Name: Kristen Claiborn's review of Famous in Love by Rebecca Serle
Item: Famous in Love
Rating: 4
Author: Kristen Claiborn

Rebecca Serle

The book that inspired the hit Freeform series, by the New York Times-bestselling author of In Five Years. When Paige Townsen gets plucked from high school obscurity to star in the movie adaptation of a blockbuster book series, her life changes practically overnight. Within a month, Paige has traded the quiet streets of her hometown for a bustling film set on the shores of Maui, and she is spending quality time with her costar Rainer Devon, one of People's Sexiest Men Alive. But when troubled star Jordan Wilder lands the role of the other point in the movie's famous love triangle, Paige's crazy new life begins to resemble her character's. In this exciting tale of romance and drama, both on-and offscreen, Paige must adjust to a crazy new life without the daily support of her friends and family, while figuring out who she is--and who she wants--as the whole world watches.

Famous in Love

Allison Dempsey

         When I was a youngster, like many other kids, I had fantasies that I was some long, lost princess.  That some fancy royal was going to show up on my doorstep and inform my mother that I was the next in line to some faraway throne.  Eventually, I outgrew that little fantasy, and eventually imagined I was going to be discovered by a famous movie director while somewhere silly, like the gas station.  I would then be whisked away to a life of fame and fortune; never again would I have to worry about paying for food.  Alas, that never happened.  I’ve even been in a bunch of movie and TV shows (as an extra) and I was never plucked out of obscurity by the director.  It’s just not in the cards for me.  A girl can dream though, right?

            For the main character of this book, that dream became a reality.  I’m guessing Rebecca Serle, at some point while growing up, also had the dream of becoming a famous actress.  Paige audition for a movie roll, got it, and became what can only be called “instantly famous.” She ended up in Hawaii, with dueling male leads who appear to hate each other but REALLY like her.  It’s kind of adorable. 

            Serle does a good job with this story.  There’s the obligatory love interest, the obligatory friends moving on without her, and the mystery guy that wants to steal her away from the obligatory love interest.  I loved everything about this book.  I was incensed when I discovered my library didn’t have the rest of the series. 

Kristen Claiborn

         When I was a youngster, like many other kids, I had fantasies that I was some long, lost princess.  That some fancy royal was going to show up on my doorstep and inform my mother that I was the next in line to some faraway throne.  Eventually, I outgrew that little fantasy, and eventually imagined I was going to be discovered by a famous movie director while somewhere silly, like the gas station.  I would then be whisked away to a life of fame and fortune; never again would I have to worry about paying for food.  Alas, that never happened.  I’ve even been in a bunch of movie and TV shows (as an extra) and I was never plucked out of obscurity by the director.  It’s just not in the cards for me.  A girl can dream though, right?

            For the main character of this book, that dream became a reality.  I’m guessing Rebecca Serle, at some point while growing up, also had the dream of becoming a famous actress.  Paige audition for a movie roll, got it, and became what can only be called “instantly famous.” She ended up in Hawaii, with dueling male leads who appear to hate each other but REALLY like her.  It’s kind of adorable. 

            Serle does a good job with this story.  There’s the obligatory love interest, the obligatory friends moving on without her, and the mystery guy that wants to steal her away from the obligatory love interest.  I loved everything about this book.  I was incensed when I discovered my library didn’t have the rest of the series. 

Maria

it might be good as a tv show - hawaiian landscapes and all - but not so good as a book. characters are flat (all of them, especially Rainer), motives are unclear, and first-person narrative is annoying because the narrator is naive and not that smart.

Alejandra Bran

Honestly I thought i was going to hate this book, that I was going to DNF. Surprisingly I liked it. Here I'm once again saying "I'm not a contemporary reader blah" buy lately I've been more interested in them and I don't regret it.

Although I'll say this is not the type of contemporary that I'll like. I'll leave it like that.

Might read the next book, because this ended kinda weird

Paige doesn't think she's particularly special, but after getting the starring role in a massive film adaptation of the bestselling Locked trilogy, the rest of the world would disagree. Now she's thrown into the spotlight, and into a world of gossip, rumour and deceit. The only people who know what she's going through are her two male co-stars, and they can't stand the sight of each other. Paige knows it's a mistake to fall in love on the set of a movie, but days of on-screen romance and intensity start to change her mind. The question is, can she keep what happens behind the scenes a secret when the world is watching her every move?

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Ok, confession time. Famous in Love is my first Rebecca Serle book. Now that I’ve fallen in love with her writing and characters, I am kicking myself for waiting this long to discover her work. I’ll be devouring her backlist ASAP. Now that I have my confession out of the way, I’ll get started on my review. :)

Famous in Love was so flipping good. I had high hopes for this book and have been excited for it since I picked up a copy at BEA. I wasn’t disappointed. It sucked me in from the prologue because I just HAD TO KNOW which guy she was talking about. I thought I was just in for a good YA romance, but the truth is, Famous in Love was so much more than that. It was about friendship, life and love. It showed how your choices affect your life in ways you might not have even thought possible. This was a great coming of age story.

I loved Paige. Even though she was a movie star, she was relatable, real and likable. She was struggling with her newfound fame and all that comes with it. I think that’s what made her so likable to me. She didn’t let it all go to her head. Perhaps her biggest struggle at the beginning is fighting her feelings for her co-star, Rainer. They’re growing close during filming and he has her back off-camera, too. Things get more complicated when their other co-star, bad boy Jordan Wilder, shows up on set. Rainer and Jordan used to be friends, but are now locked in a feud over something that happened the last time they worked together. Paige, of course, gets sucked into it all and tries not to like Jordan because of her loyalty to Rainer. Tries is the key word here.

From the minute Jordan stepped foot on set, it was obvious there was a whole lot of chemistry between him and Paige. The more she tried to deny it, the more apparent it was. She *shouldn’t* like this guy, but there’s something about him that draws her to him. Things get even more complicated after they share a steamy on-screen kiss. Now Paige has a decision to make… which guy is the one for her?

I’m not usually a huge fan of love triangles, but this one worked so well for me. Paige seemed to fit so well with both guys and I can understand why she was torn between them. I couldn’t even decide on a team for myself. I definitely wouldn’t have wanted to be in her shoes! Now, I’m not going to tell you who she chooses. You have to experience the whole ride for yourself. What I will say is that I didn’t LOVE how the book ended, but only because I originally thought this was a standalone. Now that I’ve learned it’s part of a series, I’m more than ok with it and really can’t wait to get my hands on the next book! There’s definitely more story left between Paige, Rainer and Jordan. I can’t wait to see what happens next.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Jasmine Patel

"A must-read for anyone curious about life and love behind the scenes."--Bella Thorne, actor and author of Autumn Falls When Paige Townsen gets plucked from high school obscurity to star in the movie adaptation of a blockbuster book series, her life changes practically overnight. Within a month, Paige has traded the quiet streets of her hometown for a bustling film set on the shores of Maui, and she is spending quality time with her costar Rainer Devon, one of People's Sexiest Men Alive. But when troubled star Jordan Wilder lands the role of the other point in the movie's famous love triangle, Paige's crazy new life begins to resemble her character's. In this exciting tale of romance and drama, both on-and offscreen, Paige must adjust to a crazy new life without the daily support of her friends and family, while figuring out who she is--and who she wants--as the whole world watches.

Allison Dempsey &
Famous in Love by Rebecca Serle

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