I DEVOURED How to Fake It In Hollywood. What a fun read that tackles some tough topics. Grey Brooks is looking to keep her career moving in the right direction. Her publicist comes up with the idea to create a fake relationship with the once mega-famous movie star, Ethan Atkins, who has become reclusive and battling addiction after the loss of his best friend. Her hope is will help both of their careers.

While not a new premise for a book, this one was a quick, fun read and you'll find you will be very invested in Grey and Ethan's stories. I liked how Wilder tackled the addiction aspect too. It wasn't something hidden from the viewers, but openly discussed and a major character trait for Ethan. Lots of steamy parts too!

I didn't put the book down until I was done. Add this to your TBR list for the summer!

Thank you Random House - Ballantine and NetGalley for the eARC!

What I’d imagined to be a light hearted and rom com feel of a book turned out to be a tale of addiction, love, sorrow and the power that grief has on humanity.

When down on her actress Grey Brooks gets a call from her agent, the last thing she’d believed that call to consist of is an offer to enter into a fake relationship with an A-List actor in need of an image rejuvenation. Upon meeting Ethan Atkins (famous actor whose best friend died leading him into a downward spiral) her first impression? Well not so great considering he was majorly late to their first meeting.

Though their first meeting is off to a rocky start with Ethan stereotyping Grey and basically calling her a money digging and fame seeking dumbo blonde…they both decide to enter into this fake relationship to hopefully drive their careers forward.

What these two weren’t counting on though, the instant chemistry that sets this fake relationship aflame. When reality catches up to them though, they realize that fame has consequences neither of them could have ever imagined catching up to them. When Ethan’s alcoholism becomes a problem neither knows how to deal with, they must make the tough decision on whether love can really conquer it all or if it’s healthier to walk away.

This book had it all and then some and I cannot recommend it enough

First thing is first… that cover. It’s gorgeous. I’m obsessed. The colors are amazing. So cute.

Excellent writing style. Love the switching MC views. Very well done. Will be recommending!!

I really liked this book. I loved the small age difference and the fake dating tropes. I loved the slow burn of the relationship and was rooting for them to make a move on each other. I was over the moon when they finally decided to give it a run. This book was a bit more serious than most the rom-coms I've read lately. As a warning to others, it does contain drug and alcohol abuse. I can't wait to see what else Ava Wilder comes up with. Thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing: Dell for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

"How To Fake It In Hollywood" ticked all my boxes - it’s a steamy romance with fake dating, insider Hollywood nonsense, and deeper issues that raise it above your typical fluffy romcom. I loved it.

As someone who enjoys celebrity gossip because it’s fun (and mostly harmless) to gossip about the rich and powerful, this look into a PR celeb relationship was catnip for me. But at the same time, it shows you the limits of what we gossip about. We only see what they want us to see, unless their privacy is invaded. Speculating about celebrities is fun, but it’s important to not cross the line and enable the paparazzi to ruin these people’s lives.

My favorite parts of this book were all the references to real-life pop culture. The section about weird celebrity sex rumors…I CACKLED. Never forget how terrible Leo DiCaprio apparently is in bed!!

Shoutout to Ava Wilder for actually mentioning UTIs in a book where the characters are smashing all the time!! We love to see it!!

Strongly recommend, especially to my fellow Wholigans. Crunch Crunch.

How to Fake it in Hollywood is told through the lenses of Grey, an actress struggling to find her next thing after acting in a hit teen drama, and Ethan, an A-lister who’s career is on hold after losing his best friend, divorcing his wife, and struggling with alcoholism. When Grey and Ethan are set up to fake-date in order to help both of their careers they both are hesitant but also have a hard time keeping it platonic.

The chemistry that Grey and Ethan have is undeniable, but I could not get over the self-deprecating sense of humor that they both have throughout most of the book. I was swooning just as hard for the two of them and their budding relationship, yet was frustrated that they both couldn’t properly communicate how they felt.

This book had me hooked from the beginning. I really enjoyed the premise and the characters of Grey and Ethan. I loved their banter and the opposites attract trope. They both have baggage from their past, but to revitalize his career and to spark hers, they decide to fake date. Over time tension and attraction rises and you see the two really connect. At times the story is very deep and not the romcom most expect, but there are light moments too. I loved how the author weaved those hard subjects (grief, death, alcohol/drug abuse, invasion of privacy) into Grey and Ethan's story. I definitely recommend this book. It was such a nice surprise and more than the synopsis on the back of the book.

