Book~ How to fake it in Hollywood
Author~ @avawilderwrites
Genre~ Contemporary Romance Fiction
Rating~ ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 💫 (4.5)/5
Pub Date~ June 14, 2022

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC for this title.♡♡

Synopsis - A talented Hollywood starlet and a reclusive A - lister enter into a fake relationship ... and discover that their feelings might be more than a PR stunt . But after decades in a ruthless industry that requires bulletproof emotional armor to survive , are they too used to faking it to open themselves up to the real thing ?

My review and opinions are completely honest and genuine.
I was in a reading rut and going from one book to the next when I came across this one and couldn't put it down.
First and first, I must state that I adore the fake dating trope. It's one of my all-time favourite romance plots.

I was so excited to read something intriguing, interesting, and with Hollywood critique of the false romance stereotype after reading the blurb and being enamoured by this wonderful cover! Instead of romance or a beautiful romcom, I was treated to an angry drama that tore my heart out!

There's no way to prepare for Ava Wilder's genius in HOW TO FAKE IT IN HOLLYWOOD. Wilder demonstrates her mastery of writing and character by immersing you in the sensitive, raw, madly romantic souls of our heroes, Ethan and Grey, beneath the dazzling Hollywood lights. As each heart-pounding story element revealed, I found myself racing to read the following page. This is a passionate, swoony, heartfelt storey that deserves an unlimited number of stars, and one that I won't soon forget.

So do I recommend this book? Ofcourse I do, you shouldn't miss this one!

I really enjoy this cute story. The plot kept me interested and I will definitely recommend to my friends!

Thank you Net Galley and Random House/ Ballantine for an ARC in return for my honest review.
Reading the blurb I was expecting a fun rom/com but How to Fake It in Hollywood had so much more substance, depth and angst. Grey Brooks is trying to keep her career afloat and A lister Ethan Atkins has turned into a recluse. Together they embark an a fake dating sham to resurrect their careers. As you can imagine everything does not go according to plan, especially when feelings get involved. Beyond this storyline there are real issues of substance abuse and death of a loved one addressed. This is not all laughs and banter although there are those moments but true struggle, just like in life. Overall I really enjoyed this read and will look forward to checking out more from Ava Wilder in the future.
This will be published on my accounts in goodreads & thestorygraph on March 24th, 2022

*Thank you to Random House Publishing Group via NetGalley for the ARC. This will be posted 03.24.22 on GoodReads*

I’m sure you can relate to this feeling. When you have an itch you can’t reach and you ask someone to scratch it for you but no matter how how many times you try to redirect the person, they don’t ever hit the spot. It’s soooo close, there’s some relief, but that pure satisfaction just didn’t come. That’s how I would describe reading How To Fake It In Hollywood.

The story started off so promising and I was engaged right away. I kept thinking, “wow if the first few chapters were excerpts, I’d immediately shelve it on my TBR” especially since this book ticks a lot of my favorite trope boxes (fake dating, grumpy/sunshine, forced proximity, secret pining, age gap…oh my).

The premise of this story centers around Grey, a talented (but underutilized and currently unemployed) actress and Ethan, an older A-list actor whose past tragedies kept his star from continuing to shine. They mutually enter into a contact to fake date for 6 months to help them both get into the spotlight.

Now for my gripes. Honestly, it’s just one big one. I can understand the attraction Grey has for Ethan early on considering her tween crush on him but I just didn’t buy his supposed reciprocal, hidden feelings. I don’t mind “insta love” but their chemistry simply didn’t feel genuine here.

Maybe the book would’ve worked better from one perspective instead of both so Ethan could just be mysterious and brooding instead of pining for her when Grey hadn’t even dazzled ME as the reader. Their initial interactions are understandably strained but it’s sometimes so awkward I don’t even want to be in the same room as them (there was a line about Grey being relieved for conversation starters for the “couple” to get to know each other via a website and honestly, I felt the same, that particular plot point needed some guidance).

Regrettably, I think that’s why I couldn’t sink my teeth into the rest of the story since the beginning was so far fetched *feelings* -wise, even though the rest of the book was plenty meaty enough (the content did get a lot heavier than other fluffier romances I’ve read…TW: alcoholism).

I know, get over it, their relationship gets better throughout the book, but I could not nor did not want to suspend my disbelief. Their romance hinged on that initial growing attraction, ok!!

HTFIIH was trending as a 3.5 star reading, but I bumped it up a half star to a solid 4, because I flat out enjoyed the steamy scenes. Sometimes it takes me out of the story when an author starts using too many euphemisms for genitalia and the scenes go on for way too long but this was exactly how I like it…just like a sweet, hot, satisfying vanilla latte.

