I enjoyed “Famous for a Living”. It seems pertinent in today’s society. Cat is an influencer who through no fault of her own has to leave New York and her lavish lifestyle to go to Montana in the middle of winter. She’s a bit out of place in Kannery National Park. Her uncle has hired her to help increase the attendance at the park. Since social media is her life, she quickly gets people following the Park’s website. Zaiah who also works at the park becomes close to Cat. He talked about his former girlfriend who wanted to become an influencer and also became addicted to social media. Unfortunately her addiction changed her life and as people’s lives. Cat realizes she is also addicted to social media and knows it is time to change. Throughput the book, Cat is discovering what and who are important to her.

Melissa Ferguson writes yet another sweet romance with this lovable book. The FMC is an easy-to-love and get on board with type character. You want to root for her the whole time. She needs space to figure things out and the wide open place where her uncle works just happens to fit right. Enter Zaiah. He had a sweet personality, but I just felt the characters's chemistry was lacking. This book read more like fiction with a small romance subplot and I wish there had been more romance woven throughout. Love the characters- just want more romance and pining.

Thank you to libro.fm and Thomas Nelson Publishing for my advanced listeners copy and to NetGalley for my advanced e-readers edition!

Cat Crandall is loved by millions as she displays her life on social media for all to see. But when an app partnership goes extremely wrong, she finds herself shunned from the community and losing followers by the day. When her Uncle Terry invites her to the small Kannery National Park in Montana to get out of the city, she accepts.

I thought this was a cute story. I would not classify this as a romance, maybe women's fiction? We mainly follow Cat as she settles in with her new life in Montana. I enjoyed watching her grow, learning to live a little outside the spotlight and find herself. She had a great relationship with her uncle, which I loved. As things settle down for Cat and she can return home, there is a blossom of a romance between her and Zaiah Hudson, who works for her uncle and thinks social media is the problem with the world today.

I enjoyed the characters, it was engaging and a quick listen. If you are looking for something light-hearted and fun, look no further and pick this one up.

This was a very slow burn for me. The story finally began to interest me after Cat made it to Montana and encountered Zaiah, the bearded mountain man. I was all in after that.
The main message really resonated with me about getting one’s face out of your decide and live in the real world around you, not the fake digital world of notifications, comments, and photo shopped pics.
Zaiah also learns technology doesn’t have to be verboten, if used properly and in very small doses.
The digital age is addictive and I know has altered my neurons. But like Cat finally realizes, it’s people and the real world who matter, not the perfected, curated content of a non existent world.

The cover and description sounded so promising but this one did not work for me.
Cat is a famous influencer on Instagram and when her partnership goes very wrong she needs to look for other options to pay her bills. Her uncle, who is working in a national park, is reaching out to her and asking for her social media advice. So far everything sounds very intriguing and the story gave me The Simple Wild vibes but there is not much more to it sadly.
I found Cat so annoying and superficial. Only fixated on looks and numbers. I mean it kind of is the purpose of the character but I don't see any growth in her character to be honest. I really enjoyed the people around Cat though. Her new-found friends and her uncle were very loveable and we got some funny and wholesome moments. The romance on the other hand was completely off for me. There is no banter, no tension, no build-up, no romantic moments.
The premise was so so good and this book has so much potential but it's a romcom which is lacking so much of the romance. I was missing some crucial character development and the spark between the female and male main character. I really wanted to like this book but it was not for me.

Thank you to Melissa Ferguson, Thomas Nelson Publishing and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

