Member Reviews

Famous for a Living held so much promise, the synopsis was great and hooked me. I wanted to love this story so much, the concept was so fun but the execution was just not great. The story and movement just felt really forced to me.

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

What a fun little read! This was a clean little romance with the a beautiful national park backdrop. The author really did a great job with language that immersed you in that national park in Montana. I do wish that there maybe was just a little bit more romance. To me it felt like a lot buildup with their flirting, but once we actually got to them dating, it was kinda ripped away. But the ending was sweet, so it kinda made up for it.

Overall I enjoyed!

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Famous for a Living was a solid 3 star (read average) read for me. A story of a woman whose life is turned upside down and is forced to leave her glamorous everyday life for an outdoorsy one for which she is ill suited. At the start Cat and Zaiah really don’t get along, he particularly does not seem to like her, as time goes on they get to know each other and we discover there is a reason Zaiah isn’t vibing and it’s more to do with Cat’s profession than her personality.

It was nice going on the journey with Cat of self discovery but this book was definitely light on the romance. The relationship between the main characters really only came into play in the second half of the book. From review I saw online it might be better to read a physical copy as it sounds like there are some instagram screen shots which would have added a nice touch. The eARC I read did not include any. I did enjoy this book but it was a little forgettable among so many books with these exact same themes.

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Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this review copy in exchange for an honest opinion. Review has been posted on Amazon.

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This book doesn’t really have romance at the forefront . I would put this under women’s fiction.

This book is what happens when you’re an Influencer, living the big life in the big city and loose everything.

This is the journey to finding yourself and starting over.

The premise is good but the execution not so good.

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𝙱𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚁𝚎𝚟𝚒𝚎𝚠 - 𝙵𝚊𝚖𝚘𝚞𝚜 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚊 𝙻𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚋𝚢 𝙼𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚜𝚊 𝙵𝚎𝚛𝚐𝚞𝚜𝚘𝚗

𝗠𝘆 𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

I would say this is more of a women’s fiction and the journey and reflection of Cat, than what I would consider a true romance.

Yes, there is romance. Though it doesn’t really make its appearance until the last 25% of the book.

Overall, this was a quick read, with a beautiful setting. It also does a great job showing the harm of social media addiction.

Thank you so much to @netgalley and @prhaudio for the ebook and audio copies.

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I was really close to DNFing because I didn't like the main character, but I powered through and she changed my mind! My only other gripe is that this read more like women's fiction than romance, so I'm not sure it was marketed appropriately, but it does have some valuable moral lessons within it and features characters that seem to really like and respect each other.

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Cat Cranwell is an influencer who has to find a place to lie low instead of her Manhattan penthouse. Her partner is caught up in a financial scandal which has brought her down as well. Her uncle asks her to come to Montona and work at the National Park to bi her time. She agrees and once there she finds herself finding things to do right away. She also is revamping their website which starts to bring in more people right away. The other people around seem to like her and once the scandal is over she has to decide to stay or go back for she has found herself liking Zaiah one of the rugged Park rangers and since they had spent a lot of time together now what does she do? A really good story with very good characters.

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I have a hard time getting into this book, but really enjoyed it. The social media influencer now living in a National Park is a breath of fresh air :). I'm anxious to get ahold of a physical copy of this book and read it again!

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As someone who wholeheartedly loves You’ve Got Mail, and was a loyal Parks and Rec fan, I was very excited for this book. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get past the first 15% and had to DNF.
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Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas Fiction for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

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This story had a slow start for me. Once it picked up I found myself enjoying the story of Cat and her journey outside of the life she knew as an Influencer on social media. In her journey she learns that there is life beyond social media.

**I received an early reader copy of this book from Netgalley. Thank you to the publisher for this opportunity. The opinions in this review are mine.

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disclaimer: I received an arc from the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review. thank you netgalley for sending me this book <3

╰┈➤ "With Zaiah beside me, I know I won't fail" ・゚✧

This was such a cute book !! I adored how lovable all the characters were and it made me so happy to see all the characters form a found family <3 The romance was done really well and I personally felt like the pacing & pinning were done perfectly. Abouslty loved the descriptions of the small town like I so badly wanted to be with the characters hanging out with them, going on hikes and getting coffee from a cute little coffee shop. I also really liked how the author focused on more than just the romance and did it in a way where I wasn't bored. Cat, the main character has been through her fair share of crap and seeing her slowly work through her addiction to the media and perfecting her image while also finding actual confidence that isn't based on others was really cool and enjoyable. I also can't forget about Zaiah the mmc who was also really great and the ultimate description of what a book boyfriend should look like. Overall I definitely really loved this but wished for more of the fmc and mmc in terms of actual romance which I think would have made this even more impactful.

