Thank you to NetGalley, Hachette Audio, and Forever Grand Central Publishing for providing me with an aduio galley of this book to listen to and review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
The blurb on this one pulled me right in. I love the idea of a celebrity crush and that crush turning into something more. Plus, Andrew Eiden, one of my favorite narrators! I couldn't pass this one up.
Emma and Jason live in two different worlds. When Emma's novel goes viral and it's based on Jason, their worlds collide. But can a crush turn into something more?
I adored Edien's narration of Jason's part in this book. I think the could recite my shopping list and I'd be enthralled. The female narrator, Stephanie Willing, is new to me. She was just ok. I didn't love her voice. She actually did the male parts better than the female parts for me.
Emma was interesting enough and relatable in the way people are when they are enamored with celebrities. She did feel a bit young for me, especially as the mother of a 12 year old. But overall I found her a bit whiny. I wanted to love her and the connection she made with Jason but it just seemed forced. Like he had to like her because she has been pining over him for so long. Her actions and reactions to being in the presence of a celebrity seemed real enough. I would totally be tongue tied and not know how to act in the presence of my celebrity crush. But at some point that should change. Once you're hanging out with them and get to know them, they should become like anyone else, right? That didn't happen. I will say I was annoyed she kept calling the MMC by his full name throughout the book. We know who he is, so why was this necessary? I liked the relationship between Emma and her daughter, but I felt like she kept leaving her for things and, in reality, I don't feel like this would actually happen, at least from my experience as a mom of three. I needed to feel like that was the most important relationship she had and it just didn't shine through.
As for Jason, I felt like he was forced to like Emma rather than organically fall for her. They were a close proximity romance. Each other's presence and the media basically made them a couple before they even knew one another When they did finally get to know one another, I didn't feel the chemistry I wanted to feel. The aches and heart pains that should come with falling for someone. I also wasn't a fan of Jason's personality. I needed him to be more golden retriever but he was just not much fun and didn't have the emotional depth I thought would happen for his growth. I also would have liked to see more of him as a parent. Since he and Emma had this in common, it would have been nice to see their connection through this.
The pacing was fast enough that I didn't feel like it was bogged down with unnecessary things. The plot left something to be desired, though it was predictable, so I'll give it that. While the characters were fun, and I really enjoyed the side characters, I do wish there was a little more depth and development happening. Plus they didn't really seem like the ages they were supposed to be (30's), they felt much, much younger. Maybe some growth. I did enjoy the writing. I can definitely see myself reading more books from this author in the future as she develops her craft.
Overall, this was a fun read if a little chaotic and over the top. Lots of drama with all the miscommunication and predictable reveal at the end. This will definitely appeal to the social media crowd who love TikTok, Instagram, and any other platforms of that type. I love the celebrity trope. I would have liked to see a bit more chemistry but overall I enjoyed the read and would give this author another chance in the future.

First, this is a cute rom-com. The banters are cute and funny. With dual POV you get how both worked, struggled to get to where they are. On surface, people thinks Jason is just a playboy, and Emmy is just a dumb girl with heart-eyes on her crush. There's alot of mistrust on both sides, but eventually, they get there.

I do appreciate the friends support they both have. Though, you don't get to see it from Jason's POV, but his friends are doing the work behind the scenes. Meanwhile, Emmy's BFF, daughter and stylist are giving her tough love and push that she needs to move forward.

Warning: there is a 3rd act, and the mystery lingered a bit too long for my taste, but glad the mystery was solved at the end. It's a very Hollywood, and very tangled type of ending, but I'm not going to lie, I like it enough to just keep going. It's fun, lighthearted, and lots of love.

I like the pacing, literally flow so nicely that I finished very quickly. I got the audiobook for Celebrity Crush, which you have Andrew Eiden (aka Teddy Hamilton) & Stephanie Willing (Hi-la, from Isla!). We all already know and love Teddy from variety of works that he had done. I didn't know Stephanie's work as much, since I'm not usually in the genre of her work, but she's really fun to listen to, hope she does more rom-com.

Thanks to NetGalley & Hachette Audio for the ARC.

I’m so sorry to say I didn’t enjoy this one. It felt kind of cringey, with far too many TikTok references and meme references.

I’m normally a fan of a celebrity romance but this didn’t do it for me. Emmy and Jason’s connection was a bit of insta-lust, and I didn’t feel any connection between them. I didn’t like Emmy’s character as she was immature and seemed to be using Jason to get herself back on the Hollywood scene.

The narrators did a good job with the material they had, but the book itself is not for me.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of the audio recording for this book.