2 stars

So this was women's fiction with romance, which is great, but I was expecting something different... a little bit more romance focus. Instead, we got our heroine "growing up" and becoming a better person, which is also fine but not what I was expecting.
The plot was okay semi entertaining, yet it didn't hook me.
The characters felt underdeveloped, which was sad because some had a lot of potential.
Overall, I know some people will love this one, but it was just not for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Cat Cranwell is one of the biggest social media celebrities out there until a rushed decision for a joint venture lands her in the spot of the most hated woman and at risk of going to jail. To get her mind off it and some distance from the worst of it, her best friend sends her off to work with Cat's uncle in a tiny national park in the middle of Montana. She's in for a very drastic reality check that makes her look back on her life and decide what she wants her future to look like.
I love how this book mixes both a solid message about social media abuse and the best parts of a romance. You get to experience Cat going from her lowest point and doubting if she even has any worth as a person to her realizing that what strangers think on social media isn't as important as finding and being true to yourself. The fact that it also includes a slow-burn romance with a perfect guy who lets her do that exploration while being incredibly supportive is a delicious cherry on top.
It also has a ton of small-town charm and adorably quirky characters to round out Cat's character growth as she makes connections with the real people around her. Cat hanging out with the park rangers and interns and getting to live an unconnected life as she discovers a new way to live and love made for a fantastic read that was fun from beginning to end.


Very happy thanks to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson-Fiction for the great read!

Rating: ⭐⭐💫 (2.5)

I loved Meet Me in the Margins, but this one did not live up to my expectations. From the very beginning I just didn't vibe with the writing. There were so many descriptions and details, and I struggled to connect and get invested because of that. I do enjoy women's fiction, so I really don't even mind that the romance wasn't a huge focus. It really just came down to the writing style. I'm sure there are others who will like this, but unfortunately it didn't work for me.

Cat Cantrell is a social media influencer. She's entitled, spoiled and kind of annoying. She gets involved with a crooked guy and ends up getting blacklisted. She moves to Montana to help her Uncle Terry run social media for the Kannery National park. She gets to know the townspeople and a certain park ranger, Zaiah Smith. The ending of the books totally redeemed Cat being annoying. Good info about being addicted to technology.

At first the storyline was a little off putting to me but once I gave it a go I was pleased with it. I felt like the romance could have been stronger. The will they won’t they chemistry was there but we didn’t get enough romance with it.
Cute, enjoyable and lighthearted.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me a copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

I loved Meet Me in the Margins and was super super excited to be approved of another book by her.

I was a little worried this book might be a bit preachy about social media and being addicted to your phone, but that wasn't really the vibe I got. Cat was really honest and vulnerable about why she loved social media and how she got her start as an influencer. I thought the book made you think more.

I do want to say this was a lot more of a women's fiction, where our heroine learns more about herself and has a good character arc. I would have loved a bit more romance and relationship development with Cat and Zaiah.

I would rate this as a solid 3.5 stars.

I thought this was really sweet! Cat is a full time influencer who got mixed up in a bad situation, leaving her outs in the social media world. Her uncle then swoops in and offers her a job at a National Park in Montana as a social media strategist. The themes were relatable and the friendships were fun. I enjoyed Zaiah the most (because he’s sooo the opposite of everything Cat is) and the ending was speedy but cute. I think if you’re looking for a fun, quick romance read that has a small town vibe, this is for you!

I think that Melissa is a fun author! The way she made Cat have *words in her head* made it fun to understand. 100%, Cat’s best friend was my favorite character in this book because every-time she spoke I LOL’d.

I felt like the reason Zaiah was holding Cat at arms length was petty & didn’t seem realistic. I also felt like it wrapped up rather quickly than I would I liked.

This is a good clean book! No swearing or bedroom action, just a few kisses!

Favorite quote:
“Funnily enough, I realize I can go without my phone, but I draw the line at lipstick.”

Thank you to @thomasnelson and @netgalley for the complimentary ebook in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely our own.

4/5 stars

I really enjoyed this book. It was a good mix of humor, mystery, enemies to lovers and a great list of side characters!

Cat bothered me for the first part of the book but she slowly grew on me as she evolved as a character. She is a social media influencer that has something unfortunate happen with a brand deal (there isn't much detail about this). Her uncle lives near Kannery National Park and works there and offers Cat to come work as their social media employee to promote the National Park and to help her get back on her feet. Zaiah, the handsome ranger thinks social media is the problem with the world which brings some great banter between Cat and Zaiah. I loved seeing their relationship unfold and the ending was great!

I loved the unique characters, the setting and this book was fast paced.

I lost interest pretty quickly. It had all the pieces of things I usually like, social media, small town, rugged grump… but I ultimately did not look forward to reading and gave up pretty early.

