I loved this book and am so glad I got a chance to read an advanced copy of Ava Wilder’s debut novel! I can’t wait for everyone else to be able to read it too and to someday (hopefully soon!) read more of her work. How to Fake it in Hollywood follows the fake dating relationship Grey Brooks embarks on with fellow actor Ethan Atkins in a publicity stunt aimed at landing Grey her next breakout project and cleaning up Ethan’s reputation to get him back in the limelight. I especially enjoyed Grey’s character and how she was portrayed as such a strong woman despite the book being a romance novel. The storyline also did a good job of delving deeper and focusing on some more serious topics as well. It is an all around great read and I had trouble putting it down.

Huge thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Hooked from the beginning.

Grey Brooks meets Ethan Atkins in their mutually shared publicists office. As a way to spark her acting career and revive his, they agree to “date” for the media coverage. His grumpy demeanor and her witty sense of humor create the perfect pairing.

Just when you think that this love story has a predictable ending, the twists and turns of this book leave you hooked. Ethan struggles with demons from his past and can’t seem to shake them. After a short period of time, you can see that his ways start to rub off on Grey.

At certain points, the story takes some dark turns. But it showcases the reality of grief and the pain of mental illness struggles along with battling addiction.

I love the aspect of a strong, assertive female not afraid to speak her mind. Their characters are so endearing that you rally for them the entire time, both individually and together.

If you love romances, rom coms, deeper stories, and raw true emotions, this is a great book for you. Truly enjoyed this!

#netgalley #arc #netgalleyreads

Thank you to NetGalley, and Dell for the ARC!

I was incredibly excited for Wilder's debut, How to Fake It in Hollywood, as it follows one of my favorite tropes — fake dating, in Hollywood. I really appreciated Wilder's commentary on Hollywood, on celebrity culture, and the way we treat celebrities. Unfortunately, insta-love/instalust isn't for me, and for that, I just struggled to connect with this book as much as I wanted to. I wish we'd slowed down a bit, and gotten to see more of Ethan and Grey's relationship (and friendship) develop, rather than jump straight into the sex scenes. Still, I'm excited to read whatever Wilder writes next, as I really did enjoy her writing style!

Now this is what a fake dating trope should look like. Two Hollywood actors - at different stages of their careers - put together to date one another as a way of attracting attention and creating hype for both. Don’t get me wrong, I got a little Tom Cruise/Katie Holmes vibe in the beginning…but there was no couch jumping. Whew!

As they grew on me and the flaws and demons became the central piece of the story, these characters came to life as did their relationship.

Excellent, fast paced read!!

This book was so good! From the beginning pages, it captured and held my attention. The characters were raw and flawed in so many ways that brought conflict to the plot. At times I wanted to shake either one or both of them to say get a grip on your life, but that’s just not how life works. It was sadly realistic to have characters with good support systems that still struggled and didn’t make the right decisions, because when it really comes down to it, changing for the better is the choice of the individual.

Individually and as a couple, Grey and Ethan had so much stacked against them. It was amazing to see how Grey would never give up and always pushed back at the boxes others and society tried to put her in. Grey and Ethan felt like they were destined to be together, but at so many points the author would pull their relationship in a direction that kept me reading.

TW included alcoholism, drug abuse, death, and divorce. Entirely possible I missed a couple, so would recommend looking it up.

Well, what a surprise!

Before we get into it - thank you to the author, publishing house, and NetGalley for this ARC.

I went into this book in need of a light-hearted romance, a typical frenemies to lovers troupe, where I thought I knew what was going to happen but wanted to be entertained along the way.

In a very welcome way, this book turned out to be so much more than that. It was light-hearted and romantic, but the depth of their characters was so much more than I was expecting. The author did an amazing job of introducing you to characters who are likeable but flawed, and who dealt with real-life issues in a way that was uncomfortable but real. She (the author) did not take the easy route in delivering Grey and Ethan’s story, and the pay-off is a 4/5* read.

Highly recommend!

Were you a fan of Emily Henry's "Beach Read" & Christina Lauren's "Unhoneymooners?" If so, you have arrived at your next hot read! Coming out in June 2022 to a bookstore near you is debut author Ava Wilder's novel "How to Fake it in Hollywood."

This is the timeless tale, that hasn't yet been overdone in literature, of a young starlet and repulsive A-list actor entering into a fake relationship - think Ali Hazelwood's "The Love Hypothesis." Grey Brooks is on a mission to stay afloat and relevant in Hollywood when she is set up with teenage heartthrob Ethan Adkins, after his high profile divorce. Adkins struggles with substance abuse, depression, and grief - so trigger warning there. This novel takes you through the the toll Hollywood takes on Ethan and Grey's emotional, physical, and mental health, as they struggle to open up to each other in their "fake dating" relationship.

Personal Review: 3/5

I enjoyed the writing style of this author, it fits in well with the Rom-Com trends of the early 2020's. The bit about Ethan's struggle with alcohol abuse and their struggle to open up to each other, felt so real. The characters were incredibly likable and well developed. I do feel like there was some chemistry missing between Grey & Ethan. The plot was prominent reminder that individuals that we put on pedestals in Hollywood, are real life people with real life struggles. For a debut author, I really enjoyed this work. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

I liked the perfectly imperfect characters and the growth that they all had to do throughout the book. Predictable in that sweet and comfortable way.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC.

I loved this book! I am an absolute sucker for famous characters. Acting, art, music, athletes, idc sign me up. I was immediately attached to Grey and Ethan. I love a damaged hero. The scenes of them talking and opening up to each other had me all in my feels. I really enjoyed the side characters as well, Kamila, Andromeda, and Nora. The romance is definitely open door.
I would absolutely recommend reading the authors TW list before you start the book. There are some pretty heavy topics and moments in the book.
I definitely liked the book and would recommend it to romance readers, especially those who like a good fame trope like me. The book comes out this summer on June 14th! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy of this book!
This will be posted on Instagram as well.

Grey Brooks is an up-and-coming 27 year old actress, famous for starring in the teen drama series, Poison Paradise, but not much else since the series finale a year ago. She needs a Hollywood-style boost in her plateauing career, and agrees to fake date the reclusive 38 year old Oscar award-winning actor Ethan Atkins, who also happens to be her teenage celeb crush.

Ethan is dealing with a TON of issues with a lot of alcohol. Five years ago, he lost his best friend in a car accident, which inflamed his already crumbling marriage, leading to a messy divorce and publicly fighting paparazzi. In short, dude needs help but isn’t looking for it in healthy places. He’s massively depressed, constantly drinking and basically not doing anything to get back to any semblance of a productive life. Fake dating a C-list actress starts out as a dumb idea he entertains to keep his publicist happy and off his back. Despite his best efforts to stay numb, everything changes when he meet Grey the first time and when she proceeds to rip him a new one for being 45 min late.

Don’t let the beautifully illustrated cover of this book fool you. If you love a celebrity fake dating romance with deep emotional character development, real angst, quick fire banter and good steamy times—as I do—this has it in spades. Bravo to Ava Wilder on her impressive debut!

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Ballantine for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

CW: alcohol and substance abuse, depression

This book is so much more than just a fluffy romance read.

The chemistry between Grey and Ethan from their first meeting is on point. The author creates characters that have emotional depth that you can't help but root for each of them as individuals and together as a couple.

Sometimes when I see a book with an illustrated cover, I find myself assuming it will be an easy beach read, but this book has something more with well developed characters and a great mix of spice and emotional connection.

This book was a one day read for me and I highly recommend it if you are in the mood for a romance!

This is a great book for what it is: a story about two actors in Hollywood trying to repair and boost their reputations by pretending to date each other.

I loved the book however it was very emotionally draining still the love story between Ethan and greybwas very well written but I would definitely worn that if your struggling with aa like me it's very triggering but I couldn't put it down

The Fake Dating troupe. Not something I would normally pick up and read. But when I read the synopsis on NetGalley I felt like I had to request it. I’M SO GLAD I DID!! Now normally when I see something about the fake dating troupe it usually has something to do with an inheritance or trying to make an ex jealous by showing up to their wedding, or a wedding they are going to be at with a date. This is definitely not the case in this book. Grey is an actress who has been working since the age of 8. Ethan is a well established and famous actor who has been out of the lime light for around 5 years. Since the death of his best friend and the falling apart of his marriage due. He has been laying low. Their agents decided it would be best for them to go into a contract for a fake dating relationship to boost their carreers. They both being reluctant decide to go ahead with it.
This book made me laugh so much. Even when they got into topics where got into serious topics and started to really learn about one another, there would always be some type of comic relief in the form of jokes or funny comments.
The growth of Ethan’s character and seeing him go through, and try to still get over, the death of his best friend from 5 years ago is still very relevant to the story and his relationship with his ex-wife and Grey. I totally will be picking up a phsyical copy of this book when it comes out so I can reread it again!

I can't even begin to tell you how much I loved this book. Right from the start I was hooked and read it in two days. Right away you get who Grey is as a character and she stays true to herself the entire way through. It was so relatable enough though you were reading about two movie stars. I can not even to begin to say how much I loved their relationship. This was beyond a 5 star read for me, would recommend this to everyone I know.

(wrote my review on goodreads aswell)

(ARC kindly provided by NetGalley in return of an honest review 🤍)

As a big fan of romance books myself this really caught my eye. I mean, look at that cover! How To Fake it in Hollywood follows Ethan and Greys story. The beginning automatically drew me in and I loved the character descriptions and build up of everyone. This was such a cute read and I couldn’t stop turning the pages. I loved the whole hollywood vibe ESPECIALLY with the fake dating (that’s one of my fave tropes)

Ava Wilder is definitely super talented!! 🤍

Omg I loved this one! I am a sucker for a fake dating trope and boy did this deliver. Fantastic writing, witty banter, a swoon worthy story. As a fan of Christina Lauren and Emily Henry I am rather picky when it comes to romance. I will definitely check out Avas other books.

This review will be published on @libraryofspooky on February 1st for my feed up to Valentine’s Day. This review is already posted on Goodreads.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the story arc in return for an honest review!

I rarely, if ever, give a romance 5 stars. This book wholeheartedly deserves it though.

How to Fake it in Hollywood is a captivating and charming romance novel. On the trope of fake dating and partly in the public eye, Grey and Ethan must navigate unknown territories that will make them uncomfortable and deeply in each other’s arms.

Grey is a d list celebrity who recently finished the wrap up on her teen drama. She hasn’t worked in a year and is yearning for her next role, to pick up the momentum on her career and her manuscript. She’s witty, cunning and alluring. The perfect protagonist to make you laugh, but also make you cry. A celebrity that’s so humble, she feels more like a friend. Also her first name is Emily, so we have something in common!

Ethan is an a list celebrity, not working on any projects for the past five years. He’s mysterious and bewitching. He’s broken and trying to pick up the pieces to see if they still fit.

This story contains the multitude about loving somebody with an addiction, it’s what I think gave this an extra star. Nobody wins when you love somebody with an addiction, it was beautifully written to reflect that. It can be hard to grasp and put into writing.

Spice level was a few scenes and I liked that! It’s nice to not read a book full of attraction to sex, a very nice love story between two celebrities that shows the good, the bad and the ugly. It’s nice to compare the book and how so much of our generation being online idolizes celebrities when they are their own people.

This book was not at all what I expected going in, and I was so pleasantly surprised! I went in thinking it would be a light rom-com, but the author delivers a fantastic love story while discussing very heavy topics (alcohol abuse, death, grief). Overall I really liked the characters and felt like this was well written! I would definitely recommend.

Thank you to the author, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, and NetGalley for providing an advance reader copy for review!

Rating: 2.5

I liked the idea of the fake relationship. I just dont think it was executed well. The characters didn't have any chemistry and there was no build up in the relationship. There also wasn't much fake relationship shenanigans happening, so that part of the book was disappointing and boring. It does deal with some serious things too (alcoholism, death of a friend) and I thought that part was well-written.