Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance reader's copy of this novel.

I DNFed this one pretty quickly. I am in a phase of life where books about people just about to turn 30 have to be incredibly well done in order to hold my attention. I'm totally fine with reading about people who are in a different stage of life than I am, but when the character thinks they're old because they're about to turn 30, it's just too absurd. If you're a teenager, you think 29 is old. If you're a grownup of any age, you should know better. So many authors of romance novels seem to be struggling with extreme ageism in the way they write their characters. You can write a story about that stage of life without adding in ageist nonsense, I promise you.

Cat and Zaiah have my heart. I loved this book cover to cover. It's so fun and campy (literally) and yet so heartfelt and touching. Truly well done.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, from start to finish. The character development was excellent, from the main character Cat to intern Jax. The setting is second to none and I loved how complete the story felt, all the loose strings were tied up prettily. My only critique is I wish we could have had more chapters to explore some of the storylines that were wrapped up quickly, like addiction to technology.

I really think this book would have benefitted from not being marketed as a romance. There was a small bit of romance in this book but it felt much more like a women's fiction novel. When it came to the romance component, I didn't feel a lot of chemistry between Cat and Zaiah.
I think the idea of this could have been executed better because I was excited about this story when I read the synopsis. There were some good discussion included about social media and the balance between being online and focusing on real life.
This book just didn't end up being what was advertised so I ended up being disappointed.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Super famous social media influencer, Cat, has a whirlwind financial crisis and gets into major legal trouble. Being forced to leave her home in the city and trek all the way across the country to a tiny, isolated town amongst the wilderness. She finds friendship, love, and learns what life is actually all about. It was a really cute story and I thought the author did a great job of painting the imagery for the nature scenes. Definitely a good read for hikers and people who love travel/exploring wilderness. I didn’t love the main character, but she didn’t ruin the story for me. Just could’ve been less self absorbed but at least you see her growth throughout the book. Rating: 3/5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I've enjoyed all of Melissa Ferguson's books, but this one is my favorite! "Famous for a Living" is just the book I needed to start off my summer reading (somewhat ironic because the book is mostly cold and snowy). It's light, fun, well-paced, and with just enough tension and drama.

First, all hail a queen who gives us a romance without a miscommunication trope OR an outrageous third-act break-up. Second, these characters are all so fun. I hope we see them again (preferably in a book where Mina finds love (or maybe Uncle Terry)). I feel like for every person in this book, I know a real-life equivalent.

The settings are also putting in work here. There was no bashing of New York over the simple life; it was talked about from both characters' perspectives, which was really interesting. It was easy to understand why the main character would feel pulled to New York with the food, glamour, best friend, and other attributes. Equally balanced were the descriptions of Montana. After reading this book, I'm itching to visit both places.

I recommend this book as well as Ferguson's other work. They're delightful closed-door romances with funny characters, but she also tackles an issue in each book. For this one, it was the pitfalls of social media, which I found oh-so-relatable.

4 Stars - 0.5 Spice

Melissa always writes a cute clean romance, and Famous for a Living was a fun read/ listen! An Instagram star meets a man that HATES social media, and in the little small town, Cat has to learn to disconnect. And hopefully find her way back to the world she had before a villianous co-worker destroyed her public reputation. I wish this was a Dual POV SO bad because I would have loved to hear Zaiah's commentary at some of the hijnx that occurs. The chaos of all the staff for the Park made the story light and funny often, and the pace of the book was ready so it never felt like to slowed down . But overall, it was an enjoying read!

One of my only problems with this book, which isn't even a problem really, is the cover makes you think its a summer/ spring story. Nah. They are dealing with winter and snow in Montana for the majority of the plot? Im confused.

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas Nelson - Fiction, for an eARC of Famous for a Living, written by Melissa Ferguson. This is my honest review!

DNF
The eARC was too difficult to read. I understand the real copy will be fine.
For me, the frequent publisher logos and no indentations turned me off.
Thanks anyway.

This was a little too slow-burn of a romance for me, but I still enjoyed the overall plot. If you enjoy grumpy/sunshine, closed-door romance, opposites attract, and found family tropes, this should be right up your alley! I also have been enjoying small town romances, that take place in more secluded areas — like a national park!

This was such a wholesome book that I can't stop thinking about it. There's something about Melissa's writing that brings out both vulnerability & humor in the story.

