Another hit from @our_friendly_farmhouse … I adored the story in this book! Cat and Zaiah were great. They had amazing chemistry and I loved their interactions. I appreciated the fact that while Cat is a influencer from New York, she isn’t portrayed as being a stupid rich girl. She has depth and is very relatable when it comes to social media in everyday life. I highly recommend to everyone!
Overall Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Spice Level: 🌶️/5 (a few innocent kisses)
I was provided this copy for free from the publishers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to like this one, but I got about 5% in and just could not handle the writing style. It's first person, but it felt like a narrator telling the reader what was happening, instead of being in the MC's head. The sentences were choppy and felt weirdly written, like the author was trying too hard to not write a normal sentence.

I really enjoyed my time reading this book! It’s such a sweet, simple palette cleanser of a book and it was so lovely! The characters had such a wholesome relationship and the overall story felt so refreshing to read. This book had me laughing as well as smiling from ear to ear at times! It’s nothing too serious, very light hearted but a wonderful story nonetheless!

Famous for a Living by Melissa Ferguson
4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“I think you are a lot of things, Cat Cranwell, all of them beautiful.”

Quick read
Modern
Funny

Summary: Cat Cranwell, modern day influencer, is living her best life until everything is turned upside down when her business partner faces some legal issues and ropes in Cat. With her life in disarray, she takes to the mountains, to the national park where her sweet uncle works. Not only does she fall in love with nature and a loving community, she may fall in love with a handsome park ranger.

My thoughts: This book was witty, modern and light hearted! It’s a cute read to get lost in and laugh quite a bit! The last bit of the book had me smiling from ear to ear!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson for this advanced copy. Be sure to read this book when it comes out on May 16th!

The world knows and adores social media influencer Cat Cranwell. She notices a decline in her popularity after her business partner is charged with a serious crime. She is encouraged to leave her longtime home of New York City and take a break from social media. Uncle Terry, who is her closest relative to her, offers that she goes to Montana and work at Kannery National Park with him. The park runs the risk of being incorporated into Glacier National Park unless it can be promoted as a desirable destination. The business has to attract more visitors, and what better way to achieve so than by being active on social media? Therefore, making Cat the ideal candidate for the job.

Cat's story when she gets to Montana is hilarious, and I loved Zaiah Hudson, he is the attractive park ranger who insists that social media has only brought about chaos and evil in the world and still uses a flip phone. As the plot develops, there are numerous unexpected turns as well as some unexpected romance. I liked seeing how Cat slowly discovers how much she likes the freedom of being away from social media and the world, while slowly falling for Zaiah.

In the beginning of the story, Cat is a beloved popular influencer who lives a fancy live in New York. However, after she is part of a scandal, her followers start to leave her and internet-trolls start on hating. Cat decides to live with her uncle in Kannery national park. There she learns what it's like to live a small community, where no one cares about social media. Oh, and at the national park, there is a handsome guy named Zaiah. ;) 

I really liked how I could see Cat evolve personally, from being a shallow and phone-obsessed person to adapting to the cold wheather and small community of the national park. The romance between her and Zaiah was nicely executed, however I would say that it was more a side storyline than a romance book. One tiny remark is that I would have loved to see the start of their relationship being described more in depth, instead of the jump between the last chapter and the epilogue. 

I enjoyed how lighthearted and funny this book was written. I've never read anything from Melissa Ferguson, but this makes me want to read her other books. She also did a great job at describing the scenery. I could really picture everything and I feel like this book could make a great movie. 

All in all, I enjoyed reading Famous For A Living and I recommend it for anyone who wants a light read with a little bit of romance throw in the mix! 

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

It took a little for me to dive in into the narrative but when I did, The reading became compelling and enjoyable. It Was a good reading with some funny scenes and a romance with a great reflexion about what matters most in life.

Famous for a Living is incredibly sweet without being saccharine. Thank you Netgalley and Thomas-Nelson for the ARC.

Social media’s ‘it girl’ influencer Cat Cranwell finds herself spending a bit more time in the woods than she’s comfortable with when her business partner skips town with a lot of questions following him. Cat absconds to Kannery National Park, Montana, where the locals don’t seem to know much about her life, and her uncle is the head ranger. While laying low, she gets caught up not only in the quirky life that comes with running the park, but also the dashing good looks of one Zaiah, park ranger, mountain man extraordinaire.

