The View Was Exhausting

Rounded up from 4.5

I listened to this on audio and really enjoyed that experience. One narrator but she did all the many voices really well (there were one or two that were annoying but fit the characters personality so...) I also liked how when the MC is talking on the phone that comes through in the audio quality (sounds like a phone call).

This is a romance with depth - really explores the hypocrisy in hollywood for women & women of color as opposed to men and white women. And the the hoops one has to jump through just to ensure they have a future in a career they love. Both Win and Leo will drive you crazy at times but their interactions felt very real and I'm really obsessed with the ending of this book (before the epilogue).

There is an epilogue that wraps everything up. I didn't mind it (and usually don't) but warning for those that don't. I like seeing a peak into where the couple is at a future point in time. If you don't like those you can just skip.

This had been on my list for awhile and I'm glad I finally got to it - will be checking out other books written by this author duo!

3.5 stars. This is the only “fake dating” book I've read that 1) has a genuinely good reason for the MCs to do so (not just “I want my ex to be jealous”) and 2) realistically portrays the very real hurt that it can cause to both participants in the ruse (besides “oh no, I've caught feelings”).

Bogs down a little too much in the middle, and neither Win nor Leo are always likeable (especially Leo, a “poor little rich boy” whose primary redeeming feature is his willingness to drop everything and help Win whenever she needs him). But the challenges of being a young British Indian actress trying to break into Hollywood, and the misogynistic, capricious nature of celebrity gossip (the very fact that Leo and Win need to be seen together anytime someone accuses Win of being “difficult) ring true.

Note: you can tell this book is “romantic fiction” rather than “contemporary romance” because there is no cute cartoon characters on the cover.

Read If You Life:
- Slow Burn
- Angsty
- Humor
- Fake Dating
- Friends to Lovers
- Celebrity Main Characters

This was my first read from married duo Mikaella & Onjuli and I truly enjoy reading this story from beginning to end.

As you start to follow the life of movie star/celebrity Whitman ‘Win' Tragore you see the behind the scenes of what it's like to be a woman of color in the limelight of Hollywood life.

With her most recent breakup and the rumors flowing, Win struggles to keep a well known name from it all. When the gossip start rolling she calls on her trusted long-time friend/faux love interest Leo Milanowski to dim down the negative talks. Leo, a rice playboy from family money, is always willing to jump in and help Win out of a jam.

As you read you get some back story how Win & Leo met and become friends, or partners in crime. They realize that their new found friendship can truly become magic in her lifestyle. So they create a faux on-again off-again celebrity romance that the world can't get enough of. That's what they been for each other for the past seven years, but it they most recent get together things start to become a lot more intense for the two. The charade of their relationship starts to blur and things don't seem to be at a professional capacity anymore. Trouble starts to loom as Leo's past comes knocking and Win's gets some sad family news and turns everything upside down.

Through all the PDA and semi fake smiles, Win and Leo start to see maybe there's more than all what they thought could be there between each other and they needs to decide on whether its all worth it behind and in front of the camera.

I loved it..... you could see that there was so much more between Win and Leo that they just are afraid to realize and their back and forth through out the year shows you how their friendship has become so much more than that. I will say that there are some part in the book that where a little dragging, some chapters or scenes were extended longer than needed but overall great story, great writing.

Perfect for what it is. Light, enjoyable, a great experience while you're reading it but not necessarily a story you'll think about again and again.

did somebody say fake dating???????????

Pretty standard romance novel and exhaustingly predictable. Celebrity girl meets semi-famous boy and they face a bunch of “problems” that impede thier getting together for 250 pages. Probably of interest to those who like to read about fame and jet-setting lifestyles because it's not badly written, just unoriginal.

I received a copy of this book free from the publisher for review.