A review by lisibee815
Love and Other Hollywood Endings by Susannah Erwin

emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

 Thank you to NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book, this is my objective review. Xavier is a movie director, contending with the sudden disappearance of the producer on his newest film while simultaneously facing one of his biggest romantic regrets. Sutton was once an aspiring screenwriter and is now a production executive investigating financial irregularities on Xavier's latest film production. Ten years ago their relationship imploded with no warning, will they be able to put aside hurt feelings and resurrect Xavier's film? Overall, I liked it. The two main plots (i.e., what really happened between Xavier and Sutton 10 years ago, and the missing money and threat to shut down the film) keep the story moving. There's not a lot here that's new and it's a bit predictable, but it was written well enough to be engaging and I stayed with it to the end. Written in dual 3rd-person POVs, which I always enjoy, and with a likeable cast of supporting characters. I did have a couple of issues that distracted me from full enjoyment. First, the author confused me with her choice to make some of the sexual intimacy open-door (the "lead-up" sexual acts) and some of it closed-door (the "main show" consummation, if you will). I'm not sure why she'd be so openly detailed with some and not all of it, but the author wrote it that way so I respect her decision. The other issue was the lack of full copy-editing (missing words, missing or mis-placed punctuation, extra words where the shouldn't be, etc.) But, since this is an advanced reader copy it will hopefully be corrected before publication. Readers who enjoy forced-proximity, friends-to-enemies-to-lovers stories with a heavy emphasis on miscommunication/misunderstanding and ultimately an HEA will like this book. Publishes February 25, 2025. 
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