On Location

by Sarah Echavarre Smith, Sarah Smith

Nothing like a rocky start between enemy coworkers stuck together on location to prove that love isn't just a ploy for ratings—it's a force of nature.

Alia Dunn has finally gotten her big break. After years of working her way up at TV's top outdoor travel channel, she gets the green light from network executives to bring her dream project to produce a series about Utah's national parks. It's a touching tribute to her late apong, who sparked Alia's passion for travel and the outdoors as a kid.

Alia is thrilled—until she meets her newest crew member, Drew Irons. The same Drew she had the most amazing first date with two weeks ago—who then ghosted her. The same Drew who has the most deliciously thick forearms and who loves second-guessing her every move on set in front of the entire crew. It's not long before the tension between them turns hotter than the Utah desert in the dead of summer, and their steamy encounters lead to major feelings.

But when the series host goes rogue one too many times, jeopardizing the entire shoot, Alia realizes that she'll need to organize one hell of a coup to save her show—and she'll need Drew's help to do it. It's the riskiest move she's ever made. If she pulls it off, she'll end up with a hit series and her dream guy . . . but if it all goes wrong, she could lose both.

Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Rom Com, Fiction, Adult, Travel

349 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 21, 2021

About the author

Author also writes under Sarah Smith...

Reviews

[Nilufer Ozmekik · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this was so far my favorite book of the author!

Powerful feminism, women empowerment vibes with #metoomovement , mansplaining and inequality at work place perfectly combine with sexy, hot chemistry of two coworkers!

When Alia Dunn gets rejected after she pitched her series to her network producers, she just left the workplace, hitting the subway. Luckily her day gets better by meeting subway gentleman Drew, having quiet quality time with him at a bar and a passionate kiss she shares.

After two weeks passed she shared a magical night with this charming man, the super gentleman seems like ghosted her ! So she tries to focus on good news because the executives of outdoor travel channel she’s been working for finally gives her a chance to prove herself!

She gets green light about her dream project: series about Utah’s national parks. It will also give her a chance to revisit the places she’s seen with her grandmother when she was a child. She was inspired her with the project. It’s meaningful for her to honor her memory with the special places she chose as shooting locations.

But unexpected two things happen: firstly the executives force her to work with narcissistic, drug addict, unreliable D-list star Blaine as the show’s host whose main purpose to turn entire crew’s lives into hell.

The second problem is her new PA Andrew: he’s talented, experienced and professional but he is also the same guy she had a dreamy night and ignored to call her back! He gives some excuses about dropping his phone and loosing her number. But he acts like it’s not a big deal. Things start a little tense and disappointed Alia doesn’t let him patronize her.

But as long as they work together, they naturally become a great team, learning to respect each other. The undeniably attraction is always a threat to ruin their reputations.

Alina always suffers from trust issues. Can she risk her heart and her job by being unable to resist the charms of deliciously thick arms and charismatic smile of her coworker?

Well...finding romance is quite a feat when you are ON LOCATION!

Overall: easy to read and enjoy! I loved tropical beauties of natural parks, inspirational messages the author gives and the comparability of the MCs are amazing!
Impressive, tempting, thought provoking, riveting romance I truly enjoyed!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

[emma · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story has a topical conceit: Our main character meets some hot guy on the subway. She tweets a picture of him, for some reason. They go on an amazing date. He ghosts her. She gets her dream job. He also works at said dream job. He undermines her repeatedly.

Relatable. Fresh. Modern.

Just one problem:

That guy is NOT DESERVING OF ANY ATTENTION, LOVE, OR WARM CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES FOR THE REST OF HIS LIFE.

How am I supposed to like this character? Why would I root for these two to get together? Even if a handful of these (plus the even more instances of misogyny and dumb guy-ness to come) can be chalked up to miscommunication, guess what? SEXISM-BASED BANTER AND DRAMA DO NOT WORK FOR ME.

