride, but quite enjoyable and similar to TJR's work. I wish these two were real so I could love and support them in all their endeavors. A really fun look on the innerworkings of what might truly go into being a celebrity and living such a public life as well as always putting your career before every other aspect of your life, even to your own personal detriment. I was hooked from the beginning and it never let me go. Highly recommend to all fans of TJR, it very much as similar vibes in the best way.
SPOILERS FROM HERE ON
I loved this book so muuuchhhh! When you hold it up to the titan of TJR (who I genuinely think has yet to have a flop for me) I was really worried we were setting impossibly high standards, but damnit if it didn't meet them. This felt very similar to Evelyn for me with trying to juggle your real life and the celebrity version. It was such a fun beginning for the Leo love affair to be completely fake, but we all knew that had to be too convenient. For one, Leo is the most lovely, precious human, I was smitten so quickly. And then naturally, he was in love with Win. But I didn't realize there was PLENTY more drama to come, lordy lordy.
There's tons of flashbacks giving further context to Win and Leo's lives, but also the growth of this
staged relationship that is also very much not fake. They've loved each other from the beginning, but initially was fully platonic and born from mutual need and true friendship. When inevitable romance sparked, because duh they're both too hot for it not, they just knew that there were more important things than letting themselves be carried away by lust, also the positive press was so crucial to their careers, especially Win's, it wasn't worth it to truly give it a go. But they're so clearly the other's person. They drop everything when the other needs them, Leo much more than Win, but to be fair she has a lot more to lose than he does as she's had to create her career from the ground up whereas Leo was born into this world and never had to try very hard. But they each have their own screw ups and conflicts.
Win has had some really bad break ups, her most recent being the one who's constantly giving her public issues and getting in the way of her finally getting seen for serious dramatic roles. She has an entire curated media team around her and she literally separates herself into two versions of Win, the real and fictional celeb version, but it quickly burs when the latter becomes all that really matters to her. She can get pretty caught up in this, and quite selfish, and you can't even fully blame her because she's worked so hard to get where she is. She's constantly fighting against the racist and sexist general public and higher ups. It didn't surprise me, but it didn't make me any angrier at the truth in this. Leo doesn't get it as it's not the same for men, especially white ones and she's never wanted to play the race card for fear of burning bridges. She's also a huge control freak and flips out when anything goes slightly awry. Sometimes it's completely warranted, the main Leo drama I get and of course when she's being discriminated against, but she can also be just plain cruel. Like when she almost skips her best friend's wedding, who wants her to not only be her bridesmaid but maid of honor, because it may not be the best PR wise. I appreciate that her friend calls her out on this, on several of her bullshit actions while still being supportive and loving the shit out of her, it needed to happen. I'm also relieved that the boys put their foot down about Leo coming too, even though his bro is a POS (basically they met through Leo's deadbeat, alcoholic brother who's a jackass, but he loves Leo, and he's the best man and said he wouldn't go if Leo didn't soooo lol) but honestly fair and it needed to happen as well because Win was being absurd and may have taken even LONGER to recognize her love for Leo.
