Cover Image: The Seat Filler

The Seat Filler

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Member Reviews

I loved this book! It was heartwarming and strong. It was exactly what I needed with everything going on in the world! A happy little escape!

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This was a perfect romcom, loved all the characters and the plot was brilliant, quick brilliant read

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So cute! Loved this! I was a little nervous for this one because the fear of kissing thing felt a little out of left field but it was fantastic!

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I loved this. Read it in one sitting. Really made me smile. Would recommend it for sure for a light read.

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This was such a cute book! It was my first book by Sariah Wilson and I will definitely be reading more from her. The story hooked me from the start as well and it was very hard to put the book down.

From their adorable meet-cutes at award shows to their banter, I immediately loved both characters of Juliet and Noah. They have great chemistry and are two characters that are perfect for each other. I liked that Juliet let down her walls and was able to be vulnerable with Noah. I loved Noah, he was so patient and kind with Juliet and you can't help but love him for it. This sweet romance will have you swooning and laughing and wishing you can continue reading about Juliet and Noah!

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The book was cute and fun, it started great with likable characters, and the concept of how they meet is adorable.
It just became a tad slow and ridiculous at the end.
Juliet is a dog groomer, Noah is a movie star. Can they have a HEA?

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book received from the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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A romantic tale about a celebrity and a non-famous person! These types of stories are always intriguing as I’m curious how they’ll display the events that build the relationship, such as, how the non-famous one will adjust to life in the spotlight. I last read this type of tale in The Royal We, which involved a commoner and a royal. My last movie star read was Waiting for Tom Hanks, which had the non-famous person meet the famous one while a movie was being filmed in her town. This time we explore what happens if you meet someone famous at an actual award show when you’re acting as a seat filler. Honestly, I would not mind being a seat filler at any award show, even if I didn’t get to sit next to someone super famous, I always thought it would be a fun experience.

I’ve heard about Sariah Wilson as tons of people I know were talking about Roommaid when it was released and now I can see why as I greatly enjoy her writing style and character portrayals. Her other novels are now on my TBR list and I hope they are just as good, or better, than this one as she gave likeable characters with a plot that was both relatable yet escapist. The book is filled with the heavier topic of anxiety mixed with the sweet swept off your feet romance. It was a very Hallmark almost perfect world type novel that was engaging and entertaining. If you’re not a romance reader, or don’t really care for fairy tale type stories, then this one would not be for you. For me, I devoured it in only a few hours as it provided a nice fantasy type world where you can escape from any negatives of the world.

Juliet has just started her own mobile dog grooming business as she decided to do what she loves while working towards one day owning a large estate to have her own dog rescue. Right away I related as I would absolutely love to do both if I ever got the money to do so. She avoids dating like the plague, but it’s not for your typical reasons. Instead, she has a hidden secret, she has Philemaphobia, also known as the fear of kissing. Eventually, while reading, the backstory for this is revealed, but until then, it is eluded to throughout the novel. I honestly had to look this fear up as I knew it was real, but I just didn’t realize how common it is. The explanations for not only how Juliet developed this fear, but also how she’s moving forward were all well-done as she didn’t overcome it overnight. Instead, she worked at it at her own pace and experienced setbacks, which were all relatable to anyone who has ever tried to overcome a fear.

Juliet receives a call for a favor from her best friend as her boyfriend’s mom needs extra seat fillers for an award show. Juliet only agrees to help out her friend. During the award show, she is placed next to Noah, a famous actor, and her celebrity crush. In order to not make conversation awkward, Juliet pretends not to know who he is or that he stared in her favorite series as she believes she will never see him again. However, they end up connecting again and eventually form a friendship. Noah expresses immediate romantic interest in Juliet, but due to her fear, she refuses him, but agrees to be friends. They spend more and more time together as friends, but Juliet wonders how long she can keep up the initial lie that she had no idea who Noah was when they met.

The bond they form is genuine and heart-warming as they each support the other. He respects her boundaries and expresses his interest in her while understanding that she does not wish to be together romantically. He is patient with her as he eventually learns of her fear and I love how he helps her work through it as best he can. Sure, he had his more selfish interests as he is romantically interested in her, but he also just wants to genuinely help her work through her fear so she can eventually date and pursue her wish to have romantic relationships, even if they don’t involve him. My only hang up with his character is that he just seemed too perfect at times. It was as if everything he did was the best and he could do no wrong. He was the perfect specimen and Juliet was the one with the flaws. Noah does have some flaws, but they are very minor in comparison. It didn’t take away anything from the story, though, as I still loved him as a character. Instead, it was a mere observation. He is still a very compelling character that you root for and you want to have a happy ending as he is the type that deserves it.