Bottom line: There was a grave miscalculation here. Could've been the book's. Could've been mine. Who's to say.

---------------
pre-review

if i had landed my dream job and a hot guy who'd ghosted me kept undermining me at work, i simply wouldn't catch feelings for him. respect to the protagonist but i'm different.

review to come / 2ish stars

---------------
tbr review

feeling: thankful that Berkley sent me so many romance e-ARCs, which have single-handedly kept this project from ruin

---------------

challenging myself to read as many review copies as possible this month because i'm addicted to projects!

ARC 1: spaceman of bohemia
ARC 2: in search of us
ARC 3: aerialists
ARC 4: the sound of drowning
ARC 5: unleaving
ARC 6: the other side of luck
ARC 7: romanov
ARC 8: the storm keeper's island
ARC 9: gut check
ARC 10: when force meets fate
ARC 11: sisters in hate
ARC 12: before i disappear
ARC 13: big time
ARC 14: stolen science
ARC 15: have a little faith in me
ARC 16: invitation to a bonfire
ARC 17: the splendor
ARC 18: how to be luminous
ARC 19: the little women cookbook
ARC 20: while we were dating
ARC 21: the lost girls
ARC 22: wait for it
ARC 23: your life has been delayed
ARC 24: a million things
ARC 25: the royals next door
ARC 26: the love hypothesis
ARC 27: we light up the sky
ARC 28: the printed letter bookshop
ARC 29: on location

[hamna · Rating 1 out of 5]

i’m very tired of books very obviously still in their first draft phase getting published. because there’s absolutely no way this was a written, finalized, edited, proof read bundle of pages: nothing made sense, nothing worked together, the plot was flimsy, shallow and almost comically predictable. you know how sometimes you know not even an ounce of thought went inside a book? that.
i tried. so bad. to like this book. the cover is so pretty and i can always make myself biased towards romance books, but god. not a single thing was working out here. (1.5 stars but only because i’m being extra nice).

[Mara · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars - I continue to enjoy how easy, breezy and readable Sarah Smith's work is, but I also continue to wish there weren't big miscommunications as the third act twist. It really dings down contemporary romances that are otherwise very enjoyable to read. Still, I loved the travel show angle for this one, as well as the ultimate message about workplace misconduct and the relationship with Alia & Drew

CW: workplace sexual harassment

[Samantha Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

A vivid, romantic adventure about identity, equality and the poignant connection between people and places. Sexy, smart and pure escapist—I want to live in a Sarah Smith novel!

[Chris C - A Midlife Wife · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG I love this book! Surprised the hell out of me too.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is the first time I’ve read this author and I went in thinking I was going to get the typical story. But this book surprised the hell out of me with a different spin completely.

There are many reasons for this spin. Most due to the different topics the author tackles. Workplace sexism, harassment, inappropriate work behavior, plus more. But we also get to enjoy fun and humorous moments, deep connection and hot romance, Plus the enjoyment for the love of travel.

The story for me was a delight. Smith nails this contemporary romance which begs for a second reading and a warm cozy spot to devour this story!

* copy received for review consideration
* Full review - https://amidlifewife.com/on-location-...

[Denise · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was full of soft moments and searing heat, On Location transports you a space in the middle of breathtaking natural wonders where you, too, will fall in love. Sarah Smith delivers a funny, poignant, novel where happily ever after is only the beginning of the adventure. This is the travel love story we all deserve and made me want to pack my bags!

[Leslie Ann · Rating 1 out of 5]

1 ⭐️

I wish I had DNFed this book. It’s not that it was boring, which it was, it’s that it was lazy. It relied too heavily on stereotypes and the main character couldn’t help but make herself a victim. Don’t waste your time on this book.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book starts as we meet Alia, who works as a producer for an outdoorsy, Discovery-type network, and is riding the subway back home after pitching her first show, a documentary-type series about Utah national parks, to a room of very condescending male executives who clearly didn’t give a shit about her ideas. So when a very hot guy gives his seat up to an old lady (just to stand next to her, turns out) she jumps at the chance to get her spirits back up and makes the first move.

