I enjoy all of Katie Cotugno's books and Birds of California was no exception. I wished there was a bit more of an 'ending,' I was surprised when I turned the page and saw the Acknowledgments but can also appreciate that the author gave the reader enough closure where we could imagine what was going to happen next. This novel feels like a departure from the YA novels Cotugno normally writes, but I thought it also had more depth. I wanted to see more development from Sam Fox, but I can appreciate it was mostly Fiona's story to tell. Can't wait to read what is next from this author!

I have been a big lover of Katie Cotugno books. She has a way of showing us that characters make mistakes and aren’t perfect but they’re still redeemable. this story is no different. Fiona and Sam were previously on a tv show together. Fiona had some issues and disappeared from fame while Sam continued to try to make it big. They reconnect when Sam tries to convince Fiona to do a reunion show. The story was compelling and I kept waiting and waiting for the climax to occur. I think overall I wanted a little more. the ending felt abrupt. I wanted to see more from the past and more of them currently. I felt like I didn’t know the main characters as well as I wanted.

As someone whose guilty pleasure is reading and watching the lives of the wealthy or those in Hollywood this was easily an addicting read for me. This book had some laugh out loud moments where I genuinely caught myself chuckling from behind my kindle screen.

Run Down: Fiona is a former child star who is living out the rest of her days under the radar when former co-star/faux big brother pops back into her life to try and convince her to do the reboot so he can save his career.

Overall this did fall a little flat for me, it left me feeling like something was missing or something didn't hit right.

I am a huge fan of Katie Coutugno's YA work and was super excited to hear that she was entering the Adult Romance game. Anyone who has read and loved her YA contemporaries would agree that Adult Romance was the perfect genre for Katie to transition into and Birds of California was an excellent Adult debut!

Fiona and Sam had me swooning multiple times! I liked how we got to see a de-glamourized version of Hollywood. I also appreciated how the #MeToo movement was incorporated into this storyline without it being the focus in the book. However, I do feel that the book ended rather quickly and I wanted more answers regarding Sam and his career as well as if the reboot ever happened. I think an epilogue would've worked really well in this book.

Im so excited to read more adult romance books from Katie Coutgno cause I know they'll only get better!

This was just really smart and enjoyable. I suspect some people won't like the ending. I did.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy

I liked the idea of this book but it was hard to really feel for the characters. I just couldn’t get into the story.

I will be recommending this to fans of the Whisper Network and any of the Kimmery Martin books. This is a whip smart book that tackles equality and #metoo, and will be a popular women's fiction pick.

Fiona St. James hasn’t been in the public eye for years. She prefers to live under the radar after the headlines she’s made, at her dad’s copy shop, and she staunchly wants to forget about everything that happened nearly a decade ago — even if there are still prints of her naked on a lizard in almost every teenage boy’s bedroom.

When the show she was on gets put forward for a reboot, the showrunners don’t want to do it without her. Fiona refuses when her former agent approaches her, and tries to keep on living her normal life.

Enter Sam Fox.

Sam played her brother on Birds of California all those years ago, but they have a one-kiss history that all comes back when Fiona finds him standing in the middle of the copy shop. He’s been tasked with ensuring that Fiona comes back to the show, because the reboot may be his last chance at a paycheck. After being declined a few times, he begins to realize that he actually likes spending time with Fiona — and wants to keep doing it without expectation.

This book made me laugh so much at some points. Katie Cotugno has the comedy part of this romantic comedy is down pat, but the romance part…that could’ve used some work. I couldn’t follow the push-and-pull that Sam and Fiona were going through. The ending completely rushed putting them together, and there wasn’t a satisfying resolution to the issue at hand. And given what’s revealed about Fiona’s star past, I thought that deserved a little more attention than it actually got!

Some of Sam’s inner monologue, particularly about what Fiona was going through before the show went off-air the first time (and is still going through), made me feel really uncomfortable. It was the implication of negativity and judgement about Fiona struggling with her mental health, and the word choices alienated me from him as a character.

Similarly, none of the characters weren’t as fleshed out as they should’ve been. I was left with many, many questions at the end, and it felt like some of these plot points were just there for the sake of it. For example, Sam’s mother — I would’ve thought we would get to know more of her, or at least meet her in person after the bomb that’s dropped on us about her. We don’t really get to see the aftermath of the decisions Fiona makes in the end. To be honest, I thought my copy was missing a couple chapters!

The book is good for a light, funny read, but very predictable, and it doesn’t make as much impact as I’d hoped it would. Still, I enjoyed it!

[Thank you Harper Perennial and NetGalley for providing this book to me in exchange for an honest review!]

I was intrigued by the book description and found this novel quite addicting. I enjoy reading about former child stars and behind-the-scenes stories, and while this book is fiction, it felt like I was reading a celebrity memoir. You can clearly feel Fiona’s trauma, and when she was bothered by the paparazzi I felt anger along with her. Fiona’s and Sam’s conversations/banter felt natural and fun; I’ll even go so far as to say the same about their arguments.
While I did enjoy the overall majority of this book, there were a few things that I wished had been written differently or outright changed. For example, Fiona states repeatedly to her family that she doesn’t want to see Sam, yet they ignore her and play matchmaker. Here is a woman whose boundaries weren’t respected and you’re literally not respecting her boundaries, good intentions or not. The same goes for Sam: Fiona tells him she doesn’t want to see him and he keeps finding little ways to see her. There is also the cliched conflict straight from a movie where someone keeps something hidden, and then the main character find out later, which turns into a big blowup and the reconciliation. I get tired of this trope in movies & TV shows and wish that if there had to be a central conflict, it would have been more realistic. I also felt that the ending was a bit rushed, and desired to see the character of Jamie get his comeuppance.