My actual 🌟 review is 3.5, but I rounded up because celebrity romance is one of my favorite tropes. This was fun, not too deep, romp. The FMC is a writer/social media influencer whose new book about a celebrity crush goes viral. During an interview, she gets to meet him, and they hit it off. The plot is fairly thin, with the usual drama that had me screaming at them to just tell each other the truth, but they drag it out until it's a shocking (not!) reveal. I really liked the podcast interviews between chapter, and the writing overall was fun and cheeky.

Was really excited for this one because the premise seemed so fun and I love celebrity romances, but I had to DNF around 20%. Both main characters felt whiny and entitled. A lot of the dialogue and action was cringey and I couldn't believe that people would actually act this way and be okay with it. It was too hard to get through and I couldn't see either character really redeeming themselves. Thanks Forever for the ALC!

Celebrity Crush
by Christy Swift
Narrated by Andrew Eiden; Stephanie Willing

I received an ARC of this audiobook through Netgalley.

Trigger warnings: Social media backlash, heartache

My first thought after finishing this book is that they should have used a 3rd narrator for the celebrity news podcast team. The giggles are cringe-worthy, and yet, kind of perfect too, I guess I’m on the fence.

Andrew Eiden is officially on my list of favorite narrators. He reminds me of Teddy Hamilton. A++

Stephanie Willing has an engaging voice that’s very versatile and easy to listen to. I sure wouldn’t mind listening to more books narrated by Stephanie!

Christy Swift wrote a really great audiobook. I say that because it’s realistic.

Say you have a celebrity crush and a bit of online stalker tendencies- you will now know all about that person. You will know their best & worst acts because they’ll be public information, names of their families and friends, and possibly years of watching them act in movies and tv shows.

What a terrible imposition you will put that actor at if they ever meet you. You will have years of in-real-time knowledge of them, and they’ll have moment-by-moment knowledge of you. That just seems utterly unbalanced to me.

And, the kicker here, is that Christy Swift took all of that into consideration and was able to make a realistic romance about it. It’s pretty genius actually. I am impressed by this plot.

Just as a warning to readers:
About 70% through this book I temporarily hated the main character. If you feel the same, my advice, is to power through. It gets better - I promise.

Overall, I recommend this book!

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. Overall, it was very funny, showed that real people have flaws, and had two main characters who are parents. This was a short and easy read, and i definitely recommend it. The book as a whole was also quite funny, especially with all the movie references (particularly sci-fi ones).

The audiobook of this was great. There were two narrators, who switched off based on the characters, which I loved, because it annoys me when there’s two point of views but only one narrator. The male narrator in particular was very fitting for Jason, although the narrator for Emmy was also great.

Thank you to Hachette Audio and NetGalley for the advanced audiobook in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you Hachette Audio and Forever a pub for my gifted copies. All opinions are my own.

I am a sucker for a good cover and jumped on the chance to read Celebrity Crush because the cover is gorgeous! Then I saw the audiobook was partially narrated by Teddy Hamilton, say no more. I really enjoyed the narration by Teddy Hamilton and Stephanie Willing.

This was such a fun concept! We start because Emmy has become famous after a video went viral promoting her book based on her celebrity crush. She gets an opportunity to meet him and later work with him when her book is being made into a movie and he’s the lead.

I liked their banter and interactions. They both seemed to be developing feelings but fighting it for different reasons. Jason is on thin ice with his production company. Emmy is trying to drum up interest in her book and movie and decides to use her connection to Jason.

Overall, I enjoyed this, but I struggled with how their relationship played out in the end. Emmy was less than honest and Jason didn’t give her a chance to explain.

This shouldn't have worked from me, but it did. I usually hate social media actively being used in books, but I loved the dolphin vlogs and random yoga pose videos. The theme of dancing throughout the book was a bit much. I kinda hated that the FMC kept calling the MMC by his full name the whole time as if her fandom and awe of his celebrity never wore off. Her genuine sincerity in his times of vulnerability helped though. Overall this was overtop and chaotic, but I had a good time.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc and alc.

I am bummed to write that this book did not work for me. I am upset because I was excited to read this book based on the premise -- it sounded adorable. Unfortunately, I would say that there was not much character development in the story and the characters-- especially the FMC seemed to lack any depth or growth in the story. With that being said I am willing to try more books by Christy Swift in the future, I just think this one fell flat for me. And I am willing to give this book a second chance at some point in hopes my opinion of the story improves. I must say though I really did like the audiobook narrators so that is a plus for me!