How to Fake It in Hollywood begins with this idea of, "what's next"? After the career decision we thought would be it for us, what do we do now? After the loss of someone we never thought we'd have to live without, what now? Beginning with this premise for both Ethan and Grey, their fake relationship is designed to help give them both a boost. For Ethan he needs a reputation boost after the death of his best friend, and dissolution of his marriage, if he ever wants to make the movie they always said they would. And for Grey, she wants to bounce back after the ending of her long term project to find some more projects she loves.

How to Fake It in Hollywood doesn't shy away from the ageism and sexism in Hollywood. The ways in which her decisions, and their fake relationship, effect Grey differently than Ethan. While I was prepared to love Grey immediately, I felt like the story ended up focusing more on Ethan. Ethan's struggling with grief, self-loathing, and alcohol abuse. He's stuck thinking everything he touches will be ruined and that he's the cause. So granted, his POV ends up being deeply emotional almost from the get go. Whereas with Grey, it took me a bit longer to figure out her central character.

Talk about a PR stunt gone right! I loved this fake dating storyline and the stand-off-ish, yet playful banter between Grey and Ethan from day 1. I really liked how vulnerable Ethan was with his sadness around losing his best friend, Sam, because that’s really how it is. Then there’s Grey; supportive as shit but also throwing in the ultimate ultimatum, giving Ethan no choice but to figure it out. Also, two words: s e x u a l t e n s i o n. If you’re looking for a book with a spicy scene- this is the one 🌶!

Thank you NetGalley for this amazing read! I sped through it and already started recommending to all my friends.

When two Hollywood stars who need a boost in their career enter into a fake relationship, they have to know that sparks will fly. Ethan has been hiding from the spotlight since his best friend died and Grey hasn’t had an offer since her TV show finished.

While not desperate for a fake relationship, they both agree and over the course of the book they banter, try to avoid flirting, and appear to be in love when in public.

I’m sure you can guess what happens - throw in some ex’s, tabloid stories, lots of drama, and two strong personalities with some trust issues and you have a great summer read for the beach!

First of all, I loved the cover of this book - the artwork is beautiful and really drew me in. This book represented a really well done fake dating trope with the interesting spin of being played out by Hollywood celebrities. The author set the stage well introducing Grey Brooks, a type-cast actress trying to get her next big break after a long running series ends, as well as Ethan Atkins, a washed up actor/director with a lot of baggage. Their subsequent set up and fake-dating to real dating adventure makes for a really fun and quick read. Overall I was really impressed that this was a debut novel, it was well written and planned out.

**I will warn that for those with difficulty with subject matter surrounding Addiction, this might be a touch read especially near the end. I loved the book but definitely the first 3/4 is more light and fun and the last bit feels a bit rushed and more heavy.

I’m a little confused on how to rate this one. I thought there were parts of this story that were handled so well but then other parts where I was not as intrigued. Ethan was well fleshed out to me, but even after reading this whole book, I feel like I didn’t really know Grey. There were moments that seemed so contradictory to the way she was described that I was a little confused. Overall though, the ending was well done and wrapped up all our loose ends in a sweet bow.

~Special thanks to NetGalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

I really really enjoyed this book. I have been in a contemporary romance slump lately and this book cured it. In this book we get romance, laughs, and also some trauma the characters need to work through. Some together, and some on their own.

First, i love love love a good fake dating trope. The author executed that perfectly in this book with all the tension, heated glares, and lusty emotions raging from Grey and Ethan. Oh and i loved the age gal, single dad aspect of this book too.

Second, the characters. There wasn’t a character i didnt enjoy in this book. I absolutely love when aide characters are amazing too! Grey and Ethan are two very compatible maim characters. I see why they are drawn to eachother and i really loved reading all of their interactions and conversations. With their relationship, they have a ton of very well executed development. And that is the individual character development and the development and growth of their relationship. A lot of tough topics are brought up and you can relate to the characters based on their emotions during those scenes. They really feel like real people, and i love when an author has the power to do that.

This book was a journey for Grey and Ethan’s relationship. But it is done very well and round of applause to the author!!

Umm…well, that wasn’t what I thought it was going to be 🤔. Honestly, idk if this was totally categorized properly. Ok — Yes, a relationship develops as part of the story. However, more frequently the book doesn’t read like a romance imho. I guess why I’ve been so stuck on the review for so many days is because I’m so thrown by that. Along with the general tone being so much heavier than I anticipated.

It goes from Ethan discovering his first glimmer of hope in ages as things between him & Grey stop being completely for show, then from there the book’s focus evolves more & more into this downward trajectory about his inner demons rearing up until he unravels to his final breaking point. Where he has to commit to change, find his self-worth again & believe in that or lose more than he already has for good. Much of the tone was so depressing until reaching that point in the last 1/4 tbh. My heart broke again & again for Ethan along the way as I could feel how his emotional demons were suffocating him one on top of the other.

Although it’s not my preference to read heavier books for entertainment purposes — I read for fun to get out of my head/for escapism, not get further in —, I’ll give Ms. Wilder her due. For the most part, the writing was quite solid (definitely above average) as was some of the early sarcasm & all of Ethan’s pain & his struggles felt palpable.

I mean — it’s not without a few flaws. Namely the heroine, Grey. I’m not so sure she was the best thing for Ethan nor am I certain how deep her feelings were. Sometimes her behavior didn’t sit well. i.e. when she coerced him a bit in one situation. To be clear it wasn’t abhorrent behavior. Just a little uneasy there for me because his ability to keep his struggles at a semi-manageable level was very tentative at best & she was aware. Other times she & the hero’s ex both were enablers, yet put him in a situation late in the story they knew could go badly, then acted all worried like it came out of nowhere & was all his doing when it hit the fan. It’s not that he bears no responsibility, but he needed them to listen when he expressed resistance going into the situation beforehand. All that did was further depress me for him & made the second half arduous to get through.

Still, I feel why I’m primarily so indecisive to rate the story even now, a week after reading the book, is more because it’s barely in the periphery of the genre I thought was getting. And although those points just above were negatives for me, I think it fit with this whole melancholy, cyclical, meandering vibe of the book. So I’m not actually giving this a star rating, I’m just putting the 3 star because NG won’t let me send my review without one & 3 is right in the middle, but not necessarily a reflection of the book or my thoughts.

*This ARC was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

***I apologize for the lateness. I really struggled to make sense of how I felt with this unexpectedly not being much of an actual romance.***

In all honesty, I loved this book so much more than I thought I was going to. I think the cover is fantastic, but it doesn’t convey the depth of the story. There’s so much going on here, it’s not a light and bright fake dating trope that you might think you’re getting into. There’s grief, substance abuse, stalking, an age gap—lots to unpack. It may throw some readers for a loop, but I hope that won’t deter folks from picking it up. A really great debut. I’ll definitely be on the lookout for more in the future.

Fun read but I feel like the development was skipped over a little. Their relationship was a bit dry, and I don’t mean their fake one. The actions of the characters were just a little too obvious and I found them a little boring and everything too easy. I still was entertained through this though and I think this is great for a debut!

Thank you Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book.

Typical romantic book
But throw in arranged dating scenario
Doesn't mean I didn't Enjoy it!
To have her career take.off some more gRey enters into a fake relation ship but soon they realize it's more than fake.

THIS! I loved everything about this book! I loved the way it played out, and that things weren't just smoothed over and made okay. I loved that the couple in it had to work through the issues in their relationship but also had to work through their own, personal issues. I loved the way the author was able to make the story feel like real life, with all of its difficulties, without sacrificing the swooniness you want from a fictional romance. Seriously, it was just SO GOOD! I can't wait to read what Wilder writes next!!

4 1/2 Stars!

Just because the cover is a cartoon definitely does not mean it's a rom-com. In the case of this book, it is absolutely not a rom-com. It's a book where two people are somewhat lost and struggling and in need of a reboot. Their reasons may be different and they are completely coming at it from different backgrounds, but they have a common goal. They both need to put a fresh face forward in Hollywood and for that, they decide to try giving the press a fake relationship to toy with. The problem is that along the way, their feelings become true which can lead to a lot of real-life pain when they aren't both in sync.

Grey is a young actress who has already had her heart broken once by a leading man. The thought of leaving herself vulnerable again with Ethan is almost unthinkable. Their relationship is supposed to be a fake one for the media. Something to create positive attention for both of them. Ethan has struggles of his own. He's mourning a life that is broken. He might be wealthy and deemed an A-list celebrity, but life has dealt him a great deal of pain. He's still trying to find his way through all of it and isn't exactly dealing with things in the healthiest of ways. Even though a relationship is the last thing on either of their minds, fate has other ideas. Their chemistry is off the charts no matter how much they both try to deny it. But before they can move forward with a future, they both need to deal with their pasts.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to read and review it and the opinions contained within are my own.

I love Hollywood / celeb romance and how to fake it in Hollywood is no exception! This one was so emotional and raw. I loved the sensitive subject matter handled and thought the romance was so well executed.