Instagram influencer, Cat Cranwell is cancelled when she's linked to a scandal with her business partner. Advised to lie low while her lawyers figure out how best to proceed, she retreats to work with her like-father Uncle Terry at the Kannery National Park in Montana. She's left her high rise penthouse for a frigid cabin and a young roommate. Counting the days until she can get back to the spotlight and her branding, she begins to bond with the crew at the park, especially the handsome ranger, Zaiah. But he's not hidden his disdain for all things social media, and that may include her.
This was a cozy romance with sweet characters providing an easy and quick read with a Hallmark movie type feel.
Thank you NetGalley and Thomas Nelson for my gifted ebook.

This had gilmore girls meets hallmark vibes and potential to be positively adorable and unfortunately missed the mark by quite a bit. I've read this author's other novels and they've been great so I had high hopes for this one. The small town Montana scenery. The quirky cast if characters, a disgraced former social media star meets mountain man, it could have been so good. But the FMC was positively entitled and absolutely annoying, a book marketed as a romance with a first date 3/4 of the way through the book and no butterflies or chemistry to speak of and a very rushed ending with an epilogue that didn't effectively tie up loose ends, I hate to say this one could have been sooooo much better.

Thank you Netgalley and Thomas Nelson--FICTION for the ARC in exchange for my review!

I’ll admit it: I went into this novel with low expectations and was pleasantly surprised by what I found. Was it the best contemporary novel I’ve read? No. But it did carry its own charm and theming well. I just found the plot lacking in depth, which made it difficult to turn off my inner developmental editor.

Honestly, this story felt like a Hallmark movie and that was a delightful experience. I utterly lost myself in the Montana wilderness setting and the wonderful side characters Ferguson brought to life. This is a novel that made me long for fall weather and a warm tea mug in hand; it made me want to go on a hike and explore a mountainside. But where it novel succeeded the most was in reminding the reader that our digital lives aren’t everything. There’s an entire world out there to explore and we shouldn’t waste our time getting sucked into everything found on a screen.

If there was one critique to give, it would be the lack of depth to the plot. Cat’s character arc was well done—as she learned that being on her phone and/or social media all the time was not a great life to lead—and her growth was seen on page. But it did feel like there was a piece missing from the plot; in my opinion, the transitionary scenes were sorely needed. Plot events were often planned out and then expanded off page, which was frustrating. An example of this is Cat helping Mina start her cozies business. In one chapter, Cat and Mina spoke of getting an Esty store set up; in the next, Mina’s sales are exploding to the point that she must close the shop and increase the prices. And it’s all due to Cat’s single Instagram post about Mina’s business. That is one example of a plot piece that should have dragged on longer, which could have helped both the pacing and brought the themes into further conversation with the plot.

The romance needed further development. (Who’s to say, maybe this plot was the missing piece to tie everything together?) As much as I loved Cat and Zaiah as separate people, their overall arc felt rushed. The romance didn’t kick into gear until the last 20% of the novel; and, even then, it only took up approximately 2-5% of that third act. I wanted more exploration of Cat and Zaiah’s relationship–it felt like Zaiah quickly went from disliking Cat to wanting to date her, despite his backstory in being fully against technology due to an ex-girlfriend. Zaiah’s past is another plot device that could have fully served Cat’s arc and the novel’s themes; the two characters could have worked through that issue together. Instead, we got an epilogue where they were suddenly married and with a baby with little plotting to support that outcome.

Overall, this was a cute, cozy read that did a great job of exploring Cat’s character development and story themes. However, the plot fell a little empty for me and that stole some of the novel’s charm.

Thank you to Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book.

Good, quick read. I love any kind of behind the scenes trope and this behind the scenes look into the life of a cancelled influencer was great! I’m still unsure about why the main character was cancelled, I feel like there could be a lot more development of that storyline and a few of the side characters, but overall a good read for when you need a brain break! Thank you #Netgalley and #ThomasNelson for the ARC. I will definitely be looking for more #MelissaFerguson books! #FamousForALiving

This copy was kindly given to me by the publisher and netgalley for review. All opinions are my own.

I have a thing for park rangers, so this romance was right up my alley. Also, my desire to move out west to reconnect with the great outdoors could have contributed to why I like this book as much as I did. I really enjoyed how the author portrayed a social media influencer and the influence of social media on our lives. The all consuming point it can get to, the inability to put our phones down and that we do not have to document every moment to validate it.

The romance was slow but not in a slow burn or boring way, more like a nature falling for each other kind of way. I loved the adventures and crazy things the group of rangers and MC get into; Mina her roommate was such a sweetie.

I had a hard time getting into this one at first, but I kept pushing through because I've enjoyed other books by Melissa Ferguson and it did not disappoint! It was a sweet story that had a great message attached!

When influencer Cat gets canceled, she accepts her uncle’s offer to work at Kannery National Park in Montana. Life in Montana is very different than life in New York City - including the ruggedly handsome park ranger Zaiah.

I’ve read most of Melissa Ferguson’s books, and I feel like there is always something missing. This was a solid book - I thought the premise was super creative. I just wanted a little bit more. It’s definitely not heavy on the romance - it leaned more women’s fiction to me

I think the overall idea of this book, about a social media influencer who falls from grace and truly has to find herself again, is compelling, and it did keep me interested for a while. However, it eventually became very predictable and had somewhat of an uninspiring ending. Overall, it felt like if it was released pre-COVID, before national parks became huge on social media and among social media influencers, that it may have felt more innovative. That being said, it's a fairly breezy read with definite escapism elements that I certainly didn't mind reading.

