2.75. Emmy is a romance writer whose book is being made into a movie. She knows she can use social media to promote herself and decides to reveal her celebrity crush to her following. He’s also starring in her movie. The PR is too good to pass up but she wasn’t joking about the crush and a crush turns into feelings as they work together to promote.

This was a fun listen and had really charming parts. There were a lot of corny parts as well that got old quickly. Jason was not a very likable character for me personally and didn’t seem to develop into one over the course of the story. Emmy wasn’t likable enough to redeem both of them either. The entire story fell a little flat for me towards the middle.

The narrators did great at portraying the characters.

Thank you so much to Netgalley, Christy Swift, and Hachette Audio for providing this free ARC. This is my honest review. This published on February 11th.

I had so much fun listening to this hilarious, and heartfelt romance! Swift's delightful debut slow burn rom-com is filled with witty banter, awkward and hilarious situations, and a sweet and moving storyline with lots of heart. Emily Ellison wrote a hit romance called Celebrity Crush, that is being made into a movie staring her celebrity crush, Jason Connor. She tried to be a screen writer originally, but had to settle as a social media manager. As she promotes her book, she and Jason finally meet. Jason's career is at risk after an unfortunate incident and he is in need of a PR makeover. When Emily offers to help, they begin to spend time together. Feelings and fiery attraction begins to grow between them. They are from two different worlds and they each have a child to consider. Can they trust that their feelings are real, or are they using each other to further both their careers? I really fell hard and cared for both Emily and Jason, as I cheered for their HEA. They were so endearingly sweet, funny, and genuine together, with great chemistry. I was a bit frustrated with some of the miscommunication that added some angst to the story, but there were so many laugh out loud moments, some emotional, and some sweet and tender moments that made me so very happy. I also loved all the secondary characters who added so much heartfelt quirkiness, and fun to this story as well.
Andrew Eiden and Stephanie Willing's narration was spectacular! They just bring that little something extra to their performance. The way they developed and expressed each of these characters, and their struggles so intimately, making each character come alive was completely captivating. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves slow-burn, romantic comedies, with witty banter and great characters.

Cute story about an author who writes a story based on her celebrity crush. Her book becomes optioned for a movie and he stars in it! The pair do a whole PR tour. Cute read, I love that it was 2 single parents. Single parent trope is one of my favorites!

I think the overall story has potential but there seems to be an over-the-topness that I can't ignore. Don't get me wrong I love cutesy banter but this was over-the-top cring. I think if the ages were modified to make it more of a teen romance or young 20s then it would make more sense to me, but with the main character being a 30-year-old mom fan girl is a little hard to understand or connect with. I also think the inner dialogue is weird and feels forced as well as the jokes themselves. I do like the young mom who is trying to find love aspect but they way she talks to the guys in the music group is off putting as a 30 year old.

I want to thank Netgalley for the audiobook ARC.

If you like cheesy romcoms this one is for you. The romance was cute although it felt kind of too much YA-ish for my taste. The main characters felt kinda one dimensional and the romance felt rushed. Overall I enjoyed it and would recommend it to every one who likes the romcom genre.

This is the story of Emmy Ellison, rom-com author and social media influencer, who gets caught up with a Hollywood Star. As someone who is not really into social media, this story fell a little flat to me as I didn't feel I was able to connect with the characters.

Emmy is a romance author whose most recent book centers around a fictional character based on her real life celebrity crush. When one of her videos promoting the book goes viral, she ends up on a talk show where she meets her crush. Jason is a famous actor on a TV show and a well known Hollywood womanizer. Emmy and Jason team up when they realize he can help promote her book and she can help him win back the public's hearts.

I was excited by the premise of this book, but the execution fell flat for me. I just did not fall for either main character. They both felt immature to me and I had a hard time believing their romance. I did like the friendship that developed between them, but there was not spark. Also, this was NOT a fake dating romance as the blurb suggests. I don't know that effected my view of it, but I don't like when the advertising of the book is false. I did find some of the social media and celebrity blog part of it entertaining and funny, particularly because the audiobook narrator did an excellent job in those scenes.

Tropes
* Single Mom/Single Dad
* Actor/Author
* Fantasy Fulfillment
* Hollywood Drama
* Closed Door

3 stars

A Very TikTok Celebrity Fanfic Romance

Yes, that's a lot of things. I am not a person who enjoys TikTok and the culture, so this book fell very flat for me (for more reasons than just the social media inclusion).

