The romance between Shelby and Cam was cute, and I would have loved to see even more of it during their teenage years on the show, but the setup for their reunion as adults was so convoluted and improbable. Their former costar Lyle, who is such a cartoonish antagonist all the way through the whole book, is now suddenly a showrunner on a home renovation show? Really? Why is he so intent on messing with them and the show when it also reflects badly on him if the show tanks? And why are all these “disgraced” famous people like Shelby and her country music singer best friend living in the same Michigan city? And Cam is also from there?! There was a lot of stretching of believability with the plot mechanics, which is too bad because Shelby and Cam’s interaction was lovely on its own.

Honestly can't decide how I feel about this book. I was kind of bored until half way through, but then thought it wrapped up too quickly.

I loved the "then" and "now" chapters, as well as the fact that we got both POVs. It's a little bit of a love triangle, but done super well and I didn't hate any of the characters - loved seeing the growth of the characters from childhood to present, but also loved the "famous" aspect of it.

Solid 3.5 - don't think I'll re-read, but I'm definitely glad to have read it.

**please note due to low rating I will not be leaving a public review for this book as I have not paid for it.**

Narrated by Lisa Zimmerman and Kale Williams⭐⭐⭐

Story by Erin Hahn ⭐⭐
Sorry but I just could not get into this audiobook or these characters. I personally just found them dull.
This is my first time trying this author and while I didn't enjoy this book I would try this author again.

This one took me a little while to connect with the story. I’m always a sucker for a second chance and this one has both a second chance in love and a second chance at a career. In addition to a second chance, you have friends to lovers, childhood sweethearts and forced proximity. I really liked Cameron from the start, but Shelby had to grow on me.

I flipped back and forth from the book to the audio and thought the narrators did a great job of bringing the story to life.

I loved the home flipping reality show aspect and the tender moments of the antiquing trip. I think romance lovers who like a little steam will love this one.

Everybody needs to read this book! It's so cute and heartfelt.

The book tells the story of Cameron and Shelby, they were each other first love, but they have a "sort of" falling out in their late teens and they reconnect when they get, unbeknownst to them, casted together for the pilot of a new real estate reality tv show.
The MCs are super cute, I loved how vulnerable they are with each other and their support system, I really appreciated how they discuss their struggles and try to grow together and find the best solution for their problems.

The audiobook is well-made, I really like when double POV means also double narrator, and I especially loved how there's the author page at the end, it's a rarity and I love it.

YES! I adored everything about this book! Ms. Hahn has primarily been a YA author up to now with this being her adult romance debut. Let me just say that she hit it out of the park! I'm a huge fan of second chance romance and this one was stellar - - and the chemistry between Shelby and Cameron....smoking hot. The banter was fun and it really had everything I look for in a rom-com. I'm so glad this author decided to dip her toe into adult romance and hope she has more up her proverbial sleeve for us.

Shelby and Cameron co-starred on the same television show as children. They had a hidden relationship that ended when Cameron left for college. After that, he and Shelby never could fully reconnect but still had a thread that linked them. Picking up on this, their previous co-star and Shelby's ex-boyfriend, Lyle decides to capitalize on the unrequited nature of their relationship by enlisting them to co-star in a reality show. It's one where they remodel a house to be flipped. Shelby has experience in this industry but Cameron doesn't. Yet he can't walk away from Shelby again. Or can he?

The author weaves a great story and pulls you in effortlessly. It's easy to invest in these characters. It's told in dual POV's from both Shelby and Cameron's perspectives. You also get some time hopping where you bounce between past and present. It all helps to fill in the pieces of their lives and give you insight as to why they both react in certain ways.

AUDIOBOOK: I also had the privilege of reviewing the audio version as well. I equally enjoyed it as the narration was spot on for me. I could really embrace the voices and see them as the characters. 5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to read/listen and review it and the opinions contained within are my own.

“Shelby Springfield has spent the last ten years trying to overcome her past, sanding it away like she does the rough spots on the vintage furniture finds she makes over. But as a former child star, it’s hard to forget a mediocre pop career, a meltdown widely documented by the paparazzi, and a huge public break with her former co-star Lyle Jessup. It’s also hard to forget her other co-star and childhood sweetheart, Cameron Riggs — the one who got away.”

I’ve read books about character who were former child stars.
I’ve read books about characters on reality television.
I’ve read books about characters taking on home reno projects.