They share an incredible first date and sparks fly, but, after a few days of radio silence, it becomes clear that she’s been ghosted.

So the next week, it comes as a double boost to her spirits that her pitch has been approved after all, and she’s about to be a showrunner for the very first time. The catch: the host is supposed to be this asshole, washed up reality TV star, and, oh, yeah, hot Drew from the subway who never called her is now a part of her crew, and they’ll have to spend weeks traveling across Utah together.

The first 65-70% of this book is lovely. Alia is very petty towards Drew in the beggining of the shoot, which, who wouldn’t be? And it’s fun seeing them being drawn together even though she’s supposed to be proving herself as a showrunner and he’s supposed to be a jerk, which he’s really not.

That said, I felt like Drew could have used a little more personality, and Blaine (the asshole host) could have been more fleshed out as a character; his actions felt too inconsistent and unpredictable. I get that he was supposed to be that way, but it felt a lot like a caricature to me and not like a real person.

The conflict was also a textbook miscomunication scenario that left me rolling my eyes, especially because Alia’s confidence in her and Drew’s relationship seemed to go from 8 to 80 and back to 8 every five pages. I couldn’t keep up with whether she knew they were into each other or was driving herself nuts thinking he wasn’t interested.

This was a 3,5 stars read for me.

[Kaitie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve been wanting to read this book for over a year now, so I’m super happy that I finally got a chance to! Funny story — I always take a book to my boyfriend’s house, but I forgot to bring one… so he used it as an excuse to take us to the bookstore. When I saw this one, I immediately snatched it because, come on — that cover is SO CUTE!

I haven’t been in a very “romance” mood lately… As in, for the past year, I’ve been mainly reading thrillers because I realized romance is just not my preferred genre. Now, with that being said, I thought this one was a super easy read, and I got through it fairly quickly. The spice was unexpected, and I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again — smut is just not for me, so those parts were eh. And the lack of communication and number of misunderstandings between the two main characters was FRUSTRATING. It drove me crazy because our female lead was just NOT into talking things out like an adult. But despite all that, it was still a really cute story, and I immediately placed other books from Sarah Smith on my TBR. Super excited to read her other books!

[Brianna - Four Paws and a Book · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5 stars

When you text your friend throughout this book, just cringing...

There was so much about this book that just needed help. This book needed at least another round of edits, and maybe some beta readers.

Let's talk about some of the technical things I couldn't get behind:
The beer law in Utah changed in 2019 and this was published in 2021. It wasn't a big thing so it could have easily been fixed in editing if she wrote this prior to 2019.
If someone eats an entire bag of edibles, they are in outer space. They are not "just a little bit out of it"
Mind blowing sex does not include a "beard burn". If he's using his chin down there, he's doing it wrong...

Now there's some more serious things. I absolutely hated both of the main characters. I hate that Drew shares a birthday with my dog (although he's totally a Sagittarius. And that is not a compliment) The MC is also just completely irritating and I couldn't care less about this romance.

I didn't enjoy her other book either, and I had high hopes for this book, but after this, I just don't think she's the author for me...

[Angela Hates Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

When the primary conflict of a romance is miscommunication, it’s gonna get a lower rating from me.

And when the two MCs continue to fight and miscommunicate over and over again, it makes me think, “Maybe y’all should just call it quits? Cause if there’s all this miscommunication now? It’s only gonna get worse.”

And isn’t that the whole point of romance? To make us believe in a love that is gonna last?

I liked the idea of this story. I love that our heroine was a show runner bad ass, don’t take crap from anyone. boss. I liked how our hero respected and championed her.

The drama around the set was over the top, but I understood the purpose of it in driving the story along.

Just didn’t love love it.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher, review is my own.

