‘Fake Dating Trope’ done right! Plus, there is enough “spice” to satisfy! Enjoyed it thoroughly. Quick read!
Only downside is the characters have a lot of post traumatic situational baggage. It weighs heavily on the storylines. Addiction, grief, bad upbringings. Read trigger warnings if you are worried.

Really enjoyed this book! Such a fun read with great character development! Such a fun one and great to grab!

First off, I LOVE Fake dating/engagement/etc plot lines. And that's exactly what this is! To me, this was more than just your typical romcom- these characters were deeply and emotionally written, and I loved it! I am also a fan of the dry/witty humor and this book has it all. Also, lots of steamy moments! I can't wait until this is published and I can purchase for my fellow book friends!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

There are plenty of things to enjoy about How to Fake it in Hollywood. My initial draw was always going to be the fake dating trope that I have long been a fan of. What made me stay was the honest portrayal of grief and alcoholism, and the ways in which that shapes a person.

My biggest issue with the book is the acknowledgement of large age gaps in Hollywood, and yet, the main characters still offer up that very same threshold. It felt slightly undermining as it only furthered the same exact thing that the book criticized.

Beyond that, How to Fake it in Hollywood was an enjoyable romance that will tick off classic trope boxes, and leave people wondering if anyone in literature has ever had healthy relationships with their parents.

this book made me feel emotions i did not even know i possessed.

starting off, i did not know what to expect from this book. it has been awhile since i have read anything resembling a Hollywood whirlwind romance. i’m serious. the last Hollywood-est book i’ve read was on Wattpad in 2016 :)

the beginning of this book felt fluffy, in a good way. it was the basis for the relationship and had many very intriguing plot points and scenarios that made me constantly want to keep reading. i loved the fake-dating aspect and the push and pull of each characters. although i found both the Hero and heroines thoughts and actions to be a bit stagnant in the beginning, the author quickly found her groove!

the reader could tell right off the bat, the Hero, Ethan had issues. he carried baggage, guilt and shame through his life which deeply effected his life and relationships. i don’t necessary love when the main characters have been married before or have kids from a previous marriage but this was done so incredibly well that i couldn’t help but fall in love with this unique relationship between Ethan and his ex-wife. it was a beautiful, co-parenting relationship and they both cared about each other deeply in a way that was platonic and helpful! i loved the heroine. Grey was amazing, she was strong and passionate and i loved that she was sensitive because me too bestie! she truly had the guts and charm to be the absolute star of each chapter GAH i loved her!

i don’t know if this book was supposed to make me cry but it did. maybe i’m just sensitive like Grey but the last maybe 25% of this book was so beautifully written, i shed so many tears. it was beautiful how the authors ability to use such impactful language to get through to the reader. from showcasing the real struggles behind grief and addiction and guilt that truly made the book special. i loved that we’ve got to see Grey and Ethan’s relationship develop and flourish even if that meant they had to work on themselves first. it felt like two different relationships. the first time they’ve got together. it was insatiable, powerful, greedy, and unfortunately, catastrophic. the second chance they had but so truly, deeply beautiful that it resonated with me. they learned to grow and live without each other but still chose each other through everything.

i don’t necessarily think my absolute favorite thing ever in this book is the romantic relationship but rather the journey of self improvement and how the grief and imperfections were never romanticized or brushed over or even cured with love. love can be the most powerful emotion but it doesn’t erase the years of damage within a persons soul. i loved that this book was extremely realistic in the sense of the ugly side of the guilt and addiction a person has and how working on themselves is the best tool out there, not the love.

i would truly like to thank NetGalley and Ava Wilder for the amazing opportunity to have received an ARC.

and to my fellow GoodReads friends who have made it to the end, don’t forget to put this book on your TBR 😋😉!!

How to Fake It In Hollywood is about Grey, who is looking to boost her career, and Ethan, who is looking for a come back. This unlikely pair finds themselves in a fake relationship that is mutually beneficial. This book recounts their story from acquaintances to lovers, with a few speed bumps in between.

I thoroughly enjoyed how Ava was able to add to depth to a typical rom com trope. She effectively illustrated how true connection and love can’t be found when their is still healing to be done. The shame we carry seeks to isolate us, but when that is brought forward, we can find love that pushes us forward into the light. Ethan’s journey with addiction shows this.

While it was a great story, I am reluctant t to give it five stars because I found my self skimming through parts that felt a little unnecessary to the plot. It could have been shorter without taking away from the quality of the book.

I was given an ARC by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

4/5 ⭐️

This book was really great in the first half, but sort of fell flat in the second half.

