Because competing on a reality TV dating show? Just the thought of all those cameras had me breaking out in a cold sweat. Plus, my truly impressive collection of emotional baggage made the very idea of falling for a guy, while being filmed for all the world to see no less, laughable.
But to help my dad, I needed money. And Ever After had plenty.
All I had to do was play along for a few weeks. Smile for the cameras, go on a few dates, then get out with my money. Easy.
Falling in love was never part of the plan. But you know what they say about best laid plans…
Enter Ethan Miller.
The moment I laid eyes on him, I knew he was going to cause me trouble.
His quiet confidence, his effortless charm, that sexy smirk. It all became a frustratingly irresistible distraction, pulling my focus from my one true objective.
But that wasn’t even the worst part. No, the most problematic thing about falling for Ethan Miller was that it all happened while I was competing for another man.
With an audience of millions, I suddenly had to love or money?
**Facing Reality is a sexy, emotional and angst-filled forbidden romance.
Sienna Atwell is a romance author who loves to write deliciously messy, angsty and emotional stories. Her debut novel, Facing Reality, may be her first published work, but writing has been a passion of hers for as long as she can remember.
She is a wife to her adoring husband- a man who also happens to be her favorite person on the planet, very convenient- and a mom to her babies, both human and fur.
A lover of travelling, addictive love stories, and good wine, if she’s somehow able to have all three at once, she’s in her happy place.
My desire for this plot to play out in a real reality show is all-consuming right now !! I’m slightly devastated this isn’t real. The rating for this show would be ridiculously high and I think the world would be shipping these characters so hard.
I wouldn't characterize this as an ‘enemies to lovers’, but it did get tense there for a while. The MMC is a production manager on a reality show and the FMC is a contestant. Due to certain circumstances, they have to interact quite a lot. I was slightly worried about their connection at the start, but that didn't last long. This man's love language is obviously ‘acts of service’ because he went beyond expectations every time, just to show her he cared.
Each chapter time jumps between the past and the present. The past highlighted what occurred during the filming of the show and the present focused on the FMC watching the show or reflecting about her stay each week. Honestly, it was a really cool way to do it. I felt like I was receiving a real-time reaction.
I personally love a bit of continuity, so this was definitely a change, but I started to need the future FMC to tell me what happened with the past FMC.
It was a forbidden romance, which made the stolen moment and the tension that much better. The angst I tell you, the angst!!!!!!
They have this deep emotional connection, built on how open they were with each other, but they also have this insane sexual chemistry. However, if you took away all the spice I would still love reading about these characters. I mean the man knows first aid 🩺.
The FMC was a perfect mess and I found her very relatable. She was raw, funny and trying to be more open, after so many years of shutting people out. She was just completely herself with him.
It was only 4 stars for me because near the end it got a little rocky. I totally understood this plot twist but by this point, I was so invested in this couple that the behaviour that followed annoyed me a tiny bit. Probably an irrational annoyance. I swear I just get too invested 😅
This was recommended by a GR Friend and I’m so glad I read it. Give it a chance if anything I said sounds remotely appealing 🙂
Wooww! The premise was really unique and interesting. A reality dating show where dozens of women compete for the love of a rich, eligible bachelor. And one of those women is our heroine, Elizabeth. She signs up for the show because she needs the prize money for her sick father. As soon as I read the blurb, I thought, "This sounds juicy as HELL," and of course, I HAD TO read it.
From the very beginning, Elizabeth's personality is crystal clear, do the show, get the money, help her dad. Even though she tries to convince herself that she is "open to find love" she despises everything about the show. And that hope of hers gets crushed when she sees that the so called " eligible bachelor" is an asshole and a big time womanizer. But, she has an eye on another man anyways.
Ethan works behind the scenes and the cameras, and when Elizabeth sees him the first time, there are instant sparks and attraction. What starts as stolen glances turns into this forbidden romance full of feelings and deep love. Ethan felt like such a real character and a genuinely good man who stays kind without ever being a pushover. He was masculine, funny, and warm. I adored him.
The setting reflected the reality TV's suffocating feeling really well too. All the cameras, the people, a microphone nearly up your nose with boom mics hovering over you, the awareness that millions will see a version of you shaped by producers. It honestly made me feel anxious. I kept thinking, thank God I'm not in this situation.
That said, there were a few things I didn't love. The author uses ALL CAPS when characters are angry, which is a HUGE pet peeve of mine. I also wasn't a fan of the constant back and forth between "Past" and "Present" chapters, but that’s more of a personal preference than a flaw.
And yes, I guessed the plot twist early. My version of the twist involved Ethan in a really bad perspective but like I said, he is a nice man all around so it was somewhat tamer
Overall, I honestly enjoyed this. The setting set it apart and made me stay. Ethan was a bonus as well. I’d rate it 3.5 stars, but I’m rounding it up to 4 because, honestly, how often do I read a romance set in a reality TV circus?
