Rating: 2 out of 5.

I tried really hard to like this contemporary romance more, but just couldn’t do it. It has all of the fun tropes you can want, working relationship frenemies, fake dating, celebrity MCs and the entertainment industry, but I just couldn’t get past the male MCs behavior.

The book started off promising. Up and coming actress Jada’s career was getting back on track after an on-set misunderstanding during a popular tv series. She’s landed a supporting role in a romantic comedy movie with two big stars, including the handsome male star Tristan. Jada is determined to stay away from on-set politics and put her head down and knock the socks off everyone on-set. Unfortunately, she walks in on Tristan cheating on his latest fling, and an embarrassing showdown on set is leaked to the press. Jada and Tristan agree to pretend to be a couple in order to repair their reputations.

I liked Jada’s character, for the most part, but her insecurities started to grate on me and her personality was inconsistent. On the one hand she is portrayed as a good person trying to do things the right way, but on the other hand, she is more than willing, and even eager, to use Tristan and the arrangement to further her career. I mean, I get it. The entertainment industry is cut-throat and you need to do what you gotta do to get ahead, but I’m not built that way. This is probably more my issue though, and perhaps other readers won’t be annoyed by it. Tristan, on the other hand, is another story. A very popular trope is to have a grumpy MC, but Tristan is not grumpy, he is an a**hole. From the work-place misconduct that was brushed under the rug and covered up by everyone, including Jada, to the awful, hateful lashing out Tristan does to everyone around him whenever his feelings, and ego, gets hurt. The author tries to “transform” Tristan into a caring, supportive person but I’m like nah. Nope. Uh-uh. Not buying it.

I enjoyed the author’s writing style, and I really enjoyed the supportive relationship between Jade, her cousin and their best friend. It was great reading about caring, supportive women lifting each other up.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley and Wattpad Books. All opinions are my own.