Emmy is a single mother, romance author and social media influencer who considers herself a background character in her own life. But when her bestselling book gains traction on social media and her using it as a self-insert fanfic for a Sci-Fi filmstar is revealed, things escalate, especially when the man she wrote about is cast as the film's lead, opposite his on-and-off ex girlfriend and mother of his child.

Yes, this plot seems convoluted and fanfic-y. It is. There is a strong emphasis on social media, memes and TikTok dances. None of which I am particularly partial to, and it seriously spoiled the listening experience. I enjoyed Andrew Eiden's narration of Jason, the celebrity crush in question. He actually saved the book from being a single-star flop for me. Stephanie Willing not only narrates Emmy but also a whole host of social media persons, the gossip end of which is extremely grating and unpleasant to listen to. I am sure it was meant to be mildly annoying but they went too far there.
In general, several plot points around the entertainment and publishing industries are very contrived and would be questionable if real. That Emmy mostly thinks of Jason's facial expressions in memes is not endearing after the tenth time it happens. Morally, I have issues with a mother using her daughter for social media and income (and the fact that her daughter cannot name a single hobby other than TikTok dances is deeply problematic). I also do not think the other female characters are particularly nice or relatable, so not well written or dimensional.

TLDR; if you are not into mild spice, TikTok, social media, fanfiction gone real or celebrity gossip and game shows, skip this one.

This was a tough listen for me. The description sounded fun and like something I would love. It also didn't take long for me to get into the story but in the end that wasn't enough.

I didn't really like Emmy nor her secret love interest. The book was told in dual pov and already the second chapter gave away who the “secret” love interest will be. She also said it in the third chapter. I would have liked it more if they hadn't announced it right away and tried to make it more interesting.

It's also not really right to say that he was an “inspiration” for the male love interest in her book because she copied his whole look, memes (??) and dug in his past to include a scene into the book that happened the exact same way in his real life. She also never told him about the scene because she thought he wouldn't finish reading the book. The one time she wanted to tell him about, they had sex instead. Throughout the book Emmy also said a lot of times that her plan in the beginning was to use him for cloud and it was just so odd. He also wasn't just a celebrity crush for her but a real crush with whom she was completely obsessed.

Both characters didn't really talk to each other and a lot of the issues could have been solved by just talking to each other.

The writing was easy to follow, and it would have been a cute story if they had talked at least one time about a real topic. I didn't really felt a chemistry between them, and I was annoyed when she did TikTok dances in literally every other chapter. It all felt a bit cringy from time to time and that sadly not in a funny way.

Andrew Eiden and Stephanie Willing did a good job in narrating the book.

Sadly this book wasn't for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and Hachette Audio for this Audiobook-ARC!

Thank you to Christy Swift, Hachette Audio, and NetGalley for an audio ARC of Celebrity Crush.

3.5/5 Stars

Celebrity Crush is a cute rom-com with funny witty banter, some adorable moments, and a touch of miscommunication/misunderstanding. While I'm not usually a fan of miscommunication, I thought this book used it well. I'll let others know this book is closed door. So while there is tension, there is no spice.

Things I loved:

The characters: Almost all of the characters were lovable and funny. Of course every story needs a villain, and while I disliked Margarita for sure, I also thought I understood her a bit. I would love to see other stories written in this universe for Jason's cast mates or even Emmy's bff.

The witty banter: I just have to say, if Emmy was an actual social media influencer, I would follow her. Her quips were funny and totally relatable. Throw in her interactions with Jason and this story became laugh out loud funny.

The concept: Who wouldn't want a chance with their celebrity crush. I loved that this book was about a book about falling in love with a celebrity crush. The story we hear is the same one that the main character has written to become famous and it was just fun to see come to life.

This book was a super fun listen and I thought the narrators did a great job making it come to life. This would be a good book for fans of Christina Lauren or Katherine Center.

While the narrator was great along with the audiobook production, this book was a miss for me. Just so unrealistic and cheesy/cringy.