While I loved the premise of Birds of California, overall, the execution left me wanting something more. I wish we knew more of what happened on-set, wish we knew more about both Fiona's and Sam's families, etc. I wanted to see more growth from Sam— he often veered too much towards Hollywood douchebag. I really liked Fiona though and loved her sister Claudia and her neighbor Estelle though! However, in general, I just felt like this was missing something.

I didn't particularly like either of the main characters and often got tired of Sam walking around on eggshells. He was always wanting to say something to Fiona but was scared she'd be sarcastic or dismissive. His character was fun but shallow but seemed to want to be better. I kept thinking of Kevin from This Is Us whenever it was from Sam's POV. I really liked the writing and would be interested in reading another book by this author, but this one just didn't hit the mark for me. The ending was also wrapped up really quickly, and there were things that needed to be fleshed out when there was more than 5-10% of the novel left.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I've never read Katie Cotugno's work before, but after I read this blurb I knew I had to start! I love a good drama about rich and/or famous people. Birds of California centers on Fiona, who used to act on the show the book is named after. During her time on air, she gets a bad reputation for partying and underage drinking, which leads to a breakdown and the show's end. When the opportunity for a reboot arises, her past co-star Sam pays her a visit to try to convince her to come back. The spark between them on set hasn't gone anywhere, though, so things become complicated when they both realize their feelings are real.

I loved this book, but it did feel pretty predictable. Every "twist" in the story was pretty heavily foreshadowed or easy to figure out. That doesn't make me want to recommend it less, though! It was a good read and the characters had great chemistry. I spent the whole book rooting for them despite all of their flaws.

I love Katie Cotugno's books and was excited to see this Hollywood story from her. The characters were so fun and the humor and plot was so smart and fast-paced. I enjoyed the slow burn romance on this one as well. Although sometimes it was too slow for me.

Birds of California

📚Book review📚

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with the arc in exchange for a review!

Ahh Fiona and Sam. Such a story. Fiona was such a superbly likable character that you want the absolute best for her. Fiona is someone you know but not necessarily who you want to be. Sam was more complex and you weren’t always rooting for him. I think we all want to secretly have stories of former child stars and what happens after their decline.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Um…..

Someone please explain to me why my heart was just shattered? This book was absolutely devastating but oh so beautiful and hopeful. There were so many strands that connected people together and made the story’s web whole. Apologies for the cheesiness, but it’s hard to form the words to how good this book was.

The story starts off with two characters who reconnect at very different points in their lives. You have Sam, an attractive actor down on his luck. And you have Fiona, an ex-child star just trying to recover from who she was. With the news that their show may have a reboot, these two collide and end up getting involved in a relationship (against all odds, I might add). At times, it feels like they’re too different for this to work. Yet somehow, they kept returning to each other. Both characters had a fully developed backstory that revealed all of their hurts, hopes, and future dreams.

While this was in no way a thriller or mystery, it did have parts that gave me a sense of foreboding. We know from the beginning that Fiona had a meltdown that caused her career as an actress in the end. However along the way we get little hints and even glimpses of scenes from her past that really flush out the story. It was really heartbreaking to read all that she had gone through and I felt that it was really well done.

The ending was left open, but it was on a good note. Even in the last few lines, I felt the connection between Fiona and Sam, the newfound strength each had, and a sense that everything was going to end up okay for them.

God, I can't wait for the world to read Katie Cotugno's adult debut. From page one, Fiona was a character I couldn't get enough of: complicated, messy, prickly, brimming with rage and heat and heart. And Sam -- sweet, affable, wanting to be liked by all Sam -- being as much in her thrall as I was served to make a character who was part quintessential himbo, part sweet Midwestern prince an absolute dream.

Loved every bit of this book, and Cotugno's gorgeous writing. Please, more complicated and messy adult novels from her!

I requested a copy of this book from NetGalley because I have read other books by this author and enjoyed them.

This was a story about the personal lives of Hollywood’s former stars. Fiona was once a star on Birds of California and Sam was once her costar. Sam is still acting but learns that the checks don’t always roll in and he learns what they mean by being a “struggling actor”.

Fiona does everything she can to avoid any and all attempts to talk about her former life. She may still live in California but she swears that she will never be a part of the Hollywood craze again. But she is the only thing standing between Sam and his next paycheck.

This book has a powerful message along the lines of the most recent “Me too!” Movement

This is the first Katie Cotugno book I've read. I know she's a popular young adult author, but thought I'd give her adult romance a try.
I thought this book was just ok. The banter and the romance were cute. However, it felt rushed to me. The ending fell flat as the author hurried to explain the reason why Fiona was traumatized and acting out. As a bookseller I will most likely not be recommending it since there are better romance books out there.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC. This book was just OK for me. Based on the description I was expecting something totally different. However I did end up enjoying the storyline and I liked Fiona. There’s just something about it that didn’t end up doing it for me. All opinions are my own.

I enjoyed “Birds of California” by Katie Cotugno. I’ve liked her other books in the past and had high hopes for this one! I liked the plot and Sam and Fiona made great leads, I wasn’t sure where it was headed at times, which is never bad in a romcom. The characters went deeper than they could have which I appreciated.