Marlowe always wanted to be a costume designer. After an unsuccessful stint in New York and a bad relationship, she moves to L.A. to escape her failed career and failed love life. She works a PA for a set stylist and helps arrange costume for the shows filmed on the set. She's not exactly a costume designer but she figures this is close enough. Plagued by texts from her ex, she is pushed into being an extra on a famous show because of a costuming mistake. She is set across Angus who she thinks is a vapid movie star and who she doesn't initially think very highly of. As her on-screen chemistry with Angus is altered, so is their real-life relationship in that she realizes that there is more to Angus that she thought and that you shouldn't believe everything that the tabloids publish.

Quick adorable read. I liked Angus and Marlowe story. It was a fast read and enjoyed the happily ever after.

What a perfect romance!! This novel was everything I wanted and then some! Marlow and Angus were two perfectly developed characters with the most wonderful story arc. They were both so real and down to earth that it almost felt as if I were reading about my own friends, rather than two fictional characters. There was just the right amount of steam that added to the overall experience. I thought Cherry was a wonderful supporting character and I would love to see a second book written about her love life. I think the author did a fanatic job of providing witty banter between Marlow and Angus, without going overboard on the sarcasm or meanness. I also thought the back and forth relationship status of the two was wonderfully written. They spent the majority of time getting to know one another and finding their love, rather than getting together, breaking up. etc. I also really appreciated Marlowe's backstory with her ex fiancé and appreciated that it didn't overshadow her experience with Angus.

Overall, I thought this book was the perfect mix of humor, sweetness, and steam. I will 100% read whatever Jacqueline Firkins puts out next!

Marlowe Banks, Redesigned by Jacqueline Firkins is a romantic comedy that follows Marlowe as she escapes to LA to be a production assistant after her design business failed and she broke up with her fiancée. Marlowe's position is full of menial tasks but she gladly completes them while figuring out her next steps.

Angus Gordon, the lead actor on the show Marlowe is working on, has a bad boy reputation. When there is a costume mix-up, Marlowe is cast as a minor role since she is the only person the costume would fit. When the camera catches Agnus giving Marlow a very smoldering look, social media blows up wanting to "ship" the two. The producers expand Marlowe's role to give the viewers what they want. Will working together be a nightmare or will Marlowe and Angus realize there is more than surface reputations?

There were snarky comments, Marlowe's boss reminded me of The Devil Wears Prada and I appreciated Marlowe's character working through her issues of self-doubt. It was an enjoyable read.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Jacqueline Firkins for an ARC of this book!

Love a celebrity romance story! Such a fun story and I enjoyed it. Good if you enjoy a slower burn build up of tension. Definitely recommend!

Thanks to SMP for the ARC!

CW: emotional abuse, toxic relationship, body shaming, bullying

Thank you @smpromance and @netgalley for the digital ARC.

Marlowe Banks recently ditched her costuming job in New York and moved across the country to LA to be a production assistant to the costume designer for a hit TV show. This TV show also happens to star Marlowe’s longtime celebrity crush, Angus Gordon.

When a costume mix-up has Marlowe stand-in for an actress, and a look between Angus’s character and Marlowe’s has the internet all abuzz, Marlowe and Angus are forced to work together. Sparks fly off the screen and Marlowe is subjected to social media criticisms and assumptions galore from Angus’s fan base. Can Marlowe put up with all the online chatter? Or will she lose the guy to save herself from it all?

Y’all….this book was such a surprise. I went in essentially blind, despite having read the synopsis when I requested the ARC, and I really enjoyed it. I mean, who doesn’t love a celebrity romance book!?! Always a fun romance trope!! Plus, I started viewing costumes in shows and movies differently - I never really considered them to play such a big role in telling the story depicted on screen, but it makes perfect sense!

There is often a tension between our desires for a vocation and our desires for romance. When Marlowe Banks ends her engagement, the options for her future are increased. No longer tied to New York City, Marlowe moves to sunny California and gets an entry level job as a production assistant. Jacqueline Firkins develops Marlowe as the hero of her story and introduces the love interest as a supporting character. The roadblocks for Marlowe's success in work, in life and in love were vast and I found myself rooting for her throughout.

This was a great adult contemporary book, that I would definitely recommend reading!

I received an e-ARC from the publisher.

