Cat is a successful influencer who is about to gain a huge sponsorship. When it all goes wrong, she decides to travel to a remote area of Montana to help her uncle build up the social media representation of a natural area for visitors. When she arrives, she makes a less than great impression on Zaiah, a coworker and friend of her uncle who seems to dislike everything about her. Will she be able to help her uncle and convince Zaiah that she’s not as shallow as he seems to think?

I had mixed feelings about this book. It seems to be marketed as a romcom, but it really wasn’t. There’s very little romance between the characters and there’s no build up of their romance in the story at all until a rushed epilogue concludes it. It came across a bit preachy at times and the reason for Zaiah’s dislike of social media seemed extreme. I would find it hard to believe that he’d fall for an influencer at all after his prior relationship. Cat is not very likable as a main character, and the book is a bit slow paced until the end. However, I liked the author’s writing style and I’m sure it would appeal to fans of women’s fiction, but it missed the mark for me as a romance.

Thank you to the publisher, Netgalley, and Melissa Ferguson for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

FAMOUS FOR A LIVING would be great for readers of clean women's fiction. Those looking for a rom-com might be a little disappointed. So much comes down to expectations and how the book is marketed.

At times this novel feels a little preachy, e.g. with respect to the social media theme. I promise readers don't need to be beaten over the head -- we get it. The writing is a little choppy in places, and the hero is under-developed (handsome / has a flip phone -- wish we knew more about him....)

That being said, the story moves along at a nice pace, and I very much enjoyed the protagonist's journey toward self realization. Ferguson is clearly a talented author.

The setting of rural Montana is conveyed in a charming and descriptive way.

I will definitely look forward to more from this author.

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

As a work of literary fiction about a 30 year old phone-addicted woman discovering the life and its charms outside of social media, this book sort of holds up. As a romance... not so much.

Famous for a Living follows social media influencer Cat Cranwell who, after a partnership goes terribly wrong, moves to work for her uncle in Kannery national park. There she is expected to save the park by managing its social media pages and along the way, she falls for the rugged ranger Zaiah, who couldn't be opposed to her line of work and lifestyle more.

The good: the worldbuilding. I enjoyed the setting of this book, the small town life traditions and tidbits (tho they drink surprisingly large amounts of coffee and at odd hours), and especially the Parks and Recreation-esque crew of the national park. The whole picture really came together beautifully to save this book. The author also obviously has an established, clear voice and style which I'm sure her readers enjoy.

Me? Not as much.

There's a lot of this.

This.

Short sentences.

On their own.

In a paragraph.

That would all be fine and dandy had they been used for emphasis every once in a while to drive a point home. Instead, they were everywhere, making Cat sound extremely overdramatic and constantly interrupting the flow of the story.

There were also descriptions-written-in-long-hyphenated-sequences-like-this in amounts that made me wonder if they were placeholders for future edits. Not bad writing necessarily, but seems lazy after a while.

In two spots there are 15 minute scoldings happening, from Cat to Mina and from Mina to Cat. Where there could be meaningful, character building dialogue, there is none, and instead both are just described as 'lecturing' and end having left no impact.

The romance? To be honest, by the 50% mark I completely forgot Zaiah was supposed to be a love interest. I was fully invested in the rest of the plot going on and he was simply part of the cast, his defining characteristics being that he's handsome and hates phones. There was no chemistry and frankly, I didn't mind. They could've just ended as friends for all I care and Cat's character development would've been story enough.

And that was alright. The social media commentary was a bit preachy and her backstory begged for more but in the end it was satisfying enough.

If you can overlook these issues or even better, if they're non-issues to you, you'll find this a delightful story of a woman finding new meaning in a beautiful setting, but not much for the romance part of romcom.

Cat Cranwell, social media extraordinaire, had the whole world at her feet. An unfortunate business partnership takes it all from her. Where does a social media star go after she has been cancelled? Will a national park bring back Cat's name, or change her life forever?

This was my second Melissa Ferguson book, and I've come to expect the romance with a side of traumatic past, family secrets, and a swoon-worthy coming together of the two main characters. She certainly delivered on that here. I only wish some of the characters had been fleshed out more, such as Cat's Uncle Terry, and even Zaiah, the male protagonist here.

The writing flew here, and though we get that formula of romance novels' conclusion, the author does something to it that makes it less cheesy, and more meaningful.

