Gabriela Martins

This debut paperback original romance follows a Latina teen pop star whose image takes a dive after a messy public breakup, until she's set up with a swoon-worthy fake boyfriend. Fake boyfriend. Real heartbreak? Natalie is living her dream: topping the charts and setting records as a Brazilian pop star... until she's dumped spectacularly on live television. Not only is it humiliating--it could end her career. Her PR team's desperate plan? A gorgeous yet oh-so-fake boyfriend. Nati reluctantly agrees, but William is not what she expected. She was hoping for a fierce bad boy--not a soft-hearted British indie film star. While she fights her way back to the top with a sweet and surprisingly swoon-worthy boy on her arm, she starts to fall for William--and realizes that maybe she's the biggest fake of them all. Can she reclaim her voice and her heart? Underlined is a line of totally addictive romance, thriller, and horror paperback original titles coming to you fast and furious each month. Enjoy everything you want to read the way you want to read it. "The perfect ode to falling in love while you're still finding your voice."--Jennifer Dugan, author of Hot Dog Girl "All the fun and excitement of your favorite summer bop, and all the heart of a love ballad."--Adiba Jaigirdar, author of The Henna Wars "YA rom-com perfection."--Nina Moreno, author of Don't Date Rosa Santos

Like a Love Song

buny

it's very hard to like characters in romcoms as it is and if you make them 17 with such disbelieving fame and talent and wisdom in their credit, it just doesn't make sense. they're 17. they're literally kids!!!!! 😭 rly think this would've worked better if the characters had been slightly aged up.. natalia was... not a fun character to follow but i did like how she slowly let go of the image she built to fit in and connected w her heritage by letting go of the fear of not belonging <3 william was kind of cute, had potential but it was wasted obv. their relationship was also meh, nothing swoonworthy abt it 🤷🏻‍♀️ all in all, 1.5/5 i am very generous yes

Connor 

i'm convinced tswift's reputation era inspired nati's rebranding strategy

Kim 

Rating: 4/5 stars
Huge thanks to Underlined for sending me an e-arc of Like a Love Song.

I had so much fun reading this book and enjoyed diving into the behind the scenes of a celebrity's life. This YA contemporary book dives into the spotlight and privacy of a celebrity’s life. 

Along with privacy and limelight, we got a fake dating trope that made me adore Nati and Will together, as well as individuals. 

I liked how this book dives into what privacy looks like for a celebrity and dives into the impact it has on one’s personal life. The entertainment industry doesn’t give a lot of privacy for celebrities like Natalia and Will, as they are always in the limelight. 

This book is perfect if you’re in the room for a lighthearted rom-com book. Although the ending felt rushed to me, I still enjoyed my experience reading this book.

Caitlyn DeRouin

cossette

Candyce Kirk

4.5 stars

Like a Love Song is everything I want in a contemporary and more. It's lighthearted, funny, but also serious at times. The fake dating trope was done well and the ending left a smile on my face. I flew through this book and my only complaint was that I wanted more.


Natalie is a pop star who is working on building up her career. When things go south with her boyfriend on live TV she needs to find a way to fix her reputation. That's where the fake dating trope comes in! Pretending to date someone isn't easy. Especially when all eyes our on you. William is an actor who wants to get his career going to take care of his family. I loved how Natalie and William got to know each other, but it started off really awkward. They were a lot of fun together and you know in most cases they actually end up actually feeling for each other. The journey to there was a lot of fun to read and I was really hoping for them to get their happily ever after.


This book also really focuses on the pressure and negative sides of being famous. Always being watched and judged by what you do. Especially in the day and age of social media. I do feel like Natalie was really strong in this, but that Like a Love Song was also a big part of her realizing that her heritage isn't something she needs to hide. I can't relate to this at all being a white woman, but I can't imagine what it's like not being able to feel like you can accept your heritage and show it to everyone. I loved seeing Natalie go through that process though. It was amazing to see her embrace that side of herself.


William was such an amazing character. He was really calm and down to earth and all he wanted to do was protect his family and help them with their finances. Besides William there are two other amazing side characters: Padma and Brenda who are Natalie's best friends. Like a Love Song truly had an amazing cast of side characters.


All in all, this book was such a fast and fun read that also hit me in all the feels. My only complaint would be that I really wanted more. That's always the case when you really love a book though!

Eszter

The main story was so basic.  I didn’t feel the chemistry between Nati and William. The ending was so rushed, it would have been better if the ending had been longer. The only thing that I liked was the character development that Nati had.

