5 stars

Where Cat Cranwell learns to live her best life.

Watching me start the process of losing those first petals of my youth had been daunting. Terrifying. Until I met Zaiah. And Jax. And Mina. And Kevin. And Peggy. And went to live in a place where people were just too busy living life with the ones they love to worry about such a small thing as skin.

I wasn’t seventeen anymore. I was aging, gracefully albeit, and I was learning to accept it. And for those people who couldn’t, who would leave if I couldn’t meet their impossible standards, then so be it.

"You are without question the best person to cook for."

Initially, I expected this to be a 50% grumpy-sunshine rom-com with lots of witty banter and the rest being Cat's story adjusting in Kannery National Park after a very happening New York lifestyle. Boy was I wrong, in the most pleasant way. This book was Cat's metamorphosis and so fucking warming that I felt wrapped up in a blanket reading it.

Melissa Ferguson did a phenomenal job with the book's characters. Because I didn't only like the MCs but the supporting characters were perfection. Since the first chapter, I loved Serena. She was strong and had a way about her that made me wish to have a Serena in my life. I was a little sad at first to not have more of her in the book, but lo and behold! the author introduced Mina. She was a 180 when compared to Serena but feels like a cosy hug full of fierce loyalty. And I couldn't be happier with it. Mina made everyone's day brighter, including mine.

There is something about books set in small towns that gets me every time. Maybe it's the sense of togetherness and undying support. And even though I didn't realise it till later in this book, but it was all in the book. And most importantly, the message of the book does not only apply to influencers, but the whole generation. It was an eye-opener and healing at the same time and I feel so good after reading it all.

Thank you Netgalley and Thomas Nelson for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this one! Melissa Ferguson knows how to write a fun rom-com that also has a good message within the pages. I love that her rom-coms are not only funny but they also have depth to them.

It did take me a little while to get into this one mostly because I didn’t particularly like the main character in the beginning. That being said, Cat had great character development and I really enjoyed watching her grow throughout the story. I ended up really liking her character! As for Zaiah, he was great! I really liked the “mountain man”. He was perfect for Cat!
I also loved the fun group of side characters— Mina, Jax, Kevin, Uncle Terry, and Peggy. I especially liked Mina. She would be the best friend. And she was hilarious. 😂

I loved the outdoorsy, snowy setting of the book! It was definitely one of the main highlights of the book for me. It’s perfect to read during winter when it’s snowing since the book is set during the winter months and the MC is freezing 95% of the time. It was also just cozy because the characters are living in cabins.

One of the things I really liked about this book is how Melissa Ferguson addressed how addiction to our phones and social media can affect us negatively. I think this topic is so important. Reading about Cat’s struggle with disconnecting from her phone was definitely a reality check for me. It made me seriously think about how often I grab for my phone out of habit when bored, stressed, etc. and how that could be affecting me.
I also wanted to say I appreciate how clean this book is!

In conclusion, I really enjoyed this story! It was just a fun rom-com that made me laugh but also had depth to it. It felt like a really quick read so it’s perfect for when you want something fun and quick to read on the weekend. I think you’ll especially like this one if you enjoy stories with main characters who are famous and characters who have to try things out of their comfort zone.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

🌲 I am a proud Melissa Ferguson fan and will read any and every thing she writes. I'd read her newspaper articles or jokes written on a napkin. 😂
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🌲 Needless to say, I was excited when I received this e-book from @netgalley and @thomasnelson to read and review!
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🌲 This story definitely has a message, and it's far from discreet. I do think that tech overuse/addiction is a very prevalent and important topic, but it did come off as heavy handed and a little preachy to me. I wouldn't say that there's anything that I disagreed with though.
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🌲 This one also felt quite choppy to me at times - there were several times I had to go back and re-read a section because I either didn't know who was talking, where they were, or just didn't know what was going on. Perhaps that was edited post Net Galley, but that was definitely distracting.
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🌲 The relationships in this one were my fave. I was rooting for the city girl and the mountain man (in fact, I wish they'd been together more!), I loved the bond that Cat formed with Mina, and of course, her quiet, but fiercely loyal and doting uncle. I loved them all and felt like most of their banter and interaction was genuine!
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🌲 One thing that I did NOT realize is the amount of money that an influencer can make through the deals that brands will offer them. 😱 I guess I've just been sheltered here in my tiny space that I had no clue they could make 5 digits with just one brand. So it makes this concept of social media addiction more complicated - it's literally their main source of income. I feel like there's a lot there to discuss, and in that sense, this would make an excellent book club pick!
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🌲 There is no objectionable content in this book or any of her others, and I love her for that 😍 If you enjoy Melissa Ferguson's other books, this one will likely feel a little different, but that's ok! Meet Me in The Margins felt different too and I absolutely adored it!!

