I think I might love all Hollywood romances filled with celebrity culture and fake dating. This was the first time in a while that I didn't just tolerate the female main character in a romance book but liked her. Grey was easy to like and that alone made reading this that much more enjoyable. I also really loved the mixture of their POVs throughout instead of switching every chapter, it felt more natural.

This has more debts than seemingly a book about Hollywood and romance would. About an actor and a star - a romance that starts out as a stunt and turns into something unexpected. I love Hollywood stories

3.5
this was a fun read overall. i expected more and they kinda lacked chemistry sometimes but the smut was good !! hadn’t read a hollywood romance in so long and it brought back romcom memories

Eek! I love all things pop and celebrity culture so when I read the blurb about this book I was so excited! Seeing the behind the scenes of a PR relationship?! YES PLEASE. That grows into more?! SIGN ME UP.

In the beginning Grey Brooks hasn’t had any large acting roles since the final season of a popular television series she was in and is up to audition for the biggest female role in an upcoming fantasy trilogy.

Ethan Atkins is an A-lister who hasn’t worked in a few years who could use a bump in public profile, so their shared publicist suggests that together Ethan and Brooks enter into a PR relationship contract.

There’s a lot of really good stuff in here, the PR relationship growing into more, Grey’s relationship with her BFF, Kamilah and some sweet and spicy moments.

However, the majority of this book surrounds Ethan’s struggle with addiction (alcoholism). Though not what I was expecting from this book, I felt that it was handled in an incredibly well manner. It showed the raw impact loving someone with an addiction can do to themselves and everyone around them and that ultimately nothing can “save” them unless they choose to do so themselves and put in the work.

A really worthwhile read, five stars.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I love a celebrity romance, and this one definitely lived up to expectations. It’s sweet, very sexy, has a lot of substance (beyond the romance) and if you love a slow burn fake dating, this is the book you want.

This is a little aside, but I’m pretty sure Ava Wilder reads Deux Moi, and if you’re a DM fan, you will know exactly what I mean when you read it. Enjoy 😘

This book follows Grey, a talented Hollywood starlet, and Ethan, a reclusive A- lister, as they enter into a fake dating situation to help benefit them both.
This was to me not a romcom but more of an angsty drama romance and I actually loved that! I love angst and actualy real life struggles portrayed so well in books! Happy endings aren’t always easily achieved and I felt like this book showed that! We had fake dating, age gap and famous tropes that were done so well! I enjoyed that the author took care with Ethan and showed his struggles and his journey. I didn’t always connect well with the characters and I think the main reason was it was written in 3rd person and soemtimes it was hard to determine whose POV you were getting. But overall a great story that I would recommend and I will read more from this author!
Thank you NetGalley for this advance copy!

hank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me a copy with this book.

Okay, imagine this, you're struggling to climb the Hollywood ladder so you're asked to fake date your preteen crush. That's exactly what happens to Grey In How to Fake it in Hollywood as she is asked to date former Hollywood heartthrob Ethan Atkins, now known recluse who is suffering from (trigger warning) substance abuse issues.

Grey is absolutely living my dream, like what I would give to even be in the same room as my celebrity crushes, but alas I can only live vicariously through her which was easy when I fell in love with her on page 1. The characters in this book are so raw and relatable. I was able to relate to their struggles and pain and it helped to remind me that while we see celebrities as these unattainable figures they're as human as the rest of us (well maybe not the Kardashians haha). I will say I was not expecting this book to delve so heavily on substance abuse issues and the impact of grief, but I think it really benefited from it rather than being bogged down like it can do to some books. So, if you are looking for a light, fluffy read this is not the one for you. That being said, I absolutely loved this book and cannot wait to see more from Ava Wilder in the future and I really hope that it involves Kamilah and Andromeda (iykyk).

Wow.. this book touches so many different bases in such an eye opening way. The quote above perfectly describes how Grey and Ethan start off their rocky relationship with each other. Wilder does such an amazing job at putting you right in the middle of their powerful and, at times, ugly relationship. The struggles that they are both facing a real life struggles that people can relate to. Loss, heartbreak, feeling lost in life, and navigating grief and confusion. I was lucky enough to get my hands on this book early, but it comes out in June of 2022. I highly recommend to anyone and everyone, especially if you are looking to get sucked into an emotional story!!

