Behind the Scenes

Received from the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Cover image and summary from Goodreads:

High school senior Ally Duncan's best friend may be the Vanessa Park - star of TV's hottest new teen drama - but Ally's not interested in following in her BFF's Hollywood footsteps. In fact, the only thing Ally's ever really wanted is to go to Columbia and study abroad in Paris. But when her father's mounting medical bills threaten to stop her dream in its tracks, Ally nabs a position as Van's on-set assistant to get the cash she needs.

Spending the extra time with Van turns out to be fun, and getting to know her sexy co-star Liam is an added bonus. But when the actors' publicist arranges for Van and Liam to "date" for the tabloids just after he and Ally share their first kiss, Ally will have to decide exactly what role she's capable of playing in their world of make believe. If she can't play by Hollywood's rules, she may lose her best friend, her dream future, and her first shot at love.

This was a really fun book! I think I read Behind the Scenes at the perfect time, following a couple of very intense books, so I was definitely looking for something light and fun. This book absolutely fit the bill!

I loved the whole ‘behind the scenes of Hollywood’ aspect. It was a lot of fun. I also liked that Ally was a little cynical and jaded, and she was really funny. There was more to Liam than his famous name and handsome face – I appreciated learning about how he got his start in show business, and seeing that he was intelligent and perhaps a bit introverted.

The romance in Behind the Scenes was kind of steamy! As for the main obstacle in this book (Liam and his co-star – and Ally’s BFF Vanessa – pretending to date to drum up publicity for the new show), while it sounded a bit eye-rolly to me at first, it turned out to be entertaining. I liked the way Ally handled things because I felt as though I could understand her reasoning, and she was ultimately trying to do something that she thought would help her best friend.

I expected a happy ending, and there was nothing that felt new or surprising here, but I still found myself reading really quickly to see how things turned out for Ally and Liam. And of course I wound up loving Josh, Liam’s best friend and fellow celebrity. Josh was funny, and I really enjoyed the dynamic and banter between he and Ally.

This book was a lot of fun to read, and I’ve learned that there will be a second book, which I can’t wait to get my hands on. Recommended!