This book had ALL THE THINGS.

And yet, it didn’t seem too much.

I loved the likeable main female and male characters.

I loathed the repellant ex BF and BFF.

I loved all the characters orbiting the mains, particularly the strong friendships and complex parent-adult child relationships.

There was just the right amount of humour, spice, sentimentality, and romance.

Also: the popular (and relevant) singles as chapter titles was a delight.

I really hope the author takes a few of the orbiting characters and runs with them.

I’m looking at you, Lorelei.

8/10

Thanks to NetGalley, OrangeSky Audio, and St. Martin’s Press for this handy ARC.

Really enjoyed this second chance forced proximity romance book i loved that she was so capable and strong and vulnerable. I appriciated they both had crappy parents and it was addressed and handled in the BEST possible qay highly recommend and will place an order for this today!!!

I’m a huge fan of home renovation shows so I had high hopes for this one. Unfortunately, it didn’t really deliver. The hone renovation portions were the only parts I liked. Shelby is OK. Cameron is unlikeable. Their romance smacked of insta-love and I am not a fan. It moved slowly and I quickly lost interest. This was a DNF for me.

Shelby is a former child star and during the last ten years she has tried to remake her life apart from the childhood television series. With the help of her dad, she restores old houses and makes furniture. Cameron was a part of her life when they had the television series, but he left for college when it was over. Now he has a successful career filming for National Geographic. Lyle, one of the series star and Shelby’s boyfriend during her teen years, is now a producer and wants to bring Cameron and Shelby back together with a reality television show about home renovations. Lyle wants a successful show, Shelby wants to prove that she has moved on, and Cameron wants to be with Shelby.
The narrators are great in this audio book. The frustration as they work with Lyle and Shelby's mother is so evident in their tone. The rekindled love they have for each other blossoms through words and voice. This is a good example of what love looks like. Well done.

•Second chance at love
•Childhood sweethearts
•Former childhood stars
•Reality television
•Dual POV
•Romance
•small town

Built to Last introduces us to Shelby Springfield and Cameron Riggs, former child stars who always had mutual crushes growing up. Shelby has recently been living life out of the spotlight, well as much as a former child star can anyway. But after her boyfriend of five years cheats on her with her best friend--and then writes a Grammy winning song for the world to hear, her quiet life is flipped upside down. Despite many years apart, Shelby knows that in a world of craziness and uncertainty, she can always count on Cameron.
Now a new home improvement show has brought these two back together. Will their childhood crushes turn into an adult relationship? Or will bitter exes try to stand in the way of fate?
This story felt new and fun. I loved the dual point of views and the pining for each other. I enjoyed getting to hear Shelby and Cam each come to life with their own voice. I do wish there would have been less Lyle and a bit more spice. Overall I enjoyed this book. Thank you to OrangeSky Audio via NetGalley for an advanced audiobook of this super cute romcom. 4 stars.

Thank you Orange Sky Audio and NetGalley for this audio Arc of Built to Last. This book is Hahn’s best one yet! It was so sweet and the character development was phenomenal. I love a second chance romance and close proximity trope, and this book did not disappoint! Highly recommend for those that love Emily Henry and Abby Jimenez!

This is a great romance novel with an interesting twist. I enjoyed the two main characters and both narrators. This is a feel good, warm hearted story that I finished in a couple of days.

Shelby and Cameron, both former child stars, performing on a family sitcom together have tried to move on with their lives. Any time Shelby calls Cameron he drops anything to come to her aid. Even 10 years after not seeing her. Sparks fly as Cameron comes back into her life. Shelby is helping her dad with a home renovation company and tried a pilot that didn’t go so well. Lyle, another former child star that performed with Shelby and Cameron, calls Cameron in to be the co-star in a new reality series with Shelby. This second-chance, friends to lovers’ story was cute. A little bit of witty banter and a little bit of spice can never go wrong. This was fast-paced and kept me wanting to read more. The characters were adorable, and I would have loved to have been there for the bar karaoke scene. If you love Hallmark movies and HGTV then this one is for you.