I think the tempo of this book was just phenomenal. Everything happened on a believable timeline and each time I read a chapter I was left wanting more, especially toward the end. The slow awakening of Cat’s true personality was also really well done, as well as the reveal with Zaiah’s backstory.

I also really liked the setting, which seemed utterly beautiful, and the silly things the locals got up to. I rate this 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

This was fun and cute, but lacked depth from my perspective. I mostly enjoyed my time between the pages but would have liked to develop a better understanding of what really draws the characters together. I definitely chuckled a couple times throughout, but was left wishing for more substance.

Famous for a Living by Melissa Ferguson follows Cat Cranwell, a social media influencer who finds herself 'cancelled' after a scandal hits.

It took awhile for me to like Cat, I found her entitled and kind of annoying. By the second half, I warmed up to her and was rooting for her to succeed.

The setting of the book was amazing, it made me desperately want to visit Kannery National Park. The vivid descriptions of nature made the book for me.

The romance was a very slow burn (almost non-existent), but the ending was absolutely perfect. The found family vibes were so good, and Mina was my favourite character by far.

Overall a decent read, althoigh slightly lacking on the 'rom' and 'com' parts of a rom-com.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review an early copy of this.

The majority of the story takes place in a beautiful and snowy small national park in Montana. The author does a beautiful job at bringing the town and park to life. I was able to see the moose, the mountains, the waterfall… The setting was simply gorgeous. I would love to visit that park and see those views, but I would not want to hike those 14 plus miles or rough it in those tiny cabins. LOL

This one didn’t quite work for me. I had trouble getting into the influencer storyline and would have preferred the story to focus on the romance a little more and on the other park rangers. The other rangers were fun and a great mix of characters. I also loved the crazy and fun winter activities that were described in this book.

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas Nelson for this digital arc in exchange for my honest review which is not affiliated with any brand.

An interesting look at social media and the impact it has on individuals. Good, easy read, just like I have come to expect from Melissa Ferguson. Tropes that you can see play out early but a few twists along the way that keeps the reader not totally correct in guessing the ending.

Thank you for the advanced read. I enjoyed this book. It took a few times to get into it, but once I did, I had a hard time putting it down. A fun and light read!

cat cranwell, a social media influencer, discovers that her popularity is dwindling when her business partner is charged with a severe crime. she is instructed to leave new york city, where she has lived for many years, and take a break from social media. uncle terry, who is the closest member of her family, invites her to go to montana and work at kannery national park with him. this is cute and humorous tale about a girl who literally lives on social media then meets ranger zaiah, who despises everything she stands for but is always there for her when she needs help. it’s fun to see cat’s transitions from the hectic life in new york to the highlands of montana. you can’t help but love the characters!

i received a complimentary copy of this book. opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

When famous internet influencer Cat Cranwell falls prey to a scandal brought on by her unscrupulous business partner, who has conveniently disappeared, she finds herself taking refuge in the Montana wilderness, under the care of her beloved Uncle Terry, and a team of green interns and national park employees. As she steeps in the earnestness and openness of a small community, she may learn a thing or two about herself, as well as the handsome Ranger who keeps seeing her at her most awkward.

While this is not the first book I've read about an internet influencer learning balance and gaining a more rounded perspective, there were some unexpected delights in this novel. The cast of characters she ends up befriending in the forest and town all have their own stories and personalities, and the fun quirky traditions that develop in lieu of big city entertainment were truly humorous and unique. Additionally, I really enjoyed that, while she realized she had an addiction of sorts, that is not necessarily uncommon to many of us, perhaps, she was also able to determine that not all parts of her needed to change, and she could blend old and new.

There may have been some bumpy parts in the story, but I enjoyed the setting and the fun people in Cat's circles. I give this book 4 stars.

I received a digital copy of this book, via NetGalley, from the publisher, in exchange for my honest review.

At the beginning of 2023, I began my reading plan for the year (which mostly consists in reading as many books as I can before school starts and leaves me little time for reading. I had a strange experience this year though: I couldn’t find a book I wanted to read, let alone finish once I started reading. I starting reading book after book (you should see the stacks that are still there) but I had no desire to finish the books I started. Not a good start to a new reading year…This book changed all of that. It was a bit of a rough start, but the story gently drew me in and I became invested in the characters and their growth.