[kylie · Rating 1 out of 5]

disclaimer- If you are my parent pls don’t read this review because I’m a perfect 😇 angel. Don’t think anything else!

ok, this might’ve been the MOST insane book I’ve ever read. If you enjoy graphic & I mean GRAPHIC sex then lemme tell you- this might be the greatest book you’ll ever read!

I for one, just did not enjoy this book. The characters were so unlikeable. They felt so disconnected from the reader. The plot? What plot!? There was 0 plot. I swear to god pg 140-240 is straight SMUT rated X! Which is all fine and dandy but because there basically was no plot, it didn’t really add anything to the book.

Overall, I 100% enjoyed the book club discussion around this novel. So many laughs. And this book is so quotable that honestly, I’ll probably be thinking about it for a long time to come. I mean that tent scene? Or how about that hot tub scene? so unforgettable & im dying to talk about logistics 😈

aw fuck it, you should probably read this book.

[Bonnie G. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this would be a 4-star until the end when Smith chose to create a relationship hurdle that required Alia to behave like a bleeding idiot and not think about her actions or anything that had occurred in her communication with Drew up to this point. Though Alia showed lots of trust issues throughout her relationship with Drew, this scenario was just absurd with her believing something she could not possibly have believed of anyone but a psychopath. That is a slap in the face to the reader who was on this journey and had been led to believe Alia was not an idiot and Drew was not a psycho. Other than that, I loved all the characters, loved the workplace aspect, loved that the characters had worked hard to be successful at 30 (but not at the top of their career quite yet) rather than being 28-year-old self-made billionaires or famous cardiac surgeons. I loved the supportive people in this book, the whole crew was great. All in all a genuinely fun and sweet read that just slightly dinged up at the end.

[Sarah (thehireader) · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5 stars

You know what’s better than the only one bed trope? The only one sleeping bag trope. Yep, it’s a new favorite of mine now, thanks to ON LOCATION.⁣
⁣
I really enjoyed ON LOCATION and think that it’s Sarah Echavarre Smith’s best work to date (keeping in mind that I’ve loved all of her books!). It probably would have been a five-star read for me but for the fact that a lot of the conflict stemmed from a lack of communication. That being said, I do think it made more sense in the context of ON LOCATION than in other stories I’ve read given Alia’s trust issues and the very specific way that she’d been burned before, and so the misunderstanding didn’t feel as contrived as it could have, nor did it bother me as much as it has in other stories. I’m just not a fan of the use of miscommunication as conflict.⁣
⁣
What I am a fan of, however, is tension—lots of it—and ON LOCATION delivered! Alia and Drew had unbelievable chemistry from the moment they met. And speaking of their meeting, their meet cute was adorable and perfect; one of my favorite meet cutes I’ve ever read.⁣
⁣
Like all of Smith’s books, ON LOCATION is infused with warmth, culture, and the importance of family. Alia’s memories of her apong were so special and made the fictional show feel that much more real and important.⁣
⁣
I’ve been a fan of Smith’s work from her debut, FAKER, and am always so excited when she releases something new. The world is so much brighter with her characters in it and I’m forever indebted to her for bringing hapa girls into mainstream romance.⁣

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest review. This has not impacted or influenced my review or my opinions.

For more reviews, check out my Instagram and my Blog!

[Anna (The Bursting Bookshelf) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really, really enjoyed Sarah Smith’s sophomore novel, Simmer Down – it nailed the enemies to lovers trope and made me crave lumpia. I was super excited to have the opportunity to read her third book, On Location. Unfortunately, this book just did not work for me.

My main issues with On Location were around the leading lady, Alia. I couldn’t get around her unprofessionalism and overall lack of situational awareness. She was over the top arrogant and really never redeemed herself. I also couldn’t buy into her romance with Drew. Their will they won’t they dynamic fell flat and I really didn’t feel any chemistry between them. I also found the overall story to be slow and the side characters were super on dimensional. I wish they had been developed a lot more / had their own subplots.

[Mia · Rating 1 out of 5]

There is one thing I liked crew whole romance is throw in the trash.