Cat & Zaiah's banter was amazing, especially the airport pickup scene. I just loved them together; very subtle, soft, and romantic.

The side characters were whole, another level of quirky. I loved Mina so much & honestly would give anything to have her own book. And not to forget Uncle Terry, that man was too pure for this world & I loved his & Cat's relationship.

PS The graphics of the insta posts at the beginning of each chapter stole my heart completely.

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Cat is an influencer & a pretty big deal. However, after a bad partnership causes media backlash, she goes to Montana to get out of the spotlight. There, she meets Zaiah who absolutely HATES social media.

Overall, this was a really enjoyable story. I adore Melissa Ferguson’s writing and definitely want to read more books by her. While it didn’t feel like a romance, I loved it as a women’s fiction/romcom.

I listened to this on audio & the narration was fantastic. It kept me engaged and made for an enjoyable listen. I will definitely be re-reading this as a physical book.

HUGE thank you to NetGalley, Thomas Nelson, and UpLit Reads for the eArc & physical gifted copy. And thank you to LibroFM for the ALC. These were in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Cat is instagram famous with millions of followers until she trusts the wrong person and makes a terrible business decision. She's now been cancelled and gone into hiding with no idea how to pay her bills. When her uncle Terry offers her a job at a small national park in Montana, she reluctantly accepts. This new environment is out of her comfort zone but building up their social media account to bring visitors is something she knows well. 

Cat goes through a journey in this book. She starts off as an out of touch influencer with a champagne lifestyle. But living in a more secluded and slower environment and with the help of her new co-workers, she starts to see the world in a different light. Famous for a Living is more of a women's fiction novel that deals with the need/addiction to being connected or attached to our phones at all times and letting go of constantly checking social media and connecting with the world around you!

There is a love interest present in the story but nothing really happens until close to the end of the book. Although you know she's going to end up with Zaiah, it does sort of come out of nowhere! There was no build to their relationship which we crave from all the rom-coms we read.

Many thanks to @thomasnelson + @netgalley for the e-book ARC in exchange for our honest review.

"You are impossible to ignore."

🏔 Rom-Com
🏔 Influencer
🏔 Forced Proximity
🏔 Big City to Small Mountain Town
🏔 Closed Door Romance
🏔 Found Family

This book follows Cat, an influencer with millions of followers, who finds herself embroiled in a fraud scandal thanks to her boyfriend/business partner. She leaves the city and the scrutiny to go stay and work for her Uncle Terry in the Kannery National Park in Montana in the winter.

This book was cute and I rather enjoyed the plot of the story. This book was less on the romance and more about Cat coming at a crossroads and discovering who she is in the wilderness of Montana. I found her growth believable and her character relatable, especially in this era of social media and social influencers. This book did bring to light a very real issue in the social media culture and it was an enjoyable read. The side characters were quirky and cute and I would love to read more about Serena and Mina. There were also a lot of memorable moments like the polar bear plunge and the skijoring competition.

3.5⭐️/ 0 🌶

This had so many great discussions on social media and its addictiveness. I appreciated that Cat wasn’t a caricature of an influencer but rather a genuinely kind person simply needing a better balance with her phone.

After a partnership goes terribly wrong, landing Cat in a scandal, she heads to Kannery National Park in Montana—her uncle offering a position in charge of their social media presence. This was such a calming, beautiful setting, along with its quirky cast of character, to help push Cat towards living more in the moment.

As Cat helps revamp their advertising (proving there is also a positive, beneficial side to social media), a romance slowly builds with the ruggedly handsome park ranger Zaiah.

For some reason I wasn’t overly invested in their relationship, but I really liked the perspective Zaiah brought to the story. His negative associations with social media (and phone usage in general, really) had a much deeper reasoning than I expected. I loved the message this story leaves you with.

I love Melissa Ferguson and this one did not disappoint. It was fun, unapologetic, sweet, and sexy. The use of social media as a plot device was well done I thought, and while most characters like this would annoy me, Ferguson wrote them well.

Famous for a Living gives a great view of life as an influencer on social media. At the heart of the book the message is we need to put down our phones and live life. Sharing, posting, and staying connected with friends electronically is important, but we also miss what is going on right now in our lives. Cat Cranwell had to learn the hard way after an app partnership went sideways. Cat goes from being an online darling to being canceled on all formats. Luckily for her, a favorite uncle rescues Cat and brings her into the National Park service where she can use her skills to save the beloved Kannery National Park.