Thanks to Forever, Hachette Audio, and NetGalley for early copies of Celebrity Crush in exchange for my honest opinions. The book is now available everywhere! I listened to Celebrity Crush over the course of one evening, while cooking and cleaning and packing. Once I started it, I was sucked into the story by the great narration, and it was the perfect romance to binge while getting things done. I mostly listen to audiobooks while doing chores or while walking/commuting - for me it’s the best distraction from anything required which might feel monotonous.
In Celebrity Crush, Emmy is a single parent and a debut author who has written a romance about her celebrity crush. The book she’s written takes off, and there is a ton of speculation about the identity of her crush. When it is optioned as a movie, it becomes an even bigger deal when the producers plan to cast her crush! Emmy gets to meet the crush that inspired the book, and the tension is huge. There is plenty more that happens, but I don’t want to give away too much because it happens in such a fun way.
Celebrity Crush is Christy Swift's debut novel, too. If you like reading books about books and movies, reading romance with older main characters, or if you’ve ever imagined meeting your celebrity crush, I think you’ll like this one. I really enjoyed the narration by Stephanie Willing and Andrew Eiden - I think that’s a big reason why I didn’t stop until I had listened all the way to the end!

I loved the narrators for this book! They did a great job and really sucked me in from the very beginning!

I loved this light hearted rom com, this is a first book that I have read by Christy swift I will definitely be adding her to my tbr list from now on. Also the narrator where prefect. I highly recommend this book!

This was cute and perfect if you want a kind of nerdy romance, and I mean that as a compliment. There were a lot of sci fi references that went over my head but there were also plenty of pop culture refs that I got (lol) and the banter between the leads was great. Overall an easy and charming listen with two fantastic narrators

*♡Thank you to to Christy Swift, Hatchette Audio and Netgalley for the ARC of this audiobook in exchange for my honest opinion♡*

Celebrity Crush is the perfect closed door romance that reads like you're watching a rom-com movie. It is an enjoyable time from start to finish and so much fun!
Stephanie Willing and Andrew Eiden do a fantastic job of narrating, which always makes an audiobook more enjoyable.

The one downside I will say about the book, and it is a complete personal opinion, is the miscommunication trope. You just want to shake the FMC so many times and tell her just to talk to the MMC!! But then I suppose the book would only be half as long that way!

I would definitely recommend this book for a good time and a few laughs ♡

Emmy, a debut author, has written a book about her celebrity crushes. Her book is optioned for a movie, and her "dream" crush lands the leading role. On set sparks fly, as she relives all her moments crushing on Jason.

This was a good, cute romance with some funny moments.

The audiobook helped sell the story with the two swoony narrators - Teddy Hamilton and Stephanie Willing.

Thank you, Forever (Grand Central Publishing) | Forever

Thank you NetGalley and Hachette Audio for the opportunity to listen to this arc in exchange for a honest review.

I LOVED this audio. The narrators did a wonderful job making these characters come to life. I will for sure be looking for audiobooks with both narrators, Stephanie Willing and Andrew Eiden, in the future.

This story was also so much fun! The characters, the plot, the drama, the side characters/podcast, it was all so good! And, we all love happy endings! Highly recommend!

When Emmy’s book blows up for her references to her real life celebrity crush, she could never imagine that she’d actually get to meet him in real life. At first he seems to be everything she could have dreamed of. However, it soon becomes apparent that he needs some help improving his image. So Emmy jumps in with a plan to help!

I loved the complicated chemistry between Emmy and her celebrity crush! At surface level they should not have worked but the way they came together to help each other was super cute. I really enjoyed the story and it was a nice quick read.

Thank you Hachette for the review copy of Celebrity Crush on audio, this was the V day week treat, and a most welcome audiobook during a chaotic ice storm no power week, This is a quick escape read, the kind of romance I love with behind the scenes Hollywood vibes, celebrity and other person romance, and solid slow burn tension and lots of steamy chemistry. I wanted a bit more exploration of the characters' lives as single parents, some development of their lives outside of the moment in time development of their relationship, but I enjoyed the plot, looking forward to more from this author. I'd like to see some growth in dialogue as well, a little less focus just on physical attraction (though 100% nothing wrong with that focus!) and some more insights into who the characters are, their mindsets, at times on audio a lack of well developed dialogue, and a lot of time inside cognitions or descriptions of scenes doesn't land as well for me, it stands out when listening in particular but I think that's a style issue for me and doesn't mean this isn't a truly fun escape on audio!