Shelby Springfield is a former notorious Hollywood party girl, a reputation she has been trying to get rid of since her break up with her high-profile former co-star. Shelby moved back home to Michigan and found her passion for restoring houses. When Hollywood comes knocking in the form of a new home improvement show, Shelby is excited about the opportunity until her new possible co-star, Cameron Riggs, is revealed. Shelby and Cameron have a complicated romantic history, and Shelby isn't sure if she wants to revisit it, but she doesn't know if she can stay away.

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. Shelby and Cameron's relationship was equal parts sweet and sizzling. Hahn did a great job of integrating commentary on how actresses are represented in the media. The book uses storylines thoughtfully to question the media frenzy around female celebrities while keeping the book playful. The book was a fun, fluffy romance with a little deeper message.

This celebrity, second chance romance was adorable. Shelby and Cameron are former child stars who reunite when Shelby and her beau break up. They're tasked with filming a home renovation show together. And their chemistry is undeniable. I enjoyed the storylines in this so much. The romance aspect between Shelby and Cameron felt real. I'd say this story was very slow burn. But once things happened, they happened fast. Former feelings couldn't hide for too long. If you're a fan of both romance novels and HGTV and home renovation shows, this is a book you need to pick up!

Built to last is one of the best comeback stories I have read in a long time. The story follows Shelby who was a child star that followed a path of destruction you see way too often. Now at 28 she is a changed person and staying out of the spotlight. She works with her dad and restores old furniture pieces and loves it.

Shelby gets an opportunity to do a home renovation show with her former co-star and her first love, Cameron. One problem is that her other former co-star and jealous ex-boyfriend Lyle is heavily involved.

Both Shelby and Cameron go through so much growth throughout the book. Shelby does not let any of the drama brought on by Lyle affect her. She stays above it all and true to her new and improved self. After being on camera as a child star Cameron found success being behind the camera making documentaries. What this really meant was he got to stay on the road and just continue to run from his problems and his past self. He goes through the most growth throughout the book and I loved it all.

There are some couples you just want together from the start and Shelby and Cameron are one of them. It was really helped by the excellent narration from Lisa Zimmerman and Kale Williams. Both of them did not just tell you a story, they performed it and let you visualize it. They made a great story even better. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone and I actually preordered a hard copy for the bookshelf.

The premise of this book (two child stars reuniting as adults to film a pilot for a home renovation show) was so very much up my alley. As a person who was and remains pretty deeply invested in the Disney Channel stars who ruled my teen years, I rooted so much for Cameron and Shelby’s love story. I’m thrilled that there seems to be a clear set up for another book in a series by the end here because I’m ready to keep reading.

Shelby, a former child star has spent the last ten years trying to overcome her days as a child star. Her mother treated her as a commodity and she was horribly betrayed by her now ex-boyfriend and ex-best girlfriend, both who were and are horribly vapid egomaniacs with zero awareness of anyone other than themselves. Ugh. They cooked up a plan for their own career advancement and cheated on Shelby, humiliated her publicly and lied to make the world believe it was all her fault. After a major public meltdown she left Hollywood and headed home to her dad. She wanted to start anew and let let go of all of the cesspool of truly despicable people associated with it and her former life. She is now back home and working with her dad. Her new creative outlet is finding and giving new life to old furniture. She is a true artisan. That she doesn’t recognize her new passion is a metaphor for her life shows just how in her head she still is. She mostly wants to be forget everything about her Hollywood experience with the exception of Cameron, a former co-star and the first and honestly only true love. Their last time together didn’t pan out the way she thought she wanted it to. He was a true stand up person who wanted to be there for her, but wasn’t willing to be used. When her ex comes calling for she and Cameron to host a reality show about home rehabbing she says yes, only to be able to create a financial cushion for her beloved dad. We all know reality TV is all scripted, but when Lyle the snake (the truly smarmy ex) starts playing games to make them look bad and inept, they work together to not only do a great job, but to in their own way get even and work the situation to their advantage, Lyle, who with his massive ego cannot possibly fathom anyone being smarter than him or liking anyone more than his charming self ultimately gets his and Shelby and Cameron find their way back to each other. It’s a sweet, funny, witty listen that leads to a great HEA. This was a great introduction to this author for me. Looking forward to listening or reading more of her work.

I enjoyed this book! It was well written and engaging. The narrators were exceptional. It was a fun interpretation of puppy love goes grown up. Definitely a few steamy descriptions, so not for YA or those who are precious about intimate encounters. I’m glad I listened to the audio version of this book. I’ll be reading more from this author.