Paige Green

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Like a Love Song

Author: Gabriela Martins

Book Series: Standalone

Diversity: Brazilian Anxiety Rep MC, F/f side character romance , Lesbian side character, Bisexual side character, Jewish bisexual love interest


Rating: 5/5

Recommended For...: young adult readers, contemporary, romance, Brazilian, LGBTQIA+, fake dating trope, one bed trope

Genre: YA Contemporary Romance

Publication Date: August 3, 2021

Publisher: Underlined

Pages: 304

Recommended Age: 12+ (Slight Language, Slight drug reference)

Explanation of CWs: There's probably less than 5 times where there's swearing in the book and there's one mention of drugs in passing.

Synopsis: Fake boyfriend. Real heartbreak?

Natalie is living her dream: topping the charts and setting records as a Brazilian pop star…until she’s dumped spectacularly on live television. Not only is it humiliating—it could end her career.

Her PR team’s desperate plan? A gorgeous yet oh-so-fake boyfriend. Nati reluctantly agrees, but William is not what she expected. She was hoping for a fierce bad boy—not a soft-hearted British indie film star. While she fights her way back to the top with a sweet and surprisingly swoon-worthy boy on her arm, she starts to fall for William—and realizes that maybe she’s the biggest fake of them all. Can she reclaim her voice and her heart?

Review: I really loved this book. I really liked the two tropes that were used in the book, fake dating and the one bed, and I felt like overall the book did well to discuss not feeling connection to your culture as I've heard from immigrants friends and friends of immigrants parents sometimes feel. I really loved how the author added commentary about calling countries third world (it's elitist especially when you're an American calling a country third world when we have so many issues ourselves) and I loved how the main focus of the book wasn't the romance but ultimately was the adventure of getting Nati to accept who she was and to not listen to what others say. I also loved how the book didn't fall into the trope of "main character needs to relearn her culture and be proud of where she came from" because the main character already is proud and knows the culture. She just needed to accept it as part of herself and learn she didn't need a persona to play up for the American audience and I think that's more relatable to the targeted audience. Furthermore, the writing was well done, the message was subtle and sweet, the character development was amazing, and overall I really enjoyed reading this book. Lastly, if you're a Swiftie, this book gives major Taylor Swift vibes.

The only issue I had with the book is that the book is super short. It's 304 pages but it feels like it's 150. The story goes by so fast and I'd love it if it was slowed down or if there was more. I'd love to see Nati reunite with her family and speak with them in Portuguese and have that special bond be reenforced again. I'd also love to see more of the anxiety rep play through as there wasn't a real conclusion with that rep.

Verdict: It's so good. Highly recommend.

Yana Khalid

3.5 ⭐️. Ughh goodreads should add half stars!!!!!!

Tabassum Irin Zaman

3.85/5 💫 
Like a Love Song was a really breezy, entertaining read. 💕 The book has Latinx representation, and reminded me a lot of You Had Me At Hola by Alexis Daria because of the rep, the celebrity romance plot and heart-warming friendships!

I needed a fluffy, uplifting book, and that's exactly what I got from Like a Love Song! I read the book in just two sittings, so yeah, I was pretty invested in the storyline 😂 It was nice to read a YA book that isn't set against a high-school background tbh. I have recently become obsessed with the fake-dating trope, so I was really happy with how the author made the whole fake-dating thing between two celebs work out in the book. :') 

My favourite thing about LALS was the realistic portrayal of Nati's struggles as a Brazilian girl, while balancing fame and a teenage life together. Her character development throughout the story was incredible. Seeing someone so young like Nati accept her brazilian roots and culture whole-heartedly was just the best thing ever.

William was so charming. 😍 *plays London Boy by T.Swift* He did some unlikable stuff though, and that's how he lost some points from me. I wish the author included some chapters from William's side as well - that would have made the relationship complications between him and Nati more fleshed-out, in my opinion. A lot of things started happening in the last two chapters or so, and it was hard to keep up 😭 It might just be me though 🤷  

Overall, I really enjoyed reading Like a Love Song, and I highly recommend it if you want a short & fast-paced read with loveable characters. 💕 Thanks to Penguin Random House Intl & Underlined for the free review copy.

Kate

this was everything I hoped it would be. it was fun, cute, warm, uplifting and unafraid to call out the crap hollywood puts its stars through. it's tropey in the BEST way (hello fake dating and there's only one bed). the friendships were EVERYTHING, the romance adorable and the casual bi rep was wonderful to see. I also absolutely loved Nati's journey with her Latinx and Brazilian identity. basically, this book has everything you could want in a ya romcom and now I'm desperate for a brenda x padma companion book please.

Like a Love Song

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