A review by wardenred
Stars in Your Eyes by Kacen Callender

dark emotional hopeful 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

5.0

I close my eyes and breathe through it. Remind myself that I’m worthy of love, even if some people in my life have acted like I’m not.

Wow. Such an emotional rollercoaster, in the best possible way. I loved how the narrative swirled between the typical romance story beats and the parts of the character arcs that didn’t quite mesh with it. There was a point late in the story where I wasn’t certain a joint happy ever after was possible at all, rather than two separate hopefully happy endings that wouldn’t be possible if it wasn’t for the impact Logan and Matty had on each other—and I was actually prepared to be okay with it. And then the author genuinely and believably surprised me by going back to the genre conventions.

Both leads here are simply amazing, as far as characters go. I loved the depth Kacen Callender brought to each of them, and how while Logan is obviously the more troubled one, it’s always made clear that Matty has his own stuff to work through, too. There’s a lot of very earnest, very relatable discussion of trauma, and of being there for someone dealing with it, and how sometimes it takes over your life and you feel like you’re losing yourself in being someone else’s pillar, and how hurt people hurt people and that’s sometimes expected but never okay. It’s such a great portrayal of the rocky, messy road to healing, and it hurts in such a good way.

I also loved the parts focused on Hollywood and acting. Especially the acting: the actual art and craft of it is regularly explored, leaving me with no doubt that yes, these characters are actors, it’s a big part of their lives, it’s their job but also something that affects how they interact with the world and themselves. I also liked all the behind the scene politics around the fake dating scheme, as well as the parts with the fans discussing everything ones—there were some great insights on parasocial relationships here, and it was cool how the audiobook uses a bunch of different voice actors for these sections, exacerbating the impression of numerous other voices intruding on a very private story.

10/10, would get my heart broken and mended by this book again.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings