Emmy Ellison is on her way to be a best selling author. When her book is optioned for a movie, she's elated that Jason Connor, her real life celebrity crush and the basis for the male main character in her book, is hired for the movie. PR really wants to hype things up, getting Emmy and Jason to play into a relationship. It's all fake for the public, but neither one expected it for real in private. Emmy did her research on Jason for her book character. She knew just about everything there was to know, even the most obscure. As she gets to know Jason, she realizes that some of his public persona is greatly sensationalized. When those parts of the book come to light, it might just crush the budding relationship.

I alternated between reading and listening to this story. Stephanie Willing and Andrew Eiden brought this story to life. If not for the option to listen and get to know the characters through the narrators' voices, I may have given up early on. Great narrators capture the true personality of the characters and hook me right into the story.

I received an advance copy of this book at my request and voluntarily left this review.

This had so much promise.

An influencer turned romance author publishes a book about her celebrity crush. Celebrity crush is revealed on a talk show. They have an intense hug. I had a hard time understanding the show this guy was popular for, it was like dancing related? And is known for a whole bunch of memes?

And the girl was a social media yoga influencer who spends quality time with her 12 year old daughter making tiktoks and doing tiktok dances. It’s rough.

Her rom com novel so being made into a movie that ends up being a musical with Duran Duran music. 🤷🏻‍♀️

This book will be outdated in like a year with all the pop culture references. A few is fine. This was overloaded.

Some weird things. When her and the guy hook up for the first time, the girl comes out in like a t shirt and underwear and the dude makes her a smoothie and his like 4 year old is just sitting there in the living room watching cartoons. Yikes.

The story of the FMC’s daughter’s dad is weird. The way it was told was that she was in college and approached him to review her script and he was all “let’s look at it in my hotel room” and she goes, and like, it felt like it was implied that he took advantage of her and she got pregnant and then he told her her script was not good and she would never make it in this business.

But then later when she sees the guy near the end of the book and it was like they were just sort of civil and she was not at all traumatized or anything and she’s like “this is your daughter” like…what? So maybe I misunderstood the way it was told but…?

I don’t know, the narrators of the audiobook did the best they could with what they had. The premise sounded fun but the story and the characters fell flat. Also, there is zero fake dating, not sure why that’s in the summary.

Thank you @netgalley and @hachetteaudio for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Cute insta-love closed door romance. It was a fun read and I enjoyed the banter. I really liked the narrators too.

3.5 round to 4 stars

3.5 stars. i enjoyed the premise and what a great debut but it was a bit too insta-lovey for me. i liked that it was a closed door with great banter. i was able to go back and forth between audio and e-arc. i did enjoy the audio more because i liked the narration.

Celebrity Crush was such a fun audiobook!

I loved the concept of a celebrity crush turned real life love interest; making the reader have all the feels like they are right there with Emmy (the FMC). I could feel her butterflies and excitement when connecting with her Jason (the celebrity MMC). The banter between the two was superb and the drama that ensued because of circumstances were perfectly plotted and fun to be taken along for the ride. Additionally, the interviews, blogs and podcast elements scattered throughout made the story lighter and provided the perfect celebrity buzz world we know.

Andrew Eiden and Stephanie Willing did a great job with their narration and character differentiation. I highly recommend listening to this audiobook for an entertaining audio.

Thank you Hachette Audio for the alc. All thoughts expressed in this review are my own.

Thank you so much to Hachette Audio for the complimentary ALC!

This book is out now!

Ugh. I wanted to love this SO badly! On paper this is exactly the kind of book that I love but for some reason it just wasn't clicking for me the way I thought it would. And I thought pairing it with the audio which is narrated by Andrew Eiden and Stephanie Willing would help but it only help with making sure that I finished the book.

"Hollywood isn't really a place, after all. It's a universe. A universe I desperately want to belong to."

And maybe I missed it but it just seemed like one minute Emmy is put in the hot seat to admit who her celebrity crush is and next minute Jason was the crush and boom they are dating? I know Emmy was helping him with his social media image but it just didn't feel real? I was hoping for more of a built up? More flirting? Something to make me feel connected to the characters.

As I mentioned I paired my reading with the audio and sadly even with Andrew Eiden (Teddy Hamilton) doing the MMC's POV it did not help much. He made it at least somewhat enjoyable. I am unfamiliar with Stephanie Willing prior work but I would listen to her again. They truly saved me. I feel like I am making this sound like a really bad book. It's not. I wanted so bad for things to click for me but it just hadn't.

I would read this author again as this was a debut so it could possible be that first book jitters.

I recommend this if you like books with social media influencers and Hollywood!

3.25

Oh, how I love this book! The characters are so vivid and personable—they feel like old friends. It’s delightful, funny, and filled with so much heart. From the very beginning, I could see why he was her celebrity crush, and I loved watching him become so much more than that.

Both main characters are ambitious, talented, and wonderfully complicated, making their journey even more compelling. I especially enjoyed seeing them navigate their careers, friendships, and family dynamics, all while sharing their undeniable chemistry.

I would love to see more of this world and take a deeper look into the lives of other characters. Sign me up for any and all future work by Christy Swift!

3.5/5 star rating

Celebrity Crush by Christy Swift was a good debut novel. I listened to the audiobook, and the narrators Teddy Hamilton and Stephanie Willing were swoony and made the story! There were some funny moments throughout the story.

Read this if you enjoy:
-Celebrity romance
-Author FMC/actor MMC
-Single mom
-Single dad
-Insta-love
-Miscommunication
-Social media influencing
-Hollywood setting

⭐️⭐️

The cover is great
The narrator is great
The story is not

I really wanted to love this, but this story gave me no feels, I didn't like either of the characters, and I didn't believe the attraction between them.

I will not be leaving a public review for this book.

Honestly, I had a hard time getting into the audiobook and felt like my mind was constantly drifting while I was listening to it (I only got a few chapters in via audiobook). However, I did pick this book up once it was published just to give it a fair review since I mainly read books instead of listening to audiobooks. I was definitely more engaged after switching to a physical copy and enjoyed the book as a whole. The main characters (Emmy + Jason) have great banter and Hollywood celebrity romances is a trope I’ve always been into! It was a fun, light hearted novel!

There were points where it felt like Emmy was clearly using Jason to further her book sales rather than fostering a genuine connection which bothered me a little. I think both of the main characters + their relationship development felt rather rushed (i.e. insta lust) and could have been more fully fleshed out because the conflict felt a bit shallow in my opinion.

The biggest thing that kept putting me off was how often modern things such as pop culture and social media were mentioned. It definitely made sense in context of this book, but it’s something *I* personally don’t enjoy. I use reading as a form of escapism and these elements just brought me back to reality and took away from the flow. I would have definitely liked less of these references.

Thank you NetGalley and Hachette Audio for the advanced listening copy in exchange for my honest review.

Celebrity Crush by Christy Swift is a fun, easy listen that’ll keep you entertained from start to finish. With great narration by Andrew Eiden and Stephanie Willing, the characters really come to life and make the story even more enjoyable. It’s a light, breezy romance that’s perfect for anyone looking to unwind. Highly recommend if you're in the mood for something feel-good!

#ChristySwift #CelebrityCrush #NetGalley #HachetteAudio

Thank you NetGalley and Hachette Audio for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. I listened to this on audiobook.

General info—
This is described as a “fake dating” romance, but I don’t feel that is accurate. This fits the bill for the celebrity romance style, and the spice is low (closed door).

Narrators—
I found the female narrator a bit irritating at first, but I quickly grew to enjoy her performance. I would be happy to hear a performance from her again.
The male narrator is fine, but he used odd inflections that were distracting. It’s like he couldn’t decide if he was going to have an accent for the character or not.

FMC, Emmy—
I like that she is capable in her life (parent and career) instead of just merely being a human placeholder for the female love interest. Despite some of her jokes being painfully cheesy, she’s funny. Though, she moves to expecting something from Jason far too fast.

MMC, Jason—
I enjoy that he has more to him than merely the surprisingly-down-to-earth famous guy that a lot of celebrity/normal person romance novels often have. He has believable flaws.

General Pros—
I love a duel narration!
The preview quotes at the start of each chapter is a fun touch!
A couple minor characters are quite enjoyable (Sean and Peyton).
It did have me laugh out loud a few times.
Jason’s constant dancing is pretty adorable.
I want Emmy’s social media channels to be real.
The conflict that occurs is believable rather than merely a lack of communication.
I like that the author provides some epilogue-style material.

General Cons—
The nonstop sci-fi metaphors gets annoying. I love sci-fi, but it is a lot.
Generally, there are too many very specific pop culture references to make this a lasting favorite for people—some of the references are already outdated or just seem random (Why all the real celebrity cameos? So many hashtag jokes? Ok, the Alien reference was cute…).
By the end, I can’t even decide if I even like the characters. I don’t know what their “game” TV appearance was meant to do, but it just seems unprofessional and makes them both seem unlikable.

Spoiler Free Most Fun Moment—
The hug contest - “Win it, babe!”

Is this for you?—
If you would enjoy a LOT sci-fi references and the celeb romance genre, you may enjoy it. If you are hoping for a “fake dating” turned “real love” romance as the description suggests, I’d pass.

Overall—
It’s fine for what it is but ultimately a bit forgettable. I wouldn’t recommend it, but I wouldn’t warn anyone away from it. I like the two MCs ok enough on their own, but they don’t really make sense together.

3 ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Imagine you wrote fanfic about your celebrity crush and it got published, and then you met him and decided to fake date him for PR…. Obviously everyone involved would catch feelings!!! That’s CELEBRITY CRUSH by Christy Swift!!! I really enjoyed reading it, minus a smidge of fatphobia that was really unnecessary if I’m being honest.

I absolutely adored this audiobook. It came along at the perfect time when I really needed something to make me laugh and cry. The characters were perfectly flawed and realistic. The pacing was just right. The banter between the characters was so fun. I loved the bits of pop culture referenced. The narrators of the audiobook truly brought the characters to life with all of the emotion and angst the characters deserved. I listened to the entire book in one day. I just couldn’t put it down. I will definitely be looking for additional books written by Christy Swift or narrated by Andrew Eiden and Stephanie Willing.

I wanted to love this book more. As far as rom coms go it was pleasantly satisfying. But it left me wanting for more. The character development was too sparse as these characters meet, I believe in the first chapter, so you don't really know who either of them is or why you are rooting for them to be together. I would have loved to have known who Emmy was as a person, a mom, a friend, or even from a family perspective. Instead the story really is all about whether or not the two main characters will end up together and here just wasn't enough for me there to care. The dialogue was cute, the story was fun but I just wanted something more than a "nice" story that was just pretty good.

Thank you NetGalley and Hachette Audio for the ARC

I liked the premiss for Celebrity Crush. It's literally every fan girl's dream. I found myself vibing with the story at the beginning but after a while the FMC started to annoy me. The third act break up was so unnecessary, predictable and irritating. It didn't manage to remedy itself after that.

Easy, upbeat and entertaining! A very fun premise, although the conflict felt shallow to me initially and the characters a bit immature for both being single parents. Tons of pop culture references and some of my least favorite tropes in romance, but the extra characters and social media snippets kept me engaged. If it weren’t for the incredible audio narration, I’m not sure that I would have enjoyed this as much as I did. They really brought life to this story!

Super fun audiobook! The narrators were a great choice and made the audio super engaging and just overall a great time, which is what we always want from contemporary romance :)

This is a fun contemporary romance, where you might have seen some variation on the big screen but will still enjoy the current day-ness of it. I listened to the audio version, which kept me intrigued, but had I read it - it may not have been A DNF'd. It was a little slower at some parts. The current day social media aspect of it all made it an interesting modern spin on a romance.

The novel is dual POV, which I love for romances and I fell in love with both main characters from the first few chapters. I will admit that the "conflict" felt shallow to me but I'm not sure the age of the main characters. If you enjoy Hollywood/celebrity romance and are looking for a light read this novel is for you!

The Narrators together were amazing Andrew Aiden and Stephanie Willing made this book come to live. They were able to make the story more enjoyable and the banter they both had was superior and entertaining. They were so clear and understandable I was never bored listening to the story. I definitely recommend the audiobook.