0.5/5 stars! Umm. I don't even know what to say about this book. This is one of the worst books I've read this year. There was no build-up or plot development, the chemistry was unrealistic, and I hated both of the main characters. So....yeah! That's all I've got.

I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily

This was a light hearted story that has been described in most reviews as "not too deep" for a reason. It's definitely a mindless read and doesn't have too many twists or turns. The characters are pretty straight forward from the get-go and the plot wastes no time kicking off. This would be a good beach read or road trip read because it's easy to stop and start the book wherever. I personally need a bit more suspense and depth which is why I gave it three stars! Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an advance e-copy of this book!

I really wish I had an opportunity to meet the two leads separately before they got together. I had trouble feeling connected to either of them because I didn’t really get to see them grow or change. They had very little conflict until some drama towards the end but that was resolved very quickly. This was a quick read which was nice.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I really struggle bringing myself to write negative reviews, especially for books that aren’t even out yet but I found this extremely difficult to read from page one. We got no scene setting, no lead up, no backstory before the two main characters had their chance meeting, and even that was unrealistic and so cheesy I just cringed the entire time.

The only reason this wasn’t a DNF is because I was holding onto a shred of hope that the writing would improve or the overall story would be enough to save the book. It wasn’t.

Dee steps outside the club (in the literal first line) and ends up standing in an empty alley with Ryder while talking about some really explicit shit on the phone while he stands and blatantly listens. Then she waxes on about how she’s so different than other LA women and obviously he finds this so alluring and mind blowing that he has to kiss her 2 minutes after meeting her?

The writing was poor, the dialogue was stunted and jarring and the whole execution was poorly done. The characters were unrealistic and surface level. There was nothing about them that made me feel anything at all for them beyond boredom.

The promise of normal girl meets and falls in love with hot megastar drew me in but ultimately left me aggravated and disappointed.

This is a true testament about how love is magical and is extraordinary especially when you find the right person. Dee and Rye met each other in an unexpected way but when they did, it was right from the very beginning. They may have had different outlets for their art but in their support and love for each other, they blossomed both personally and professionally. I really enjoyed reading this book as it made me smile and tear up when reading the words they said to each other each and every day.

This book has it all. Humor, romance, tension, you name it's all here. I loved this book more than I expected. This is definitely going to be a can't miss read this year.

I was very disappointed in this book. Essentially, I found it a cheesy, unbelievable romance with very stilted dialogue. From start to finish, it was simplistic and and overly predictable.


It’s odd for me to give a negative review, but I find it hard to recommend this book. It’s hardly more sophisticated than a YA novel

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC.

Hollyland is unlike most books I enjoy reading. Dee and Ryder meet in an alleyway, are instantly attracted to each other, and fall in love. She is a scholar in the field of art, and he is a popular screen actor. They have similar childhood tragedies in common and a love of the arts. There is no great drama, no burning miscommunication, that we readers come to expect from a romance in the last third of a book. Just a gentle unfolding of daily life and the growth of their love for each other, their families and friends. There is some outside drama that is resolved quickly, but they’re adults and they act like it.

Like Dee who wants to enjoy art just for pleasure, not for critique, you will enjoy experiencing this book just for the pleasure of reading.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you to NetGalley and She Writes Press for this ARC.

To critique Patricia Leavy's 'Hollyland', is to admit I didn't learn a thing from her book, which is a treatise on art disguised as an 'ordinary woman meets Hollywood star' fairytale love story.

It's insta-love for arts academic Dr Dee Schwartz and celebrity actor Ryder 'Rye' Field.

Dee bowls Rye over with her opinions on art and the pleasure of making art vs commerce (hell she bowled me over, I want to go back and drink those sentences back in as it expanded my mind). Both bond over losing their mothers at a young age, now 40 Dee lost her mum at 8, while 50-year-old Rye's actress mother was killed by a fan when he was 10.

She's shy, but passionate about art and pushing the boundaries of art. As she tells Rye 'I love art more than anything; it's sacred to me. Artists need to be free. Art shouldn't have to apologise for itself. It should provoke, inspire, unsetlle and disrupt - or at least aspire to'.

But Dee is no ordinary woman, in one of the standout scenes of the book, it turns out Dr Dee is a well-renowed arts/education researcher with best-selling books, sold out lectures and also as a bit of a 'fix it' woman for movies and music. Rye and his Hollywood actor friends are stunned at how well-connected Dee is, assisting an old family friend to fix a failing movie, which later won an Oscar. She also gives a more public demonstration of how she helps a rap star fix his song. This part was a bit over the top and made Dee borderline a Mary Sue but I’ll go with it.

But despite that all, Dee just wants to enjoy art for the pleasure, rather than applying critical analysis.

'I'm just looking for that gold dust you mentioned. I want someone to stroll around a museum with me, someone to take me to a concert or film and ask me, 'Did you enjoy it?'.

This is a book where nothing really happens, with characters that are mostly perfectly evolved. The only remotely 'bad' thing that happens is resolved quickly.

Which is an interesting tension in of itself.

I kept reading it thinking 'wait, they're going to have the 80% break up'. Nope, instead this was external drama. And it was refreshing. No miscommunication, just two middle-aged characters in love and wanting to put the work in to stay in love, knowing what they know with their previous experiences. I think I'm so used to a 'formula' that as perfect this story was, at times borderline cheesy (I'm really not into marriage and babies as a happy ever after or phrases like 'make love'), but as Dee says:

Did you enjoy it?

Yes. And I smile and move onto to the next book.

Thanks to Netgalley and She Writes Press for the ARC.

Hollyland is a low stakes romantic comedy. It starts with an art researcher/academic meets an actor in the alleyway of the bar and thus the start of a love story!

For me the writing was easy to read, maybe too easy, and the plot simple but enjoyable.

Hollyland is a romance involving Ryder Field a big TV and movie star and Dee Swartz an author, poet and arts researcher, they meet in an alley where Ryder is having a quick smoke and Dee is taking a phone call which sounds very suggestive, they start chatting both being impressed with the other particularly their love of the arts. Ryder is bowled over by Dee’s knowledge and invites her back to his home. There is instant attraction which very quickly turns to love.
Both have had grief in the past, Dee’s mother dying when she was young and Ryders mother a big Hollywood star was kidnapped and murdered. They are both good characters with depth and you can’t help but like them. This is a nice read with a bit of drama towards the end that is soon over. A satisfying ending that wrapped everything up nicely.
For me this was just a nice romance, having read other reviews I’m wondering if I’ve somehow missed something. I did not find hilarious or rip roaring and dramatic, just a pleasant read. There were times when it became too sickly, I think they kept telling each other ‘I love you with all of my heart’ on nearly every other page.
My thanks to net galley and publisher for the opportunity to review this book honestly.

I love a good Hollywood story and this book was absolute perfection. I loved Dee and Ryan and especially how they both bonded over similar childhood tragedies. I love how it had a bit of everything especially the suspense aspect which you don’t see a lot in books like this. Highly highly recommended. 5/5


What happens when a seemingly ordinary woman with a passion for the arts falls in love with a Hollywood star known for his bachelor status and quick temper with the paparazzi? Something extraordinary.

Dee Schwartz is a writer and arts researcher. Ryder Field is a famous actor descended from Hollywood royalty. On the night they meet outside a bar, their connection is palpable. Ryder’s mother—legendary actress Rebecca Field, half of Hollywood’s golden couple when she died—was kidnapped and murdered by a crazed fan in a shocking event that forever tarnished Tinseltown. Dee’s mother, too, died when she was young. Bonded by this loss, the two embark on a love story that explores their search for magic—or “gold dust”—in their lives. Everything changes, however, when Dee mysteriously disappears after an awards ceremony. Is history repeating itself? Can there truly be a happily ever after in Hollywood?

Set against the backdrop of contemporary Los Angeles, Hollyland is a poignant novel that moves fluidly between romance, humor, suspense, and joy.