When I requested this book as an ARC, I was unaware that I had read anything by the author (Melissa Ferguson) before. Then I read some of those author praise quotes and remembered that I had read (and very much liked) her Cul-de-sac War book. It seems so long ago when I read it that it was hard to remember much from the book aside from the general impression I had: that is was a wholesome and well-written story. So, needless to say I became more excited to read this novel.

At the beginning of the book, I wasn’t sure how I was going to be able to finish. Everything was just so realistic with the lifestyle and behavior of top-influencers and the hoops they jump through and the ways they can wind up acting that I wasn’t sure I was going to connect with the story at all. I was oh-so-very-wrong!

Cat Cranwell did have some issues, but her friend Serena was right: she is good. The way that the author had Cat slowly encounter and face and defeat her faults was realistic and touching. I had sympathy for her and her past and for what she had become in her rise as a social media influencer.

This novel may have a romantic aspect to it, but I appreciated that the romance wasn’t the focal point and wasn’t overdone. There was quite a bit going on in the story that was interesting to me as a reader apart from anything romantic. And then what was technically “romance” in the story was presented in a realistic and sweet way. Not overly emphasized at the expense of the characters actually getting to know each other and the reader actually getting to know them too.

Overall, this was quite a delightful read, and I am now hoping to read the other novels Melissa Ferguson has written. She writes wonderful stories with good wholesome characters. I hope to see more books published by her in the future!

**I received this book as an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. All views expressed are my own.**

This was a warm and sweet story the encourages introspection about your values, relationships, and social media.

Cat was a big media influencer who is totally wrapped up in appearances when circumstances force her to practically give it all up for a period of time.

Zaiah is a handsome park ranger who works for Cat’s uncle in Montana where she goes to escape. He could not be more opposite of Cat. I loved watching their relationship unfold.

I really enjoyed the growth arc of Cat. How she came to value the things and people that are real. The side characters provided a lot of fun and humor.

If you like opposites attract, handsome manly heroes with a soft heart and zany side characters you will like this book. It has a lot of fun twists, turns and surprises which keep you interested.

A beautiful book that managed to hit a little too close to home- and it would probably knock the wind from your chest, too! This is for anyone who finds themselves automatically looking at their phone when they have a second of downtime or anyone who scrutinizes over which picture to post on their socials. The story follows a social media icon through her darkest moments and, ultimately, her brightest.
This story was such a breath of fresh air and exactly what I needed to be reading at the beginning of the year. This book will have you questioning your choices and habits and it will inspire you to make healthy changes.
I truly thought I was starting a romance but I fell head first into a book that had me wanting to change my life. Is the romance there? Absolutely. And the romance is STUNNING and FULL and HONEST. Do I feel like that’s the best part of this book? Absolutely not. This author has gone above and beyond what is asked and the questionnaire and tips at the end were the icing on the cake.

(Review posted to Goodreads, Books-a-Million, and Barnes and Noble)

This book was so fun! I binge read it in 2 days. Although it's listed as a rom-com, I hesitate to call it that because hardcore romance readers will find very little actual romance (the couple have their first date near the end of the book and there's no spice to speak of) but since that isn't me, I had a great time with it!

The story follows a 30 year old an influencer/content creator who gets duped and loses her career overnight. It's a story about finding yourself and recognizing your value outside of social media.

There's a fantastic cast of secondary characters that I wish I had learned more about, and there are definitely some heavier topics that were kind of breezed over, but overall the pacing was excellent and the setting was very vivid. I wish this was a real national park because I would definitely visit!

I think as long as you don't go into this expecting a pure romance, you'll enjoy it, I certainly did!

3,5 stars rounded up.

When I finished this quick read, I found myself thinking it was lacking something. Overall, I enjoyed the book, but I felt the romance between Cat and Zaiah was put on the back burner and ended up being rushed. There was much build up - it happened and then the book was over. I felt it wasn't fully resolved. This wasn't so much of a romance book as it was a women's fiction book.

I did enjoy seeing Cat's growth while she was in Montana. I also really liked her friend Serena - she was so sassy and I loved it. I did find some moments, related to social media usage, to be preachy, but once I got through that, it just felt like part of the story. This is a quick, enjoyable read if you are looking for something that fits that category.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced read copy of this book!

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