Scan barcode
A review by onceandfuturebooknerd
Stars in Your Eyes by Kacen Callender
4.75
When Logan Grey, Hollywood's bad boy, and Mattie Cole, the sunshine newcomer, are cast together in a romcom, the production is off to a shaky start with Logan calling Mattie talentless. To create some positive buzz, the two are persuaded into a fake dating scheme - but soon real feelings get involved as Mattie and Logan get to know each other; the good, the bad, and the ugly.
This book was EVERYTHING!!! One of those more hard-hitting romances, so do check the trigger warnings before diving in, but very much a needed one!
While I adore romance novels and I always will, I can see how they can sometimes brush over the more painful parts - so I appreciate it when some books don't. There has been an ongoing discussion on mental illnesses rep in books for ages now and back in the day, there was a belief that romance either:
a) doesn't belong in books where the MC struggles with a mental illness
or b) that romance is an end all, be all for mentally ill people, that it will cure them and that's it.
And guess what?? It's neither! And Stars in Your Eyes portrays that perfectly! Of course we've had books that tackle these topics in the same manner, more and more in the recent years and I am so grateful for that. But there have been few (that I've stumbled upon!) that deal with rape, sexual assault and PTSD (and CPTSD) that comes from that. And Stars in Your Eyes managed that with a lot of sensitivity and care - of course that doesn't mean it isn't a hard read. It is, but it is also a necessary one (IF and only if you are comfortable with reading books with certain TWs. Safety first, of course). Hollywood has a lot, a lot of skeletons and while Stars in Your Eyes is a romance novel, it also shines a light on the ugliest truths of the world of glamour, on trauma and pain that stems from that, and how that affects relationships as well. There is literally a paragraph in the book that talks about how people who deal with trauma, who are survivors of SA, very rarely see themselves in romance novels and how unfair that is. How the time has come for the industry - both book and movie - to change that, to change the narrative and show that everyone is worthy of love (romantic or platonic or any type they want).
All in all, Stars in Your Eyes is a beautiful romance, but it is not straightforward or easy. I love it even more for the way it deals with mental health in relation to romance and how they are not mutually exclusive.
This book was EVERYTHING!!! One of those more hard-hitting romances, so do check the trigger warnings before diving in, but very much a needed one!
While I adore romance novels and I always will, I can see how they can sometimes brush over the more painful parts - so I appreciate it when some books don't. There has been an ongoing discussion on mental illnesses rep in books for ages now and back in the day, there was a belief that romance either:
a) doesn't belong in books where the MC struggles with a mental illness
or b) that romance is an end all, be all for mentally ill people, that it will cure them and that's it.
And guess what?? It's neither! And Stars in Your Eyes portrays that perfectly! Of course we've had books that tackle these topics in the same manner, more and more in the recent years and I am so grateful for that. But there have been few (that I've stumbled upon!) that deal with rape, sexual assault and PTSD (and CPTSD) that comes from that. And Stars in Your Eyes managed that with a lot of sensitivity and care - of course that doesn't mean it isn't a hard read. It is, but it is also a necessary one (IF and only if you are comfortable with reading books with certain TWs. Safety first, of course). Hollywood has a lot, a lot of skeletons and while Stars in Your Eyes is a romance novel, it also shines a light on the ugliest truths of the world of glamour, on trauma and pain that stems from that, and how that affects relationships as well. There is literally a paragraph in the book that talks about how people who deal with trauma, who are survivors of SA, very rarely see themselves in romance novels and how unfair that is. How the time has come for the industry - both book and movie - to change that, to change the narrative and show that everyone is worthy of love (romantic or platonic or any type they want).
All in all, Stars in Your Eyes is a beautiful romance, but it is not straightforward or easy. I love it even more for the way it deals with mental health in relation to romance and how they are not mutually exclusive.