My review will be posted on my bookstagram @libraryofhallie and on my Goodreads!

This was… incredible. I’ll read anything with a fake dating trope, because it gets me every time. So I jumped right into this ARC from NetGalley. I expected just another romcom. I did NOT expect how DEEP this book would get. The characters were so complex, and the storyline was fantastic. Ethan and Grey’s relationship was written really well, especially with the heavy topics of substance abuse and grief. The characters’ experiences are not cheap or romanticized - they are real and raw. We love a good self growth journey. Highly recommend everyone read this when it comes out. For a story that revolves around Hollywood actors it felt so relatable (especially Grey, for me personally).

The synopsis for this was SO GOOD, but the book itself was just meh. Which made me very sad!!! The middle section was slow which really made it hard to finish. The male lead was not my favorite. This may work for others, but it wasn't for me.

Going into this book I was expecting a light, breezy romcom and while this wasn’t exactly what I was expecting, it was still an enjoyable read. The author did a great job of touching on some more serious topics (alcoholism, loss of a loved one) while also keeping enough humor to give you the best of both worlds. I liked Grey and Ethan together but especially loved their individual character developments over the course of this novel. Thank you Random House Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this e-arc! I will be recommending this book to my fellow romance lovers.

Hello my lovies. What to say about this book? I loved it. It was sweet, not a run of the mill story YET a typical romance. I also am a sucker for Hollywood books because there's a secret part of me that's wonders if the author KNOWS. Especially when the whole story takes place in Hollywood.

Grey, our leading lady, defined as old in Hollywood terms, is a 27 year old stunted actress. Old? I am 30 so my husband better be buying my burial site now since I'm already halfway in the grave- according to Hollywood.

Ethan, our leading fella, is a 42 (I can't remember EXACTLY how old but there is a significant age gap) A list recluse after some traumatic things happened in his life 5 years ago.

They share a publicist who concocts an idea of a fake relationship which should be mutual beneficial for both of them. And we all know it's gonna implode because fake dating ALWAYS implodes. Except this implodes WAY quicker than I was expecting in the book. Which leads me to believe IS THERE ANOTHER THING THATS GONNA HAPPEN? Is there more than one climax? Yes there is.

This book is a 4 star for me. Some things I just didn't get on board with. Some I truly truly did. There was one point, where Ethan gave something to Grey and I sobbed. And I had to be quiet about it too because it was 2am and my husband was sleeping.

Things I loved:
- badass female lead
- single dad trope
- fake dating trope
- the chemistry between the two characters
- the TENSION MY GOD
- grey getting to fake date her childhood celebrity crush - it reminded me of the time I was working as an extra for a tv show and I met Corbin bleu and i about lost my mind because 14 year old Vivian was in love with him


Things I didn't love:
- I always get pissy about women having to work harder than men for the same thing. It's not a bad thing this book touches on it pretty heavily. It just pisses me off that that is the way society is. Grey talks about how she's old at 27, yet here is this guy who is still an A lister, makes millions, has the whole world handed to him, etc and he's a dude. Yeah it just makes me mad (again not the books fault, its society)
- the amount of drinking in this book.
- Ethan's characterization. I love a good single dad trope, just hate it when he's a shitty dad. Plus so much more on just being a crummy human. (But caveat- wilder did a magnificent job making these characters well rounded. His good just didn't outweigh the bad in my opinion)

Ava was magnificent.

I'm incredibly grateful for the opportunity from NetGalley and Random House Publishing - Ballentine group to have an advanced copy for my honest review. Well done, all involved

What a shining debut! It left me longing for TMZ! I couldn’t put it down but also didn’t want it to end.

I was thinking this would be a light read since it focuses on two celebrities dating for optics, but it surprised me with some serious subject matter sprinkled through: namely drug and alcohol addiction. I thought the book was well written and the deeper subjects were handled well. The spicy scenes were good without being raunchy too which is a huge plus for a book, and I appreciated the moderate pace rather than a slow burn.

