Name: Fear of Falling
ISBN: 9781635554434

Georgia Beers

Singer Sophie James is ready to shake up her career, but her new manager, the gorgeous Dana Landon, has other ideas.

Fear of Falling

Lucia Correa

5 Stars for this pleasant romance. I really enjoyed it. Both main characters were likable and you want to root for them. It’s a perfect beach read to kick off the summer. Fear of Falling just may supplant Starting from Scratch as my favorite Georgia Beers’ book.

Sophie James is a 29 year old mega superstar who has been in the spotlight since she was a teenager. Sophie’s music is adult mainstream pop, appealing to an older demographic. Her longtime manager, Ray has died and for the first time Sophie has to put on her big girl panties. Throughout her career she and her manager had fostered a good girl reputation, always avoiding any controversies and tabloid fodder. But now on her own she has landed on the tabloids with footage of her drunk and having a “profanity laden meltdown”.

Dana Landon is a talent manager who works for Sophie’s record label, Miracle Records and she is sent to get Sophie back on track, out of the tabloids and recording her newest album of her usual ballads. But what maybe more difficult is reining in their mutual attraction to each other.

Sophie adored Ray and she grew to depend on him, always agreeing to his advice and guidance. How can she complain? She is a superstar; her voice is considered one of the best, if not the best, which sold a lot of records. But now she wants her new album to include songs she has written and for it to be a bit edgier, which could attract a younger audience but also alienate her older fans. Beers did a remarkable job, portraying Sophie’s loneliness, her growth and for the first time making her own decisions. 

I do have a couple of quibbles. We learn about Sophie’s relationship with her mother, but I felt nothing was resolved other than Sophie’s implied resignation that “It is what it is”. So I guess that counts. I did have to Google the difference between a Talent Agent (D’Angelo) and a Talent Manager (Ray and Dana). So FYI – an agent is licensed by the state and can pitch, negotiate and sign employment contracts. A manager is not licensed and they cannot negotiate deals. A manager offers career guidance, sometimes day to day.

So if you like books with celebrities and a hot romance between strong and beautiful women, get this book. 

*** An advanced reading copy was sent to me by the publisher Bold Strokes Books through Netgalley for my honest review.

Jude Silberfeld

I always enjoy Georgia Beers’ books but not always on the same level. Some are okay (a really good okay) but others are a lot more than that. I’m happy to say Fear of Falling falls in the latter category.

If I had to summarize it, I’d say it’s about finding your true self, in more ways than one. 

At 29, Sophie James is an internationally known singer and has been for more than a decade. Since she was « discovered » as a teenager by the man who would become her manager, Ray. When we meet her, she’s doing her best to get over Ray’s sudden death. In the process, she begins to find ways to make her own choices, both in her professional and private life. When she first meets her, Dana Landon, her new manager, expects her to be yet another diva but quickly realizes that Sophie is in fact a really sweet person. The attraction appears very quickly, and while Sophie doesn’t recognize it at first for what it is, Dana is immediately aware, both of how attracted she is and of the trouble it might create for them both.

Even though the characters do seem to fall in love rather fast, it didn’t bother me at all. Georgia Beers is very good at describing feelings and how her characters grow into those feelings, making it all completely believable.

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Izza

Since she was fourteen, singer Sophie James has been an international superstar. With her career (and life) directed by her manager, Ray, she hasn’t had to worry about a thing for more than a decade…not where she goes, not what she sings, not who she is. But when Ray has a heart attack, Sophie is left without the only real father figure she’s ever known and questioning everything she believes about what’s important to her. Enter Dana Landon, the new manager sent by Sophie’s record company. Dana is gorgeous, sophisticated, and ready to do her job keeping Sophie’s career on track and making the record company money. Dana captures Sophie’s attention in ways Sophie never expected and isn’t ready for, but after so many years of being told what to do, Sophie’s ready to shake things up with some ideas of her own. Ones Dana hasn’t been planning on and isn’t at all sure she likes.

Fear of Falling

Reviews

Highlights