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.

I really enjoyed reading Birds of California. The storyline was intriguing the the and the chemistry with Fiona and Sam was amazing. I really loved Fiona's character, she was a very multi dimensional heroine. Sam was great and I loved them together. This was my first time reading Katie Cotugno and I would defiantly read recommend this book to fellow romance reader. Thanks for the ARC from NetGalley.

Birds of California by Katie Cotungno is simply outstanding!! Fiona and Sam grew up in the acting world and now as adults have taken completely different paths. Fiona wants nothing to do with the spotlight, Sam will do anything to keep his acting career alive. Yet, there's an undeniable spark when they reunite. The relationship dynamic crackles with intensity and the Hollywood backdrop is excellent. Highly recommend!

This was my first Katie Cotugno book and k thoroughly enjoyed it! 4/5 stars from me.

Things I loved: Fiona. Loved Fiona. I loved getting into her head and felt for her struggles that she has had. I was rooting for her growth and healing from past trauma.

I also loved the banter and romance between her and Sam. Sam was WHIPPED for Fiona, and I know I’m not the only person who loves a boy obsessed. Fiona had him wrapped around her finger. They were sweet, hot, and so much fun together even though they are both kind of a disaster. They fight a lot but they always make up.

Things I didn’t love: the “reveal” at the end was one I saw coming and guessed pretty early on, and even then it still felt very rushed and incomplete? Sam also acted pretty stupidly about some things in the book. One of the big pieces of conflict could have easily been solved if he just communicated better with Fiona.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book despite its downfalls.

This felt like the beginning of a book, not an entire book. I liked the story idea, but I feel like this could have been condensed to about 50 pages to set up a more Interesting book.

I enjoyed this book. I like that the characters felt authentic and highlighted the struggles of Hollywood behind all the glamour. I also really liked the side characters as well and wish we got to see more of them in the story. The banter between the two MC’s felt natural and fun, making it easy to root for them. I was just hoping for more movement in the story besides their relationship. Overall, it was a solid read that I would recommend to others.

Birds of California was a great book. Katie Cotugno spun a masterful story that made the reader reflect on how the other side of fame and fortune might be. Fiona was a strong leading lady and it was interesting to learn why she made the life choices that she did. I loved Sam. Loved the humor. I highly recommend this fun read.

I think this book definitely shows Katie Cotugno’s as an adult romance author. This was definitely not a new favorite, but it was addicting to read. I really cared about the heroine, Fiona. There was also chemistry between her and Sam, the male lead.

Unfortunately, I do have some issues though. I had a really hard time trying to like and root for Sam, the only reason I was rooting for him was because of Fiona. There were also some line that caught me off guard that made me a bit uncomfortable. Last, there was a subplot having to do with another character in the book, Jamie. I felt like that plot line was added last minute to try to explain Fiona’s behavior when she was younger.

Even though this wasn’t great it was still a good book. I enjoyed reading it, I just had a couple problems with it. I do want to check out any future adult romance books Cotugno puts out; there was something about this book that made me think she can write something I’ll really love.