[Haleyyy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book, and thought I would. But I had to force myself to finish it.
It is always hard to read a book where you don't like the characters.
Alia was super quick to jump to conclusions constantly and a horrible communicator. And Drew annoyed me constantly.
Also, the whole work with the host thing was so over the top constantly, I couldn't enjoy the book.

I liked that it talked about national parks! But that's about it 😬

[Kiret]

dnf @ 13%

This triggered my anxiety and I can’t explain why but I never want to pick up a Sarah Smith book ever again dear god. Who let this be published? It’s like the first draft. Did no one read this through?

[Michelle’s Library]

DNF 61% cringey is the first word that comes to mind when I think of this one. I could not endure another smut scene.

[Shealea]

Sarah Smith really came to prove the haters wrong and released the best book she's ever written to date.

Full review to follow, but as the #1 hate-reader of her books, I am genuinely distraught by this development. FAKER LANG SAKALAM!!!

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alia works at a travel channel and has some very personal ideas for projects she wants to work on. She pitches a travel show about National Parks in Utah (I want to watch that) she originally gets her idea rejected. So being told she should be bold she does some bold things on the train ride back home. Which include taking a picture that goes viral and asking a handsome stranger out on a date. They hit it off but the next day and next week he never calls and her idea actually gets picked up. So she moves on setting up for her job on location.

So many things go wrong due to decisions she wasn't allowed to make on her own, cause misogyny and patriarchy. The host they have is a reality star nightmare but the freelance field coordinator she was referred to is familiar, hmmm. 

This is a rival co-worker, slow burn. And of course there is a third act heartbreak - why do I love the 3rd act heartbreak so much. Am I a masochist? Probably. Why yes yes I am.

BTW thank you for the PSA - we should visit our national parks! They are beautiful. When my kids are a few years older I want to go check off the ones in our big book and map - road tripping to some of them. These in Utah are definitely on the list!

Thank you berkleyromance and netgalley for the e-ARC for my honest and voluntary review.

[Chloe · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was not a good time lol.

[Jeffrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are a lot of good hot sections to this romance about a Alia, producer who has gotten her first big break to film her own travel show in Utah but is stuck with Blaine, a D-star, who has a drug and alcohol problem as the host. She has to make it work and coming to the rescue is Drew, a guy she met briefly in New York, but stood her up on a date.

The heated scenes are woven in nicely.

I did feel for Alia's problems on the set and felt Smith capably shows a lot of the pitfalls that female directors have with male underlings and stars usurping their authority, but I thought Smith went a little overboard in having Drew undercut Alia on several occasions, given their romantic involvement.

And the whole Blaine thing was telegraphed a mile away.

Good part - heat, interesting locale, women facing up and downs of being in charge.

Con: Predictable bad guy issues.

Worth a read. Will keep you entertained.

[Brook Obsessed · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enemies to lovers romance with adventure, an adorable meet cute, and lots of work related misunderstandings. My favorite part of this book is the setting in Utah and the forced proximity circumstances in the tent. Full of wanderlust and friendship, this is a steamy read that made my hiking and traveling heart so happy!

Alia pitches her idea for a travel show to the executives and surprisingly they give her a chance. Even though Alia hit road blocks every step of the way, she’s able to work around every failed attempt with the help of Drew and her friends. She tries to remain just friends with Drew and stay professional, but his charming personality is just too irresistible.

In all honesty, I saw some mediocre reviews for this one and went in expecting very little from the plot. I was pleasantly surprised. I loved the unity between the crew, Alia’s take no crap attitude, and the added steam! I really enjoyed where the story went and never got bored. Even though the miscommunication was typical for a romance, I enjoyed the character development and emphasis on female empowerment. A breezy and fun read with lots of adventure!

