How (Not) to Date a Pop Star

by Jada Trainor

Aaliyah Preston and Tyler Moore were best friends growing up. Tyler played and wrote music, and Aaliyah brought that music to life through dance. They were convinced their lives would change forever after entering a TV talent show, but when Aliyah’s mom ended up in hospital, Tyler had to go alone–and won. Suddenly, he was thrust into the spotlight while she was left behind in their small, seaside town.

Several years later, Tyler is the hottest pop star on the planet, and Aaliyah has her heart set on following in her mom’s footsteps and attending the Boston Conservatory to study dance. However, her future becomes hazy when Tyler suddenly comes back home, and wants to make up for all the years they lost–and even plan a future that includes the two of them together.

While Tyler may have a lavish lifestyle and fans all the world over, he isn’t happy. What he really wants is a chance at a normal life, and he wants Aaliyah to be part of that life. However, family drama, including long buried secrets about both of their fathers, threaten any plans for their futures. But like the best pop songs, when the music and the lyrics come together everything works in perfect harmony. Tyler and Aaliyah will need to write a new duet without giving up on their dreams.

Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary

368 pages, Paperback

Published July 11, 2023

Reviews

[Inés Molina · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a quick read that honestly I enjoyed reading but felt something missing. The friends to lovers vibe was shining and I was here for it. A childhood friend who is a pop star coming back to his home town and the instant connection between the two characters was there. There's drama, secrets, love and the Russians what can go wrong,.....

[Nursebookie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this fun read! Swoon worthy

[Reading_ Tamishly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you, Wattpadd WEBTOON Book Group, for the advance reading copy.

I love this book so much! I am a pop music fan all my entire life and this book is just the perfect treat for me!

I love how realistic and convincing the characters are. The writing is so good that I want to cry!

It is the story of two best friends who complement each other the best when one writes songs and the other bringing lives to the songs with dance. They have known that they would rule the music world someday when they make music together. However, things changed when a tragedy happened and Tyler went on to become a big pop star.
This is the story of what happens when two people meet again and make their dreams come true despite whatever difficulties they have faced in between.

I love the writing I repeat!

Perfect five star read!

[ohmynameiskaylee · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at 10%

You are a normal, regular civilian. Act like it.

[Tianna ❀ · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was terrible. The whole time I was reading I could tell it was a Wattpad book. There was so much confusion and it felt like the author tried to stuff every typical Wattpad trope into one book: romance, dead dad, popstar, Russian killer, car crash…nothing that made sense.

- I was very confused by the scene where Aaliyah and Quinn were at the hotel. The transition wasn’t very clear and I had to scroll back to see if there was something that I missed.
- I’m very confused about how Aaliyah met Tyler. First she implied he was a dork when she said he “shoved French fries up his nose and once asked if girls could get pregnant from French kissing”. But then she said she first met him in the dance studio and he was cute and popular at school
- I don’t like the use of the term PTSD on page 37. It feels a little invalidating to people with actual PTSD for these girls to say they have it after just seeing a guy get beat up.
- page 50 - the phrase is laying low not lying low
- it doesn’t make sense to me that on page 52 she said the blogs were wondering where Tyler was when everyone in her school was videoing him, posting on social media and tagging him. How couldn’t they have know what he had been up to?
- their argument doesn’t make any sense. She wanted him to stay in New York so why is she upset that he said that? Then it went to this drastic, dramatic shift about how people can’t change ???
- how does Emma know how to drive and she’s only 15 years old?
- on page 208 he says his mom wants to ‘meet’ Ali to have dinner…..but doesn’t she already know his mom since she teaches Ali dance?????

[Rachel · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really didn't enjoy this book. The writing is erratic, the timeline is all sorts of confusing and the characters were shallow and unexciting. The story itself is very unrealistic, and the pacing was all over the place.

I wish I liked it, because it sounded great. I read all of it so I could provide a review knowing I had tried, but unfortunately I couldn't get into it.