There were some great characters in this one too! I absolutely LOVED both Ethan and Grey's support systems and the healthy relationships in their personal lives. The growth you get to see from the characters really rounds out this novel and just further made it a solid book for me. I would recommend How to Fake it in Hollywood to people who liked Beach Read or even The Unhoneymooners.

Thank you Random House Publishing Group and Netgalley for the ARC! I so enjoyed it.
*This review along with a photo will be published to Instagram closer to publication under the handle @literary.erica. It has already been published to Goodreads.

Loved this book! An a-list actor and a c-list soap star pair up to fake a romance to try to propel their careers. After their first meeting, they instantly connect and of course their fake relationship turns real very quickly. This was a super cute easy read, and both characters were very likable.

• REVIEW •

How to Fake it In Hollywood
Ava Wilder
Romance
384 pages

My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to @netgalley and @randomhouse for the eARC in exchange for my honest review! 💛

First of all, I’d be remiss if I didn’t touch on how absolutely stunning this cover is. I totally judge books by their cover (🤷‍♀️) and this is one of the best romance covers I’ve ever seen. Now onto the story- I loved getting to know Ethan and Grey together as a couple, and as individuals thanks to the dual POVs. Their love story is not perfect by any means, which made it all the more real imo. Ethan is dealing with some pretty heavy stuff, and I thought Ava Wilder did a really nice job handling the more serious themes of the novel. I also enjoyed the behind-the-scenes peak into the sometimes glamorous, often not lifestyle of the rich and famous. This one is out in June, so definitely add it to your TBR! Plus, as a bonus, it’ll look amazing on your shelf- win/win 😍

🎞 Dual POV
🎞 Open door romance
🎞 Fake dating (!)
🎞 Age gap
🎞 One bed
🎞 Actor MCs
🎞 Grumpy/sunshine (sort of?)
🎞 Hollywood setting with celebrity characters
🎞 Explores grief and substance abuse (in a deeper way than I was expecting)
🎞 TW: substance abuse, loss of a loved one (prior to book events)

#caitsquietplace #caitsquietplacereviews #cqpromances #howtofakeitinhollywood #avawilder

While this novel is too mature for my students, I thoroughly enjoyed it! Fake dating is my favorite trope. I will definitely be recommending How to Fake It in Hollywood to my friends!

Fine, but the middle was pretty saggy and the male lead was kinda...he didn't have alot going for him.

Thank you to Random House Publishing, Ava Wilder and NetGalley for the E-Arc of How to Fake it in Hollywood. Be looking for this one on June 14th!!

How to Fake it in Hollywood was a really fun fake dating romance set between two actors in Hollywood. Grey Brooks is looking for her big break after her hit show has ended while Ethan Adkins is hiding away in his home but needing help to clean up his act. Grey and Ethan enter into a relationship to help their images.

Ava Wilder has created some really great characters for How to Fake it in Hollywood, I really loved the relationship that Grey and Ethan form along with their banter. Would recommend for anyone wanting a good romance with some real life dynamics.

CW: anxiety, substance use, addiction

The fake dating trope is one of my favorites and was glad to get a copy of this. After a slow start I really got into the book after the 30% mark. Grey and Ethan are two struggling actors who are ask to enter a fake dating relationship to boast both of their carries. What happens though are two people not only trying to navigate the demands of Hollywood but the demons inside of that they been avoiding. The things I loved about the book where the emotional scenes where both main characters had to deal through out the book. I felt when the hit rock bottom or when they couldn’t deal with it all. But also loved when something would bring the, back. Love the main heroine Grey, although at times Ethan lost me but did liked him overall. I do wish for a little bit more romance in this. Just for my taste. Also again just for my taste, Ethan was a father of two in these books and they are important to him but they seemed like after thoughts in this. I love kids in romances so that’s probably where I am coming from. I just need one scene of the kids bonding or getting to know Grey. But that’s just me. One last thing loved the side characters that where the support system for the main characters. I thought they add great things to the book.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and am giving it four stars. Thatnks net galley for the arc and will gladly read more Ava Wilder after this.