[Chapters of Chase · Rating 3 out of 5]

On Location 📸
Thank you, Berkley Publishing, for the gifted copy of this book {partner}

Genre: Romance
Trope: Enemies to Lovers/Workplace Romance
Format: 🎧
Audiobook Narration: ☆☆☆.5
Pub Date:
Star Rating: ☆☆☆

I usually enjoy Sarah Echavarre-Smith's books, but this was not my cup of tea.

For starters, the miscommunication trope was so strong right from the start. There wasn't a third-act break-up because of miscommunication - it was just prevalent from the beginning. Oh, and yes, there was a third-act break-up, too. I couldn't understand why Alia constantly treated Drew the way she did; she was either hot or cold with him, and there was no in-between. At times, the chemistry between them was off the charts, and then it was non-existent in the next scene. I wanted more depth from them as individual people and as a couple.

Some very steamy scenes are sprinkled throughout the book, and while a bit of 🔥 doesn't bother me, a few of these pages left me cringing.

1️⃣ One sleeping bag
🙅🏽‍♀️ Miscommunication
🎥 TV Nature Documentary
📉 Lacked character depth

If you're looking for a Sarah Echavarre-Smith book to read, I recommend Simmer Down. It's full of spice (both in the bedroom and the kitchen 😉).



______



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[Reading Mama · Rating 4 out of 5]

On Location by Sarah Smith is the third book by Smith that I have read. I have read Faker, Simmer Down, and now this one. On Location tells the story of Lia and Drew- Lia is a producer for a television station, and she gets the chance to shoot her own series. Drew is the field coordinator that she hires; she thinks they have never met before but when Drew shows up on the first day of filming, she realizes she does know him. They had an epic first night and meeting several weeks prior, but then Drew totally ghosted her. This makes for an awkward first day of filming. As they keep filming, Drew and Lia will discover if those same sparks from that first night many weeks before are still there. Overall, I enjoyed this book. The steam was on point and came at just the right time- quick enough that I didn't have to wait until the end for the two characters to hold hands but not so quick that it wasn't believable. The aspect of the behind the scenes of a television show being filmed was cool, and most of the characters were likable, except Blaine, which is what I'm sure Smith was going for- as he was utterly insufferable. It was fast paced and entertaining. A couple of things I did not like was how hot/cold Drew could be and the miscommunication between the characters. Lia was pretty assuming for someone who was pretty direct and blunt otherwise, and that is always a pet peeve of mine in books. Because of these things I am giving it 4/5 stars. Thank you to the publisher, Berkley Romance, for giving me the chance to read a digital ARC of this book.

[kayleigh · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 stars

i’m not going to review this one, i’m just trying to add the books i’ve read for my goodreads challenge.

[Molly · Rating 3 out of 5]

- This is the third book of Sarah’s that I have read and I have not loved any of them. They are cute but nothing special. But maybe that’s just me.
- The meet cute is adorable in this book. Alia and Drew meet on the Subway but, after just one date, he ghosts her. Of course he is going to show up and work on her TV though.
- The scenery. I mean, 95% of this book is set the Utah National Parks. It did kind of make me want to visit.

[Robin Loves Reading · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alia Dunn is not going to let the opportunity of a lifetime pass her up. She gets a fabulous job producing a new series. Falling into bed with crew member Drew Irons is not in her plans. This is especially so since the pair met previously and she was ghosted by him. Drew is the last man that Alia wants to think about. However, he is too gorgeous for his own good. Her attraction to him is palpable and it proves clear that he mirrors her feelings.

But, Alia knows she has something to prove, especially with some difficult crew members and other difficulties that happen on the set. Needing Drew on a professional level soon morphs into needing him on a physical level. How long can they hold out, all while leading the series they are working on to success?

On Location is an enjoyable read with very likable characters. The passion grows with intensity. Meanwhile, drama on the set doesn't seem to let up, thus creating conflicts with Alia and Drew. Sarah Smith is a new author to me, but I really like her style. Reality television has always been popular so to see it fictionalized in a romance book setting was quite a delight.

Many thanks to Berkley and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.