CW: death of a spouse, sexual harassment, child abuse (recounted), physical injury, car accident (recounted)

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson - Fiction for providing me with a free e-ARC.

One minute, Cat Cranwell was going to be the face of the new social media platform that will take over the world. The next, Cat is almost friendless and hiding from the paparazzi after her partner was caught stealing users’ data information and is left to face the lawsuits all alone. At the encouragement of her uncle, she agrees to work at Kannery National Park as their new social media director. When the park is threatened to be absorbed and Cat finds herself getting close to her new co-workers, including ranger Zaiah, Cat has to find herself again out of the spotlight.

While I wasn’t a huge fan of this book, I do think that Famous for a Living is the right book for somebody.

My main issue with the book was Ferguson’s writing style. I don’t know what it is, but it felt like the writing was choppy and off, especially with some of the sentence structure. I first noticed this during Cat and Zaiah’s first meet cute in the city and I felt like it didn’t really flow together. From there, you get instances throughout the book of weird sentence structure, specifically a lot of one sentence paragraphs and an overuse of hyphenated words turned sentences.

Additionally, while the cast of characters were good, there were at times that the characters felt like caricatures. For me, I don’t particularly like books that are exaggerated stereotypes of some character plot device, like the chronically online character or the character that doesn’t use any technology to the point that they might be considered a hermit.

Yet, that’s not to say that there was nothing I liked about this book.

Nevertheless, this book wasn’t for me. I think if you’re looking for a more women’s fiction type of novel that’s set in a National Park and emphasizes the need to unplug, Famous for a Living might be the book for you.

My first novel from this author and I loved the premise of this, but the execution is lacking. The characters are very black and white and not very developed, which you can sort of get away with if it’s a romance, except this isn’t really a romance, it’s more of a journey of self discovery. Except that she doesn’t really grow that much - and there is a lot of heavy lifting done in not many pages at the end and you’re left with some questions about how it’s all going to work out. Not for me - although the descriptions of the park make a visit sound very appealing, if I wasn’t thousands of miles away and I’d didn’t hate the cold and hiking!

I feel bad because this isn't a bad book, I just didn't like it. I really tried but something about it just doesn't work for me. I also think this is more of a women's fiction book than it is a romance.

I received an arc through netgalley.

A Cute Romance With Forced Proximity and Rural, National Park Setting!

At the beginning of this story, I was not sure how well I liked Cat, the female main character, however I was immediately drawn to brooding personality of Zaiah. As Ferguson transports her readers from the streets of NYC to the mountains of Montana, my heart warmed to the story.

The setting totally won me over for this book! I adored the National Park setting, park ranger life and the small town vibes. Ferguson brought the gorgeous scenery to life with her vivid descriptions and I definitely enjoy her writing style. There's a bit of snark and sarcasm to her voice which is fun and entertaining. Her secondary characters are fantastic too and I couldn't help imagining Cat's uncle as Burt Reynolds in a park ranger uniform.

The romance in this story was a definite slow burn, and I wanted so much more, so much faster. Once the heat kicked up, I enjoyed the story much more. There were plenty of smile-inducing moments though that kept me turning the pages and of course, I had to know how things came together.

The balance of life in person and life online was so-so, offering a little bit of personal angst and character growth. I also struggled with Zaiah's name. It really didn't seem to fit his description or personality, but that didn't detract from the story, it was merely a personal preference.

Overall, I miss the heavy romcom feel of Ferguson's first two books with the flirty banter and tension-filled dialogue, something I thought she did really well. This book was good, especially more towards the end when the chemistry picks up, but not a favorite.

Content Note: Clean, PG

*I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary e-copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts are my own and I was not required to post a positive review.

I liked the relationship between the two main characters and how it developed throughout the story. I would have liked a little more romance or chemistry, however. The story was fun, but the social media influencer angle was a bit slow at times. I liked the scenes that centered around the National Park and learning more about what the park rangers do in their daily work. The development of the story was a bit slow for me. It's definitely very clean and would be a great YA crossover read.