*This review contains a mild spoiler. It is marked and spaced below.

I didn’t know what to expect going into this book. It sounded so wildly different from Meet Me in the Margins, and the whole influencer thing can be tricky, especially given influencer fatigue in real life. A trend I’ve begun seeing in books is “influencer takes a step back”, and frankly, it can be a little preachy and annoying. Famous For a Living addresses the hypocrisy and anxiety of having to create content without beating the dead horse of social media addiction. We all know we have a problem, and I appreciate not having it thrown in my face!
Anyway.
This was a very sweet, very fast read. I love all of the side characters, and the setting was gorgeous. The beginning of the book was a little cringe with all of Cat’s influencer-ness, but it got much better after the first chapter.

Spoiler below:






I would have enjoyed more one on one interaction between Zaiah and Cat since the ending happens so quickly after their first date. At least the third act break up is the most chill I’ve ever read!

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

**This is a 3.5 star rating rounded up to 4 stars.

Look, I know romance books and romantic comedy books are doing well right now, and I love it. I am here for it. It couldn't have happened to a better genre. But stop saying your book is a romantic comedy when it isn't. It is becoming a trend, and I hate it. I love women's fiction, which is what this is. However, if you tell me your book is a romantic comedy, it better be a romantic comedy.

I told myself to keep going; the romance has to happen soon. The female lead will go to the mountains, find love, and learn a great life lesson. I will smile and be happy. I never smiled, and I am not happy.

From page one, I was worried about this book. Cat is insufferable, and I know she is supposed to be at first, but I honestly felt like she had no character development. There was no character development on any level. There was also only about 10% romance and no romantic development between the characters. I never cared about them as a couple; they had no chemistry because they barely had enough time on the page to have any development.

I can't say I would have liked this more if it had been properly marketed.

Thank you to Thomas Nelson for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a cute story about a famous social media influencer who needs to take a break at her uncle's place in a small town. I would appreciate it if these stories weren't marketed as romance since the romance isn't even part of the story for 80% of the book. It was a women's fiction book.

This was a sweet story about rediscovering ones self. Set in a beautiful Montana national park Cat Cranwell, a former famous NYC socialite, learns to embrace authentically living without worrying about social media. She finds herself drawn to Zaiah Smith, a park ranger with a distain for all things relating to Cat’s old life. Cat and Zaiah had the whole opposites attract thing going on and I would’ve loved to see more of a build up to their relationship.

This book is more women’s fiction than romance. If you’re looking for a super romantic read, this may not be the one for you as leads don’t get romantically involved until the latter half of the book. Overall this was a charming read that tackled some heavy topics (the toxicity of social media and the dangers of being overdependent on it). I enjoyed seeing the main characters personal growth and the found family that she found at the park.

Thank you to Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for allowing me to read this early copy

I personally am a huge fan of celebrity romances and I found this one to be a quick, cute, and easy read! A nice pallet cleanser.

Cat Cranwell is a social media super-star influencer who has it all. She falls from grace when her business partner is accused of financial crimes. After being accused also and being hounded by the paparazzi and online, she accepts her uncle’s offer to work for him at Kannery National Park in Montana. She steps into a different world and begins to learn about herself and wonders if she can love herself without the world watching.



Thanks to Melissa Ferguson and Thomas Nelson for the book

Celebrity romances are pretty hit or miss for me, and Famous for a Living was more miss than hit. The story fell a bit flat for me overall, but was still pretty cute

This book was OK. I was expecting just a little bit more out of the romance. I liked the concepts and where the author went with the social media aspect of this tale. I just got a little bored sometimes.

Famous for a Living is Melissa Ferguson’s newest stand-alone romantic comedy. It is a clean fish-out-of-water opposites-attract romance.

30-year-old Catherine “Cat” Cramwell is a New York City-based superstar influencer, living the high life. Advertisers provide her with free designer goods and she is treated to luxury accommodations and services. Her carefully curated life projects a false image of non-stop beauty, energy, and fun. In real life Cat is a high school drop-out with no marketable skills and baggage from a bad childhood. Her favorite uncle pops in for a visit when he is town for a business conference, and introduces her to his protégé, Zaiah Smith. Cat is appalled that Zaiah uses a flip phone!