I enjoy pretty much everything Melissa Ferguson writes, and I love that her stories have strong female main characters that work through struggles and find a nice guy along the way. HEAs are just fun to read.

Cat Cranwell was actually kinda annoying to me at first, which is perfect to set her up for the struggles and changes she endures. I didn’t relate much to her vast social media present and the need to survive off that type of lifestyle- I can see how this WOULD be very appealing and interesting to many readers though. I did love that she went to a small national park where she had to run social media (much like many social media managers instead of the tons of followers she has) for the park in order to save it for her Uncle Terry. Love that storyline!

While there she is taught to stop being THAT phone absorbed person SO MANY times. I loved it. It reminded me so often of people dancing around in tiktok dances rather than experiencing life in a park (my small digression though).

My favorite scene was the Moose and her babies…I just loved it, hahaha IYKYK!

Of course while at the park, Zaiah, a ranger who interestingly enough is from NYC originally, keeps putting Cat in her place, causing her to rethink her perspective and what is important in life.

Light, quick read, you will enjoy this if you’ve enjoyed her other novels.

2.7 Read
I wanted to love this book, but it just wasn't the book for me. I adored her last release and went in with such high hopes. There were a few hilarious moments of this book, but overall I disliked the main character so much I almost put the book down. She does change near the end, but I felt that it was still very superficial.

So I didn't love the author's other novel (Meet me in the margins) and I liked this novel more than the other one; however, neither Meet me in the margins or this one should be marketed as romance. It's fiction with a sprinkling of romance. There's no "romance". Found the social media aspect a tad preachy and the uncle preaching about his gun rights, I didn't know what that was about. The writing style also incorporated a lot of time jumps and overall, not my favourite book. The relationship was sweet overall, but yeah, I think the execution was lacking for what I wanted in the book.

I DNF'd this one at 14%. I just couldn't get into this one, the writing style didn't work for me and I didn't like the main character. The starting scene also seemed to drag out a bit long and I just didn't get invested, when I started skimming within the first chapter I figured it was time to set this one aside.

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC of this book!
I am so happy I was able to read this book early. I really enjoy this author and haven't been let down by any of her books! Can't wait to see what's next! I loved the characters and setting of this book so much. The sweet romance is just up my alley!

I love Melissa And her writing so much. There’s nothing like an influencer going to Montana (I should know, I did it in college and I wasn’t even that influencer-y). I love a good opposites attract and she delivers with wit and charm and a good clean read. Instantly going to pre-order cause I need Melissa to continue to write books.

This book was a bit of an anomaly for me. I will admit that I dragged my heels at first to start this ARC e-book, Famous for a Living, because of my own thoughts on social media and it’s role as a potential profession. This novel did a really good job of showing both the benefits and the downfalls of social media and becoming an influencer. It also explores the healing power of nature which I found really refreshing.

Cat is at the height of her career when we first meet her, her uncle Terry and his senior park ranger employee, Zaiah. She is having a launch party for an app and sees how her uncle and Zaiah can’t comprehend her lifestyle. Fast forward a few months, she is being sued for fraud and must escape to her uncles national park to run their social media accounts and up their visitor numbers. She sees all the amazing and zany things the park has to offer including the handsome Zaiah Smith. The park and it’s occupants might even tempt her to put her phone down once and a while and appreciate the little things in life.

I liked seeing Cat and Zaiah’s growth throughout the story and the secondary characters were hilarious. The overall premise of the book and all the park activities they did were fun to read. I did find that the love story between Cat and Zaiah was underdeveloped as well as certain parts of the story could have been explained in more detail for the readers enjoyment as you get attached to the characters. Overall this book really caught my attention even though I was not sure it would.

A social media content creator and an off-the-grid National Park Ranger? Sign me up please. Honestly, that’s all that it took to sell me. A great hook.
Not everyone is going to love Cat right away. And that’s okay because she grows and you’ll end up cheering for her in the end. Her and Zaiah that is. ;) While I personally could have used a bit more romantic tension (there’s never enough!), these two opposites attract do work. Plus, the cast of secondary characters are all fun!

