I just wrote a full review for my library's blog, and I'll update this when it's published.

For now I'll say the internet addiction angle hooked me from the first line and didn't let go. Half rehab story, half road fiction, and all introspection about fame, friendship, and what it means to truly connect with someone.

Ooooh, boy, this one was quite the train wreck. Normally it doesn’t take me more than a few days to get through a book, or when I’m not as busy I can go through one or two a day, but this one took me about two weeks to read. Not because it was long, but because it was so bad that I just did not want to pick it up. Sure, I could have DNFed it, but I knew I had it in me to finish, so I pushed myself. Because I was challenging myself to reach the end, once I did I had a big feeling of accomplishment and also a long ragey note on my phone.

The beginning of this book was so incredibly slow. There wasn’t a whole lot taking place, in fact, most of the entire book didn’t have much going on; instead, most of what I was reading was inner monologue and conversation between the characters. Once I hit the 15% mark the main character, Holly, finally started to establish a story long relationship with Thom, and for the first time, I thought maybe I was going to enjoy the book. That was also when I still had faith in Holly and believed some character development would be taking place. She is such a terrible and annoying person. I tried really hard to feel for her and understand what she was going through, but her self-centeredness was such a huge turn off for me and I was disappointed to find that she never changed.

There were also many instances that honestly just left me quite shocked:

- The first time Holly tried coming onto Thom sexually, he respectfully told her that he wasn’t interested, but she continued to push the subject and attempt to force a relationship on him several more times throughout the book. Because of that, I was incredibly disappointed when they ended up in a relationship before the conclusion of the story.
- When Thom and Holly start their road trip, Thom tells Holly that it should take them 25 hours to get to their destination, but that he hadn’t planned on a passenger and her girl bladder making them stop every 50 minutes. I had to actually go back and read this a couple of times to make sure I wasn’t imagining it. We’re living in 2019, stop with your sexist “jokes”.
- A little over a quarter of the way into the book Holly talks about how two of her former castmates ended up forming a singing duo called Manchot (the French word for penguin) because one of the girls is black and the other girl is white. Holly at least makes a comment on how the name is horrifying, but I was just left completely taken aback. It felt racially insensitive, and even though the main character commented on it, there was no need for it to be in the book.
- Towards the end, Thom mentions how he hasn’t skated in a while, and Holly thinks to herself how he’s been trapped because of his son, Sammy. No. No. No. No. No. Devoting time to taking care of your medically needy child does not mean you are trapped, it means you’re a good person.

Overall the writing was just incredibly underwhelming. The pacing of the entire novel was so slow that it never felt like anything was actually happening. I was also very disappointed with the lack of 90s nostalgia. Going into Fame Adjacent, I was expecting references from the 90s to be thrown at me left and right, but I noticed hardly any. It also didn’t seem like things between Holly and her former co-stars was resolved. Sure, they talked about everything, and they all brought up some good points about why things happened the way they did, but there wasn’t any finality about anything. They just kind of parted ways again and that was that. Since the entire book was Holly dealing with the fact that she was the outsider among the group, I really just wanted to see some sort of resolution about the whole thing.

So now that I’ve complained about this book, do I suggest you put it out of your mind and never think about it again? Absolutely not. Unless a book is completely problematic and harmful, I never want to discourage you from reading a book I didn’t like. I’m somebody that believes not every book is for every person. Fame Adjacent definitely was not the book for me, but it could very well be the book for you.

This was a fun, charming little story. The characters discover new things about themselves, as they analyze past thoughts, actions, and feelings. New love, and rekindled friendships wrap it up, leaving the reader satisfied with a truly happy ending.

This was such a fun read! Fame Adjacent follows Holly Danner, the only cast member of a 90s kids show not to become famous later on. Left out of a reunion special, Holly has become obsessed with her cast mates to the point of landing in an internet addiction facility, where she meets Thom and convinces him to take her to the reunion show. It took me a little while to get into Holly's voice, but once I did I couldn't stop reading. She and Thom get in to some wacky situations, but they are both so self-deprecating and charming that it's funny rather than cringe-worthy. Thom particularly was a great character, and I enjoyed the way his relationship with Holly evolved. More than just a romantic comedy, the book really nicely grapples with fame, childhood friends, and feeling that life has left you behind while everyone else is a success.

Holly Danner is one of those characters who just sticks with you. She's witty and smart and she is just real. And as a reader who was never in the starlight, I found Holly incredibly relatable.  

As a childhood star, Holly is no longer in the spotlight and is the only one of her group to leave fame behind. Or maybe it left her behind. As the story starts, Holly is in Internet rehab, and she's trying to navigate her life while dealing with the fact that there's a 25th anniversary of her show coming up and she hasn't been invited.

Thom is also a patient at Internet rehab, and his story just....ok basically I just loved him. He had a lot of depth and his story made me simultaneously sad yet happy. I loved how he pushed Holly to stop underestimating herself. 

I found myself completely swept up in this story and learning more about Holly's background (and Thom's too, honestly). By the time the other childhood stars appear in the story, I really felt like they truly were larger than life, they were described so well. 

There were a lot of points that I laughed out loud, because honestly they got themselves into some pretty bizarre situations. Basically, their road trip was just a hot mess and I loved it. 

I love a light-hearted romance and this book delivered. But don't be fooled, this book has a lot more layers than just a light romance. And that's what makes it so great.