4.5/5 - what a diamond in the rough!!! Finally - a contemporary romance with a strong plot! This book definitely has its flaws, but I’m willing to forgive them because the author clearly has some magic going on in these pages. AND it’s her debut novel 🥹🥹 You could really feel the tension and build up between our main characters. THE YEARNING!! THE SECRECY!! THE STOLEN GLANCES AND THE GRAZING OF SKIN!! SO MUCH ANGST!! I really wanted them to get together.
The cons: The writing quality is decent, but tbh this book needs a good edit. Characters felt pretty 2 dimensional. I think a dual POV would have helped. FMC was a huge pushover at the end and immediately forgave MMC after he ghosted and abandoned her for months. And there was not NEARLY enough groveling by the MMC. This man should have been groveling his fucking ass off. I needed more.
But regardless of these things, this book is definitely a hidden gem. I’m super excited to read more from this author!!
This is a debut novel?!? WOW! I will be reading whatever Sienna Atwell writes in the future, I really didn't think I'd get into the story because of the reality show aspect but actually their relationship had me! Elizabeth doing the show because of the medical bills from her dad, and her bills from her restaurant add to her character development for me. She wasn't going for a relationship but falling for the production manager wasn't on her radar at all. Ethan is just a love bug for sure, I'd loved his story to have been flushed out some more but overall he's an awesome book boyfriend I'm sure for those who like book boyfriends. It's a great book for the debut of an author, she's set the bar high, her story telling, her character development and resolution were all very well done, I can't wait to watch her grow as an author. **I was sent an ARC for honest review by HIDDEN Gems and appreciate the opportunity. **
I wish I could accurately explain the buzz and joy this book brought me but words won’t do it justice. I wish we could’ve gotten an Ethan POV but I know that would’ve just been him waxing poetic about Elizabeth (as he should). This was just such a cute book with light angst. The forbidden romance, the jealousy. I truly don’t think I’ll ever not be thinking of this book and this couple. If you’re on the fence just read it you wont regret it!!!!
This was a cute read. I initially read it because it seemed similar to The Charm Offensive, but they were pretty different. The only similarities are the show (both called Ever After) and that it’s a contestant/suitor/production combo.
Ethan was the ultimate dreamboat and I loved his character. I wish this had his POV because I felt as though it could have added something to this story that I thought was missing.
Elizabeth was just an okay character for me. I liked her better at the end but there were times throughout the novel she just bothered me.
Ultimately, this was a decent read and I’d recommend it if you’re in the mood for something like it. I’ll also read the next thing this author writes! 👌🏻
Oh man, I want to read this same plot by an author who can really flesh it out!
I don’t even really know how to describe my problems with this book besides it felt juvenile and underdeveloped.
The plot was there - some of the angst felt genuine - and SOME of it was done so right.
But there was so much left wanting. And you can just tell the author doesn’t have much experience. Felt like there was not much research in being a chef besides googling a few fancy sounding recipes and I am not sure how accurate the setting was, but it felt like there would be way more to reality tv production than that.
At times I felt like Elizabeth’s inner dialogue was not half bad but the conversations between almost everyone, Elizabeth and Ethan included, felt stilted and awkward.
Also - there would have been plenty of actual angst from the plot itself without some of the silly over reactions from the mc’s.
I did really like what happened at the end - felt like an explanation on Ethan’s disappearance that actually made sense and wasn’t forced or made up.
Like I said I want to see this same plot but with more developed, original characters whose bucket list items don’t include seeing snow or learning to surf. I mean, did she google bucket list items? Let’s get creative here!
It’s 4AM and I just finished this spectacular book and now I don’t know what to do with myself! I went back and forth with wanting to read this as slow as possible to make it last, and reading it every chance I got because I couldn’t stop thinking about it!
I originally went into reading this thinking it was going to be like a lot of the reality shows I’ve heard about along the same lines, but with a twist of her not really wanting to fall for the bachelor, but doing it anyway. I was pleasantly surprised about how wrong I was!
Ethan walks in and immediately made me want to read more about him. I thought he’d just be someone that was helping her out and maybe before a good friend, but secretly wishing more them to fall In love. I was not expecting to be right!
I quickly fell in love with their reactions and they made me smile so much! Not only that, but they definitely made me hold my breath a few times and sob hysterically at 2AM.
Sienna needs to hurry and release new books (Maybe a sequel? ;) ) because she has definitely made it onto my author watch list.