Three months later Cat is caught in a criminal net due to trusting her business partner. She is on magazine covers and being disparaged online, having lost her sponsorships. Uncle Terry offers Cat a job to work with him at fictional Kannery National Park, Montana, where he is the Head Ranger. Cat realizes that she is out of her element when the plane lands in a blizzard in Montana. She immediately wrecks her convertible rental car in waist-deep snow because she refuses to ride in Zaiah’s old Park Service truck.

Cat is dumbfounded by the condition of the cabin that she is taken to, one of several that the Park Service provides for their employees. Then Cat discovers that she is actually sharing the cabin with a co-worker intern Junior Park Ranger Mena. Mena is an overeager socially awkward young lady who is anxious to become friends. Cat’s adventures in Montana are hilarious, especially the Polar Bear Plunge.

Cat uses her social media skills to help Kannery National Park remain independent from Glacier National Park. She creates interest in the natural beauty and drives up visitor numbers. It’s enjoyable to see Cat grow as a person and find her authentic self while she falls for the handsome Zaiah.

Famous for a Living is a clean romance with no profanity or sex. There are moral lessons as Cat confronts her addiction to social media. This story would make an enjoyable Hallmark-type movie.

I received an Advance Review Copy (ARC) from NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Publishers for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

4.5 stars. Absolutely delightful! I can't tell you how often I cracked up during this book. I seriously enjoyed this story.

There are discussions about social media and the addiction to our phones, or not in the case of the handsome and rugged ranger Zaiah Hudson. "I squint, finding it so hard to believe I think I must be seeing it wrong. Is this man really using a flip phone? In this era?"

Cat Cranwell is a content creator on social media and is adored by millions. She has companies giving her products to promote, and is wealthy from all her efforts. All of that comes to a screeching halt after her business partner (and herself by extension) are rumored to be indicted on suspicion of fraud. Uncle Terry, offers Cat a position on his staff at a small national park in Montana to get away from the city, naming her the "Senior Media Strategist and Social Coordinator" for Kannery National Park.

What a fun story of personal development, witty banter, slow burn romance, and finding where you belong.

The supporting cast of Serena Whitman, Mina, Uncle Terry, Peggy, Jax, and Kevin are a hoot. I love all the creative ways they have fun so far from civilization.

I highly recommend this delightful romantic comedy with substance. Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for allowing me to read an early copy. All opinions are my own.

Famous for a Living is a sweet story with a poignant message on social media and its impact. There is minimum romance; Cat and Zaiah’s relationship is more of a side plot. The book (in my opinion) should be advertised as women’s fiction rather than a romantic comedy. If you go into the book expecting a romantic comedy, you may be disappointed.

Although there is limited romance, the book has many endearing qualities: the characters, the setting, the central plot of saving Kannery National Park, the illustrations of Cat’s Instagram posts, and the Influencer Support Guide and Quiz were all nice touches.

Cat’s character development and personal growth throughout is impressive; her character really did grow on me. It was nice to see that although complete opposites both characters were not required to change for one another. The uncovering of Zaiah’s history and the reasons behind his initial disdain of Cat and her lifestyle was a surprising reveal-I definitely wasn’t expecting it. I absolutely adored the epilogue: such a charming end.

Many thanks to Melissa Ferguson, Thomas Nelson Fiction and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a fun opposites attract romance between a disgraced influencer who escapes to rural Montana to lick her wounds and finds a new appreciation for the beauty of the natural, disconnected world. I liked this characters a lot and the setting!

Cat was an especially relatable character as someone who posts a lot on IG. Her struggle to find balance and the dangers of getting too obsessed with followers and likes really came across in this book, particularly in light of what happened to Zaiah's ex.

Great on audio narrated by Talon David and recommended for fans of books like Chick magnet by Emma Barry or the upcoming debut You, with a view by Jessica Joyce. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for early digital and audio copies in exchange for my honest review!

Steam level: kissing only

Cute book. I like the story of a city girl, social media star and how she's adjusting to the small town city. Enter cute small town boy, who does dislikes social media. This book definitely was eye opening to see a social media stars life. .

I'll share a better post on the pub date.

An okay read, I didn't connect to the story or the characters. It wasn't a perfect fit for me but it could be for someone else.

I had a hard time focusing, there were a few aspects to the story that I didn’t feel flowed well, I think the plot had so much potential but it was poorly executed!

