How to Fake it in Hollywood: A sensational fake-dating romance

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It’s a good book and I recommend it if you like serious romance novels, but I like my romances to be light and even a bit funny. The tone also worked well in audio, and there's only a little bit of steam, so it made a good workday listen as well. The book delves well into both characters’ personalities, exposing their flaws in a way that’s raw and gut-punching.

But as soon as I started listening, I quickly realized that I recognized Andrew Eiden's voice - he's Teddy Hamilton. What I liked was that this book also tackled some of the tougher issues that can come with fame, and the grief the main male character struggles with. Sure, she’d worked a little in between seasons—­a bad studio slasher here, a Hallmark Christmas movie there—­but her last few auditions had gone nowhere.

It was also fueled by the misscommunication, or rather them not really communicating and it just kept going back and forth, so the ending dragged a bit for me. the fact that it seemed somewhat realistic and mostly that it didn’t end with a contrived wedding / pregnancy.

Trigger warnings for this book include: addiction, alcoholism, drug use, depression, death of a friend (off-page), and grief. The romance in this book gave me the same feelings that all of Emily Henry's romances give me and I just loved it SO. Spoiler incoming, if you don’t wanna know skip to the next paragraph) The first thing Grey tells Ethan after sixteen months without seeing each other because he was working on himself was “do you want to get a drink?But that heaviness is also what gives the story such weight; I really loved that it was completely unexpected, and the tone felt very original. The story is told in third person/dual perspective, which isn't a favorite of mine but I didn't mind it here. With a life-changing role on the line, she's finally desperate enough to agree to her publicist's scheme.

Like, he went to rehab and isolated himself for a while, but after getting his POV with his struggles, we get no POV of his recovery, and that just made me sad. How to Fake It In Hollywood was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and it did not disappoint. Ethan Atkins was a wunderkind Oscar winner but is still reeling from the death of his writing partner and best friend, plus a highly public divorce and a drinking habit that’s spiralling.

A gossip-inducing affair with a gorgeous actress might be just the ticket, even if it's the last thing he wants to do. I truly cannot think of a single thing to regret of 2023, which makes stepping into 2024 a bigger year of hope and growth for myself.

Ethan Atkins is a major Hollywood actor who lost everything - from movie roles to custody of his kids - after his best friend and collaborator died on a car accident. It had been eight months since the last episode of Poison Paradise aired, but the reminder still sent a jolt of anxiety through Grey’s body. Between Ethan’s high-profile divorce, his struggles with drinking, and his grief over the death of his long-time creative partner and best friend, he's slowly let himself fade into the background. Kelly squeaked out a few more words of gratitude before scurrying back to her friends, who were doing a terrible job of pretending not to watch intently from a corner table.

Wrapping a simple bow on the story would’ve been an incredible disservice; by the end, I really enjoyed seeing the entire arc that these two characters went on, and I loved the book as much at the end as I had at the beginning. Despite the fake dating trope, I'd personally class this more as a romance with some humour than a true rom-com.