I liked that it was REAL, and there were real struggles and people capable of actually feeling things and communicating. The female MC was strong and relatable, and the male MC was sweet and considerate of others- even as he struggled with alcoholism.

I wish the fake-dating trope had been drawn out just a bit longer, but I can see why it wasn’t to draw out the plot. I throughly enjoyed the time jump towards the end, it really wrapped up the couples story and the struggles they endured to work on themselves. I also really enjoyed the epilogue and how it was written.

TW: Alcoholism/addiction, non-consensual exploitation of sexual photos, child abuse, loss of a loved one, and drug use. 18+ content.

4.5/5 Thank you Random House Publishing Group and netgalley for the arc!!! I loved it! It was really entertaining and the relationship was somehow complicated and I love that lmao! I love the fake dating trope and this was great! It dealt really well with serious topics like addiction(alcoholism) and grief. It was really amazing to see their journey together and them getting over their problems :D Really recommend!!

Overall, I didn't really enjoy this book. It took me a while to read through for this reason. I discovered that celebrity romance stories really aren't something I enjoy reading about. I wasn't a fan of the writing style or certain happenings in the novel. However, my enjoyment was more in regards to my own personal tastes in stories. Once I finished, I felt like the negatives and the positives really just balanced out. I don't have very strong opinions on it. It just wasn't my favorite.

How to Fake It in Hollywood - 3.5⭐️

Ethan Atkins is a has-been heartthrob who is still struggling with the loss of his friend & acting partner and looking to revive his career. Grey Brooks just finished a good run as a lead actress on a teen soap-y drama and is looking for her next job. When they get thrown together for the good of both their careers what seemed to only be for the fans & news turns a bit real. This book was so fun with some of my favorite tropes: fake dating, movie stars, age gap romance and even weekend getaway with one bed. It also dealt with some tough topics like grief & loss as well as struggles with alcohol/drugs. This one is pretty steamy but also swoony & sweet.

While I enjoyed this one a lot, I didn’t absolutely love it. It was a bit steamier for my liking & felt like the story went on a bit longer than I would have liked. However if you’re a fan of fake dating & Hollywood I think you’ll like this book a lot. Huge thanks to NetGalley & Random House for the e-arc.

This book! Not gonna lie, it wasn't what i expected but i mean that in a good way! This book is a lot deeper and a little darker than you would expect based on the cover but i was obsessed. I absolutely loved this book. This book gives us top tier fake dating and obvi, falling in love. This book dealt with grief and addiction in a really great way in my personal opinion. I liked how Grey and Ethan were so different but worked so well together. They were such a great couple. I could not put this book down and found myself staying up way too late just to keep reading it. I think people will enjoy this a lot but just go into it with the warning that it deals with grief and addiction and is not just a happy fluffy romance! It is wonderful still and could easily be a 2022 favorite.

How To Fake It In Hollywood by Ava Wilder was a great read full of witty banter and rollercoaster of emotions. I usually am not much of a fan of fake relationships, but Grey and Ethan's chemistry had me from the get go. I highly enjoyed this story, it had it's fun but there that a lot of deeper issues and emotions this novel dived into. I would highly recommend this novel, thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I tried to give myself as little expectations as possible going into this book, simply because the PR fake dating trope can be such a hit or miss. But I was only a few chapters in and I knew this one was going to be a hit. From the start, seeing how strong Grey is as a leading character was fantastic. She may have been someone lower in the totem pole when it comes to Hollywood stars, but she knew she wasn’t going to let herself be walked all over - something we got to see first hand during her first meeting with Ethan.
And I really enjoyed that Ethan wasn’t the stereotypical Hollywood Actor in the sense that he knew he had his own issues and knew he had to work on himself, instead of just having a huge ego and blaming the world around him.
Their relationship was such a rollercoaster that had me laughing with their witty banter one minute, and crying with all their emotions the next. But it was such a breath of fresh air seeing the healthy way their relationship grew and flourished at the end, because it wasn’t the way I as a reader hoped for, but one that I really loved and think needs to be seen more. I am just obsessed with this book, the writing was amazing and it was so descriptive it felt like I was watching a movie play out in my head, and I cant wait for everyone to get to read this gem and love Grey and Ethan as much as I do.

Normally the fake relationship trope doesn’t do it for me, but this one hit right! The characters were well written. Even though they were celebrities, it didn’t feel like I was reading about “rich people problems.” However, I do wish Ethan’s alcohol problems would have been addressed more fully, and the impact his use had on Grey (she began drinking more, etc). Overall, though, a really great piece of storytelling.

Thank you to Random House for providing this ARC via NetGalley.

Triggers: drug and alcohol use/abuse (current and former), parental neglect, past death of a friend, divorce

Wow! With HOW TO FAKE IT IN HOLLYWOOD, Ava Wilder has crafted a heartfelt, steamy debut that is simply unputdownable. While Grey and Ethan's relationship starts as just a publicity stunt, we easily fall in love with their intoxicating chemistry and charisma as their romance turns from contractual obligation to something genuine and real. They see their flaws reflected back in each other (fear of commitment, fear of failure) but they also see the promise and potential to become the best versions of themselves. Wilder's prose is sharp and sparkling as she takes the readers on a ride of every emotion on the gamut. While the chapters fly in Ethan and Grey's flirtatious phase, it's when they scratch the surface and allow themselves to face the harsh repercussions of trauma that Wilder's writing really shines. While I devoured this over the course of two sittings, I know this story will live in my bones for many years to come.

Fake Dating: ✔️
Spice: ✔️
Age Gap: ✔️
Insta Connection: ✔️
Queer Rep: ✔️
Lyrical Descriptions: ✔️

If I’m going by my checklist this book just about has it all (and it has a few more even better surprises in store). This book was really beautifully written and I loved the way this author painted the story out. I’ll admit; I was expecting one thing out of this book and I got something completely different and I love this book for defying my assumption and delivering something unique in the romance community. At least for me personally I’ve never read a book quite like this one.

Grey is a very witty and immediately likable heroine. Ethan is a little rougher around the edges and in my opinion took a little more time for me to warm up to him. But these two characters were instantly intrigued by the other. He saw a fierceness and drive in her, she saw a man who had once been her youth crush in need of companionship. Together they overcame their differences and were able to find common ground and grow to have feelings for the other person.

This book isn’t like the typical romances that I am usually drawn to. This book doesn’t end when the couple decides to get together and fall in love. It shows how peoples insecurities and flaws are still there even when love is apart of the relationship. It was actually like a breath of fresh air when I realized this book was taking a different approach. This isn’t your typical “happily ever after” romance that ends with a swooping declaration of love after Character A miscommunicates with Character B. This touches on alcoholism and feels like a more genuine love story. Everything doesn’t get waved away by a magic wand when the characters fall desperately in love. And that right there is what makes this story so realistic and why I enjoyed my read so much.

I am not usually a "famous people problems book" reader, but I devoured this one. It was so wonderfully written. I had to force myself to put it down a few times so it didn't end too quickly. The characters were well-developed and I rooted for them both separately—and together, as a couple. Absolutely gorgeous writing. Each line, each word, was written with purpose. Loved the banter, the dialogue felt real and natural.

CW/TW details: This book tackled some pretty heavy topics (addiction/alcoholism, loss/death, grief) so I was concerned going in due to the state of, well... everything. But it was done in a respectful, realistic way rather than resolving everything with love-turned-magic-wand.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, but I'm definitely pre-ordering this one so I have a physical copy when it releases in June 2022.

I absolutely loved How To Fake It In Hollywood by Ava Wilder! I love celebrity/Hollywood stories and I loved that this book was different than all the other stories in this category because it provided a very honest and raw look into the personal struggles of celebrities. I usually have such a hard time getting into third person POV novels, but Grey and Ethan's fake dating publicity stunt to love story had me hooked. I really enjoyed that this wasn't your average rom-com and that it explored the darker side of Hollywood while still having a compelling romantic arc. I liked the very honest portrayal of Ethan's grief and addiction and how the glitz and glamour of Hollwood isn't always what it's cracked up to be. At first Ethan was a very unlikeable grump, but when matched with Grey's sunshine personality, their banter was very entertaining to read. My only issue was that I thought that the characters acted on their attraction to each other quite quickly in the novel.. Overall, I thought this was a wonderfully written debut and would recommend this book to all romance lovers. I'm very excited to read all of Ava Wilder's future books.
Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group- Ballantine Books for providing me with an ARC of How To Fake It In Hollywood in exchange for an honest review. This review will be posted on Goodreads/Amazon upon publication of the book.

This was a light and fun read that reminded me of All the romcoms I like to watch. The characters developed nicely throughout the book and I just thought it was east to read.

This was a really fun, meaty romance novel that tackled complex topics in a deeper way than I was expecting. And so many fun tropes that I love to see when I read romance! The ending was absolutely perfect as well - of course we read romance novels in part for the predictable endings, but what Wilder does here is really special and actually had me in tears. 4.5 stars.

I received an early release copy thanks to NetGalley.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4491851364?book_show_action=false