Overall, this romantic tale is very sweet and heart-warming. It was nice to have the Cinderella-type story with the average girl meeting her “Prince Charming.” There are conflicts that they have to work through if they want to be together and each obstacle was done well as it was relatable and enjoyable to read about. You understand Juliet’s character in why she would initially lie and tell Noah that she did not know him as she did not want to come across as a fangirl and inflate his ego. At first, the fear of kissing seems silly, but I enjoyed how it was portrayed and how it illustrated that it is a genuine fear that many people have. This novel was a very entertaining and enthralling romantic story that is well worth a read if you love fairy tales!

**I give a special thank you to Netgalley and Montlake for the ARC to read and review. The opinions expressed are completely my own. **

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Possible spoiler alert. I loved this book so much! I’m a sucker for an amazing romance and this book definitely delivered! Juliet and Noah’s story had me drawn in from when they first met at an awards show to their HEA. Their love story grew and emerged over time and I loved every minute of their journey. A big 5 stars from me!

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As a longtime fan of Sariah Wilson, I thought I'd already seen and enjoyed everything....but she pulled out ALL the stops with this one! It may be one of my favorite books she's written! I just barely finished and am already raring to dive back in!
I love the characters and their relationships namely, the friendship and romance between Juliet and Noah, and Juliet and Shelby's friendship. I appreciated that Shelby was a fleshed out character and not merely a placeholder.
This book was so swoony in the best way possible! Another clean read, I'd rate PG-13 for kissing. I loved the cameos from Zoe and Chase Covington! It was the perfect icing on top to an already amazing book!
*I received a complimentary copy from publisher via NetGalley. My review was not required nor influenced.

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Juliet was helping her best friend, Shelby out by being one of the seat filler in the award ceremony. But there she met her favorite actor, Noah Douglas. Juliet was actually filling in his date's seat. He was impressed with her as she wasn't like the girls he meets regularly who fawns over him. Later, he called her over to groom his dog, Magnus as Juliet runs a dog grooming business. Noah wanted to date her even though Juliet never dates anybody. So she only offered friendship. They started spending a lot of time together; helping each other out and all. At last, they both confessed their love but Juliet's one lie broke them apart soon. But they worked their way out and got their happily ever after.
More interaction about other people like Noah's parents, Juliet's dad. The MC's made a pretty big deal out of nothing here. At least the reasons seem a bit weak to me. Could've been better. I was expecting an epilogue.

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She does it again. Another book that I could not put down and then had to reread again!

Have you ever had a crush on a A-list Movie Star? Have you ever wondered how you would act around an Actor if you ran into them. Would you call him by his real name, or one of the characters you loved that he played. Would you act really cool, or act really stalker like.

Juliet Nolan finds herself being a seat filler at one of the award shows with her best friend and her boyfriend. Her best friend gets put in the audience in row 15, seat J where as Juliet gets put in row 2 seat b. If you ever watch any award shows, the actors/actresses who are nominated for the big awards are in those front rows. Juliet is instructed, not to interact with the celebrities. Just be polite and let them know she is a seat filler, until the original seat owner comes back for their seat, she also wears a badge that says the same thing.

Unfortunately, when she sits down in the seat filler seat, a man comes to sit in his seat and says under his breath, "your in the wrong seat", "security is terrible at this venue". "This should be one of the few places where I'm safe from stalkers." Then as the show continues, he makes the comment of "Are you seriously going to sit there and ignore me?" Juliet tries really hard to ignore him, but he keeps making comments. Finally she see's that the cameras are not on them, She turns to the actor, to say something mean and realizes it is her favorite Actor. Noah Douglas! Noah makes the comment to her of what ever you do don't say my name is Felix or Malec Shadowfire. So, she pretends that she is like her mom and doesn't watch tv or watch movies and is into Theater, and says "Why do you think I'd call you by those names?" Then Juliet takes it one further and says I don't even know who you are?
That throws Noah Douglas for a loop. Everyone knows who he is. Needless to say that kind of go back in forth with this bickering under their breaths. Then Noah's "date" shows up for her seat. Juliet goes to get up but Noah won't move and the date won't move her legs They come back to commercial and Juliet drops to the ground at Noah's feet. His date kicks Juliet, Juliet explains to Noah what a seat filler does, but since she is helping out her best-friends, boyfriends-mother, she does not want to get her in trouble. Noah takes pity and helps out, once the award show goes to commercial, she gets up and goes to the backstage. But she left her clutch on the floor. Noah Douglas returns it to her at the end of the show and says she owes him one. Her best friend takes the opportunity to give him her business card for Juliet's business. Waggin Wheels. A dog grooming service.

