Catch a Falling StarAuthor: Kim Culbertson
Publisher: Scholastic Press, 304 pages
Expected Publication Date: April 29, 2014
*ARC received from publisher via NetGalley
From Goodreads:
A deliciously charming novel about finding true love . . . and yourself.
Nothing ever happens in Little, CA. Which is just the way Carter Moon likes it. But when Hollywood arrives to film a movie starring former child star turned PR mess Adam Jakes, everything changes. Carter's town becomes a giant glittery set and, much to her annoyance, everyone is starry-eyed for Adam. Carter seems to be the only girl not falling all over herself to get a glimpse of him. Which apparently makes her perfect for the secret offer of a lifetime: playing the role of Adam's girlfriend while he's in town, to improve his public image, in exchange for a hefty paycheck. Her family really needs the money and so Carters agrees. But it turns out Adam isn't at all who she thought he was. As they grow closer, their relationship walks a blurry line between what's real and what's fake, and Carter must open her eyes to the scariest of unexplored worlds - her future. Can Carter figure out what she wants out of life AND get the guy? Or are there no Hollywood endings in real life?
Review:
I liked this book, it was a cute, light read. Although Carter loves movies, she doesn't love Hollywood. So when movie star Adam Jakes comes to town, Carter's not that impressed. He needs to work on his image (just coming out of rehab after dumping his beloved movie star girlfriend) so his agent hires Carter to pretend to be his girlfriend since she's got this whole small-town sweet girl thing going on. I did like the opposites attract storyline, but for some reason I never really connected with the characters. I wanted more banter and tension, but instead Carter is just so nice. Even in the beginning, when Adam acts like a complete jerk, she thinks about good comebacks but she keeps them to herself. And Adam…for some reason I just wasn't feeling it. He was fine, but not swoony. So while the romance was sweet, I wasn't really invested in it.
Posted by: Pam
I've been hoping to see a review of this one! It sounds like a cute read but not one that I would get invested in. I love good banter in books, so I am sad that this is lacking in that. Thanks for the honest review, I think I'll skip this one :)
ReplyDeleteYeah, I was a bit disappointed, to be honest. I just never felt that connect to the characters, which is a big negative for me (especially for contemporary YA). ~Pam
DeleteHmm. I'll probably still read it and I'll just have to see what I think...
ReplyDeleteTressa @ Tressa's Wishful Endings
It was cute, I just thought it could have been so much better. Oh well! ~Pam
DeleteShe should totally say her great comebacks to this boy. That's what makes it so fun! I think I'm going to pass on this one. Doesn't really sound like something that I would enjoy. Thanks for the review!
ReplyDeleteI just wanted her to be a stronger character, although part of the reason Adam likes her is because she's so nice. ~Pam
DeleteI've been excited to read this one. The premise reminded me of a combo of This is What Happy and the movie Notting Hill. It's too bad that the romance and the dude wasn't as swoony as it could have been. I'm sure I'll still read this, but I'll lower my expectations a bit.
ReplyDeleteI did enjoy it, but it didn't wow me. I liked the guy from This is What Happy Looks Like so much more! ~Pam
DeleteFor a second, I got scared because I confused this book for "Second Star" for a second - which I want to read soon and am really excited about - but false alarm!
ReplyDeleteAnyway - I have this too but I've been reading a lot of contemporary lately, a lot of really good contemporary, and I think this one will fall flat in comparison. It sounds a little, dare I say, boring? I'm not going to write this off, you still liked it, but I am not totally convinced.
I still need to read Second Star, I'm waiting until it's closer to its release date.
DeleteAnd this book was good, but not great. ~Pam
You know, I was totally fine with Adam not being swoony in this book. It's weird to say that because usually I look for that. lol But I liked that he had things to work through and the book was just a starting point for it. glad you enjoyed it overall!
ReplyDeleteThat's true, he wasn't the unrealistic perfect guy, which was intentional on the author's part, I assume. ~Pam
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