Overall, this was a fun and light read, and I'm still looking forward to what the author writes next.

I give this 4 stars.

All the stars people!!!! Listen, I love me some Melissa Ferguson!!!!

All her books are like a COZY HUG to me. Her previous work Meet me in the Margins was a home run for me so I was a bit nervous going into this follow up. But Famous for a Living was just as cozy and fun to read!

Cat's growth in the book as she works through how social media is shaping her life was really well done and extremely relevant to today. It definitely has inspired me to think through boundaries with my social usage.

My favorite aspect of the book is the Cat's found family The romance was sweet, her uncle is endearing and the rest of the crew surrounding her are zany and loving.

Thank you NetGalley for providing an eARC copy of this book!

I stayed up way too late to finish Famous for a Living by Melissa Ferguson. This follows a social media influencer who escapes to a national park in Montana when her business partner is accused of serious crimes.

This is a slow burn, chaste romance. It also digs into the role social plays in our lives and mental health. I loved the peak into rural Montana life in the winter.

The found family she created throughout this book are very special. I enjoyed meeting them and probably related to Serena, the BFF, almost more than Cat. 😆

Her book, Meet Me in the Margins, has been on my TBR for awhile and now I’m more motivated to pick it up.

Thanks to @netgalley for providing the ARC. This was my honest review.

#FamousforaLiving #NetGalley

Cute story...a bit light on the romance, which isn't to the novel's detriment. The focus on self-love and evolution was refreshing in a rom com-ish book.

After reading Meet Me in the Margins earlier this year, I was excited to read another by Ferguson. Unfortunately it missed the mark for me. It wasn’t quite a romance but more of a women’s fiction. The relationship in the romance part of the story didn’t develop as a likely story. Because I have been pondering the effects of social media on myself and how I want to use it as a tool instead of it using me, I appreciated Cat’s, the main character, development in that area.

A fun rom-com between an influencer and a die-hard Park Ranger. Gives you all the cozy romance bibes ina luscious setting with two hooked on each other main characters. A fun read!

FAMOUS FOR A LIVING by Melissa Ferguson
rating: 4.5 STARS
genre: romance, women's fiction
steam: closed door, this is a kissing book

So let me start off by saying that it's hard to tell you what my FAVORITE thing about this book is without giving away the whole thing, so I'll just say this: I love the romance in this book and I love the romance conclusion. It's so real and I just absolutely adored how it worked out.

This book made me realize just how prominent social media is in our lives. We constantly have phones in our hands and we look at the world around us as what will look "good" online. That's no way to live. So if there's one takeaway from this novel, it's to unplug just a little bit and enjoy the work around you NOT through your phone's lens.

The characters in this book were top notch; every side character served a purpose and was a delight to read (even the "villains").

Highly recommend this book if you love the outdoors and a more mature coupling!

This one surprised me! I really enjoyed it. It was a cute, fun, summer read. Will be seeing this one a lot next sumemr!

I received a copy of Famous for a Living via NetGalley to read and review.

I’m giving 3.5 stars but rounding to 4 stars.

Famous for a Living is labeled as a romance most of the story is about Cat and her role on social media. The romance is very much slow burn and clean which I didn’t mind. I really enjoyed the story and *almost* makes me want to visit Montana (when it’s less cold of course). I like the small town with its own traditions and this poor girl being thrown into it all and enjoying it.

I really enjoyed this story. I think it's incredibly relatable to the average person, with social media taking over our lives. It would definitely benefit from another round of editing, I noticed a few places where the story changes.

Melissa Ferguson is a hit or miss for me as an athor and i wanted to give her another chance and im so happy that i did because this book was hands down the best one shes wver wrote. I love the plot. Loved the characters wittyness and was most definitely want a tomance book should be

Cat Cranwell is a social media influencer who leaves New York amid a scandal and heads to
Montana to live with her Uncle Terry while her lawyers try to do damage control. Cat works with her uncle and his coworker Zaiah who couldn’t be more different from Cat. He knows absolutely nothing about social media nor does he want to. The more Zaiah interacts with Cat, the more he realizes they are not that different. I found this book to be slow moving and couldn’t connect with the characters. I did appreciate Cat’s growth
throughout the book. I wouldn’t list this book in the romance category, I consider it women’s fiction.

