Thank you to UpLitReads and Libro.Fm for the finished & ALC copies!

I really enjoyed this one. Because of #bookstagram, I very much enjoy stories about social media and an online presence.

This book is also a stark reminder that we shouldn't be so connected to our phones all of the time.

While the cover might look like a romcom, this was more about a woman's journey to really find herself, rather than a partner. There is some romance, but it's not the primary focus. Instead, it's centered more around Cat's journey in a totally new place, well outside of her comfort zone.

There is a grumpy male lead, a bit of a small town feel, a beautiful setting, and very lovable characters, too. I really enjoyed this book!

3.75 stars. Thanks to Netgalley and Thomas Nelson Fiction for the E-ARC. "I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own." I loved how the story follows Cat as she falls from the glory of being famous for being a Internet Influencer and ends up in in the middle of nowhere. I loved how this showed the "realness" behind what it feels like to post a picture and to be so drawn into whether people like it or not. This story more than anything was the journey of Cat and how she found her true self when the likes, comments, and follows take a turn for the worst and I loved it.

I have never read a book where the protagonist was an influencer before, and that is what initially drew me to this book. I enjoyed seeing how Cat navigates the world and her struggles to discover who she is when all the clout has been removed.

Often, “city girl down on her luck” is a trope that doesn’t work for me, but in this case, it did. Cat hasn’t always been a privileged influencer, and even if she works hard to hide her past, it’s left her with a resiliency that serves her well in her new surroundings. I liked seeing her surprise herself and her new found family with what she’s capable of.

Speaking of her found family, the side characters in this book are great! I loved seeing Cat get to know her park ranger friends and how each of them has a bit more nuance than she initially expects.

The romance is a cute grumpy/sunshine-esque vibe, with a bit of a slow burn that I enjoyed. Zaiah and Cat have some adorable banter and chemistry. That said, if you’re looking for spice, this isn’t going to be the book for you. I did also feel that things moved a bit quickly once they admitted their feelings, and that the book in general wrapped up in a neat little bow surprisingly fast. But then, I feel I am always saying that about books these days.

One last thing I want to share, which may be a bit spoiler-ish, so here is your warning to skip this if you don’t want mild spoilers. I really liked how, while the book does grapple with how socia media can be an addiction, Cat didn’t have to give up her influencer career and change in order to find her happy ending. She found a bit more balance, but she kept doing the job she loved and was good at.

Spoiler-ish bit over.

In all, I really enjoyed Famous for a Living. I recommend it to fans of rom-coms, in particular the grumpy/sunshine trope, and to those who enjoy a story about women who uproot their lives and learn about themselves along the way. Famous for a Living comes out this Tuesday, May 16th.

The description of this book sounds like a romance but it really reads to me like women's lit with a touch of romance. I honestly could have done without the romance storyline and just had the story of the main character finding herself. The romance plot wasn't really believable to me. I did enjoy this book and the reminder to put down the phone and enjoy life. 3 stars

This was my first Melissa Ferguson read, though I’ve picked up several others from a great Chirp sale. Hoping the others are a bit more exciting and mature feeling!

This one is about Cat, who has been a social media influencer her entire adult life - and has been good at it. She signed off on a new contract with a friend without getting her lawyer to read it over, knowing she was being hasty. Of course, the decision came back to haunt her, very quickly. Her only relative came to her rescue and she moved from NYC where she’d become PNG (persona non grata), to a national park where he was a ranger. She and her new nature friends live a completely different existence from what she knew, but they are relying on her experience to help bring more visitors in to save the national park.

Cat and ranger Zaiah, who met once before in the city, have a rocky start but form a friendship. It’s a very slow burn, clean (kissing only) romance between the two in a complete opposites attract romance. A lot of very interesting things Cat lives through in her new environment. It’s a definite character growth story - I found it to be quite a slow paced story and found my attention wandering quite a bit. This is why I wasn’t able to rate it higher - I was looking forward to this one and had higher hopes… the character of Cat was extremely immature and self-centered at the start and while she did have the character growth, she was still not a very likable character at the end. 3.5-stars, rounded up to 4.

Audio- narrated by David Talon, who did a pretty good job. Not a voice I have heard before.

I received an advance review and listen copy from NetGalley and Thomas Nelson, and this is my honest feedback.

As soon as I read the back cover synopsis for Famous for a Living, I knew it had the potential to be a book I would love. I loved the idea of a heroine who runs away to a small national park and finds love along the way. Outdoorsy settings are some of my favorites, and I was eager to jump in. While I enjoyed it, Famous for a Living fell short for me in a few places and my overall feelings upon finishing were rather lukewarm and “meh”.

