I loved this book! I couldn’t put it down and now I’m honestly sad it’s over. This was so much more than I was expecting and in such a good way! I thought this would be a fun, light-hearted story about a Hollywood couple fake dating but it had much more depth than that. This is a true love story that drags the heart through all the ups and downs of love. I adored all the characters of this book, especially the main, their individual stories and their relationship as a whole. Additionally, I really liked the author’s writing and the multiple POVs between the two main characters. This book has everything: Hollywood, heartache, friendship, steam and true love.

This review is currently posted on Goodreads.
It will be posted on my Instagram account @georgiasbooklife on the publication day (June 14).

I really enjoyed this book! As a fan of both romance and pop culture, the Hollywood setting was a treat. Often times, books and shows seem to portray social media/texting/cultural references in a way that feels very inauthentic, but Ava Wilder really nailed it. The realistic portrayal was part of what made the story so captivating.

The fake dating trope drew me in, and I loved following the romance throughout the story, but it certainly was not a light and fluffy rom com. The book also explores topics including guilt, grief, and addiction.

An excellent debut by Wilder! I am looking forward to seeing what she does next. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was incredibly surprised by this one. I expected it to be a silly romcom for whatever reason but there was so much depth and growth between the characters. The story was anything but shallow. I immediately fell in love with both characters— easy recommendation.

love, love, loved this. the fake dating trope is super overused in my opinion but I loved how this gave it a new spin and twist. also gave me and everyone who grew up a fangirl a little hope.

thank you to NetGalley for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

How to Fake It in Hollywood is a fake dating in Hollywood romance that uncovers more of the brutal side of being an actress in the industry. I liked how Grey and Ethan's individual stories covered different struggles in the industry as a woman and man at different ages and points of their career. Personally, the chemistry between Grey and Ethan was not super impactful to me, I think it was more about them dealing with their own issues and how that carried over to their relationship. Overall this was a good story, nothing over the top with cheesiness, but there was plenty of character development with the two mains. The pacing was nice until the last 30% where the book dragged on so the ending felt more of a relief that it was over than a moment to celebrate the end of Grey and Ethan's story. (A little bonus something I caught was how Andromeda used they/them pronouns which was a nice touch!) Thank you NetGalley, Ava Wilder, and publishers for the ARC.

Includes: fake dating, alcohol and substance abuse, grief, age gap

I really enjoyed this book! I did go into this book expecting a rom com but it was far from it. It was more drama filled but in a good way. This touched the topic of how the loss of someone can send them into a downward spiral with battling alcoholism and trying to adjust to a new relationship. I thought that the book was written with realism of how a relationship would be like with an alcoholic and reality of how to overcome his inner demons.

Overall, I gave this book a 4.5/5⭐️ And thought it was a great book that I couldn’t put down!

a fake dating plot set between celebrities who are flawed, in need of healing, and looking for a path forward in their stagnant lives? this checks a lot of boxes of what could be a perfect read if not for a few, minor points that i wish were tighter.

the story revolves around grey and ethan. grey, a child star who has grown up relatively normal and humble despite the industry she’s grown up in, is meeting a roadblock in her career when her agent proposes a pr relationship to help propel her career. when she finds out she’s being set up with ethan, an a-lister whose poster was once on her walls with quite the pedigree, but a lot of baggage, she’s both intrigued and hesitant. still, they both agree to the terms of a contract for the span of six months, though it’s not as easy as the glossies would make it appear.

i loved how believable ethan’s grief spiral was and how the loss of someone who cemented him in many ways, created a whirlpool that he can’t find a way out of. he was an alcoholic with more vices even prior to the loss, but the guilt of it has eaten away any resolve he had left to show restraint. this has caused him to lock himself away, from everyone - including his family and his own children, whom he loves and wants to be the best for, but nora, his ex and mother of his children, knows he isn’t capable of in his current state. this relationship should be just what he needs to prove he’s stable, but those vices and guilt eat away at him and it’s felt in the writing of his character.

grey isn’t without her faults either, though she fights through much of it while waging a mental battle within. it’s that battle that slowly begins to play out and is exacerbated by ethan’s vices. you slowly see grey relying more on alcohol as the story unfolds. what could be written as a downward spiral story, does build on the romance as the two become closer.

i think the build is great, though i do wish it didn’t feel as reliant on the instant attraction. in time though, it’s given more legs to stand on as they uncover more of themselves to one another and ethan opens up about his loss to grey. he remains true to character for much of the book, withdrawn and fighting his demons with alcohol. where it falters for me is when grey seems to go from this squeaky clean image in both public and private to enjoying a few vices of her own that wasn’t even mentioned or hinted at earlier in the book. i also find the lack of reader knowledge into grey herself, her past, and the relationship with her mother, lead to an imbalance. whereas i knew everything about ethan, there was a stagnancy in knowing just as much about grey, making it hard to feel deep empathy when she confronts some of those later in the novel.

for the few faults, and this being a debut novel, it really is one that i enjoyed reading and am looking forward to adding to my bookshelf when it’s published!

I loved this book!! I cant wait for it to come out in physical copy. The romance in this book was so so so so perfect, and the development of the MC with her career is also really good

i loved this sneak peak into celebrities coupling up for publicity, the realness of needing to work on yourself before you can be in a healthy relationship, and the subtle references to real celebrities throughout.

This is a debut? No. I don’t believe it.

This was so fun! It reminded me of my younger years, pouring over gossip magazines to see what celebrities were up to.

Grey is an up and coming star who is a little older than what Hollywood is looking for. Ethan is an A list actor who has been a recluse since a tragedy changed is life a few years earlier. When their managers decide that it would help both of their careers to fake date, the two are hesitant but still interested and trying. What do they have to lose?

I’ve seen this book compared to The Honeymooners by Christina Lauren and I can see that reference! The banter between the two characters is super fun. This book does deal with heavier topics such as grief and alcoholism and I feel like it deals with them in a very real way. I think anyone who has ever dealt with or been around someone who has dealt with substance issues will see how well this book portrays that issue.

I think Ava Wilder absolutely blew it out of the park with this romance and I will be first in line to read whatever she comes out with next.

The writing was pretty good and the characters were flawed and interesting. The problem I had was with Ethan being an alcoholic a-hole for 98% of the book and Grey acting holier than thou about his drinking and smoking yet she got high and plastered plenty on her own. I wish I could rate higher than 3!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

One of my favorite story lines in romcoms, the fake relationship. Grey and Ethan are enjoyable characters who begin a relationship as a PR stunt and realize there is more to it than they thought. I really enjoyed these characters and was rooting for them the whole time. You always know how these stories are going to end, but the author makes the experience well worth it!

This book had romances tropes I'm usually here for (celebrities & fake dating) but it failed to be a romance book. The male lead is an emotional depressed alcoholic jerk for 96% of the book (I'm not exaggerating on this) which made him extremely unlikable. So much so that if this was one of my friends dating him, I would have sat them down and given them the talk about red flags. Every time the female lead was lusting after this dude, I was judging her so bad because honestly she could do better.

The writing was perfectly fine which is why this is a two star instead of one.

I was provided this book from NetGalley for an honest review.

Wow, what a book. How to Fake It in Hollywood follows Ethan and Grey as they fake-date in order to generally further their careers. Instantly there is an attraction, it's just a matter of should they give in and see what happens. There are some darker elements to this story that give the characters depth: grief over a loved ones' death, alcohol and some drug abuse, leaked personal photos. I think the topics were all handled well, with the character's showing growth as they move through them. Even though this book has a celebrity fake-dating story as the center, it felt real. I laughed out loud, I got a little teary eyed. It's not as light-hearted as I thought it would be going in but I have no complaints about it. Would definitely recommend for those who enjoy the fake-dating trope or are looking for a romance with some tough, deeply personal elements. This was exactly what am I always looking for in my romance books.

The cover piqued my interested but the story reeled me in. Grey and Ethan’s banter is downright hilarious and I found myself rooting for them. How to Fake it in Hollywood had me hooked from the first chapter and I could not put it down until I knew where they ended up. It took me in an emotional rollercoaster that I would ride again.

How to Fake It in Hollywood is the first debut novel by Ava Wilder. This novel had an interesting premise and after finishing reading it I can say it was a pretty solid start for Ava.

The Plot
The story revolves around Ethan, a A list Hollywood celebrity who has been in a deep rough patch for quite a time after the death of his best friend, and Grey who is a teen soap opera star who is struggling to keep her career a float. So in order to get Ethan the good publicity he needs and Grey the recognition she needs to get this life changing role on the line Grey’s publicist suggests the idea they start fake dating. During this facade sparks start flying and they just can't seem to deny the chemistry building up between themselves… But how long can this last before things head south?

The Characters & Romance
I honestly have mixed feelings on both the characters and romance in this book. I do like Ethan and I definitely emphasized with him on his struggles especially after dealing with the death of his best friend but I just didn't feel that much of a connection with him..and same as Grey. I felt Grey was a little hypocritical at times yelling at him to quit smoking and drinking even though she did it also, even if it wasn't as excessive as him. I did like how she would call him out on his crap but like I said at the same time she partakes in those bad habits also so she is not really helping him in his situation. Out of the two characters I would have to say Ethan would be my favorite and the most interesting. He was more complex than Grey and did not come off as shallow, unlike her. Grey always seemed to be running away from their problems and again would call Ethan out on shutting him out even though she did the same thing. Now for the romance I didn't feel a really intense connection between the characters. I felt like it was really sudden and kind of sporadic. There wasn't really a whole lot of romantic development which I wish was done more.

The Writing
I thought for a debut novel Ava’s writing was done pretty well and there are only a few things I would like to comment on. First I felt at times that the scenes in the chapters would randomly jump from time to time and I would get slightly confused. Second would be going back to what I said previously but maybe more character and romantic development. I really liked Ethans charter but felt like more could have been done with Grey. I also did like the steamy scenes throughout this novel and the upcoming readers will definitely enjoy it too!

Overall Thoughts
Being the debut Novel it doesn't go without some flaws but overall I did enjoy it! If you like age gap, fake dating, angst and Hollywood setting stories then I think you would really enjoy this novel! I can't wait to see what Ava has planned for the future and hope to read more of her books soon.

Final Stats:
Final Rating ⅗
Plot ⅘
Romance ⅖
Characters ⅗
Wow factor ⅗

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group/ Ballantine for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for an honest review.

When Grey Brooks is offered a role that would take her from stunt double to front and center, she’ll do anything to get her name out there. Anything apparently includes fake dating the once A-lister, Ethan Atkins, with more ghosts in his closet than bottles on his shelves. What’s behind the scenes of this “relationship” though threatens to tear them apart, if there’s even anything real to tear.

From the summary of the book I thought this was going to be a light and romance-y read. It wasn’t. The pages were filled with stories of the effect of grief and alcoholism on both an individual and a relationship. Although not in every page, this book isn’t your normal, bring as a fun read on the train, starry-eyed romance read.

That said, the book itself was engaging and I didn’t want to stop reading. The romance that sparked between the two was as captivating to me as it was to them. I loved learning more about the characters’ pasts and how it affected their current “relationship” and seeing them both grow and mature in the story, exponentially in one of their cases.

My only complaints were that at times the book seemed to fling from one plot to another and some aspects of the fake dating trope weren’t as developed as I would have wanted them. It also seemed as if some of the tropes (one bed, etc) were thrown in there while not having an effect on the story.

Overall it was an enticing read, but nothing that I instantaneously fell in love with or that’ll stay with me for an extended period of time. Upper 3 out 5 stars.

CW: Alcoholism, Grief

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

Hollywood love is more than just a contract. Celebrity stars are real people too and have struggles and fall in love. Loved this story and the characters. A quick romantic read

I finished this book in one day (which is highly unusual for me). From the start, I was hooked in and I could not put this book down. It was endlessly entertaining, filled with so many complex and lovable characters (and of course some of my favorite tropes like celebrity fake dating). So many topics are covered, each storyline and idea are managed so well and lead to an extremely satisfying ending. The development of each topic, aspect and character was so great. I love this book so much.

hank you so much to NetGalley, Ava Wilder, and Random House Publishing - Ballantine for the opportunity to read and review this ARC!

Fake Dating. There's Only One Bed. Grumpy/Sunshine. Age Gap. DILF. Rich People Problems. Movie Star Romance.... I mean, How to Fake it in Hollywood contains a laundry list of top tier tropes.

Grey is a successful actress scared of becoming irrelevant after her hit show ends. Ethan is a reclusive recently divorced actor looking to clean up his reputation. Both in search of some good publicity, they agree to fake date, with more angsty drama than you might guess by the synopsis. Content warnings for alcoholism, grief, recounting of child star molestation, death of a loved one (off page).

I think the author does a great job creating tension, but I wish the dialogue was stronger. This would have sent me over the edge with some exceptional banter. Still a great entry into the celebrity romance genre!