[Emily · Rating 1 out of 5]

what even allowed this to get released

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a quick read that honestly I enjoyed reading but felt something missing. The friends to lovers vibe was shining and I was here for it. A childhood friend who is a pop star coming back to his home town and the instant connection between the two characters was there. This book gives you a glimpse into the life of a pop star. I tried to get into the storyline but it was just so far stretched that it was a struggle. There were a lot of things that seemed to come up randomly with no explanation. The ending left me wanting more explanation as well, it didn't seem to tie things up the way I was expecting.

[Katie]

DNF. Marking this as read even though I only made it 46 pages in, so in the future I don't make the mistake of picking this book up again.
WOW, was this a trainwreck from the beginning. When it's the first chapter and a group of men that I assume are the Russian mob crash the story about what I thought was going to be about a teen pop star, I noped it out of there.

[norah ann · Rating 1 out of 5]

why was the mafia there

[andrea v. (andrea’s galley) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Genre: Young Adult
Actual Rating: 3 stars
Spicy Meter: 1 fire emoji
Content Warnings: Mentions violence. Contains some sexual content.

“How (Not) to Date a Pop Star” follows Tyler Moore, an extremely famous pop star, and his childhood best friend, Aaliyah Preston, to whom dancing and the arts is more than a pastime, as they reconnect after fame and busy schedules got in the way.

Look, if you’re grabbing a book titled “How (Not) to Date a Pop Star”, you absolutely know what’s coming. Not only is it being published by Wattpad, but it reads 100% like a Wattpad story, and that’s what I loved about it.

If you’re coming in to find an insightful, deep romance, don’t. Do not grab this book, you’ll be disappointed. Now, you’re looking for a silly book that’ll go right over you and just give you the good vibes of a friends-to-lovers quirky story involving a mega pop star? Then go ahead and grab this.

This one is for the fanfic readers and StarStruck (2010 Disney TV movie) lovers. I don’t regret grabbing this advanced reader copy because it was exactly what I needed to get out of this reading slump I’ve been in.

ARC provided by NetGalley and Wattpad Books in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: July 11, 2023

[Christine Reads · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love a bad trashy teen wattpad fiction cause oh my god this was funny

We follow Aaliyah who is a teen dancer in high school who's childhood best friend turned into a popstar and has now decided to move back. Oh also his dad has a gambling addiction and the gambler decides to go after her from now on for some reason. And no one does anything about him or the father the entire time.

The mean girl ex friend was a constant thorn as well and was just torture to read over and over again.

Welp proceed at your own caution it's not good but it will be entertaining

[Rachel · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really didn't enjoy this book. The writing is erratic, the timeline is all sorts of confusing and the characters were shallow and unexciting. The story itself is very unrealistic, and the pacing was all over the place.

I wish I liked it, because it sounded great. I read all of it so I could provide a review knowing I had tried, but unfortunately I couldn't get into it.

[Allie Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was quite possibly one of the worst books I’ve ever read. It took me forever to get through this book because I had to force myself to read it. It dragged on and I kept wishing it was so much shorter.

It’s as if the author tried to pack in as many tropes as possible and it shows. It’s incredibly unrealistic and I just found myself shaking my head in disbelief so often.

[Rebecca Veight · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aaliyah and Tyler were best friends, she a dancer, he a musician and they were going to take part in a TV talent show together. When Aaliyah's mother got seriously sick, Tyler went alone and won. Years later he is a famous pop star and unhappy with his life, so he comes back to town to make up for lost time and even plan a future for them. But there are secrets that may not only ruin their plans but put them in danger.

The forthright and intimate 1st person POV that is often insightful gives us little breadcrumbs leading to future mysteries that pique your curiosity. The author has a knack for making us 'see' events and places with wordy, but in a good way, descriptions.

Aaliyah is gutsy and sensitive, cares for others and tries to do the right thing. Tyler is not as self-absorbed as expected and is surprisingly grounded for someone so famous at such a young age. He is genuinely a good guy. They complement each other. There is cuteness and an endearing quality to the protagonists amidst the drama from family and Tyler's celebrity status.