This is a not the national park rom-com I was looking for. There’s a little wit and a little romance, but I think it would better serve the author and the book itself if Famous for a Living were marketed as women’s fiction. People looking for a romance will be disappointed. There’s inklings of a romance and some small flirtations here and there, but the romance doesn’t have much of a focus until the last 20ish% of the book. Because of this, I didn’t feel any chemistry with the main couple once they did finally decide to pursue a relationship. There was no time spent developing the romantic aspects of the story or even really allowing the characters time to get to know one another. More focus is placed on Cat’s journey of discovering that there’s more to life than social media, setting your phone aside, and living life in the moment. This is a great lesson to learn, but it’s one I didn’t personally need. I’m not on social media much and have never bought into the idea of influencers, social media celebrities, viral videos, sponsored posts, etc. I just follow my friends. I’ve never felt a person’s follower count determines how important their views and opinions are, and I’m not more likely to believe in something or buy something because a stranger on the Internet told me to. When I was first pitched Famous for a Living, I didn’t realize how much of an emphasis would be placed on social media so that was disappointing. It felt ranty and preachy at times.

I loved the idea of the setting, but I wanted so much more from it. I wanted more descriptions and for the place to feel special. I really liked Mina (Cat’s roommate), but I think she’s the only I cared about. I appreciated Cat’s willingness to try and find balance in her life, but I didn’t like her from the moment I met her. She is completely out of touch with reality, and I feel like she only learned something because she was put in the most ideal situation to do so. She went from being a famous social media influencer to… still being on social media. She’s super insecure and I just never connected with or felt bad for her. Her development throughout the book was weak as well. Zaiah never felt like a main character to me, and his backstory was meh. He’s pretty bland and boring, and faded into the background of the rest of the characters for me. I also didn’t love the writing style. There’s lots of short, choppy sentences and nothing was written in a way that grabbed me and made me want to continue flowing through the pages. Reading this was a chore.

All in all, this was a miss for me. I enjoyed Mina’s character, but other than that I didn’t enjoy Famous for a Living and will not be recommending it as a romance. If you’re looking for a women’s fiction title about an influencer on a journey of self-discovery you might like this, but be prepared to be inundated with talk of social media.

I received a Netgalley ARC of this book in return for my honest review. In all honesty, I was prepared to not care for this story very much since I had just read another book with the exact same trope; misunderstood influencer with a heart of gold and the small town grump. Also, the sentence structure is rough. I found myself rereading sentences often to understand them. But as this is an ARC I can let that go. One other minor complaint is the male leads name. I just wasn't sure how to pronounce it and it's annoying. Having said all that I did end up liking ALL the characters very much and definitely found myself rooting for them. All in all, a very cozy little romance.

Read if you like:
🏔️ National park setting
🏔️ Outdoor adventures
🏔️ Self discovery
🏔️Social media influencer
🏔️Slow burn
🏔️ Closed door romance

This was a cute chick lit book that was able to dig a little deeper. The romance is a slow burn and i would say an add on to the true message of this book. This story follows Cat Cranwell a social media influencer with millions of followers. When a business deal goes wrong she is forced to step away from social media to take a break from the world and away from paparazzi.

Cat goes to help her uncle in Montana to get away from the social world and soon starts to understand the importance of human connection and living in the moment. It was a a good reminder how social media can be addicting and how important healthy boundaries are in terms of social media.

Thank you NetGalley, BookSparks, and Libro.fm for allowing me an early access immersive read!

Famous for a Living was a fun read with serious undertones. I want to thank Thomas Nelson and Libro FM for granting me access to this title.

I really enjoyed this one as an audiobook. I listened to it while traveling between various schools on a Monday and it was a great pick me up. I don't often spend my day in the car, but I was in the car so much and this book kept me wanting to listen to more.

Cat's life is falling apart. Her business partner is accused of financial fraud and in an effort to decrease her face being splashed in the tabloids, Cat agrees to visit her uncle in Kannery National Park. This social media influencer isn't used to be offline, but here she is forced to rethink her trajectory.

I have to say, I liked Cat's character. I thought she was good-hearted. I haven't seen that often in books I've been reading recently. She's also genuinely feeling at odds with herself. Her role working for her uncle takes on new dimensions that align with her skillset and her creativity takes off in many ways. However, that doesn't mean everyone is excited for this city slicker to be there. Zaiah, the park ranger loves nature and being off the grid so Cat is by far the most irritating human who enters his space unwelcome.