I really enjoyed the character development of Cat. I was actually kind of worried at first I wouldn't like her because she seemed very materialistic and kind of vain. However, once she moved to MT I really enjoyed how she dealt with the change from city to outdoorsy, rural life. I liked how she wasn't stuck-up and tried to do her best in her new position. I also liked how the author gave out nuggets to readers of Cat's previous life vs. just giving us the entire background in one go. I do wish there had been more scenes with Zaiah, especially early on as I wanted more tension and attraction before the date. I also wish there had been more scenes with Cat and her uncle; he was her only family and I understood they were close, but having a few more scenes (even ones as flashbacks) would have been nice. Overall, I really enjoyed the story; Cat's experiences were really fun and I think I even laughed out loud once.

This is a unique story about an internet influencer and a park ranger at a little known national park.
The phrase 'write what you know' is perfect for this book, as Melissa Ferguson is not only a mother, wife, author but also an influencer who uses her influence online regularly. So this book gives a lot of background on how being an influencer all works.
This book is different from her other stories and I had a hard time getting into it and really even understanding what was going on at first. But I really enjoyed it after getting into it. And I enjoyed all that I learned as there are not many novels with characters that have these occupations. I would recommend it .

Thank you to Net Galley for allowing me to read this book. The opinions are entirely my own,

I want to start by saying that this was a fast paced read. I literally read it in two days, but now for the bad news: WHAT DID I READ BECAUSE I SWEAR IT WAS SO FAST PACED THAT NOTHING HAPPENED.

I don’t know if it’s from the bad editing that this experienced when moved to the kindle but good lord, I really felt like nothing had happened yet, so imagine my surprise when I looked and saw that I had read 60% of this book!! She had this whole “I need to spend less time on my phone” realisation but it was brought on by someone silently judging her and not from an actual realisation.

It was a fine, easily forgettable book.

FAMOUS FOR A LIVING is another most enjoyable laugh-out-loud romantic comedy by MELISSA FERGUSON, with a serious undercurrent of broken relationships, childhood abuse and the dangers of media addiction.
When Cat Cranwell finds herself no longer “famous for a living” and hated by her fans, she is forced to find who she really is when she goes to work for her beloved Uncle Terry in the Kannery National Park in Montana, literally in the middle of nowhere.
The ruggedly handsome “mountain man” Zaiah Smith is as opposite to her as anyone can be, hating all things media and cellphone related……
That is all I am going to tell you as I do not want to spoil things for you. Famous for a Living is a lovely read - a real breath of fresh air. I cannot recommend the novel highly enough.
I was given a free copy of the book by NetGalley from Thomas Nelson. The opinions in this review are completely my own.

Famous for a Living really captures the essence of working in a National Park! The characters’ have the earnest spirit and demeanor that you cannot help but root for. I fell I love with Kannery and its charm. Main character Cat Cranwell is all of us when confronted with real life vs. the perfect image of social media. Readers are sure to feel a little of Cat’s journey mirrored in their own experience, even if they aren’t influencers themselves!

I really enjoyed this book! This book constantly had me laughing out loud and smiling. I also lovee the side characters and how much they actually brought to the story! I loved getting read Cat’s character development and how she learned that she was more than the amount of likes and followers she has. I also enjoyed how this book brought up the very real issues of social media addiction while still letting you read about it in a fun and interesting way. I think the banter between the characters was good but I also feel like they were lacking a lot of chemistry and tension required for a slow burn. I think this book definitely isn’t very strong romantically. While Cat does end up in a relationship there wasn’t much buildup. I also think the writing style was not the best. Overall, I still enjoyed this book and it’s definitely a fun read! All opinions are my own. Thank you to Netgalley and Thomas Nelson Publishing for sending me this ARC!

I really enjoyed this book because the content is not something you read about often, but I was a wee bit disappointed with the ending of the story. Insta-famous Cat Cranwell lives a life Zaiah Smith of Montana left years ago. He works with Cat's uncle and she is helping said uncle with some publicity while her life gets back on track. Sparks fly between the two and Cat has to decide whether the life she leads is how she wants to continue living. It's a good reminder to put down those devices and enjoy the world around us

I was over the moon to find this book on Net Galley. I loved Meet Me in the Margins and had great expectations for this one.

Famous for a Living was much hard for me to get into. The writing was good but the MC was very unrelatable to me and there was so much in it that I felt I didn't know/understand about both her and her world that I spend the first 1/3 of the book forcing myself to just keep reading. However once she went to MT, I was able to settle in and enjoy the story more without struggling to figure out all the influencer lingo.

In the end, I loved the development of both the MC and her LI and I enjoyed their story. They grew together and you end the story knowing they were meant to be.

I went into this book thinking it would be a romance novel however that was not the focal of the story. It was more so about the downsides of social media and being too dependent on it. That is obviously a part of society today but I was hoping there would be more to Cat and Zaiah. I did love reading about the National Park and what they had to offer though!