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This is a cute “fish out of water”, opposites attract romance.
Cat is a famous online influencer whose life has gone sideways. She went from famous to being trolled every day. To get away from the noise and negativity, she goes to work for her uncle in Kannery National Park. In the winter.
Suddenly Cat is more interested in avoiding frostbite than anything else, and she’s developing a crush on Zaiah, a handsome park ranger.

I really enjoyed reading this book, and there’s some good discussion about social media's influence on their audiences. 4 stars.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed as in this review are completely my own.

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Such a cute read!! This read is more of a personal journey for the main character, Cat, than it is a romance. The romance between Cat and Zaiah is definitely a part of Cat's journey, but not the focus. I listened to the audiobook while reading along with the ebook, and the narrator was perfect for Cat's voice. I was drawn in right from the start and just couldn't stop. Gave me all the feels!!

*Thank you so much @thomasnelson for the #gifted egalley and audiobook in exchange for an honest review.*

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i started reading for the romance but stayed for the journey. it isn't so much about cat finding love with zaiah but about her self discovery and character development. as a fan of women's fiction, it was incredible seeing her realisations and taking charge of her own life in a way she'd never before: abandoning her phone. i'm no zaiah but it's worth letting yourself find purpose, so if leaving your phone is the way, you go girl.

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While I’ve loved everything I’ve read by Melissa Ferguson. Famous for a living only falls under enjoyed because I loved the hero Zaiah and the setting of the National Park. I did not love Cat nor the troupe. I didn’t like her when the book started, but at least by the end I could as least tolerate her. Because the reader can see the character growth.

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3.5 This was a cute little romance novel that I had a lot of fun with. This story follows Cat a famous instagram influencer who finds herself tied up in a scandal,trying to avoid the spotlight she escapes to Montana where her uncle offered her a job to run the state parks social media account. When Cat shows up she realizes the parks in a lot more financial trouble than she realized. Zaiah works at the national park as a ranger and despises anything to do with social media, but he can’t resist when he meets Cat. The two are a classic grumpy sunshine romance and I was all for it!

I really enjoyed this book I thought the premise was unique following an influencer and seeing what that’s like. The characters were also engaging and I adored the family that the park staff formed. The writing pace was where I struggled a little there were some places where I found myself losing interest but still really had a good time. I look forward to picking up more from this author in the future. I would like to thank NetGalley and the publishers for a chance to read this book for an honest review.

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Another delightful read from Ferguson. What happens if you take an influencer away from all of her creature comforts but put her alongside a handsome park ranger? Love and laughter!

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When I came across this book, just by the cover I thought "it's giving small-town romance AND opposites that attract! I'm going to love this book". And I really would've loved it if it weren't for some small details.

The plot is nice, I'm suspicious of talking about small-town romance because I love it so much, but even that was a bit superficial. Firstly because the romance is very little developed and secondly because the main background isn't a small town at all, it's just the national park most of the time.

I missed a better character development of both the main characters, and also a better development of the chemistry between them, since one day they couldn't look each other in the eyes and the next ohmygodi'msoinlovewithyou - and we barely even saw this process happen, which is extremely frustrating.

Don't get me wrong, Zaiah seems to be a very nice guy, with the foldable cell phone and everything, but sometimes he was too hard on Cat. like... come on! it's 2023! everybody uses social media! if you're a caveman that's totally on you! and even though he was right many times, I don't think free rudeness would help that much.

This brings us to the second problem, which is the protagonist herself. She's so shallow that it's even disappointing. She's our typical NYC it girl (and I don't blame her for that), but the author managed to mention more brands than the character's good actions. I thought that during the book she would have some kind of awakening and realize that cell phone addiction is really bad - which in fact happened, but the only solution proposed for this was to stop texting while driving, leaving your cell phone in your bag during social events and look someone in the eye when having dinner. Which is something that normal human beings already do.

But if we ignore the details, the book in general is nice, despite having the potential to have been much better. 3.5 ⭐️ because I wasn't bored at all (although I skipped some long unnecessary descriptions a few times)

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC copy! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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I received an advanced reader copy of Famous for a Living in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for this opportunity The cover is what got me with this one love a good outdoorsy type book. So with that being said when I saw this cover, I had to request my own copy to review. This is one of those cute haters to lovers romance taking place in a national park. Books was a five star for me as I am a sucker for a good romcom light read.

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