Grey Brooks's acting career is floundering now that her long-running TV show was canceled. She will do just about anything to keep her career afloat. Ethan is also a famous movie star, but he just wants to check out of the world after his best friend and partner died. With both their careers in turmoil, their publicists think it would be a great idea if the two pretended to be romantically involved. It could help both their careers. But what happens when two hot heads collide? And what happens if they actually do fall in love? This story was a fun jaunt through the world of Hollywood and what can make and break a career. Thank you, NetGalley, for the eARC. I really enjoyed it. 4 stars.

This book had everything I love--fake dating, only one bed trope, and our main characters are two Hollywood actors. And there's something about Hollywood stories that is truly a guilty pleasure of mine.

From the jump, this book completely enraptured me. I couldn't put it down; I was staying up late to see what would happen next, and picking this book up was my first thought in the morning. It's been a while since I've been hooked by a book like that, and it felt great.

Despite my extensive love for this story, it's a little difficult for me to articulate exactly what it was about this book that I loved so much, but I'll do my best.

First, the characters. Grey and Ethan were both deeply flawed, realistic characters, and I adored them both. They both made plenty of mistakes throughout the book, but neither were unlikable characters by any means. And their romance was written incredibly well; the tension between them was insane.

For this being a debut novel, and an arc, I was endlessly impressed with the writing. The descriptions really painted a picture without over-explaining, the pacing was wonderful, and the dialogue was witty and realistic.

As I reached the end of the book, I wondered if my rating was going to decrease just slightly to 4 stars, but after some thinking, I've decided to keep it at 5 stars. Although it was difficult to see the separation between Grey and Ethan and see how much their characters were struggling, it was the right path for this story. Giving these two a simple, easy, happy ending wouldn't have been realistic in any way. Ethan was still struggling with his addiction and his confidence, and Grey needed to work through some personal issues as well. Wrapping a simple bow on the story would've been an incredible disservice; by the end, I really enjoyed seeing the entire arc that these two characters went on, and I loved the book as much at the end as I had at the beginning.

I definitely highly recommend picking up this story, and I can't wait to see what comes next from Ava Wilder!

TW: Addiction, alcoholism, drug use, depression, death of a friend (off-page), grief

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

There has been something about traditionally published books that have not captured me lately, I feel as if all the tropes are not refreshing, they feel tired and done and repetitive, as much as I love the fake dating trope I did not feel the chemistry between these two and I didn't feel a connection to the female or male MC's at all

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC copy in exchange for a review

I love how so many things happened in the book. I could not keep myself from the book because it was so good

Ava Wilder gives us a hot story about two actors who are set up by their publicist to fake date and mutually boost their careers. Grey is mature and generous and I appreciate that overall, she doesn’t take much crap from anyone. Ethan has issues. BIG, BAD issues. But with Grey he is sort of beginning to see the light. There are lots of triggers and I like that Wilder doesn’t just jump to the ‘they found their OTP and all there problems have now disappeared’ like plenty of old romances do.
A very well written, highly enjoyable contemporary romance. Loved it.
Thank you Dell and NetGalley for the ARC!

I love the fake dating trope and this book delivered! It was fun, steamy, dramatic, and ultimately not the super light hearted rom com I expected from the cover (it talks about some of the darker aspects of Hollywood/life in the spotlight) yet was still the perfect read to devour on the beach. Addicting.

An actress is trying to get her name out in the lights. An actor has a rep to fix. Both agree to a fake relationship to hopefully help them shine. In the end love wins for real. It was a good, I felt like it dragged at times.

Wow, I really loved this book. Not only was it a great romance book (Fake Dating, Grumpy/Sunshine) but there was some depth to the storyline and was unpredictable for me in the best way. Once I started, I couldn't put it down and read it in a day.

Some spicy (hot salsa) scenes.

Thank you to Ballentine & NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review!

This was a really fun read. It was nice to see the progression of Ethan and Grey's story. Not your typical romantic comedy as the author keeps you guessing until the end and it felt really realistic as it happened or could happen. Would recommend for others to read. There are topics within the book that could be hard for some- alcoholism, estranged parents, death of a loved one.


Thank you Net Galley and Random House/ Ballantine for an ARC in return for my honest review.

Fabulous take on the Fake Dating trope that was so much more than you usually get. Layered complex characters deal with big issues and a romance that spans the times. Some slow burn, but when it heats up damm is it HOT

Wgile it did take me some time to get into I enjoyed this book. This was a good beach read. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced preview.

Overall, this is probably one of my favorite rom coms I've read. I don't think I'll recommend it to people that don't like the genre, but to all my romance besties out there, you will be hearing me rave about this book.