I did throughly enjoy the author’s writing style since my biggest grievance with a book is when a character’s inner monologue is too repetitive, so I hope I will read more from Wilder with more fleshed out characters in the future. It’s a great debut novel with interesting narratives and I’m sure it’ll be a hit when it gets published June 2022.

3.5 rounded up to 4. The reason this one is slightly lower for me is it is very similar vibes to a soon to be released Funny You Should Ask which I am obsessed with right now.

Big content warning for alcoholism/consumption. The male lead drinks a lot throughout the book but it isn't addressed as an issue until the last 1/4 of the book really.

But to the good stuff. I loved Grey. I loved her personality and her willingness to grow and learn while still having her own hang ups. I find Hollywood stories interesting and loved that this started as a PR stunt (looking at you Pete + Kim) and turned into more.

Definitely a fun one to pick up!

This was a really great read. I loved the fake dating trope! I definitely recommend reading this book! It was an angst rom-drama. ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange
for an honest review.

This was a really fun book that was deeper than I expected. What I thought would be a cute romance base in Hollywood turned into a more serious story. Granted it had a lot of light moments, but I loved the way hard topics like grief and addiction were handled. I appreciate that the author didn't take the easy way out in giving the characters a happy ending quickly. She really developed the characters and showed that love can exist between two flawed people. I really enjoyed this more than I thought I would and would read another book by Ava Wilder.

After languishing in Hollywood Purgatory, awaiting her next role, Grey Brooks agrees to fake-date older retired actor, Ethan Atkins, whose own fall from Hollywood royalty has turned him into a bitter alcoholic. Both are forced together for various paparazzi-laden events, and it’s no surprise when feelings become complicated. What was a surprise was the depth and detail the author went into when creating the flawed character of Ethan. This may seem like your typical rom-com novel, but it’s so much more. It’s a story of redemption, growth, and the power of love and honesty in one’s journey toward healing.

Intense and flawlessly paced, this debut had everything I love in a contemporary romance. ​I read it in about six hours! ​​It was so cinematic, ​I could ​imagine every scene ​being played out on a ​theater ​screen in sensual, saturated colors​. Add ​a vivid supporting cast, sharp humor, and a ​fiery romance between two leads with incendiary (and messy at times) chemistry​,​ ​and this ​was an enthusiastic five-star read for me. ​This is going to be in my top books of 2022, and Ava Wilder is going on my auto-buy list forever.

HOW TO FAKE IT IN HOLLYWOOD is out on June 14, 2022.

Gratitude and disclosure: Thank you NetGalley and Random House for the early read. | Ava and I are friends on social media. | Read the content considerations, friends. 💛

How To Fake It In Hollywood Was amazing! After the first chapter I was hooked. Grey a young actress who wants more for her career and Ethan a star who had long stepped out of the limelight with a not so perfect past has agreed that they would enter a fake dating contract to boost each other’s career but along the way they might get more than they bargained for when their feelings are on the line. Even though Grey was quite younger than Ethan I still loved how they interacted with each other and at times supported each other. It is definitely worth a read or two! I will be purchasing a copy for my library, thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for this arc!

I absolutely loved this book! The relationship and dynamic between Grey and Ethan is amazing! This book was able to show significant character growth for each of them but especially for Ethan as he struggled with grief and addiction. The fake dating trope was VERY well done and my new favorite! I am so happy to have had the opportunity to read an advanced copy! I recommend this book to EVERYONE!

I went into this book ~mostly~ blind. Grey Brooks and Ethan Atkins are two celebs who could use a little publicity boost. Grey is young and hasn’t gotten a huge break yet, and Ethan is nearing 40 and has been keeping a low profile in recent years. Their mutual publicist sets them up in a fake dating scheme in order to generate some buzz for each of them.

Pros: this was a quick Hollywood fake dating romance
Cons: it was way too surface level for me

I felt like we we’re getting TOLD what was happening instead of being SHOWN, and it was a lot of back and forth between Ethan and Grey’s POV/narrative.

Although I appreciated the fact that this book shed light on substance abuse in a relationship I just felt that it was too surface level and could’ve gone many layers deeper.

Like I said I did read this super quickly, but at the end I was reading just to get through it, and I found it very predictable.

Before I got approved for this, the synopsis of this novel made me think it would be lighter and more easy going than it ended up being. The fake dating in Hollywood aspect is what intrigued me in the first place since I am a sucker for both of these tropes.
In this novel we focus on Ethan Atkins, an older seasoned actor and Emily Gray Brooks a child star. Atkins has been out of the spotlight for the first time and Gray's agent thinks it would be a good idea to have Gray fake date him in order to gain more fame as well as more serious roles. The fake dating aspect was fun especially the forced proximity trope when Gray had to stay in Ethan's home and then again when they were in Palm Springs. However, my main issue comes with the second half of this novel where it becomes so much more angsty that I thought it was going to be. I'm used to conflict being used in rom-com books but the themes of a broken marriage, grief, and alcoholism was not what I was aspecting. I'm glad therapy was a factor because it made Ethan more worthy of Gray.