FAMOUS FOR A LIVING
By Melissa Ferguson

Famous For a Living is about Cat Cranwell a million follower influencer shunned by the social media community after an app has gone wrong, making an escape to Montana to let this all die down. This is an absolutely charming story that warmed my heart. I really enjoyed this cozy story with one of the best character arc I have read recently.

With topics that are current and relevant, the themes in this story is sure to wow many readers.

This was a quick and cute read! A big city influencer faces scandal and steps away to her uncle in Montana.

Some of the situations I felt in my bones because I am not a "roughing it" type of girl, nor do I enjoy snow or cold. The interactions between the two main characters were cute at times, but I had a hard time feeling the chemistry between them. At times the plot and timeline felt disjointed, but overall this was a cute and sweet read (i.e. no spice). I wish there had been more of Uncle Terry in the story as well!

This book was ok but not great. There's not actually a lot of romance. A social media influencer gets in trouble and escapes to the mountains in a national park to work for her uncle. She meets and falls in love with a ranger. It was interesting in the details into the social media lifestyle and there some "lessons" on how it can mess up your life. There were also a couple of difficult topics.

Overall it was decent and a nice, quick read.

This my first time reading something by this author and I found it to be a fun and charming story. Cat's successful world as an influencer comes crashing down when her business partner is in trouble for committing some serious financial crimes. Cat really needs to get away until the spotlight and trolling die down a little, so she accepts her Uncle's offer to come work with him at a national park. Cat leaves the glamour of her life and learns to rough it out in nature, not really something she had in mind. But despite the drastic change in lifestyle, Cat really has a chance to focus on her growth and what is really important in life. Helping her uncle out, she has the opportunity to really do some good and help him save the park. She also meets Zaiah, a handsome ranger that works at the park and can't stand social media. He loves nature and his job, and with his help, Cat begins to see all the beauty she has been missing out on.
While there certainly was some romance, the story was mostly about Cat and her growth as a person and learning there is more to life than just keeping track of how many likes you get. I was a little disappointed there wasn't just a little more romance, but I did enjoy seeing Cat's growth throughout the story. The story was definitely thought-provoking in the sense of ill-effects from social media and realizing its flaws. It was well-written and I am glad to have had the opportunity to read it.
I received a complimentary copy from Netgalley and am voluntarily leaving my review.

I tend to usually fall in love with this type of books, where the rich girl needs to scape her life and moves to a smaller town where she meets the mysterious and attractive male lead. however this book was not that.

yes that does happen, but towards the end of the book. this was a good woman's literary fiction book and calling it a romance book would be kind of lying. this book mostly consists of cat needing space from her life and figuring out herself.

like i said its a good book but if you're looking for a heavy romance driven book, this would not be it.

Thank you to Thomas Nelson and the author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I went into this expecting romance and adventure with some self discovery. What I found was more self discovery, a tad bit of adventure and a small bit of romance. It was a cute journey just not what I had anticipated. Cat is a really likable character and easy to relate to. Zariah is the typical grumpy social media naysayer. I must admit I was disappointed in the lack of romance, it definitely seemed to read more as women’s fiction.

I stayed up late last night because I couldn’t put down this thoroughly enjoyable enemies to lovers, fish out of water rom-com! Melissa Ferguson always delivers a well-developed story with delightful characters and this one is no exception. It was a joy to follow Cat on her journey of growth and redemption. Snag this one today for a deeper than you might think sweet romance.

Cat Cranwell was a relatable character who undergoes learning about herself and growth. the connection to social media was reflective. I loved the setting of the National Park. The found friendships and camaraderie of the park rangers had me chuckling with their antics and support systems.

Cat Cranwell is an influencer who has it all, until her business partner is accused of crimes, and she’s been implicated as well. To avoid the scandal, Cat accepts her Uncle Terry’s invitation to work for him in Kannery National Park, Montana leaving the glitz and glamour of the big city behind.

Used to living in luxury, Cat’s new accommodations involve living in a basic one-bedroom cabin in the woods where she also has a roommate. The cast of characters in her new surroundings make her daily life interesting and invoke humour into her life in a difference sense than she’s used to. Cat takes over the social media outlets for the park in order to get more followers and entice people to visit.

Life is different when she’s promoting scenery and not having to be worried about her image that is portrayed to the world. She’s living a simpler life than she’s used to and finds herself falling for Zaiah Smith, a park ranger who continues to teach her lessons she didn’t know she needed.

This novel had me constantly laughing, wondering what predicament Cat would find herself in next.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson for allowing me to read an ARC of this novel. #NetGalley #Famousforaliving

3.75 out of 5. I enjoy riches to rags storylines in film (Schitts creek is a huge favorite) so this had a lot of potential for me. Its personal reawakening in the time of crisis was predictable but nice and it definitely made for a really cute romance. All these National Park rom com books and movies are questioning my anti camping stance. However what I was not expecting that made this book stand out against the rest was that it actually made me seriously question myself and how much time I spend on my phone! I did not think I would get personal development for a cute romance but here we are!

This just didn’t work for me. I think it will be for others but I really didn’t enjoy the writing style.

The story itself was fine, but none of the characters really stood out to me as someone I could REALLY root for. It took me quite a while to get through what should've been a quick read, but it's by no means a bas book, it just lacked a certain je ne sais quoi unfortunately. I'd still give Melissa's other works a go!