Really struggling to get into this one. It's hard enough to make "spoiled little rich girl" a likable character, but make her an entitled millionaire influencer who projects emotions on everyone she meets pushes it over the edge. This exchange pretty much sums it up:

“It’s about you. This happens every single time you find yourself in a room with someone who isn’t tripping over themselves with excitement to meet you.”
My shoulders hitch up as I growl, “It absolutely does not.”
“I’m not saying you’re narcissistic— frankly, if you were, that’d be easier to deal with. No, what I think— you wanna hear what I think?”
“No.”
“What I think is that you’re just absurdly, like next-level ridiculous, insecure about yourself."

The guy doesn't gush over her, so she leaps to the assumption that he dislikes, judges, and pities her. Her internal dialogue is very off-putting, not just about him but everyone else as well. It doesn’t really get better from there. She’s selfish and self focused but then randomly does a couple nice gestures for people and that’s supposed to make us like her? I really didn’t feel like a got a payoff for sticking with the story until the end.

This was a cute one! I liked the characters, development, and setting. Definitely worth a read! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

The reader gets a glimpse into the life of a full-time content creator / influencer through the First Person eyes of Cat Cranwell, who is ‘Famous for a Living’. As the result of unfortunate circumstances, Cat finds herself plucked from big city New York and plopped down in rugged back-country Montana working for her Park Ranger Uncle.

I liked how this book explored a few relevant topics in today’s society, packaging them in a more lighthearted Hallmark-esque romance story.
Things like the volatility & pressure of internet fame; the challenges influencers face as real humans themselves; the danger of how social media can become an true addictive drug with many of the same dangers as the pharmaceutical kind.
I really enjoyed the author’s descriptions of the landscape. Through her use of words to paint a picture, it was as if I could really see in my mind’s eye the beauty of the Montana setting. I also liked seeing the chapters contain actual titles - that’s becoming more and more rare in modern books.

I would’ve liked to see a little more development and growth portrayed in Cat, specifically her relationship to her phone and social media. There were some snippets of it in the epilogue, but I wanted to see more maturity taking place earlier in the book so we as the readers could be along for more of the journey. I found her to be very self-absorbed (understandably) and insecure, so I would’ve enjoyed seeing those aspects shift and change as she took time away.
The romance aspect was sweet, but I would have liked to see a little more of it. It was there, but not enough that a relationship developing between the two characters made sense to me.

This book is published by a Christian publisher, so it was a bit surprising to me that there weren’t any faith themes in it. Just a good clean book! No swearing or bedroom action, just a few kisses!

Overall a cute, light hearted romance. Didn't have as much depth as I was hoping for so it fell a little flat. I also think it was pretty heavy on the anti-social media bias and didn't balance it well with how being an influencer definitely has positives, specifically for women who turn it into a profession. Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the eARC!

❄️🌲🏔️- famous for a living by melissa ferguson

I loved this book so much!! firstly, the setting!?! it sounded so beautiful and was so vivid it was like I was actually there- I enjoyed the the constant appreciation that Cat had for the landscape- even when 9/10 she surprised herself by how much she loved it. the whole towny feel at kannery national park honestly just added even more to the enjoyment of the book- they all felt like family by the end and you could see their individual personalities shining through with their own little quirks!

cat~ i honestly loved her… she wasn’t as whiny as I thought she’d be. she did grieve her reputation but I empathised… the woman was being vilified by the whole country for something she didn’t do and was trying to build her life back up. once the plan was made though she pretty much got on with it… you definitely saw her character develop throughout the story as she came to love the national park and the people that lived and worked there as much as the reader comes to love them. it was so enjoyable to watch her transformation and way her social media account reflected this change towards the end of the book!

zaiah~ I loved his character so much!! he was grumpy but not too much that he seemed like an asshole. and he had baggage but there was COMMUNICATION… even before they started a relationship.. he was so sweet with cat even at the beginning of the story (the hike + her boots *swoon*) he was just such a refreshing MMC from the last book I read *cough- magnolia parks*.

overall, I really enjoyed this book and devoured it in one night. the ONLY thing that would elevate this book even more is if i had a zaiah pov. but that’s just because I’m greedy for his thoughts 🫨

Between the pro-gun uncle who really didn't add to the story, the preachy anti-phone/social media message and the lack of romance, this really wasn't it for me. While I had been excited about the setting, I'm tired of books making women with stereotypically feminine hobbies being made to look ridiculous and couldn't get into the book as a result.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.