Let's talk about my sweet Leo because obviously he fucked up, but I still adore him. Basically he believed Win had moved on and he was lonely. My sweet boy has always been so lonely because he feels like he's never really had anything for himself. No one's ever fully believed in him to be more or push himself and every project he's ever started he quits eventually because he fears failure. He's never had to fully throw himself into anything because his dad is extremely wealthy so he wants for nothing and his moms are super loving/supportive so he's always had a safety net. Win is one of the few people who made him feel wanted and seen because he was good at their fake relationship and a great real friend to her. But when she was doing well career wise and seemingly happy in her relationship, he wasn't her top priority so he just didn't know what to do with himself and the fool got swept up in a shotgun wedding with this rando roadie. I hate Lila, not gonna lie. I know I'm not supposed to it's not her fault, but I think this is the one moment that differs from a TJR work. Lila is a Daisy Jones type, sexy, hippie musician who doesn't want to be tied down and always goes with the flow, never caring about anything or taking anything seriously. Except while TJR would make her a fully fleshed out, dynamic character with depth we didn't see, Lila doesn't really have that, she's just that manic pixie dream girl trope that constantly fucks up Leo and Win's relationship. When they're really hitting it off she pops up at the party to jump on Leo and make out with him and introduces herself as his wife, despite being fully aware of their situation. Then she blabs about their relationship being fake completely destroying their years of good press work, Win's current career hopefuls, and the spark of true love they FINALLY rekindled and acted upon forcing Win to choose her career over Leo. Like yes, does this stem from Leo being impulsive and burying his real feelings for Win trusting some rando biddy he never should have? Totally, as I said, he fucked up. Worse is he had ample opportunities to come clean to Win and her image team before that party to warn them and figure out how to get out on top to spin the story. But I get why he didn't because he's in love with Win and didn't want to screw things up. But even worse, later filing for divorce without telling anyone leaving a literal paper trail because he just wants to be with Win and didn't think about it. He's an angel, but not too bright.
That's what real climax of this story that broke my heart and why I empathize more with Leo despite totally understanding Win's POV. He loves her and always loved her. He knows and owns when he's epically screwed up, but he's only angry when he thinks Win is hiding her true feelings and is cold/callous about the true relationship they have. That's why they have their initial riff because she's more upset over her image than their relationship and can't blame him. But even when he's livid with her, the MOMENT he finds out her mom is sick he literally drops everything and goes to her, even if it's not what Win initially wanted, it's always what she needed. And that leads to my favorite stretch in the book. Leo winning over her tough exterior mom and being the bridge to them finally forming a real bond and seeing eye to eye and then her meeting his moms and them FINALLY acting upon their super obvious love. I was OBSESSED, I adore them so so much, ad the sex scene was everything I wanted (though 100% could've been longer, I'm so spoiled with my other smutty books, but still so excellent). Naturally the book had too much left so I was waiting for the shoe to drop, but god was it good while it lasted. But then here we are again, my sweet angel Leo begging her to choose him for once.
I'm RELIEVED that she finally does in the end, it takes FOREVER and WAY too long for her to reach the conclusion I had made pretty much from the moment Leo was introduced, but ugh, I needed it. I needed Win to finally do something impulsive and real for once in her life. She needed to choose not only Leo who's been desperately in love with her for years, but to follow her own heart instead of her calculated brain so she can be happy. I love that we get that sneak peek of their future that her career has of course bounced back and they're happier than ever. Of course people are suspicious because it was fake before, but people will always be sus about celebrity couples. Everyone loves a conspiracy and I adore they'll always have their fans. Also that Win repaired her relationship with her mom and takes her to premieres, that's so fucking cute (she never did originally as it was always her thing with her dad and she thought her mom didn't get it). Ugh it was just so lovely.
It's another situation where both characters have moments of being assholes or making dumb decisions, but the solution is them coming together and figuring out that they have to take a risk and be vulnerable to truly find love leading to a happy, fulfilling life. The rest falls into place, it was so satisfying. Again, I wish we saw more of them happy together and that they weren't apart for so long by the end. I also wish more was explained with Leo's brother, like he's such a dickhead to Win and gets zero comeuppance for it. While Win partially deserves it, I know if Leo heard how he spoke to her he would've punched his lights out. But oh well, she woke up in the end for her man, thank GOD, I adore them so so much.
