By: Ava Wilder
This is the perfect book to end my 2022 reviews. I started this blog as a way to challenge myself into really thinking about why I like or dislike a book in the hopes of clarifying the half formed story ideas I have just sitting in my own head. And it turns out I like a contemporary romance novel where one or both of the main characters are Hollywood actors. I mean, in fairness to me, all these books came out this year so this cannot all be me? CAN IT? Check out my reviews of Donut Fall in Love, Birds of California, Funny You Should Ask, Nora Goes Off Script, The Bodyguard and Scandalized. But bottom line: this was a really good book. It has a lot of overlapping themes with many of the above novels but it is most similar to the darker side of fame, as depicted in Birds and Funny. It also reminded me of Mikella Clements & Onjuli Datta’s excellent book The View was Exhausting.
Grey Brooks has been a working actress since the age of eight. Now in her late twenties, she steadily books acting jobs but has never made it to that comfortable level of fame allowing her pick of projects. Her long running teen television series ended a few months ago and she has yet to book her next gig. With a possible life-changing part on the line, Grey is, while not desperate, looking for an opportunity to help jump-start her career.
Ethan Atkins attained A-list status a decade and a half earlier when he won an Oscar for a movie he wrote with his childhood best friend, Sam. He then starred in various blockbusters and award-winning films cementing his Hollywood heartthrob status until Sam died in a tragic car accident five years ago. Since then, his marriage imploded in a scandal-rife custody dispute, with a side of assault charges and alcohol dependency. In the last few years, he dropped out of the Hollywood scene and lives a reclusive life in his Pacific Palisades home. Now close to 40 years old, he knows if he wants the last project he and Sam worked on together to be made, he will need to rehabilitate his image.
Enter Audrey Aoki, their mutual publicist, who suggests the two enter into a fake dating relationship: Grey will receive extra exposure and Ethan will look settled and steady in the public eye. While their first meeting is not without its bumps, Ethan and Grey have an immediate connection and agree to Audrey’s plan.
Ethan is a mess. He clearly has an alcohol problem and has not dealt with his grief of losing a friend who was more like a brother to him. His money and position as a very famous actor has allowed him a certain leeway that the rest of us would never have received Ethan is struggling with his demons, but we do see glimpses of the true Ethan under all of that baggage, and the Reader can see why Grey would be drawn to Ethan, the person, as opposed to Ethan, the actor. I do appreciate that, in the end, Ethan realized he needed to fix himself and deal with his demons, with the help of a professional therapist, and that Grey’s love is not what “saved” him from himself.
Grey, while younger and less famous than Ethan, is not a pushover. I like that she has confidence in herself and her talent, and refuses to debase herself for her profession. She also is not only a good actress, she is working to create work for herself so she can have more control over her career. In fact, it is Grey who makes the first move when Ethan is too scared to do so.
I do wish baby Grey didn’t have a poster of Ethan on her bedroom wall in middle school. I get that he is a famous dreamboat, but that does make me, as the reader question, does she really like Ethan or the idea of him? That question is one of Ethan’s (many) insecurities.
The third act breakup is really well done and heartbreaking, since it is the result of Ethan’s addiction and demons, but he needed to hit rock bottom with Grey to fix himself.
Overall, I thought this was a really good book and I am looking forward to Wilder’s next work Will They or Won’t They? next June.
Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟/5
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/how-to-fake-it-in-hollywood-ava-wilder/1140163228?ean=9780593358955
Or your local independent bookstore! Try East City Bookshop: https://eastcitybookshop.com/item/rbwr187WritK5K2Mn89xew