The story was perfect, the characters were perfect (even the ones who will make you want to strangle and scream at), the writing flowed so well, making this a wonderful read!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
DNF @35% Heard good things about this and I really wanted to like it. The premise was right up my alley, I love reality show trope in romance books. It began on the wrong foot for me though. The mystery was all gone, then all that extra attention on the fmc from the get-go, the "I'm not like other girls" vibes, mmc made the first bad impression but in my opinion his extra regard for one contestant was unprofessional and weird. It was all tell and no show. Were the crew giving similar attention to other contestants, we don't know, what was so special about fmc, was her story more interesting, we don't know, we are barely told two things about her life. I didn't have any sympathy for her plight. She knew she would be on a reality show, why not embrace the experience, her negative attitude got on my nerves. She has female friendships in her life but do we see or feel it, nope. I clearly experienced the story very differently from all the glowing reviews here.
If you love those dating shows, this one is for you ☝️ but there's a twist here hehe this book probably has the best past and present chapters bcs usually i hate them so much
I need to touch some grass bcs why am i so jealous with this fictional woman who gets to be with this perfect fictional man! Wdym i cant date him like Elizabeth does 😭
I really didn't know what to expect with this book, but it was oh so good! I loved Ethan and Elizabeth! Ethan was there for her every time she needed someone! Even from their first meeting, he was just there! I would've loved to get his version to....love when the book are dual POV,but this was still a really good book!
After I finished reading "Facing Reality" a few days ago, I wondered aloud to a friend of mine how I had never read anything written by Sienna Atwell before. I immediately went to the author's page to see if I could get my hands on more of her work, so imagine my surprise when I discovered that this was her debut novel. Admittedly, I have been in a bit of a book slump over the past several months, so flying through "Facing Reality" felt like a giant breath of fresh air, since it's not only a five-star read, but also one of the best books that I have finished this year. I am officially a huge fan of Atwell, and I cannot wait to see what else she decides to pen in the future.
The characters in "Facing Reality" are fantastic. Ethan is EVERYTHING you could ever want in a leading man-- smart, protective, hard-working, gorgeous, and kind. Most importantly, he is completely smitten with Elizabeth from the first moment he spots her, to the point where he's willing to risk his job for her. It was wonderful to see the way he brought Elizabeth out of her shell and opened her eyes to what life (and love) could be if she just took a few risks and didn't put walls up around her heart.
As much as I adore Ethan, Elizabeth still manages to steal the show. She's clever, funny, opinionated, guarded, yet compassionate at the same time, plus she doesn't seem to realize how awesome of a person she is, regardless of how many times Ethan (and other people) tell her that. She also tries so hard to take care of everyone else in her life (especially her father), which makes her willingness to lean on Ethan and let her guard down around him even more meaningful. I genuinely believe this couple will remain happily together for "Ever After" (pun totally intended). #Elizabethan
For anyone on the fence about whether they should buy "Facing Reality," I highly recommend that you one-click it today!
I received an ARC of Facing Reality and am voluntarily leaving an honest review!
Do I recommend this book? Yes
Sienna Atwell took on the world of a The Bachelor-type reality tv show in her debut novel and did a fantastic job! I thought it was cute and differentiated itself enough to still be interesting in this current trend of Reality TV romance novels.
What I liked:
- Flipping between past and present throughout the book; I love stories told this way and I felt this was well executed - Ever After, the reality show in the book! I have a thing for behind the scenes type books and the show settings they're on; I enjoyed this one! I don't really watch reality TV myself, so it really intrigues me when it's in a book. - The very real issues Elizabeth faced that led her to doing the show and propelled the conflict - Ethan is a great book boyfriend! He's caring, isn't perfect (helllooo emotions), and pushed Elizabeth to grow - Just enough angst to keep me turning pages but not feel miserable
What I didn't like:
- Not having Ethan's perspective; it would have made the story that much richer since he was quite emotive! We were left guessing the entire time and I really would have enjoyed having his thoughts/feelings/interactions when he was not with Elizabeth
Ultimately, #elizabethan for life! Read this book - you won't regret it! I look forward to Sienna Atwell's following novels.
oh wow i was given this as an arc copy and have chosen to review it as follows
Loved loved loved this brilliantly well written fun and emotional rollercoaster of a book i felt like i was right there alongside elizabeth throughout the whole story laughing and crying and being emotionally wrecked throughout the whole story If you like a bit of reality tv this is defiantly the book for you, if you love a good romance with an eventual happy ever after this is definitely the book for you and of you love a well written detailed story that pulls you in and makes you feel all the emotions the characters are feeling the whole way through than this is most definitely the book for you The story itself is about Elizabeth a chef and restaurant owner who goes on to reality tv, finds love looses love and all the in betweens I’m trying not too give away too much of this because the best way ti experience simply how fantastic it actually is, is by reading the story and filling elizabeth on her journey.