Being mortified by a bad review of her costume designs in New York, Marlowe decides to try her luck in LA. Unfortunately, she cannot find a job at the level she should be at and settles for a rather menial job with a nightmare boss. Not only is she not designing, but she is running errand, taking care of her boss’s dog, etc. She also is not enamored with the male star of the series. There is a snafu on set and Marlowe winds up acting on the show. She was supposed to just do a bit for one show, but the chemistry with the star was obvious to everyone and she had to continue in the role. As they finally got to know each other, Marlowe found that he was not the person she had imagined him to be. Things are going well, then she gets an opportunity to go back to New York for a dream job. What will she choose?

Also posted on B&LN under 1IrishEyes430 and Kobo under IrishEyes430

After ending her engagement and looking for a fresh start, Marlowe moves to LA to work as a PA on a hit tv show and when a costume emergency happens, Marlowe steps in as a background actor and the chemistry between her and the lead takes the fans by storm. Marlowe and the show lead, Angus, butt heads from the get go but eventually they learn they are more alike than they thought and the chemistry between them isn’t just for show.

I really liked the friendship Marlowe and Angus formed and the natural build of their relationship from friends to more. Angus is a sweetheart and is rightfully guarded but he let down his walls for Marlowe because he saw something real in her. The growth Marlowe had was so good for her character arc. Their chemistry is great and they really balance each other out. Great debut read and such a fun read!


Thank you @stmartinspress and @netgalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

This was such a wonderful romcom! Full of fantastic characters and lol moments for me while reading. This one is truly met & fulfilled all of my expectations a great read I definitely recommend this one & look forward to reading more books by the author.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for an ARC of this book. All opinions in this review are my own.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was so cute and it was different than a lot of other books I have read recently. It gave me Devil Wears Prada vibes in the best way. It was fun to read a book about the behind the scenes of a tv show from the perspective of tech, specifically costuming, as opposed to actors since that is usually what books are about. The interactions between Marlowe and Angus were fantastic, and the growth in their relationship was realistic and enjoyable. I think the representation of past trauma relating to putting yourself out there (work & relationships) was really well done and it was emotional & sweet, and handled with great care. I would happily read another book Jacqueline writes in this series, or just in general. This was a great read and I definitely recommend it.

What a fun read. I couldn’t help but adore and root for Marlowe from the first chapter. The writing is brilliant, funny, irreverent and drew me in from chapter 1. Marlowe isn’t living her best life right now. She’s working at a job she is woefully overqualified for and rewarded by being treated like the stuff she picks up after as she is forced to be a dog walker as a part of her job as a production assistant on a very popular TV show. She is there to help out her friend and those student loans are past due so she sucks it up all while knowing how disappointed her parents are and now trying to find her way and finally feel good about who she is. This is great hate to love trope that now has me going to see what else this wonderfully talented author has written.

This celebrity romance follows Marlowe and Angus. Marlowe is a production assistant on a popular TV show starring Angus. Marlowe ended up in LA after her latest costume show in NYC was shredded by critics and she ended her engagement. She's now content to exist behind the scenes as she tries to figure out her next move. But when a wardrobe mix-up causes Marlowe to be in a scene of the show, the cameras (and audience) catch something between Marlowe and Angus. As the two work together more, they both realize they have more to offer than what you first see. Overall, I liked this read but it didn't quite hit the spot for me. On NetGalley, it is listed as romance/women's fiction and I do think that is an appropriate listing. This is a story with a full romance plot arc and there is 100% a HEA for the couple. However, it felt to me more like Marlowe's story of finding herself again and that just so happened to include a romance with Angus rather than this being a story about Marlowe and Angus's romance. This is also only told through Marlowe's POV which, again, makes it feel more like her story. All that aside, I did enjoy the building of Angus and Marlowe's relationship and how much fun they were together. I'm a bit of a hard sell on celebrity romances because of the inevitable conflict of one person being more ok with being in the public eye than the other but I think this one really worked that balance out well. The conflict, as well as the resolution, felt natural to the characters and that made all the difference. Angus was such an interesting character, I really wish we would have gotten his POV more. I loved Marlowe's character and think Firkins finds the balance well between quirky character and over-the-top caricature.

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the ARC

Publication date was October 25, 2022

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced review copy of “Marlowe Banks Redesigned” by Jacqueline Firkins. Thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was a fun read! Marlowe Banks works as a PA for a television show. She finds herself in front of the camera filling in as a waitress when significant eye contact happens between herself and one of the actor’s Angus Gordon. Sure she’s actually thinking about dumping coffee on him because he’s a jerk but when the Internet starts shipping the two, Marlowe’s life will never be the same.