I really struggled to find a point in this book. It certainly wasn't a romance. The two main characters were both not very likable and I found myself wanting to DNF several times. I also felt like there were some weird underlying messages about political and social issues that made me feel uncomfortable. I don't think I would read further books by this author in the future.

I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

A big thank you to Melissa Ferguson, Thomas Nelson, and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. Famous for a Living comes out May 16, 2023.

When social media influencer Cat is betrayed by her business partner, with the help of her best friend, Serena, she decides to go to Kennedy, Montana to get a break from the scandal. There she takes a job with her park ranger uncle to try and up visitor numbers to his national park. There she meets the head park ranger Zaiah, a social media and cellphone (he has a freaking flip phone) hating cinnamon roll. During her stay in Montanna, Cat must decide if she wants to continue the near addiction she had to social media or if she can still post but not make it influence her whole day.

I really enjoyed this book even though it was different than what I thought it was going to be. I feel like it leans more towards the Woman's fiction category, with romance being a subplot. I still loved the personnel journey that Cat went on during the book. I also really enjoyed that Cat didn't start out as a spoiled and vapid character, from the beginning she was strong and kind. All of the side characters were funny, and they all added a found family feel to the book. Overall, it was a fun and easy read, and I definingly recommend Famous for a Living.

An adorable, clean romance with humor and joy, and whats not to love???

But seriously this Christmas I’ve been buying gifts for people and I keep thinking “I should buy this book for so and so” and then I remember I read the ARC and can’t buy it for others yet.

Another hit from Melissa Ferguson and it did not disappoint! Cat Cranwell needs to figure out how she is going to make it away from the big city and the comfort of her social media elite status. She really struggles as any woman would do when wanting to be fashionable and feel beautiful in single digit freezing temps. Melissa always does so well at giving her main female lead the doubtful and fun of despair internal monologue, when all they really want to do is succeed at small things in life. They always feel like they aren't good enough and yet they always prove themselves wrong by believing and just going for it anyway, even if they look ridiculous doing it.

I can see myself in her characters, Serena was the perfect balance of work/personal life for Cat and always reassured her that things would resolve themselves eventually. Cat's mental health is also Serena's top priority, which I found so sweet and I am definitely akin to her for being empathetic and supportive. All of the characters surrounding Cat gave her the benefit of the doubt and cut her some slack for not being native to Montana and I enjoyed seeing as they all fell in love with her and she grew to love them despite their wacky winter games. The whole Kannery team felt like a family and I really enjoyed reading their antics and dynamic between them. Kannery Park and Cades Peak were described in such great detail, I instantly wanted to go and see it for myself.

Overall, Zaiah and Cat provide us with so much insight into their troublesome past and how they rose above all of it, many real moments that my heart broke for them and ultimately made them such a great couple, really loved how they complemented each other. Thank you Melissa for giving us another great gem and I cannot wait to read your future works! Also, thanks to the Thomas Nelson team for the ARC.

What I read: Famous for a Living by Melissa Ferguson

Why I picked it up: I’ve read and loved all of Melissa’s books – and even own them. I find them laugh out loud funny, so when I saw the opportunity to request this one on NetGalley I jumped at the chance.

How I read it: The ARC (advanced reader copy) on Kindle in a day, I put everything else down to read this first!

What it’s about: Cat’s job is “being famous” – she’s been an online influencer and now she has the chance to launch a new app in the world and be the face or rather voice of it all. But contracts are a tricky thing and it all ends up blowing up in her face. As she loses followers and her dignity, at times, she needs to find a place to lay low. Her uncle invites her to do social media for the national park he manages, so she packs up everything and moves to Montana in the winter for a few months. Zaiah is charged with picking her up from the airport and sees only the worst of his ex in her, which makes for some tense interactions between the two of them.

What I liked: Cat seems to find her way in the world and realigns her values – and Zaiah is a delight. I want to know him in real life – or see this portrayed in a movie. There’s a serious moral lesson in the end that we should all take heed of!

What I disliked: There’s a lot of acceptance that being a famous influencer for doing nothing except being beautiful and knowing how to gain followers is a real job. I think that this “job” might be one of the downfalls of our current culture so it was hard to have it celebrated.

Genre: Chaste romance, social media, found family.

Rating & Recommendation: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ and yes – it releases on May 16th!

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