Just genuinely such a good read. I wish this Alternate Universe Hollywood was real because let's be honest, Win would be best friends with my Riva kids from Malibu Rising, specifically Nina, and I would LOVE to see it. Ugh, give us AU Hollywood connected universe, I need it.
emotional
hopeful
sad
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
I’ll give this one a shot in the future. I just don’t think the audiobook format was for me.
emotional
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
I clicked with the writing style right away. It is so genuine, honest, and realistic. I was surprised a bit by the structure as I didn't expect a dual POV. Basically, there are two main reveals in the book (one in the 1/3 mark, the other at 3/4 mark), and the POVs switch at those moments. At first I was unsure how I would feel about this because I didn't expect to be Leo's perspective for so long (I thought it would switch back to Win's once Leo's recap of events occurred). However, I ended up liking it because it avoided the trap of it being too repetitive. If it remained with Win's perspective the entire time, then it would have been hearing about how angry she is about the same thing over and over. Win's character, with her values, personality, and priorities, was set up extremely well in the first third of the book that when we switched to Leo's, I don't think we were missing out on how Win was feeling or thinking because it was established so effectively. Also, this book really tackles the nuance of being a public figure having to deal with racism in Hollywood, and one of the main gripes that Win has with Leo is that, as a rich white man, he doesn't really get why she acts the way she does, even when she explains it (he believes it to be much more black and white than what the reality is), so, with her experiences and perspective already established, we get to see Leo gradually start to understand it without her holding his hand about it. There could have been more in-depth explorations of Win's experience as a POC public figure, with all the pressures and expectations, but it does a good job touching on the topic. (Of course, a white person discovering how bad and complicated racism really is for POC is a bit overdone, but it is interesting with the complications of the celebrity aspect and done well.) Win and Leo's chemistry is palpable, and the authors do a good job avoiding easy fixes, allow things to have consequences, and letting the characters' fears and insecurities have weight that aren't just thrown to the side for the sake of a happily ever after (it does end happily, but it is done in a realistic way that respects the complicated nature of the situation). Wow, did I hate Lila. She was just rude and mean in such a flippant way that usually pissed me off. I could not believe that the first twist was that Leo was SECRETLY MARRIED. Based on the content warnings, I genuinely thought that he was going to have cancer (it ended up being her mother and father, and that was done well and respectfully), and that they were going to have to navigate their real budding feels springing from their fake relationship while having to deal with the fact that he was dying. This completely shifted my expectations, and it definitely became less cliche than I was anticipating in a way that was quite interesting. Win's relationship with her mother, as well as her grief of her father was quite interesting. I admired that Win's relationship with her best friend Shift allowed her to be called out for her behavior in a loving and honest way. This sometimes occurs with Leo (about how Win, because of her circumstances as a POC in the public eye and having to deal with that pressure and responsibility, can make her act quite selfish), but oftentimes when Leo addresses it, it pokes directly on her sore spots, while with Shift (while they both are speaking from a place of hurt) speaks with honesty and not the intention to hurt her (not that Leo necessarily was, but Shift acted in a more thoughtful and kind way in these situations). Leo's family wasn't explored too much, but was interesting nonetheless. Gum's behavior at the wedding, though I get it from a protective sibling perspective, pissed me off. It was unnecessarily cruel. I guess by the epilogue he changed his tune, but the way he behaved is not something I could easily get over. I wasn't as obsessed with the book as I initially was after the first reveal, but I was still interested because there is so much nuance to the book. At times, Win sort of reminded me of Nina Riva from Malibu Rising, both definitely the most interesting characters in their respective books (also, they struggle with fame (though at times for different reasons), have complicated relationships with their parents, and, though they are the main character, they are not always the main focus of their books). Overall, well done and honest, though not necessarily as in-depth about race if the perspective purely remained in Win's perspective (still well done, though).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Racism, Death of parent
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Misogyny, Sexism
slow-paced
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
fast-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
slow-paced
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I didn't read the full blurb and I thought this was going to be about people fake dating when they were actually just each others' beards. It was not that story! But I still enjoyed it a lot once I got over that disappointment. If I'm to enjoy a romance, it has to have something else going for it, and this did - it was about fame and the publicity that comes with it, as well as the struggles of being a WoC in Hollywood.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes