Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Ballantine for an ARC of How to Fake it in Hollywood.

Gray and Ethan are actors with differing levels of fame that are set up to boost each other’s notoriety and help them meet their goals. They realize they have a lot more in common than a need for a relationship of convenience. The story chronicles their evolving relationship and its ups and downs.

This novel is absolutely breathtaking. It explores love, romance and relationships in a raw, honest way. Ethan and Gray are depictions of flawed, real people that I found myself rooting for, feeling frustrated with and at times, heartbroken for.

The writing is incredible, its pithy and sincere and the dialogue was clever and believable.

The character development was strong, not only for the antagonist and protagonist but for the relationships with their friends and family as well.

This was my first five star read in a while. I felt conflicted at wanting to get to the end to find out what’s happened and wanting to slow down so I could savor this story.

Things to expect from this book:
- Celebrity
- Fake dating
- Age gap
- death of a best friend
- divorce
- addiction

The book starts out with the proposition fake dating PR stunt to boost each celbs images and quickly pivots to a real life whirlwind romance… naturally.

This was beautifully written, and engaging. I fell instantly in love with both Ethan and Grey. I couldn’t help but to sympathize with Ethan and hurt for Grey.

Definitely one of the top romance reads of 2022.

If you enjoy learning, reading, & hearing about celebrities lives then this might just be the book for you! We all love flipping through magainze articles or clicking on hot headlines for all the low down gossip on the hollywood a-listers. We love putting everything under a microscope and assuming we know everything about the lives of our favorite stars. We all know that PR stunts go on much more than we ever could possibly know about, what we don't ever know is if those stunts become real life feelings for people.

The PR stunt to bring both Grey and Ethan's careers back to life quickly becomes one huge entanglement for them both. Ethan has demons to deal with and overcome. He needs serious help before he causes any more harm to himself, or those he loves, and before he can truly love anyone. Your heart will break for him, yet you will also want to reach through the pages and shake him into reality and tell him to get his stuff together. He's in a bad way after losing Sam and can't seem to get off the downward spiral that has become his life. Grey having trust issues from her own experience doesn't help. One thing about it, Grey loves with everything she's got. But will it be enough?

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC copy in exchange for my honest review of How to Fake It in Hollywood.

Fake dating between two actors for the sake of their careers? Yes please! Based on the summary, I expected this to be more of a rom-com, but this is angsty, gorgeous romance at its best. Grey and Ethan are both wonderfully drawn characters, navigating lots of baggage. The supporting characters are great, and I especially love how the storyline with Ethan's ex-wife developed. Read this when you want a romance you can really sink into and savor.

This book. Man. This book !!! I'm on a celebrity rom-com kick, and this hit every spot, while being much deeper, sadder, thoughtful, and intelligent than the (lovely, fizzy, beautiful) cover sold it to be. I'm not mad about that! I was invested the whole time and couldn't put it down; I'm not very into explicit sex scenes in books, but these hit some kind of way I didn't even realize I needed. Thank you for the chance to read this!

Book Review

I feel like my review is going to be complicated, as are my feelings about this story. This book was definitely more intense and dark than I anticipated and isn’t the type of book I would typically read. I did give it 4 stars though for the writing style and characters. I truly liked Grey Brooks. I don’t know if any real celebrities are as down to earth and likable as she is, but I certainly hope so. Ethan was a less likable character for obvious reasons but the author did a good job of detailing his pain. This is not a fluffy or lighthearted chick-lit romance. There were areas and scenes that were more gritty than I prefer to read, as currently I am preferring more of escapism stories, but I have to give full credit that this is a book that was very good for what it was meant to be.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing/Ballantine for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

How to Fake it in Hollywood by Ava Wilder was, quite honestly, a rollercoaster from start to finish. From the first page I was enthralled by the overwhelming, completely unique voice in Wilder’s writing, and the characters I couldn’t seem to get enough of.

I thought I was sick and tired of reading fake dating tropes in romance novels by now, but I definitely didn’t feel that way while reading this book. The plot, while remaining faithful to the classic fake dating trope, has a particularly thrilling nuance to it that separates it from others of its genre, and I found myself unable to put the book down once the romantic plot started heating up.

The dual point of view romance between Grey and Ethan was sizzling and steamy, and every scene was flush with sexual tension. I’ll be honest, there was some giggling and blushing involved on my part. Seriously, isn’t it every girl’s dream to be forced into a close-proximity PR stunt relationship with their childhood celebrity crush?

While I didn’t quite enjoy the turn the book took in the last 15% percent, I know that the storyline will mean quite a great deal for readers who have or still do struggle with addiction. I feel like Ethan’s alcoholism was handled with great care, and his recovery was bittersweet.

How to Fake it in Hollywood is a perfect book for fans of romance and trope-heavy, character-driven stories. The writing is fantastic, and I can’t wait to see what Ava Wilder writes next!

I was really surprised by this book. It's got all the tells of being a traditional romcom, but it was so much more than that. I absolutely adored Grey, and then pair her with tourterd grumpy Ethan, they were explosive! I loved how many topics this touched on (alcoholism, divorce, death of a friend) without it feeling like the author was trying to pile too much into the book. Everything flowed pretty well.

Thank you @netgalley for this ARC. #howtofakeitinhollywood By @avawilderwrites is a well executed fake dating story. The sexual tension between Grey and Ethan is 🔥. I could not put this book down. A talented Hollywood star, Grey, and a reclusive A-lister, Ethan get into a fake relationship, but quickly find out that their feelings are more than just a PR stunt. The highs and lows had me completely invested in their story.
I love the fake dating trope so this was a very easy and fast reading for me.

Review: 5/5

The fake dating to lovers trope is one that is always popular and a well known favorite. While the characters of How to Fake It in Hollywood, Grey and Ethan, were interesting I had a hard time believing in the. The dynamic between the two of felt flat to me. This doesn't there weren't entertaining aspects to this story. The hotel scenes were some of my favorite of the book even if I believe the chemistry was lacking. The writing was good and I would read something from Wilder in the future.

Grey and Ethan are two actors who end up fake dating for a PR stunt. The cover makes it seem like it should be a light easy breezy read about fake dating, but it's really more of a story containing angst and lots of self growth. I enjoy this trope and the story and the characters were engaging.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in return for my honest review.

Ohhhh what a fun book! Absolutely LOVED it and all the references to DeuxMoi's celeb secrets (@headphones). This was such a fun world to live in for a few hours, since it was such a quick and easy read. I would recommend this book over and over again to all my friends who are as invested in PR relationships as I am :) GREAT book!

This book was everything except what I expected, and that’s not a bad thing. I went into this expecting a rom-com based off the cover and blurb, but that’s not what I got. I do feel the cover does the seriousness of this book a bit of a disservice. I was expecting something light-hearted, but this one was heavy (which I did not hate).

The characters in this story, Grey and Ethan, were written in a very well-thought-out, complex manner. Ethan faces many struggles after the death of his best friend that make it difficult for him to move forward. Grey was a well-written female MC that knew how to be supportive while also having firm boundaries. Their relationship, which starts out as a fake-dating scenario to boost their careers, turns into something so much deeper and meaningful. It pulled on my heart strings, and I found myself rooting for them both as individuals and as a couple.

I liked the “mix-up” in this book that goes against the traditional story arc in a book. In a typical love story, there’s one “setback,” if you will, once the male and female MCs get together. I appreciated that this story deviates from the norm and had two. I read about this in another review & I was wary that it would be too much, but it really wasn’t. Both setbacks were well-written and not overdone. The second, especially, was authentically real and heartbreaking. Wilder did a fantastic job with that.

I also loved Nora’s character—Ethan’s ex-wife. She wins best supporting character.

I had to take off half a star in my rating for two reasons…
-The use of the f-word was excessive.
-Andromeda’s character…not needed because I didn’t feel like the character added anything to the story line except pushing a political agenda. I respect that we all have personal opinions and feelings on certain subject matters, but I don’t enjoy reading about those in fiction (either liberally or conservatively). Just my personal feelings.

This one ended up being darker than I expected from the description. Depression, alcoholism, grief, co-dependency. It was not the lighthearted, fake-to-real romance I thought I was reading.

My overwhelming feeling from the start was "these people do not belong together," and I'm afraid that feeling didn't change until the epilogue. Grey is a young actress who as a tween had had Ethan's TeenBeat poster pinned up next to her bed. Ethan is an A-list leading man who--having lost his best friend and acting partner to an accident, then his wife and family in a bitter divorce--has fallen into a bottle. Their mutual publicist decides a fake romance will help both their careers, and poof, a romance novel plot is born.

Until the very end, it never felt like a partnership of equals. Whether it was Grey trying to force Ethan to act on their mutual attraction despite his clear reluctance to do so, or Ethan becoming overly attached as he clung to her to keep afloat in a sea of bourbon, there were too many times where I was hearing alarms going off. Every once in a while, they would have a genuine moment of closeness and it would almost seem like something healthy could grow from that, and then either fame or alcoholism would throw up a barrier.

Yet for all the reasons they should not be together, each of them had their moments, together and apart. I wanted them to thrive--just not together, because it didn't seem like they made each other better people. And that's true for the first 95% of the book. While the end did bring them together in a satisfactory way, I wish that we could have seem more of them as a functional couple after the early angst.

This book delivered way more than I expected...in a wonderful way. Instead of the light hearted chick-lit, romance that I expected, I was submerged in what felt like a real relationship. The ups, the downs, the good, bad and ugly shown through the eyes of incredibly real people with flaws (substance abuse issues, career lows, difficult relationships with their parents). I felt like I was Grey's best friend. The characters were so well thought out and so well written. Thanks so much for the ARC. This is one of my favorites of 2022!

With the very cute and carefree cover, I expected a light hearted fake to real romance. This book did not disappoint, but did get heavier in tone than I expected. I did think that the book could have been a little shorter with the same details/ending. I would recommend this book but would add trigger warnings of addiction. Thanks to NetGalley for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! I wasn’t expecting this at all, the blurb made me believe this book was going to be light, funny, full of drama, and gossip, rom-com style.

This was full of angst and IMO no so much chemistry between Grey & Ethan, I think that it was more a journey for self-growth rather than romance, also I liked the way the touchy/hard subject were approached. This book was really realistic in how Hollywood is not so glamorous as they make us believe, we see the behind-the-scenes and is totally the opposite and like I said, real and I loved that.

I liked this book, it took me by surprise because it was some I absolutely didn’t expect.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group / Ballantine for providing me an ARC in exchange of my honest opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley for this arc!

My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Wow, this book was not at all what I expected (in a good way). I expected a light and fluffy romcom. What I received instead was my heart ripped out of my chest, stomped on a few times, thrown in a blender, then stitched back together again, beautifully. I don’t know what Ava put in this book, but I greedily soaked it all up as if I couldn’t get enough. Ethan, my Ethan. He was such a complex character and my heart broke for him and Grey throughout the novel. I found myself feeling connected to Grey; I feel like she got me. Some of the things she said when she was trying to reconcile her feelings and reactions towards Ethan really hit home with me. But listen, this isn’t about me. This is about a beautiful story of love, addiction, alcoholism, loss, and recovery (TWs for these). Knowing yourself, knowing your worth, accepting who you are and accepting your shitty behaviors and working on them. Overall I really enjoyed this and I will absolutely be reading it again. You made me cry with WORDS on pages. I can’t wait for your next one, Ava. ❤️

Objectively, it’s a good book.

It’s just not the book I thought I was going to get.

Before I started reading this, I had read some reviews that complained about the lack of chemistry between Grey and Ethan. Honestly, for the first half of the book, I didn’t get that at all. I was really into it. I loved Grey’s feisty spirit and sharp, quick-witted tongue. I loved how Ethan seemed to be coming out of his shell and falling for her against his own will. Man, but I love a grumpy hero who falls for his sunshine girl against his own will.

But then – it seemed to sort of stop. The chemistry wasn’t cultivated. The second half of the book didn’t have the same feel or flavor as the first half of the book. The romance was abandoned for more of a Women’s Fiction vibe as Grey and Ethan hit troubled waters. I get that this was probably a pretty authentic take on the relationship dynamic with a partner who struggles with substance abuse. I get that it was real, and gritty. But my heart was set on a feel-good romance and I felt like the romance fell short.

As a reader looking for escape from a world that feels a little too heavy most of the time, I didn’t really get what I was looking for from this story. As a reader who recognizes smart, engaging writing, and multi-dimensional characters – I can appreciate that this book is going to be a perfect fit for a lot of readers.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group for giving me a chance to read this before the release date.
If I could give this more stars I would I read this in one day so that should say more than enough.
I have been reading so many rom-com books about fake dating but this one is so different on that It touches on some dark subjects and makes the characters have real flaws. Flaws and issues that we deal with. I loved how the book just flowed I stayed up till like 2 am reading and I had to wake up to work at 7 am but it was worth it.