I wasn’t a fan of this one. The main characters were both super selfish and whiny and the audiobook kinda made it worse in that sense. I thought the relationship was pretty shallow and didn’t seem real.

I did like the mix of social media posts and podcasts throughout the book though. That made it interesting! I liked the single parent parts but it just didn’t have enough depth for me!

I absolutely adored this book!! It was fun and highly entertaining. Emmy is an author who writes a book about her celebrity crush. Then she gets the opportunity to meet her crush!! The love story blossoms from that meet cute if you call it that. Jason is casted as the leading man for the movie adaption so they end up spending more time together.

The audiobook is narrated by Andrew Eden and Stephanie Willing. Both were such great voices for Emmy and Jason. I had a blast listening to this story.

This audiobook was super entertaining and easy to listen to, the narrator’s did a great job!
The writing was a bit cringe at some points but that was part of the Charme. I do love books about books/ the writing industry and this one was very entertaining

Unfortunately, this one didn’t work for me. I think the “fan falls for celebrity crush” trope has potential, but this execution missed the mark. The FMC, despite being a grown woman with a 12-year-old daughter, felt incredibly immature, at times, even borderline stalker-ish. Both main characters lacked depth, making it hard to invest in their romance. Emmy was supposed to be nerdy, but that characterization never really made sense. I also cringed at a lot of the references, and if I had to hear her say “thank God and Tom Hanks” one more time, I might have screamed. On top of that, her daughter felt like an afterthought rather than a meaningful part of the story. Overall, this just wasn’t for me. Thank you NetGalley and Forever for the the ALC.

3⭐
Genre ~ contemporary romance
Setting ~ California
Publication date ~ February 11, 2025
Publisher ~Hachette Audio | Forever
Est Page Count ~ 344 (41 chapters)
Audio length ~ 9 hours 2 minutes
Narrators ~ Andrew Eiden, Stephanie Willing
POV ~ dual 1st
Featuring ~ debut, single mom, single dad, author, celebrity, insta~lust, heavy on social media influence, miscommunication, no steamage

Emmy & Jason
Emmy has penned the book Celebrity Crush, based on her real crush, but never names who he is until she's on a talk show and forced to. Then they get to know each other a bit, there's some deception, a big secret that takes her ages to tell him because she knows it's bad, no communication and stalker vibes. All that seems like something I'd read in YA.

I really didn't like how it was so obvious that Emmy was using his status to build up sales for her book. And her agent was really pushing it to happen. Jason is not all sunshine himself. They're both pretty immature and I was not buying into their chemistry, since it really seemed to just be based on their looks. And don't even get me started on Jason's ex wife. Can't say I really liked any of the characters really.

There were some funny moments and although I am not a Tik Toker I did like how she did dances with her daughter. Overall a good bit annoyed me, but I liked a few parts, too, so middle of the road with my rating. Oh and her repetitive line "thank god and Tom Hanks' was grating to my ears.

Narration notes:
Fun fact ~ Andrew is actually Teddy Hamilton, which is a very popular narrator. I wonder why he goes by 2 names? Anyway, he does great, as usual. Stephanie was fine, too. Her voices seemed spot on for the 2 podcasters, but cringy too with they high pitched giggling.

This missed the mark for me! This is about a social media creator-turned-romance novelist who writes a book about her celebrity crush, then ends up meeting him and chaos ensues. I'll start with the things I liked. The plot is pretty fun, and I liked that both main characters were in their 30s with kids, it was a nice change. The narration was also very good.

Unfortunately there was a lot more I didn't like! My biggest negative was that this book was SO cringey. Our main character Emmy feels very chronically online. She constantly makes references to things that will quickly be irrelevant... like she's obsessed with tiktok dances, describing them in detail for some reason. The main way she bonds with her daughter is doing tiktok dances with her. Like?? Maybe this is a me thing, idk, but the whole thing just felt verrrry "I'm trying really hard to be relevant and quirky" and it got old very fast. She also constantly says "thank god and Tom Hanks" or similar which only marginally funny the first time and only annoyed me more the 40 more times it was said in the book!!

I also thought Emmy just felt very underdeveloped - most characters did, but as one of our main narrators, it was very obvious with her. Her inner dialogue kept mentioning and making reference to things that made it seem like we were supposed to think she's a nerd... like she kept referring to her inner thoughts as a spaceship or something? saying things like "I have to reroute power to my shields just to look at him" like what are we doing here. She also gets super excited when the love interest finishes her "favorite quote from <i>Aliens</i>," an apparent interest of hers that is never mentioned again before or after. I dunno. It felt like such a forced attempt to give her a personality but was never meaningfully explored or expanded upon.