The flow of the narrative seems to stutter in parts, jumping from one thing to another with seemingly no rhyme or reason, and that is true also for some of the characters' actions. And it seems like parts of the narrative are missing. But it does get better as the story moves along and I can enjoy the intrigue, the danger vibe and how teenage stereotypes are given a run for their money.

You know how some side characters steal the show? Keep your eye on Aleksander.

This book emphasizes being yourself no matter what life throws at you and that you should always dream. This is not the full of awkward, comical moments rom-com you'd expect from the title, but an interesting, more complex than it originally seems read, with some truly lovely & sweet moments, but also suspense and a lot of surprises.

[Ali · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you, NetGalley for this book. 

I love pop star tropes and music. Sometimes it was really confusing and embarrassing. Sometimes I like this one so much. For me, it was not a quick read and I needed to put it down and return to it later. It was a story about two best friends, Aaliyah Preston, and Tyler Moore. Tyler played and wrote music, and Aaliyah brought that music to life through dance. They were convinced their lives would change forever after entering a TV talent show, but when Aliyah’s mom ended up in the hospital, Tyler had to go alone–and won. Suddenly, he was thrust into the spotlight while she was left behind in their small, seaside town. Are they able to restore their friendship? Or will they lose it forever? I love when the story consists of a dark dark secret that can destroy everything around them and I was intrigued by this description. In some places, I got what I wanted and my hopes were justified, and in some places, I was even slightly disappointed that everything was rather banal. In general, I liked this book and it was well-written. However, I felt that this book was from Wattpad.

[Kristi McManus · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you Wattpad Webtoon for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for a review.


I really wanted to like this book. I mean, I REALLY tried. Loved the concept, the cover is fresh and fun, and as a former Wattpad writer myself, I love seeing Wattpad authors launch into trad publishing.

But despite my love of the Wattpad community, this book felt like every cliche that comes with the 'this read like a Wattpad book' critique.

The pacing was erratic, flat, lifeless characters, no clear inciting incident, thw stakes were all over the place, the chemistry was forced and so typically cliche it felt painful. I got to page 80 and had to stop. It felt like the book was plucked off the app with no professional editing and sent for the shelves to strike while its popular rather than giving the author true guidance and the book a real chance.

I think the author has potential, but they need to learn craft, pacing, show vs tell. This book wasn't what I hoped but I would definitely give this author another shot.

[Ana Bugalho · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book has an intriguing concept, but ended up falling into clichés, reminiscent of a "typical Wattpad story". Unfortunately, I didn't like it very much. The writing is somewhat erratic, the timeline confusing and the characters seem too immature and lack depth. The unrealistic story and erratic pacing make it difficult to engage with the narrative. Even more confusing was the addition of the "Russian mafia" element, which really doesn't make any sense or add anything meaningful to the overall story. The far-fetched plot and inconsistencies made any connection to the novel difficult. The flow of the narrative stuttered at times, and the characters' actions felt inexplicable and random. Overall, this book failed to live up to its promising premise and I closed the last page in disappointment.

[LeeAnn · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a delightful story!

It begins like any fanfic, friend of the famous tries to meet, but things don't look the same.

And then the plot veers away from the expected into quite an enjoyable tale! It hits dark and dangerous with the sparkly sweet.

I enjoyed the main character's twists and turns, and naturally, the perfect ending. (No spoilers, though.)

Aaliyah is absolutely the character you'll be cheering for! She's quirky but relatable, and every teen will wonder how to be her! And she's a dancer, which definitely makes me think of my own dancer daughter.

"But if I had to do it all over again for just one kiss, I would." (300)

And naturally, references to Alice in Wonderland!

Thanks, NetGalley, for letting me get a sneak peek before this one arrives!

[Allyson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would raise this to 2 1/2 stars. Thank you #goodreadsgiveaway for my free copy!

