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A review by kellbraun
Will They or Won't They by Ava Wilder
5.0
Thank you to Random House Publishing Group—Ballantine and Netgalley for an ARC of this book! I’ve willingly read and reviewed it. All opinions are my own.
I was absolutely obsessed by Ava Wilder’s first novel, HOW TO FAKE IT IN HOLLYWOOD, and have since been stalking a Netgalley for the chance to read her sophomore book, WILL THEY OR WON’T THEY. Not only has Wilder once again highlighted the relationship between two famous people (this time popular actors from a hit TV series) which just happens to be a trope I love and can’t find enough of, but WILL THEY OR WON’T THEY also deals with big, everyday issues such as mental health struggles and feelings of inadequacy that so many of us experience every day, famous or, even more likely, not.
This book felt so incredibly different from anything I’ve ever read, like it had taken the standard romance novel formula and threw it in a blender. When we first meet Lilah and Shane, Wilder isn’t introducing them as two people who are inevitably going to fall in love and live happily ever after. Instead, the reader finds out that while their story started that way when they first began as the leads of their show, they’ve since become enemies who can barely tolerate each other, but need to work together despite that to wrap up the show where their characters have been circling each other for nine years, their relationship inevitable and desperately wished for by the loyal fans.
As seems to be common with all Ava Wilder writes, my only issue is that I wish I could spend more time with these multidimensional characters I fell in love with, but hopefully some rereading will hold me over until next time.
I was absolutely obsessed by Ava Wilder’s first novel, HOW TO FAKE IT IN HOLLYWOOD, and have since been stalking a Netgalley for the chance to read her sophomore book, WILL THEY OR WON’T THEY. Not only has Wilder once again highlighted the relationship between two famous people (this time popular actors from a hit TV series) which just happens to be a trope I love and can’t find enough of, but WILL THEY OR WON’T THEY also deals with big, everyday issues such as mental health struggles and feelings of inadequacy that so many of us experience every day, famous or, even more likely, not.
This book felt so incredibly different from anything I’ve ever read, like it had taken the standard romance novel formula and threw it in a blender. When we first meet Lilah and Shane, Wilder isn’t introducing them as two people who are inevitably going to fall in love and live happily ever after. Instead, the reader finds out that while their story started that way when they first began as the leads of their show, they’ve since become enemies who can barely tolerate each other, but need to work together despite that to wrap up the show where their characters have been circling each other for nine years, their relationship inevitable and desperately wished for by the loyal fans.
As seems to be common with all Ava Wilder writes, my only issue is that I wish I could spend more time with these multidimensional characters I fell in love with, but hopefully some rereading will hold me over until next time.