There were so many aspects of Some Kind of Famous that I genuinely enjoyed and appreciated. First off, the representation was fantastic—culturally, within the LGBTQ+ community, and in its progressive take on gender roles in relationships. I especially loved Niko: he was sensitive, loving, and still figuring himself out. He didn’t have all the answers, but he was consistently kind, which made him a grounding force in the story.

Merritt was a more emotionally complex character. She’s a bit prickly, with a chaotic past—and watching her navigate life after hitting rock bottom was tough, but not because of who she is. Her breakdown, the result of an untreated personality disorder and years of being exploited by the fame machine, made her pain feel raw and deeply human. You feel for her. Her regret is real, her mistakes are heavy, and her fight to heal—to simply be happy—was both harrowing and incredibly relatable. Especially for anyone who’s been chewed up by LA, or just tried to survive as a woman in a world that constantly demands more.

This story was tender, heartfelt, and full of nuance. The pacing lagged at times, but overall, it was a meaningful and memorable read.

Another enjoyable read by Ava Wilder. The family dynamic was very realistic and the romance was also believable. I enjoyed the setting in Colorado and the music industry backdrop. Thank you NetGalley

Some Kind of Famous is an absolutely breathtaking celebrity romance, like all of Ava Wilder's work! Merritt Valentine is a musician known for the excess of her younger days, which were very much ruled by people in positions of power pushing her around. She's retired from music and living with her sister in a quiet Colorado town, but when she needs to move out into her own place, it will take the services of a local handyman to fix up the beautiful fixer-upper house she's bought. And when that contractor turns out to be not only handsome, but also genuinely sweet and charming, the forced proximity makes the sparks between them impossible to ignore, despite the complications of her lingering fame at times clashing with his "normal" life. Merritt and Niko are both beautifully crafted characters that I fell in love with immediately, and their townie & celebrity love story is one for the ages. Ava Wilder remains an auto-buy, and I particularly loved the guest appearances of a few characters I recognized from earlier books!

Thank you to Ava Wilder, PRH, and NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Ah! Ava Wilder has done it! This is the romance I was looking for. The characters are flirty and authentic. The banter is well-written—a great setting and backdrop for action. I loved reading this story. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

«Deeply rooted, but still growing.»

Such a complex, sweet, and spicy one-of-them-is-famous x small-town romance.

The cover made me feel some type of way...

Reading Some Kind of Famous felt like stepping into an alternate universe where one of my favorite artists just...
slipped away.
Merritt has been MIA from the music scene for 10 years after a rough, traumatic rise to fame at a young age. Now, she's living with her twin sister and her brother-in-law in a small Colorado town, where she buys a house that desperately needs... a handyman. (Let's fucking gooo...)

«And even though he knew it was a joke, he didn't take for granted how precious it was that he had access to her mind at all.»

I really enjoyed the story and how emotional it got. Every time it seemed like we were heading toward a trope-cliché moment, the author pulled back in a fresh way. It kept the story really going for me.

I'm not the biggest fan of third-person POV, and honestly, it knocked about 30% off my enjoyment—but that's 100% a me thing, not the author's fault.

The representation in this one was amazing! I loved everything that went into this.
I was a little thrown off by the third person POV at first, but I liked how each chapter still really focused on just Merritt or Nik.
This is wholesome but messy in the sweetest way. There’s a lot of walls that both leads need to break through, and I love how they got that push from one another outside the little rut they had become comfortable in. Ava really showcased how growth can be rewarding but hard with these characters, and how the results could be amazing!

Niko & Merritt encourage each other to push through insecurities and bring out the best in each other. I loved watching them grow together

🩷Small town
🧡One of us is famous
🩷 Main characters are well developed
🧡 Fun side characters
🩷 Slow burn/medium pace
🧡 Mental health representation

~Thank you to Netgalley, Ballantine, Random House Publishing Group, Dell, and Ava Wilder for the ARC in exchange for my honest review

*See review posted to Goodreads below. My review will be posted to Amazon and B&N upon publication

This book is pure emotional magic wrapped in small-town charm. The way Merritt and Niko’s relationship builds from resistance to undeniable attraction had me completely hooked. I loved how the author blended steamy tension with emotional depth, capturing the complexity of Merritt’s struggles and Niko’s quiet, steady strength. Their chemistry is electric, and watching them slowly open up to each other was heartwarming and captivating. The setting in Crested Peak adds this perfect cozy backdrop, where the romance feels both tender and intense. I found myself rooting for them to finally admit what they were feeling, and the journey they took to get there was beautiful. It’s a perfect balance of romance, emotional growth, and a touch of heartache, making it a read I couldn’t put down.

For me 'Some Kind of Famous' is a fun and quick romance read. It has the small town vibes, mental health representation, and zinging chemistry. It's a solid romance novel that I hope many readers gravitate to this autumn. There were some areas that felt like constant band aids being ripped off, there were fumbles in explaining certain actions, and a sudden third act romance trope that personally isn't a favourite of mine so I'm bumping down my rating to a 3 star. A quick romance read.

Thank you Ballantine-Dell for the digital arc!

Merritt Valentine has left Hollywood without a backwards glance, running from life as a famous singer/songwriter to her sister’s small tourist ski town. She has had an stomach flipping attraction to Niko, the gorgeous contractor and her brother in law’s best friend, since first arriving. But he’s off limits, especially with Merritt’s history of chaos and destruction. But what if this pull to Niko is just too powerful to resist?

*** Small town romance
*** Mental health representation
*** Nikolaos Petrakis. You don’t know him yet but oh my, when you do…..
*** Strong family dynamic
*** Undeniable sparks

There were so many layers to this book outside just the romance: the mental health struggle, the feelings of having purpose and direction, facing life head-on.