I really enjoyed this book though it is not a light hearted rom com as the book cover, title, and even some of the description implies. Definitely a fake dating to lovers trope based book but it also tackles some heavy subjects (grief, alcoholism, abuse, etc.) and there is more character growth than your run-of-the mill romance novel. Kind of felt like some of the side/supporting characters were added in a “hey I’m woke and into inclusivity” checklist sort of way to balance out the two main characters being white and hetero rather than giving them as much autonomy and attention as they deserved. I’d love to see more of Kamilah and Andromeda in the spotlight, potentially even in their own book.
Overall an enjoyable ready and I felt like Grey and Ethan had good chemistry and were multidimensional characters by the end of the book.

Grey Brooks, a former soap star, needs to keep her name in the press; she needs to keep her career afloat. She has a major opportunity coming up with a movie and her reputation just needs a little positive push. Her publicist comes up with an idea.

Ethan Atkins, former A-lister, needs to clean up his act (or at least make it seem that way). After the death of his best friend, his divorce, and his drinking problem soured the public's opinion of him, he needs a bit of positivity to ensure his next endeavor is successful. Guess with whom he shares a publicist (with an ingenious idea)?

Enter: the Fake Dating trope. Grey and Ethan agree to a 6-month fake dating contract to boost their respective reputations. Mutually beneficial, it seems simple and straight-forward. Their public relationship goes well to start, even though it's a bit uncomfortable behind the scenes. Soon, however, their chemistry starts to go beyond their public dating/acting... and Grey and Ethan must learn where their contract stops and the feelings begin.

--

⚠️ TW: substance abuse, alcoholism, death, grief

Thank you NetGalley, Ava Wilder, and Random House - Dell for an ARC in exchange for my honest review!

What I thought was going to be a cute, happy little rom-com ended up being so much more. I'm a sucker for a fake dating trope and this book is a new favorite!

Ava Wilder's writing set up her characters so very well. Grey, young and beautiful, has her heart set on doing more than her small acting roles. She wants to push herself, be successful, and love what she does. Ethan, tired and heartbroken, just wants to deal with his life privately. He has hurt people in the past, including himself, and doesn't want to do it again. The way Grey and Ethan interact, the way they compliment and push one another, is so genuine and real. They made my heart swell, they made me laugh, and they made me cry.

Life is hard. Love is hard. People are complicated. People have unique needs/wants, pasts, trauma, hardships, and things they need to work on. Having a book with representation for folks (even celebrities) who aren't always sunshine-happy and perfect... I'm a big fan.

Read if you like: second chances, there's-only-one-bed, red carpets, actions > words, breakfast, and Palm Springs.

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
5/5
I've been really loving the fake dating trope lately and this was so good. The characters are so amazing you can't help but fall in love with them and their story. I could not put it down. The cover is gorgeous and the book more than lives up to the expectations of the beautiful cover.

I loved this book so much! It is not the lighthearted rom com you might expect when you hear about two Hollywood actors fake dating. It's definitely darker and deals with some heavy topics - grief, addiction. And while it wasn't a fun, frothy read it was absolutely an "I can't put this down" read!!

It touches on some really deep topics and shows what a struggle they are each going through with not only their careers but also their personal lives. The way they connect with each other even though neither is very good at letting people in.

In my head, Ethan is a likable Ben Affleck if Matt Damon had died (they have that kind of relationship). Even though Grey is a good 10+ years younger than Ethan, she isn't a pushover and she tells it like it is. She's feisty and fun, but she's also a nose to the grindstone hard worker.

this book was pretty good. I feel like at some points the characters could get a bit insufferable but it kinda works out since they are in fact celebrities. Grey and Ethan were super cute but some times I also wanted to punch them both in the face for being a tad annoying. I love this kind of trope on books of a newer actor and a big time one and want to see more books like this one made. Overall I would give this book a 7/10

This was such an enjoyable read about a fake dating scheme between two actors that becomes something much more serious. While at times predictable, I really enjoyed the depth the author added to the characters and how she addressed mental health and substance abuse's impact on relationships. The chemistry between the two protagonists, Grey and Ethan, was definitely palpable. I sped through it in less than 24 hours and will definitely read anything by Ava Wilder in the future.

I really enjoyed this book. So much that I read it all in one day. I loved the writing and the relationship of the main characters. A charming yet messy love story. I would suggest this book to anyone looking for a different take on the fake dating trope.