Overall 4/5 I enjoyed the style of writing, and the spicy parts, and it also had me wishing something like that existed IRL and also that I could afford it because it could change my life, but I digress, the point being the premise, the characters, the imagery/description and the cohesiveness and aha moments were great. I even took some screenshots of some phrases I particularly enjoyed and can apply to my own life.
The premise: a tale as old as time in Hollywood- the unknown beauty meets megawatt superstar, they fall in love & become the golden couple, only for him to leave her for a younger model 10+ years into their marriage. The twist: all is not what it ever seemed to be, secrets will be revealed, betrayals will happen, and new beginnings will flourish. (read on for my detailed review)
- Very easy to read and get into the story from the get-go (I finished it in 1 day, 5h actually)
- I love how relatable Courtney is even if she’s a movie star, she’s good-natured and trusting and I feel for her struggles throughout the book.
- Brock (the husband) gives me the creeps which is good character development as I expect it’s precisely what the author wanted to accomplish.
- I know the story is based on Courtney, but I’d like a bit more of Damien’s personality to come out (halfway point this might change). Finished reading the book update: I definitely think a little more detail could’ve been given from his perspective/past/personality but enjoyed his character nonetheless.
- I really like the use of modern stuff such as TikTok and AI in the book, it adds an extra layer to the story to show temporality.
- The premise is intriguing especially when she starts working to become stronger & piece back her life, some of the tidbits are included as details on what the character is actually doing/reading more so than just “reading a book” or “doing the workbook” which I very much enjoyed.
- Chapter 15 hit hard… I related to her saying she isn’t proud of herself for anything in particular
- I like the sexual tension that’s building up in these characters throughout the first half
- I find the barre-ballet-yoga part of one of the chapters hilarious and had me LOL
- Sex scenes were very well written, they weren’t repetitive, explicit but also not as much that they’re crude, which left just enough for the imagination but painted a clear picture of exactly what was happening and I didn’t want to skim over them as I sometimes do if they get too copy paste-like.
- I thought the conflict part needed a bit more attention on the guy’s side, it was very one-sided minus a couple of pages on the best friend knocking some sense into him, and after the reunion, then a very short last couple of paragraphs for the time jump which could’ve also had more content to it
- I enjoyed the epilogue, it definitely matches the title of the book and the story, I would’ve maybe liked a little bit more detail as the ending felt a bit rushed
- Bonus points for a great cover! It’s what attracted me to want to read the book in the first place & I’m sure it’ll do the same for other potential readers.
- And I know this has nothing to do with the content of this book specifically, but I enjoy when a small excerpt of another of the author’s books is added at the end as it gets me hooked into wanting to read it so good call on adding it in there.
Note: Received an ARC for an honest review of the book.