This was ok; I knew it was YA, but I guess I didn’t expect it to be so high school, literally. And the back of the book should warn you a bit about the ”secret” involving Russian bad guys and all that. I was surprised at the amount of alcohol the characters drank…I think every four pages a teenager was drinking something. I know it was a work of fiction, but some of these scenarios happening was just too much. This needs some clean up work; sometimes we would skip to a different time and place from one paragraph to the next that made no sense. This wasn’t an ARC, so I was also surprised by the typos. BUT….my almost 11 year old daughter devoured it in less than two days, so it has its market out there.

[Kelsey Rhodes · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.25/5 stars! The premise of this book sounded fun and I was looking for a light-hearted romcom with some hidden depths. But I didn't get any of that. Instead, the reader gets a disjointed book where it feels like the author threw everything and the kitchen sink into this story and hoped it worked. It was a challenge to get through this and I couldn't find myself rooting for any of the characters. Likely will not seek out books by this author in the future.

I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily

[Aashna · Rating 1 out of 5]

I received this book through the PW Grab a Galley event. This book was very difficult for me to get through and I almost DNFed several times. Even though romance isn't my usual genre, I've recently started to enjoy some and the description sounded like this one could be a fun read. However, it gets very strange in the middle and it felt like the premise got lost. The characters felt underdeveloped as well and just weren't that interesting to me. Unfortunately, the book doesn't live up to the expectation the description gives.

[Colline Vinay Kook-Chun · Rating 1 out of 5]

The ides for this story has merit however the execution does not. I wanted more depth to the characters - I felt no connection to them at all and their behaviour was not always in line with previous actions. What was really confusing was the addition of the gangster element. Right until the end of the novel, it did not make sense. What was the danger? There is a large gap of information. I went into this read with hope but closed the last page in disappointment.

[Hanna Fogel · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF. I won this in a Publishers Weekly Grab-a-Galley, so really wanted to like it, but from the beginning I unfortunately just didn't buy it. The backstory given in the back-cover summary blurb isn't really expanded upon in the ~100 pages I read so I felt like I was just thrown in, and then the mafioso plotline came out of nowhere, where I think the teenage drama itself would have been enough. Not the YA for me, unfortunately.

[Sydney · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is horrible. There were way too many things happening, the author needed to pick one and go with it. Also the timeline in this book was so hard to follow. There were never descriptions when a scene changed, it seemed like characters would just pop up. It also feels like the story wasn't resolved but I couldn't really tell you because the writing is so bad that I don't know.

I received an arc through netgalley.

[Gillian Odom · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was such a cute read! I'm honestly not sure why this book is getting so much hate! It was confusing a bit at times but overall I enjoyed it!

I love the friends to lover vibes. The premise is so cute too I couldnt resist. It was honestly so cute. It's a nice easy and light read. Perfect for summer.
Give this novel a chance. It's cute!

Thanks to netgalley and publisher for this arc. I liked it!

[Tara Haelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a bittersweet family drama-romance that did a good job of capturing the messiness of trying to figure out our pasts and who we are and what we want while also trying to figure out how we might share that with someone we love... even if we're afraid to take the leap with them. I love when romance books go a little deeper than the surface, and this one does that well while remaining a not-too-heavy read.

[Marissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

you can't go wrong with childhood friends to lovers especially falling for a popstar that you grew up with. I had a bit high expectations for this book but in beginning it was great couldn't put it down but this felt like younger me writing this on wattpad like Justin Bieber or Harry Styles fan fiction

I'm DNF this book, wanted to love it but stopped ar page 226. I wanna love it but I didn't, im giving it 2 stars because I like reading falling for a popstar vibes but would I recommend this book? no, I wouldn't but I'll be donating this book to a tiny library and maybe someone will like this book

[Tianna ❀ · Rating 1 out of 5]

Truthfully, giving this one star was being far too generous. This book was terrible. The whole time I was reading I could tell it was a Wattpad book. There was so much confusion and it felt like the author tried to stuff every typical Wattpad trope into one book: romance, dead dad, popstar, Russian killer, car crash…nothing that made sense.

[John Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

The plot theme has been done before, but the author took it in some unique directions and populated the story with a variety of unique characters, most likable, some not, but even the bad ones are relatively sympathetic once you learn what motivates them. All in all a fine first effort by the author.