I liked this book. I wouldn't say I loved it. When I finished it, I actually thought it was just a nice book, but over the last two weeks, I've been thinking about the book a lot. I read this and within a week read Seven Rules For Breaking Hearts by Kristyn J. Miller and really enjoyed the social media/ influencer themes between these two books. It's caused a lot of good thinking for me. Sometimes, the beauty in a book is what it leaves with you long after you've closed it and in this case Melissa Ferguson has done just that.

Cat Cranwell is a social media influencer on the cusp of loosing everything she has spent years trying to build. In need of cheering up and trying to stay under the radar she moves to a small National Park in Montana to live with her uncle, whose a park ranger, and help save the park.

Famous of a Living was breezy and cute and entirely predictable. More than an innocent romance this book discusses how social media affects everyone’s lives, in both a positive but often negative way.

Thank you Thomas-Nelson and Netgalley for the eARC copy.

I would not necessarily call this a romance. I feel like it was more of a book about Cat and her journey through life with a little romance thrown in kind of. One thing that really put me off about this book was the technology shaming. It felt very judgy.

Thank you to Net Galley and Thomas Nelson for an advanced copy of Famous For a Living in exchange for an honest review.

It took me a few chapters to get into this book. I was a little bored in the first 1/3 of the book but it got better as I better understood Cat and came to sympathize with her. I did not find her likable at the beginning but as she realizes that she has a real addiction to social media, you come to care for her.

Overall, I found it an OK book. I think classifying it as a romance or rom-com is wrong. It is more a contemporary fiction with a little romance (the romance between Cat and Zaiah didn't feel strong to me; it needed more tension). The romance does not drive this book. It is an aspect to Cat's journey but her self-realization can stand on its own without the romance. This book has an important message and it provides a good introduction to the dangers of social media. It can push it further but then that would take away from the relative light-heartedness of the book. I felt torn about this book because of it. On the one hand, it has a strong message but on the other, it is a rather superficial coverage of a real addiction. The conclusion felt a bit too...tidy. I wanted Cat to have more agency with her exonaration, especially as she is realizing that there is a life beyond social media. She takes charge of her situation and life except for that part, which was frustrating.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This big was cute but I found it leaking quite a bit in the romance department. I liked the two that got together but i wasn't too invested in their relationship - I wish it went deeper. I liked the change the MCF made from her time in Montana. I wish we got more of Mina as she was my favorite character.

It did really make me think about how much time I spend on my phone and it really made me appreciate what I do with Instagram and that I never want to turn it into a business... Just too much work and time.

4/5 🌟🌲💖

“How long has your ridiculous coat been broken?” 😭😭😭😭🥲🥲🥲🥲

Famous for a Living is a women’s fiction novel about finding rest and community in even the toughest of times. I received an e-arc from Net Gallery in exchange for my full, honest review!

I am always cautious in my reading selections when it comes to books about influencers or the used of social media. I tend to stay away from books that depict apps like Instagram or Snapchat, but Melissa Ferguson represents the struggles and triumphs of social media so well. This story was so beautifully crafted. The scenery and characters developed made me feel as if I was part of their little community/family too! I loved how the beginning of each chapter had pictures to show how Cat was updating the world on her life and how it changed throughout the course of the story.

As far as romance goes, I would consider it a subplot. While I loved Cat and Zaiah together, I was pulled into the plot by the imagery and Cat’s personal story. This book is perfect for any Christian reader who would love to read a clean, comfy, and fun romance! (There are no religious aspects to the story, but I figured there wouldn’t be going into it.)

Overall, I really enjoyed Ferguson’s writing style and I’m excited to read + see more of her!

Pinterest Board for the Book :)))
https://www.pinterest.com/victoriadamian2/famous-for-a-living/

Thank-you to the publisher, Net Galley, and the author for an ARC. I enjoyed this story. It's a sweet rom com and if you like rom coms -this is a great book.
It features Cat and Z. Cat is a social media influencer that gets duped and moves to Montana. Her Uncle offers her a job to help run the social media account of the National Park he runs.
Cat has some adventures figuring out Montana life and along the way Z (my nickname for Zariah) is there to help her navigate Montana life.
It features some fun side characters. The only negative thing is I felt the ending was a bit rushed . I wish it would've given a little more into things. Overall, it's an easy and fun read.