THINGS I LIKED:
3rd person POV was a great choice
Descriptions were imeccable
Renata and Kamilah are such fun side characters. I had a great time in the world
The setup felt so realistic. I want to read more books like this.
Love the concept!
I like how there was a clear difference between the two povs
Grey before meeting Ethan made me laugh so hard
Side note: I love the names in this book
THAT IS HOW YOU WRITE A FIRST MEETING. It's so awkward but endearing at the same time and you can tell they're compatible immediately
I like the tension/conflict at the beginning because you can see each of their perspectives, but you can also see where the other is coming from in their impression
So many of the scenes were so good, like the boxing scene. They took a lot of tropes and subverted them
That first kiss scene was swoon worthy and it wasn't just that the physical tension was good, like the mental chemistry or whatever it's called was also phenomenal

THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE:
The beginning didn't feel snappy enough for me. Like I wasn't immediately sucked in. It took a little bit.
I'd love to have more context for the two stars, like newspaper headlines or something.
Explaining the whole Ethan's backstory got a bit infodumpy and weighed down, which I didn't enjoy

Thank you NetGalley and Ava Wilder. I thought this was going to be cut and dry based on premise and beginning. This book was so much deeper. I loved the character development and steamy encounters. Solid Summer read! Add to the beach bag!

I usually stay clear of "celebrity" or fame involved books as I've never really been interested or liked them enough.

When I was offered to review this book I thought, "maybe this will be the one?" And unfortunately it wasn't.

It's still a good read. I did not like our hero, I have no feeling towards him other than he is not good enough for our girl Grey. He's an ass and imo not a very reliable father. 🙄

I still appreciated the character arc and growing we got as well as Grey getting everything she wanted and deserved.

I really loved this book and I'll definitely be reading more of Wilder in the future! It's always hard being in the spotlight but this book set it up really well! I felt all the emotions.

This was a fantastic fake-dating romance. I absolutely flew through it and found it to be right in the sweet spot of lighthearted romance with great characters.

Release Date: June 14th 2022

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Grey (though I kept reading it as Gary) wants to continue acting but since her tv series ending she continues to get type cast. She has a chance to get a completely different role. She needs some good PR and pronto. Ethan has too much PR but not the good kind. Between a messy divorce and drinking to numb the grief caused by the loss of his creative partner he’s a mess. When their publicist proposes a fake relationship, they agree. After all how hard can it be to #fakeitinhollywood ?

I enjoyed this book! The characters has great backstories and reasons to enter into the faux relationship. My biggest complaint was all the angst. I’m down for some but the amount cause this book to drag for me. It’s definitely not a re read but it’s a fun beach book.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

#bookstagram #netgalleyreads #bookrecommendations #howtofakeitinhollywood #avawilder

I LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH!!

The fake dating for PR, the characters being celebrities, the angst, the romance, the self growth… all of it was amazing. I am always a fan of fake dating, but I love how the use of fake dating for this book is something I totally envision happening in the real world in Hollywood.

I really appreciated the characterization of Grey and Ethan, I felt like they had a lot of depth and weren’t just stagnant characters who’s sole purpose was to fall in love with each other and that’s it.

I think most of all I appreciated the third act breakup, I normally hate when that’s the method used for romance books to drive the plot, but that was so well done for this book and actually made sense for the story.

I love a fake relationship romance - add in that it’s a celebrity romance and the relationship is a pr stunt and it’s pure catnip. I am always intrigued by rumors of Hollywood relationships being fake.

Grey just finished a job on a long running series and needs to figure out what next. When a fake relationship with Ethan, an older A-list actor, is proposed - she figures she doesn’t have much to lose. They just need to be seen in public and entering/leaving each other’s homes.

This was a fun read and while I’m not sure it will stick with me, I would still recommend as a great pool/beach read. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the advance reading copy for review.

My only complaint about this book is that it suffers from a story-cover mismatch. The cover sold me a cute, Hollywood fake dating romance. The actual story does have fake dating but it’s heavy. There’s grief, alcohol, invasions of privacy, drug addiction and drug use, harassment, and stalking. Which is absolutely fine but I just felt surprised so I don’t want that happening to other people. Expect angst and drama and you’ll be prepared.

Because this is an excellent book and a strong debut. It interwove the glitz of Hollywood with the darker sides of fame.

I enjoyed the relationship between Grey and Ethan. As well as the relationships between the side characters. The writing was excellent, especially for a debut, and I think Ava Wilder pulled off a story that not a lot of people could have.

The ending did feel a little rushed and the expectation mismatch were my only issues. I’d still recommend this book, but know what you’re getting into and check trigger warnings.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review