But the romance? TOP TIER. Our MMC Niko is just perfection. And I loved Merritt. She was complicated, but for absolutely good reason and the fact that she finally found someone that loved her with all those complications? Perfection!

I love love loveddd this book, and will absolutely be buying my own copy.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Ava Wilder, and Netgalley for the ARC of this novel; all opinions are my own.

This small town romance has it all! This is a very emotional, medium paced, lighthearted read. It made me feel joyful, hopeful and reflective. I enjoyed the complex characters in the story as well as the scenery. This is a slow burn, spicy romance! I can tell the author put a lot of thought into writing this. It’s easy to read and well written. I enjoyed the opposites attract trope in this book! I found it to be unique and cozy! I give this a 4 out of 5 stars rating!

Thank you to NetGalley, author Ava Wilder and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Dell for this digital advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

This book is expected to be published on October 28, 2025!

This author knows how to write electric tension and SOME KIND OF FAMOUS is no different. I enjoyed watching their relationship evolve from avoiding each other at the grocery store and around their small town in Colorado after an awkward "meet-cute" of Niko accidentally seeing Merritt in a bath towel in the bathroom at Merritt's sister's house to working together on fixing up Merritt's house to making the room crackle with tension when they are in close proximity. I always admire how the author crafts such layered characters in a beautiful and complex way that makes it so easy to connect to them and be fully invested in their story.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and NetGalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoy Ava Wilder’s work and I enjoyed this book just as much as her other works. This felt like a sweet read and a lovely journey between Merritt and Niko. Thank you Netgalley for the arc!

Ava Wilder wrote another hit! The way she portrays characters who aren't perfect is fantastic, and this book is no different.

Merritt is a disgraced singer/songwriter who fled Los Angeles to move in with her twin sister and brother in law in a small Coloradan town. Merritt hires the town's contractor, Niko, to renovate her home. Merritt and Niko have an instant attraction, but try to heed the warnings from their mutual friends to stay apart.

This book is steamy, y'all! The characters have chemistry, and I found myself smiling several times.

Thank you Dell Romance and NetGalley for the advanced reader's copy in exchange for my honest review!

I love Ava Wilder so much. Something about her writing just gets right to my soul. This one was definitely her most emotional, in my opinion, and the yearning was so good. Niko is a gem of a human and he was so good without being unrealistically perfect. Merritt was also so fleshed out she felt real. I love a celeb romance but also loved how this one was a little different spin. The original set up with the conflict was confusing at first and felt kind of flimsy but made a lot more sense later although I still think Olivia is kind of a terrible sister. Overall loved it and want to read everything Ava ever writes forever.

I always adore Ava Wilder’s writing, and this book was no exception! Merritt and Niko are very special to me, and the way Wilder tackled harassment in the workplace and mental health issues was admirable and impactful. A must read!

I loved this book. I love how Niko and Merritt offered a level of comfort for each other that they hadn’t found elsewhere in life. I love how we got sneak peaks into their lives before they met each other and it explained why they both were the way they were. Normally I hate miscommunication in books, but it made sense for both these characters for what they struggled with in the past. I loved Olivia and Merritt’s relationship. It truly showed the ugly and good of sister relationships and how tough love can be.

This book exceeded my already high expectations. Loved Ava Wilder's other two novels, but this one is my new favorite.

The story follows Merritt, a disgraced singer-songwriter that seeks refuge in a small ski town in Colorado. She meets Niko there and while they have instant attraction, the emotional intimacy is a slow build up. It really has the perfect mix of angst, yearning, character growth, and scalding tension/spice.

While Merritt could have easily come off as somewhat unlikable and selfish, you can really feel her vulnerability, struggles and desire to change. Niko was such a tender, understanding and fantastically layered love interest.

Please do yourself a favor and read this gorgeous book.

Wilder does it again with a romance that is more than just about a character or two finding their HEA. As with her previous books, there is more focus on the main character's growth and development as individuals than on the actual romance. Yes, the romance is there, but it builds through friendship and interaction which is more believable overall. There is chemistry from the start, but characters recognize that chemistry is not enough and they spend a lot of the book resisting their pull because of all the other reasons that they shouldn't be together. Merritt and Niko are good together, but it is hard for them to seek beyond their current hang ups to be good together. And that's ok, because they do both have things to work through, Merritt most of all.

When I first started reading, I was not convinced that Merritt would be a likeable character. She couldn't seem to see past herself, but she actually acknowledges this at multiple times especially when it comes to being supportive of her sister. And as a result, she actually was someone I genuinely wanted to succeed. I wanted her to find her way back to music. I wanted her to find someone to share her life with. I wanted her to stay clean and overcome her demons. And I wanted that to be done with Niko by her side.

The town the story is set in, as well as the cast of characters around the mains, is so much fun. And it did feel like a complete package .

Overall another good Wilder read. Maybe not my favourite by her, but sill enjoyable. And better than a bunch of the romances I have picked up lately.

there's no one in the romance genre who has a voice quite like wilder's (and no this isn't an exaggeration). she just gets how to write people who aren't perfect and who have goals that they're working towards and all the insecurities that can arise as a result of that. however, that doesn't mean someone like that isn't capable of love or deserving of love. the push and pull of all the build up makes for characters that wiggle their way into hearts as well as minds and i loved how the protagonists were able to support each other in order to grow. the sibling subplot was also well done for how loved ones may not know how to support people with BDP. put this novel on your to be read ASAP!

(my only qualm is the handling of substance use when the female protagonist has a substance use disorder.however, BDP was handled well.)