I also didn't care for the love interest, Jason. Same basic reasons, he felt very one note and undeveloped and kept making really stupid decisions that annoyed me. He kind of just sucked! And I was supposed to believe she was head over heels for this utterly mediocre man! The whole celebrity crush plot line was cute enough to start with, but it sort of started to feel like self-insert fanfiction come to life. I also didn't care for how insta-lovey their relationship was. Hate that this is advertised as fake dating because it's really not. And both of them felt a lot younger than they were supposed to be! Despite them being supposedly in their 30s, it definitely felt like an early to mid-20s vibe to me.

The side characters were also just really nothing. I don't feel like I know anything at all about 90% of them including Emmy's best friend, Josie, who from my perspective existed solely to be the caretaker for her daughter while she was off gallivanting in Hollywood with her new boyfie.

That brings me to another thing I didn't like... I mentioned that I liked seeing MCs who have kids, but both of them sort of seemed like crappy parents!! The only meaningful interaction we see between Emmy and her daughter for the first 75% of the book is facetiming her and doing tiktok dances with her. And Jason isn't much better - it felt like he was ignoring his kid half the time...he literally isn't able to communicate with him because the kid spends so much time with his mom that he only speaks Spanish. Like are you serious!! Idk you guys I'm not a parent but I just really didn't like how either of them acted with their kids lol

Sorry I didn't expect to ramble so much but I had beef with this book! The characters just felt so one-dimensional which I could have maybe even forgiven if they were also likable, but they just weren't. There were so many pop culture references and random celebrity name drops that it felt like the author was trying hard to be modern and relatable, but it just came off as really cringey.
It was a really quick read and entertaining enough, but also pretty full of tropes and awkward dialogue and moments. This wasn't for me!!

Thanks to NetGalley and Hachette Audio for the ARC!

𝐃𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧:
𝒜𝓃𝒹𝓇ℯ𝓌 ℰ𝒾𝒹ℯ𝓃 ＆ 𝒮𝓉ℯ𝓅𝒽𝒶𝓃𝒾ℯ 𝒲𝒾𝓁𝓁𝒾𝓃𝑔

♥︎𝐂𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞

✨𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬✨
𝐄𝐦𝐦𝐲 was inspired to write a romance novel based on her celebrity crush, never expecting to come face to face with him, let alone feel a spark of attraction during a live TV appearance.

𝐀𝐥𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 I liked the concept of the story, I struggled to feel connected to the main characters. Jason's immaturity held him back from growth, and Emmy's poor decision-making only added to the distance I felt from the plot.

𝐇𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫, the narration itself was top-notch. Andrew Eiden and Stephanie Willing did a fantastic job, and the audio quality was outstanding. While this particular book wasn't to my taste, fans of celebrity romance drama might find it worth a listen.

Thank you to the author, Hachette Audio, and NetGalley for this ALC. All opinions expressed here reflect my genuine experience listening to this book.

𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝟑.𝟓⭐️
𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐞: 𝐂𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐝𝐨𝐨𝐫
𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: 𝟒.𝟓/𝟓🎧

I had fun with this book! I laughed and cringed (non-derogatory) and felt all of the feelings I was supposed to feel. This book follows an author whose debut novel goes viral when she reveals that it’s inspired by her celebrity crush. She goes on to meet said celebrity crush, who plays his character in the film adaptation of the book, and shenanigans ensue.

Both characters are single parents and have complicated feelings about their attraction for one another and motivations behind their feelings, struggling to strike a balance between going after what they want and following the advice of others while trying to quiet their own insecurities.

The chemistry is fantastic, and the tension was built so well. I loved the jokes and references throughout the book, but that won’t be for everyone. It heavily mentions memes and makes tons of pop culture references (the main character is an influencer who references TikTok often, so if that’s something that takes you out of the story, this one might not be for you). I found it funny and endearing.

The narrators did a great job (I’d honestly listen to Andrew Eiden aka Teddy Hamilton read a phone book) so that made this a really enjoyable story, and the writing style is super conversational and easy to follow.

All in all, this was a great debut and I’m excited to read more from Christy!

Thank you to Forever and Hachette for this ALC!

Thank you NetGalley, Christy Swift and Hachette Audio | Forever for this ALC in exchange for my honest review.
Narrated by Andrew Eiden; Stephanie Willing
Both narrators did a great job. The talented Andrew Is Eiden ( Teddy Hamilton) one of my all time fave narrators. Stephanie Willing just as talented. I recommend listening to this audiobook.