This book was a miss for me. I loved the concept – a New York influencer gets in trouble with an app partnership and she’s basically cancelled and flees to a small national park in Montana, run by her uncle, to get away from the scandal, where she falls for a guy that’s as far removed from social media as possible. I honestly have such a fascination with influencer culture – like the operational aspects of it – that I really had high hopes for this book. But unfortunately, it fell flat.
I would have loved more background on Cat’s life as an influencer, and also on the scandal that caused her to leave town. We also don’t really get any background for her close relationship with her uncle in Montana, nor does it actually seem like such a close relationship.
I didn’t really love the way it was written, to be honest. It feels very stream of consciousness and like the reader is in Cat’s head. Which if you like that style of writing, you would probably like this book better. But it felt like we didn’t get a lot about the events that were happening, just Cat’s thoughts.
This book was a slow burn in the sense that we don’t really start to understand things until closer to the end – such as why Zaiah hates Cat so much to start with. To me, for most of the book, it seemed ridiculous that he hated her just for being from NYC, when she was clearly trying her best to make the most of the situation that was so different from her regular life. Another example is that we know Cat needs to help attract more visitors to the park, but we don’t get a lot of details on how she’s doing that.
The best part of the book was definitely Mina and Serena. I really enjoyed both of their characters.
I think this book is more of a cautionary tale about what happens when you get too caught up in social media and being attached to your phone. It’s a good lesson for everyone to stop and think about from time to time.

Read if you like:
✈️ The Tourist Attraction
📱Lessons on Media Consumption
🏘️ Small Town Settings
🧔🏻‍♂️ Small town MMC
💃🏼 Big City FMC
♥️ Romance

This book truly is about Cat learning what is truly important in life as she is in a small town setting after a mess up with her influencer status on social media that results in a huge loss of followers.

When this happens it kicks off our plot for her to end up in a small town working there to truly start to learn what is important in life.

While then there is a love interest and romance plot between Cat and Zaiah truly this isn’t the forefront of the book and more of a women’s fiction.

Thank you to the publisher for my ARC of this one in exchange for my review!

This is the first Melissa Ferguson book that have read and I must admit that I enjoyed it, I wouldn't class it as a romance, it is more than that, it is one girl learning what is important in life, the author has tackled a subject that is very relevant and of the time.
Cat Cranwell loves New York, she loves the hustle and bustle, she loves her life as an influencer, big companies pay her big bucks to showcase their products to her millions of followers, she lives a film star lifestyle in a beautiful apartment until............. her world crumbles, a deal goes badly wrong and Cat is blamed, big companies and even small ones don't want to be associated with her anymore, her followers, apart from a few stoic ones, drop her. Cat is thrown a lifeline by her only living relative, her Uncle Tony. Uncle Tony is a Park Ranger and along with his small, but dedicated, team, runs Kennary National Park in Montana, he hires Cat to turn the parks fortunes, to use her media skills to attract customers and prevent Kennary being absorbed by Glacier National Park.
The love interest is ruggedly handsome, outdoor loving Zaiah Hudson, her uncle's second in command, but it is a slow burner, he teaches Cat to appreciate the beauty of Montana but he can't keep her away from her phone. Zaiah is attracted to Cat but he has his own deep reasons for not liking what she does.
This story will ring alarm bells with many people, people who constantly check how many followers they have gained, how many likes they have obtained, people who can't sit through a meal without having one last scroll through their media account, people who can't miss an opportunity for a selfie.
A well written , enjoyable story. I received a free copy of this book and my review is voluntary.

This book delivered on all my expectations. Reinventing yourself? Epic best friend? Check. Handsome bearded man? Check. Found family? Check. Laugh out loud moments? Check. I could go on, but I digress. The story was full of heart. I smiled through the majority of it. And bonus points to the author because now I know never to get too close to a Moose! The author did a fantastic job showing the MC’s growth in an organic way. Nothing felt forced or rushed. And that epilogue was the cherry on top! I love when we get a glimpse into the future that is done well and adds more depth to the story. Can’t wait to see what Melissa Ferguson published next!

This was a really good book about an influencer realizing what is truly meant for her in life with a touch of romance and a dash of comedy and a helluva lot of good people with hearts of gold.

Total opposites, it isn't hard to believe that Cat and Zaiah keep finding differences in their opinions. He's an off the grid kind of guy, and she Instagrams every moment of her life. After getting in a bit of trouble in the spotlight, Cat heads to her uncle's park and uses her social media knowledge to try to help the park. Her and Zaiah are also slowly falling in love--this was a very slow burn, like a "holy crap, can they please at least flirt a little bit" type of slow burn. The romance was definitely on the backburner as I think Cat's journey of self-discovery took the driver's seat most of the time... But the whole vegan chili was damn cute. The romance was in the little things like how Zaiah always knew what Cat needed and was always there for her. Adorable.

And the side characters were chef's kiss. I really loved how they all had a family-like bond towards the end.

I enjoyed this one. It was a cute, wholesome read. I recommend!