A very sweet small town romance - definitely worth the read!

Watching Merritt and Niko build a strong, positive relationship regardless of past baggage was refreshing. Wasn't the biggest fan of the surprise (almost) pregnancy during the third act break up, but the story line wrapped up well. If you're a fan of small town romances, this is a good one!


Rating: 3.5/5

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

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader copy of this book!

Unfortunately I could not force myself to finish this book. I didn’t connect with the characters and I thought the side characters were kind of rude. Everyone says the FMC is a huge train wreck but like she clearly has struggled with addiction and self confidence issues and now she is just a bad human forever??? And they keep saying she would ruin the MMC but if they spoke to him for 5 minutes they would get that he could understand a physical relationship only. Idk everyone said they were accepting but hates the FMC I didn’t get it.

I wanted to love this one but it fell flat for me. I thought the main character’s sister was hard to like and I could not get past that. I enjoyed the romance aspect between the main male and female characters, but the sexual identity/ gender expression addition to their story felt very forced and didn’t drive the plot at all. I would definitely read another book by this author because there were aspects of the writing that I did enjoy.

4.5 stars

Thank you to Ava and Dell for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

If you’re a fan of Ava Wilder, this book will be right up your alley. It includes her signature approach to complex mental health topics and complicated but not broken humans navigating relationships.

Pros: Ava crafted some incredible tension between Nikko and Merritt throughout the story. I found myself fascinated by finding out pieces of their history and past as the story progressed. I still think Grey and Ethan are my favorite couple so far, but Nikko and Merritt are up there for sure.

Cons: because the setting shifts from LA to CO for this one, the beginning is a little slower than the previous two books, but once it gets into it, the pacing is excellent.

Olivia had me feeling some things at the end of the book that had me annotating in my kindle. I’m happy to have a conversation with people about it, but I don’t think I’ve ever had such an immediate response to a character.

I very much enjoyed that both main characters, Merritt and Niko, felt like complex characters with a lot of depth. Both characters had complicated histories that impacted the relationship they had with not only each other but the surrounding characters as well. It felt like this added to this book feeling realistic. I do feel like I had trouble connecting with the characters at time but would definitely recommend that others pick this up!


Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Love everything she writes and will buy everything she publishes! Another winner from Ava Wilder! Fell in love with these characters.

I really wanted to like this book but it unfortunately did not live up to my hopes.

My biggest issue was that inspite of having some important topics, it felt like they were handled carelessly. For example, Merritt is recovering from addiction which included limiting her alcohol intake yet they constantly met at a bar, went to a THC-infused dinner (and didn’t leave immediately), etc. Another example - there was references to being bisexual, being in fluid relationships, and being in polyamorous relationships. Given that this was an otherwise traditional heteronormative romance story, it felt performative mentioning the various relationships without going into different elements (e.g., Niko exploring his sexuality).

I also wish the various relationships were better built out. Niko and Merritt went from immature flirting to sharing deep personal truths with nothing in between. Meanwhile, Olivia and Merritt’s relationship never made sense - yes Olivia had her own issues to work through but she was consistently incredibly harsh towards Merritt and Merritt just accepted it.

Thank you to Ava Wilder, Penguin Random House, and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

The story follows Merritt Valentine, a former singer-songwriter who, after a decade-long hiatus due to a career-ending mental breakdown, seeks solace in the quiet ski town of Crested Peak, Colorado. There, she crosses paths with Nikolaos "Niko" Petrakis, a local handyman. As they collaborate on renovating a house, their mutual attraction intensifies, challenging their personal boundaries and emotional defenses. Some Kind of Famous explores themes of healing, self-discovery, and the complexities of love. Wilder's narrative delves into the intricacies of mental health, the challenges of reinvention, and the courage it takes to embrace vulnerability.

this book felt like catching up with your much more interesting friend after years apart—loved it!!!

I felt the emotional highs and lows that were perfectly weaved throughout the book. Ava Wilder has truly planted herself as one of my favorite authors and I hope she continues to write these wonderful stories.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Dell for allowing me to read early this book. I was going to read this book for the cover alone (because, come on, LOOK at it), but what I got was so much more. This book snuck up on me in the best way, tender, slow-burn, quietly emotional in all the right places. It’s about trust, growth, hard conversations, soft banter, and small-town chaos in the coziest form. It's being able to trust yourself to be better and trust someone new with your heart. It made me feel things I didn’t know I needed to feel. I honestly couldn’t put it down. It found me at just the right moment and I’m so glad it did.

A wonderful read!
This novel drew me in from the very first page and kept me hooked until the end. The characters were vibrant and relatable, the writing was engaging, and the story had just the right balance of heart and humor. Highly recommend!
Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

This was an absolutely adorable small town romance. The slow burn was perfect and the character development between Merritt and Niko was amazing and so well done. This story felt so real and relatable. I devoured it so quickly.

Wow, only 3 % in and I already hate the FMC. I do not relate to her, do not care about her, do not have sympathy for her. What she did to her sister is unforgivable, in my opinion. DNF for me.

This was such a great read! It felt so real and heartfelt. There were so many sweet and cute moments between Merritt and Niko and I loved every second of it. If you like When in Rome by Sarah Adams, you’ll want to check this one out! Perfect for fans of celebrity/normal person romances.

This book was adorable! It was very well written, the plot was well thought out and I really enjoyed the characters.

By far my favorite Ava Wilder book! I fell in love with the characters, the setting, and the story. Although Merritt’s backstory is about as unrelatable as it gets, I still felt so connected to her, her emotions, and her story. Her and Niko’s relationship was so natural and great I was drawn in immediately. This is a must-read.

I really enjoyed the small town setting but unfortunately I just didn’t vibe with the characters in this book. I will say the characters felt very realistic and I do feel some people will enjoy that. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy!

Some Kind of Famous follows Merritt as she hides away in small town Colorado with her sister after a singer/songwriter career-ending, very public breakdown. When she develops a crush on the town handyman Niko as he helps her remodel her house she recently bought, Niko struggles to let her in because everyone is warning him against it.

This book had a very promising premise, but I struggled to connect to the story and like any of the side characters due to how horrible they were to Merritt. While Merritt was not a perfect character by any means, the way she was talked about and treated by others was honestly enraging. It took me out of the story but that might just be my empathetic side coming out.

This was a story with complex characters (touching many subjects that can be hard to read at times) in an emotional, well paced layered book. The characters balanced each other in complex ways. The tale had many very dramatic highs and lows with a side of spice.

Overall, a pretty fast read for me and had characters and events with extra depth for a romance. Would definitely recommend.


Thank you to NetGalley, author Ava Wilder and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Dell for the eARC!

I dont know what Ava puts in these books, I swear I would give anything to read everything she writes. All her books have a common theme of people in the lime light trying to find themselves and some of them come from really messy situations that they have dug themselves into and always seem to need the other person to help them get out of it. The formula works for me every time, I read this in like two days that's how good this was. You can feel the heart and love poured into her books. This one wasn't an actor but a former Rockstar and it spoke to me on another level. Ava Wilder should be the next Emily Henry in my eyes.