Juliet believes she will never hear from Noah Douglas again. Her best friend says "Yes" she will. Low and behold Noah does call, but it is for her dog grooming services. Needless to say Noah's dog escaped from his house and got really dirty. But in my opinion, I think he wanted to see her again, because he never met someone who didn't know who he was. He was very intrigued by her. Juliet continues to play clueless with him and absorbs anything and everything he gives her. When he doesn't see it on the tabloid the next day he feels he can trust her.

Our plot twist is Juliet has never been kissed by a guy. Anytime she gets close to doing that she has a panic attack. Noah is up for being her friend, to help her get over her issue. Which he tells her that it is actually a phobia. She accepts his help, they become friends and in Juliet's mine they are not dating, they are 2 people hanging out and he is helping her with her phobia that her best friend doesn't know about.

I'm going to leave it at that for now. I could accidently spoil alert this whole book. This book was SOO GOOD to read! I could not put it down, then once I finished it, I went and reread #StarStruck again, then Seat Filler again. If you have read any of Sariah Wilson books she makes them into page turners books. You will not be disappointed in this book.

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Fun and Funny. This was a fun, funny read featuring a role I'd heard of but had never considered in depth - seat fillers at awards shows. This book gives some interesting looks at some things that people don't often consider, but does it in ways such that a joke or some other hilarity is never far away. And for some reason I kept imagining Noah as Josh Brolin, even though that totally does NOT match the actual physical characterization of the character. But it was so prevalent in my mind that it had to get into the review. Truly an excellent book, and a world I wouldn't mind coming back to. Very much recommended.

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Ms. Wilson, why have I not read you before? I was looking for a light rom-com, after the last book I finished, I got that and so much more! I love your quirky, sassy humor, witty dialog, and writing style. While bits are predictable, the story's uniqueness and the surprising amount of times I was laughing made for a quick read. The whole awards show segment was my favorite, a lot going on, but I can so easily imagine it.

Juliet is a well-written character; watching her grow throughout the book was a treat. What starts as a favor for a friend becomes the situation all females wish for at one point in our lives. The opportunity to meet our crush, talk to our crush, have amazing chemistry, to be able to kiss him. That kiss though.
I highly recommend reading this book; I am off to find more by Ms. Wilson.

This review will go to Goodreads about 3/27/2021 and Amazon on release day.

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Thank you to the publisher for a copy of this book. This was such a fun clean romance. I love the chemistry between Noah and Juliet!! Noah is a real sweet heart and I adore how their friendship and connection developed. I love seeing Chase and Zoe from #starstruck make an appearance. I did feel that the breakdown of their relationship was a little silly and a little over the top. Overall a fun read.

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There was a lot in this book I really liked - it really was charming and I adored the both the main and supporting characters. It's a cute chick lit that definitely brought a smile. The only thing I didn't love were there a few moments that felt more childish/immature than they needed too, such as the story on why Juliet is scared of kissing and some of the parts around her childhood crush on Noah. However, the fact I loved Juliet and Noah so much made those parts easy for me to overlook and just enjoy all the strong parts. And I really enjoy and appreciate Wilson's clean writing when it comes to love/making out.

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I love this book. In fact, I love all books by Sariah Wilson.
It’s so cute. I fell in love with the main characters from the start, and rooted for them throughout. I was totally invested in the story and sad when it ended. I wouldn’t have minded to have 1000 more pages.

Highly recommend, most of all for the smile that stays with you long after you finish reading.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC for review purposes

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I adored this story!! It was sweet, funny, and charming. Juliet hit the jackpot with Noah. He has a deep devoted love for her, and even though he's a movie star, he's very down to earth. This is definitely one of my favorite stories by Sariah!

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I really enjoyed this book! I loved the premise, that a seat filler (Juliet) could fall for the guy in the seat next to her (Noah). Juliet has a hangup that she’s embarrassed by, and Noah wants to help her get past it. I loved the interaction between Juliet and Noah, it was so believable and touching. I highly recommend this book, 4.5 stars.

Thanks to Montlake and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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Great book! I loved the characters in this story and the connection they shared. I had a little hesitation with the believability of the fear Juliet had but the author made it work. Very cute romance story!

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I am a fan of Sariah's. She writes sweet, clean romance that still keeps you hooked and coming back for more. The Seat Filler is no exception. Juliet has adored Noah Douglas since forever. When she ends up sitting next to him as a Seat Filler at a big event she pretends she has never met him. Noah is intrigued by this person who isn't all about his fame. Juliet has relationship issues that have led her to swore off dating so when an intrigued Noah wants to get to know here better she tries to keep things just friends. But as they become friends she realizes maybe she can trust him with the real reason she doesn't want to date him. I have slogged my way through several books lately that were a chore to read. This was a great light hearted read that I devoured quickly. I can't wait for Sariah's next book.

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