Marlowe’s job was so interesting to me! I never would have thought of any of the details about costuming a show. There was definitely a Devil Wears Prada vibe to all of Marlowe’s tasks. But there was also a lot of empowering one another instead of women tearing each other down. I appreciated there weren’t any mean girl characters even if Marlowe’s boss was hard on her, their relationship did grow throughout the story.

The beginning tried to give enemies to loves with Marlowe and Angus but it was more of a miscommunication between them. I liked it better when their friendship started to grow. They had great banter too.

There was also an interesting plot line with Marlowe’s ex. It showed how that relationship impacted Marlowe and how she saw the world and herself. The guy was a jerk but the ways he tore Marlowe down had her questioning if she was just always overreacting which was so relatable.

Most of all, I appreciated that while Angus came off as a jerk at the beginning, this wasn’t a story of him grappling with substance abuse. I feel like most of the books I pick up with actor protagonists are too heavy for my tastes when it comes to the actor’s personal demons. While there is definitely an audience for such books, I just really appreciated that this was a lighter book in that regard. There must be lots of corruption in the entertainment industry but I liked that this book wasn’t trauma-heavy.

In conclusion, I enjoyed this book a lot and will read more from this author.

4/5 stars

REVIEW FOR MARLOWE BANKS, REDESIGNED

4 stars

Thank you to Netgalley, SMPRomance, and Jacqueline Firkins for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was very refreshing! At first I wasn't sure how I would like it, because Marlowe seemed very "woe is me" and I don't tend to relate to those characters much. However, her story arc was so beautiful and I couldn't put the book down!

I loved the relationship between Marlowe and Angus. I'm a sucker for Hollywood stories (I just love the glitz and glam) and so to show the softer, more vulnerable side of being a celebrity was nice to see. I thought the supporting cast was great and loved the direction the story went in.

Things I enjoyed-
- Marlowe's and Angus' chemistry
- The friends they had in LA

What I didn't like-
- Marlowe at first; she seemed kind of like a wet noodle
- Marlowe's ex and him being emotionally and mentally abusive

Overall, solid read that I enjoyed with a great mix of everything you'd want in a romcom

This book was such a fun look at the behind the scenes look into a hit show and had such a powerful message about not judging someone by what you see on their social media. This was a great slow burn romance between Marlow and Angus, with a mix of friends to lovers.

I liked the premise of this book. Marlowe is a mid-late 20-something costume designer fresh off professional and romantic disappointments in NYC who switches to LA TV production for a fresh start at something different that isn't exactly stretching her creatively. By accident, she gets pulled into a non-speaking role on set as a stand-in. The sparks fly with the hot and broody male lead. "The Look" she gives in him her brief onscreen experiences goes viral and changes her life. Thanks to this read, I learned what "eye sex" is., LOL. Hmmm, maybe what I always thought were awkward moments of eye contact were really... ah never mind, back to the review.

Anywho, Marlow gets pulled into a celebrity world she neither wanted nor prepared for and flounders around a bit with her actions and feelings. She does the same with her relationships and her career, too. With the help of her bi-coastal friends and Hollywood hunk, she figures out what she wants out of life and what she is willing to do to make it work.

Overall, I liked Marlowe as the MC as well as her supporting cast. But, I didn't quite connect personally or emotionally with the story. For someone with two degrees and a MFA from Yale, I would have expected her to be more together. She just seemed a bit young and immature for her age and educational experience, but I can only compare her to my own situation at that age. Maybe people would have called me an old sole back then.?

3.5 Stars for this easy read rom-com.

Thank you #NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

This is a fresh take on the celebrity romance trope. Marlowe works on set of a TV show as a production assistant. Angus is the bad boy, heartthrob on the TV show. After a mishap with costumes, Marlowe and Angus are forced to work closely together. Soon Marlowe finds out Angus is nothing like the character he plays on tv and sparks begin to fly.

I loved how relatable and down-to-earth the characters were. Marlowe was struggling both with money and a recent failed engagement and all she did was work to pay for her rent. Angus was an actor, but had no interest in the perks and/or limelight that were the consequences of the job. Their romance was a slow build but they had some fun banter and steamy seems along the way. It was such a feel good romance!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy.

4/5 stars

Marlowe is an excellent character and just recently got out of a relationship and moved to LA and got a new job to get away from everything.

This book is hilarious and I’d recommend it to anyone!!

Overall, I can’t wait to read more from the author in the future