"Layla Beckett has a secret. For the past ten years, she’s run the most trafficked fan site on the Internet for her favorite band—under an alias, naturally. When she lands a job at the prestigious New York City music magazine The Rock Paper, she’s suddenly thrust into the world she’s only observed from the cheap seats. Now that she’s brushing elbows with sexy guitarists and hot frontmen, she wants to play it cool and keep her superfan status on the down low. Although she’s dying to gush on her forum, posting her insider adventures online could expose her real-life identity and blow her cover."
A fun concept - looking forward to reading.

"Kind of Famous" by Mary Ann Marlowe offers a contemporary romance that mixes fame, music, and complicated relationships. The novel introduces engaging characters, each with their quirks and complexities, adding a layer of authenticity to the story. Marlowe's writing is fluid, making the book an easy and enjoyable read. However, the plot follows some predictable patterns in the romance genre, and at times, the narrative lacks a distinctive edge to set it apart. While "Kind of Famous" has its moments of charm, it falls into the middle ground of romantic fiction, offering a pleasant but somewhat forgettable experience for readers.

3 stars

This has been on my TBR list for a few years now. After several attempts to start this, I'm just going to pass. It wasn't for me, but I'm sure other people will enjoy it.

Things felt too forced to me. The humor just wasn't enough for me, I mean most of it was n'ot funny to me?

It's mine. I wish there was a way to request your own book without also reviewing it. Reviewing to get it off my shelf.

It felt like the story and characters were trying too hard to be funny and interesting...when it just ended up being boring...

I’ve read both of the other novels in this series and was really looking forward to this new installment. This is a rock star series, and yes, there’s plenty of eye candy and sizzling action between our heroes and heroines, but what I like the most is that each story has an underlining plot that brings a more serious tone to what would normally be a light hearted subject. In Kind of Famous, Layla’s secret is part of the main story and it definitely added a huge conflict, even if most of it was inner conflict for the majority of the book. As the book developed I realized there was an additional conflict in their relationship and that was Shane’s insecurity. How can a hot drummer in a rock band be insecure? Good question, and Kind of Famous does a great job of delivering the answer.

I found this to be an enjoyable read, keeping me on my toes throughout. The storyline was written well and flowed seamlessly. I look forward to reading more by this author!

While reading this i felt like i had already read this kind of story, it bothered me the whole time, anyway, i was sucked in my the cover and didn't realize it's the 3rd book in series, but then when i looked into the series, every book is different characters so that's good! whenever i read a book with someone keeping a secret, it always ends well for them, but you spend most of the book wondering when it's all going to crash down around them. you have your love interest, the drummer, who knows our main character is probably already using him anyhow then he find out she's hiding a big secret, and in the real world i think that would never work well for anyone, like there would be no trust there ever again, but it's a book, so happy endings are what you get of course *shrug*

A cute story, with one of my favorite tropes. Famous guy, "regular" girl. Sweet and sensitive characters, with a bit of rock and roll glitz thrown in.

Recommended.

This without a doubt the best book I have received from NetGalley. Mary Marlowe is aN expert story teller who writes fabulous romance books. Although this could be read as a standalone, the magic in this is the series, I would start from the beginning, and enjoy every morsel Mary Ann offers. Thank you for the opportunity to review this book, I thoroughly enjoyed it!

A cute story and a quick read, though the relationship between Layla and Shane felt a bit forced and underdeveloped. I enjoyed the character development around some of the minor characters (Jo, Eden and Micah) - I understand there are books in this universe that focus on them, which I’ll certainly be checking out.

The premise of this book was really interesting! I liked this romance, but it wasn't my favorite. I had a few issues with the main characters, but overall I did enjoy reading this book.

In general I really enjoyed reading this book! I'm always happy if there is some good fandom represnetation and what it is like to be a fangirl/fanboy. The romance was okay, not the best and I think Shane was a bit problematic. The good thing about this is, that it was mentioned, that he has to work on his problems. I struggled most with the main character, Layla. She wasn't able to find a place to live the whole time or care for herself.

This was a cute, fun, and quick read, and while I did have a few issues with it, I mostly enjoyed it. The characters were fun, if a little unrealistic (though some of that is not unusual in a story like this). I think the most interesting part to me was the relationship of everyday people to the idea of fame. I have worked backstage and have been on that side of it, and I have seen the fans as I have watched from the wings. In that way, I identified a lot less with the main character Layla and more with everyone else. It did give this story an interesting connection for me though, which is part of the reason I was drawn to it in the first place. I think the biggest problem I had with this story was the timeline. Everything happened so quickly and it made it much more unbelievable. Who would have a stranger move in with them after knowing them a day? It also gives Shane and Layla’s relationship a bit of a superficial tone. Overall, this was a fun read, but it did not blow me away in any way.

The concept of this book was interesting and I was hoping for something like Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. Unfortunately the main character in this book was very immature and there were a load of unbelievable happenings. First off the main character was obsessed with her period in an almost fetish like way. And who invites their girlfriend's new work colleague to live in their house on her first day at work? Especially if they are famous for being in a rock band. Don't get me started on the epilogue.

This was super fun. I love a book where you kind of yell at one or (both) of the characters because you KNOW things will go better if they take a risk and talk (ahem, Layla) but you totally get why they are scared--because the relationship is just too good and too important and too seductive to risk it. Watching characters like that figure out what they need to do to keep things is just the best. And this was done so well. Shane and Layla were fun and strong and banter-y and I just totally adored reading.

I liked this book. It was easy to get into. I loved seeing some of the characters from previous books.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my copy in exchange for me honest review. It took a long time for me to get into this book. I didn’t understand the fan forums and skimmed through a lot of it. I also didn’t find the relationship between Layla and Shane believable. There was definitely a great sexual chemistry between them, but there was no communication. I loved Jo and the other band mates. I think I needed more of them and less of our main characters. The ending was cute, nothing memorable.

Kind of Famous is the third book in Mary Ann Marlowe’s “Flirting With Fame” series. I have not read the other two books in this series, but, since the starring characters from the first two books are minor characters in Kind of Famous and it’s no secret that these kind of books end in happily ever after, I didn’t feel that I was missing necessary backstory for book number three.

Kind of Famous stars Laila Beckett, music enthusiast and super fan and fan-site admin for Walking Disaster, a popular band. Laila lands a job with a prestigious NYC music magazine The Rock Paper and suddenly finds herself attending backyard barbecues with musicians she knows way too much about. Enter Shane Morgan, drummer for a band currently touring with Walking Disaster. Needless to say, drama ensues.

I did enjoy a lot of this book, but the relationship between Laila and Shane was extremely shallow and I wasn’t cheering for them to overcome the flimsy obstacles in their path. They went from zero to sixty in five seconds and never slowed down. I have no problem with some steam in a romance novel, but I don’t like seeing it used to replace growth and character development. Laila and Shane are supposedly two adults in their early thirties, but the majority of conversations depicted were about how much they missed each other. (I get it, who doesn’t get doe eyed two weeks into a new relationship? Especially if he’s famous). However, when they were together, there was little to no conversation.

Overall, Kind of Famous was fine. I am interested in Marlowe’s other books and will request them from the library, but this book didn’t blow me away.