My thanks to the author and the publisher for an early copy of this book. The opinions here are entirely my own.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me not one, but two copies of this book. I started this book on my Kindle but switched about a quarter in to audio, and I'm so grateful to have had that option because I'm not sure that I would have finished this otherwise.

My biggest problem here is that this is NOT a romance. Is there romance? I guess... In the last quarter of the book. Unfortunately for me, that is too little too late. I love a slow burn as much as the next person, but for a romance, A SINGLE DATE not even happening until well past the fifty percent mark just made me feel like this entire book was marketed incorrectly.

And that's to say nothing of the characters... I hated them. Honestly hated. Cat is awful. I know we're supposed to buy into this whole "poor little rich girl" and her social media obsession and feel something for her, but she had NO personality whatsoever. Unless you count complaining about how she's so unpopular now. In which case, we can list extremely whiny and annoying as her personality traits. Actually, now that I say that, let's count those as her personality because Zaiah? The actual definition of a filler character and was just there because apparently this was a "romance".

There was also this super weird conversation in the first quarter that was about gun rights and it just felt so in your face and out of place in a supposed "romance" book.

I would not recommend this... It didn't feel like it had good commentary on our generations dependency on social media and certainly is not a romance. I feel like if you're looking for a contemporary or woman's fiction type book, then maybe this could work for you, but otherwise, I personally would pass.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Cat + Zaiah

🌳Clean romance
🌲Slow burn
🥾Grumpy sunshine
⛰️Opposites attract
📳Found family
🌲Cinnamon roll MMC
🤳Influencer FMC
⛰️National Park
🥾Personal growth

First this cover. Totally sucked me and I wanted it on my shelf the moment I saw it.
The story....Zaiah really stole the show for me here. He is just such a caring man. Making her vegan chilli at the cook off knowing he would lose and no one else would eat it, saved her ass from a moose, warmed her feet up for her, and so much more.
I also really enjoyed most of the side characters in this. Jax and Kevin were hilarious with great banter. I chuckled out loud a few times.
Loved the conversations about social media being so addictive and the negative aspects of it. (The author is a TikTok influencer who I have followed for ever for the beautiful views well before knowing she was an author.)
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

From the moment I saw this book and read the description, I knew I had to read it. I have read and enjoyed previous books by the author and thought this one seemed right up my alley as well. But I have to admit, while I DID enjoy it, it wasn't quite what I was expecting and as such didn't quite live up to those expectations I'd had.

Based upon the book's description and marketing as a romantic comedy, that was my expectation... and well, it wasn't really quite that in my opinion. Yes, it had many comedic moments and yes, there was certainly some romance... but the interactions between Cat and Zaiah really were quite minimal until over halfway through the book. Even in a slow-burn romance, I just expect there to be more chemistry-filled interactions before they finally get together... and all the swoon-worthy moments after the fact too. That was lacking here when compared to other books in the genre. So, when I am going in expecting a romantic comedy (which happens to be a current favorite for me), it was certainly a bit of a letdown there.

However, I actually still really enjoyed the story... I just felt like it reads more like a chick lit about an influencer discovering who she is outside of social media rather than a romance. If you go in with that expectation, it's likely to be more enjoyable. The story does come across as a little anti-social media/electronics at times... and honestly, having a love-hate relationship with it, I didn't mind that horribly. I do think the author tried to show some of the good that can come from social media and networking as well.

Overall, even though this wasn't at all what I was expecting when I chose it, I found it to be a very enjoyable read nonetheless.

**I received a complimentary copy for consideration. All opinions are my own.

Famous For A Living was a fun, quick read, and the perfect thing to listen to during a stretch of mindless work. I enjoyed the city-girl-in-the-wilderness trope, and as a lover of national parks, I was rooting for Cat to save this little park from getting absorbed by Glacier. I would have liked to see more descriptions of the park and Cat's exploration of it, but I loved the town morale activities like the horse game and the polar plunge.

I also would have liked more romance--Cat and Zaiah's relationship was an extremely slow burn, and there is zero steam in this book. Their banter made up for the lack of relationship progression, though.