i actually cannot wait to read another book by this author and really hoping it lives up to the expectations i now have of great writing and a fantastic storyline
The worst thing about this book was that I couldn't finish it in one day. I went to bed but couldn't sleep because I kept thinking about Elizabeth and Ethan. At 4 am, I got up and finished it. That is how involved I got with these characters and how things would turn out for them. The whole idea of behind the scenes on a "reality" TV show was interesting, including how Elizabeth and Ethan have allies on the staff and how awful the bachelor was. Elizabeth's motives for going on this show made sense to me, but the reasons of the other women did not. I can't imagine this sort of world, but a funny and touching story about part of it is well worth reading. The author handles past vs. present deftly, as she does the emotional ups and downs of the characters.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book. This is the debut novel by this author and I was so glad I was given the chance to read. Elizabeth is a chef and owns a restaurant. She was doing well financially until her father has a stroke. Now she is downing in medical bills. Her friend suggest she go on a reality bachelor show called Ever After. If she stays a few weeks it could definitely help her situation. She's definitely not looking for love. Ethan is the producer and has the extra task of giving Elizabeth updates on her dad. She's not what he expects and can't figure out why she would be on his show. Their chemistry is off the charts but he could lose his job if they cross the line. I really enjoyed this book and can't wait for more from this author.
Facing Reality is a new look on the dating show book. I really enjoyed the characters and struggles they went through. This is a light read that was thoroughly enjoyable. I read it in one day. Couldn't put it down.
The book is a good, and enjoyable steamy emotional forbidden romance read. The story has a good story line. The characters are good, and they have good chemistry.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I am blown away. I cannot believe that this is a debut novel. It is just so so good. I loved #eilizabethan so much, I’m sad to have come to the end of the story. Absolute perfection!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
She goes on a reality dating show to help her family. She can't help that she's attracted to someone not actually on the show.
There are so many emotions to this quirky book you never know what the next page will bring. This is my first read by this author and hopefully not the last
What a wonderful story so full of emotion, steamy moments and off the charts chemistry . Sienna is a new author to me and I loved every single moment of this book
the rollercoaster of emotions i was taken through was so worth it. this book has a very interesting narration of reality show, which made the tension that much higher. i was on the edge of my seat, desperate to know what happened and what's gonna happen.
elizabeth and ethan's chemistry was soo good. ethan miller is such a fine ass hot man i can't believe he's fictional. elizabeth never stood a chance. I fell in love with him along with her 😞🌹
did elizabeth frustrate me? yes. did she make me cry? yes. do i relate to her? yes. she was such a raw character with real flaws, i just couldn't help falling in love with her 🥺 she's the best girl 😭🫂
i need sienna atwell to write more books and i willl devotedly read them all🙏
Aaaahhhhh I didn’t expect to love it as much as I did!!!! I was skeptical, expecting it to be cheesy, maybe it was, but it was done & written exceptionally well. All the emotions and feels were portrayed in a beautiful way, not overdoing it. I can’t believe how talented the author is especially since its a debut. I was also hesitant bc i usually hate the transition from the present to the past it makes me nervous, but in this book it was needed to make a well rounded story! Very impressive Im not gonna go into details about the main characters since no words could describe their love but if you’re on the fence about reading it, go. for. it! ❤️ It’s also interesting to see how things roll behind the scenes of a tv show :) Plot, characters everything 4.5/5 ⭐️
Elizabeth needs money to pay for her father’s mounting medical expenses. Her friend signs her up for a reality show where she finds love where she least expected it. Ethan is a producer on the show. There’s an instant attraction between the two when they met but they have to stay professional. As time goes by lines are crossed and feelings are involved. There are surprises, betrayals and emotions all over this book. Great read. Recommended.
kao okej je iskreno nisam bila bas za jer ono daj molim vas dating show ali fazon ona ode na dating show i zaljubi se u producera kao ok wow pop off i ethan je 300000000 puta bolji od zane-a tako da kontam zas se skontala s njim a ne s ovim papkom generalno okej kao vidim kako se ovo pretvara u film jer je toliko cheesy cliche people would eat it up dosl nista specijalno nista previse thrilling sve expected dosta ali hajde okej little read kad vam je dosadno
This story pulls at your heart string. A true page turner, and hard to put down. I will read it again in the future as it is just that good. If you get a chance please do not miss out on read this gem.
Absolutely amazing! I haven’t been this enchanted with a book in so long. The book is well written and had me on the edge of my seat the whole time. Ethan is so charming. I can’t wait to read more by Sienna Atwood!
Soft DNF @ 30%. I was really into The Bachelor style premise but I kept losing interest. Nothing wrong with the writing style but I found the characters lacking in personality and the dialogue a bit basic. The length (460 pages) felt far too long for how little it was holding my attention.