Bridget Morrissey

A BuzzFeed Best Book of June A heart-stirring, tear-inducing read you won't want to put down."--Emily Henry, New York Times bestselling author of Beach Read Acting like she's in love with her handsome nightmare of a co-star--in a movie directed and produced by her complicated Hollywood royalty family--is Sloane's job. But what happens when the lines between script and reality get blurred? Out-of-work actress Sloane Ford is in desperate need of something to do after losing her steady TV gig. When her famous family ropes her into working as a producer on their World War II-era romance, they neglect to mention that the film will be headlined by Joseph Donovan, her least favorite former co-star of all time. The roguish actor made her life a living hell the last time they worked together, using his movie star good looks and Irish charm to cover for his erratic professional behavior. On their new film set, he promises he's different now, but Sloane is far from convinced. As filming gets underway, it becomes clear that anything that can go wrong will go wrong. When the lead actress is abruptly fired, Sloane agrees to step in and take over the role, and she starts to remember why she fell in love with acting in the first place. On camera, she and Joseph share an electric chemistry. Off camera, they've been honing their characters and, much to Sloane's surprise, growing closer. But playing the role of a woman in love with Joseph Donovan is a dangerous business, and the more time they spend together, the less Sloane can tell what's real between them, and what's just for show.

Love Scenes

lexie

i’m so easily entertained all they had to do was say “it’s always been you” & it was over for me 

belle

grayson wroe

i was balanced between 3 & 4 for a while on this one, but i’m giving it 4 stars for a few reasons

1 is that this story is way more than a romance to me. to me, it’s about navigating complicated family dynamics and the insecurities that come along with being a woman in hollywood. i really appreciate the level of honesty that came with this story!! 

2 is that the plot alone is just so creative and i found it very refreshing after the onslaught of vacation romances i’ve been reading lately 

and 3 is that the relationship between the two main characters actually felt very organic in the way it was developed, and not like it came out of a romance novel (lol). i didn’t end this book thinking “wow, those two are soulmates and will live happily ever after.” and i love that! i think that there’s a lot of obstacles they’ll go through, but i feel like they can do it together, and that gives the relationship a very real feel that i appreciate. 

ending notes are: this is fast paced and doesn’t take loads of brain power to read. maybe if you’re in a slump and want something funny with BravoTV level family drama, then this is for you

Sofie

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the e-ARC for review!

_____


  The truth is, to let go of my thoughts would be to let go of what keeps this from spiraling out of my control.


Love Scenes takes readers to the fictional set of Horizons, a war drama and romance starring Joseph Donovan, our protagonist, Sloan Ford’s ex-co-star and enemy. When the lead actress of the film is fired, Sloan reluctantly steps in, and discovered that a lot has changed since she and Joseph last worked together.

I’ll be honest, I never thought I’d root for a rich, spoiled, privileged white girl in Hollywood, and yet here we are. There is a lot more to this novel than meets the eye, and to Morrissey’s credit, she wrote Sloan to be very self-aware of her privilege. And Love Scenes doesn’t fall victim to a lot of romance tropes, wherein the main source of conflict is some childish miscommunication or overreaction. I mean, yes, of course Sloan was overdramatic, but she’s an actor and it at least made sense for her character.

I loved the way Sloan was so wholly shaped by growing up in Hollywood with famous parents. It wasn’t something that was mentioned once and never talked about again - being surrounded her entire life by industry folks and scripts and the grandeur of LA and film and TV made Sloan the person she was. Her standoffish-ness. Her need to prove herself outside of her parent’s careers. Feeling listless when she wasn’t working. Feeling pathetic when her mother had to make a job for her on the movie everyone else in her family was working on. I could feel the weight of it all barring down on Sloan, and truly, I felt for her. 

I also loved the behind-the-scenes look of the glitz and glamour of Hollywood - where seasoned actors have to make way for new talent. Where co-stars have to suck it up and work together no matter what. Where schedules have to change and people need to wake up at dawn and there’s intimacy co-ordinators for the sex scenes and how becoming a character takes so much out of you that sometimes you can lose yourself.

I am an actor myself, so this book was right up my alley (and oh, how I wish I had famous producer/actor/screenwriter/director parents myself).

There are 2 things I would have liked to see more of:

1. The effects of what growing up in the industry, especially in the shadow of a famous family, could do to Sloan’s mental health.
2. A deeper look at how the #metoo movement changed the set environment.

We got teasers of both these things, but I never really felt the breadth of either, and I think it could have made for a stronger story, especially since I know Morrissey doesn’t shy away from some of the other darker truths about Hollywood, like substance abuse.

Donovan was a refreshing character, and a great love interest. Their story was an appreciated departure from the typical enemies-to-lovers format, where usually the MC finds out that oh, I’ve loved you the whole time! How could I not have known!? 

No, here we have two characters who truly start off on bad terms. Donovan was struggling with personal issues during their first film together, and treated Sloan and the rest of the cast and crew like trash. And he spends his first few weeks on Horizons trying to make amends and prove to Sloan that he’s changed. We STAN a character who owns up to their mistakes, who takes accountability. And we STAN Sloan for not letting Donovan off the hook for his abhorrent behaviour, either. 

I just loved them together. They complimented each other well, they had great banter, great chemistry, and their moments of tenderness made my heart flutter. 

The surrounding cast of character was also surprisingly well-rounded (surprisingly only in that minor characters can often come across 1-dimensional). Sloan's entirely family felt really distinct from one another, and I loved seeing all their different relationships. I do wish we had seen a bit more of Powell (Sloan's brother), but otherwise, I enjoyed the loving chaos of the entire squad. I even liked Daya and Alexander, despite usually hating large age gap relationships (I mean... it is kinda weird that Sloan's dad is dating a woman 3 years younger than his oldest child... but it's Hollywood so I'll allow it).

Overall, Love Scenes was a gosh-dang pleasure to read. (I mean, it could have been a but steamier. What can I say? A girl likes what she likes).

Giulia Assenza 

cutesy and how messed up is it that I kinda want a break up album written about me ffs

Heather Harrington

Sloane Ford has just been killed off her long-running TV show and is in desperate need of a job, so she agrees to work as a producer on her famous family’s new WWII-era romance. What her family failed to mention was that the star of the film is none other than Joseph Donovan, her past co-star and the person who almost made her quit the business for good. When the pair had last worked together, Joseph made it a point to make Sloane’s life a living hell. Not even his handsome face and Irish brogue could make Sloane forget how unprofessional he was, but Joseph swears he’s changed and wants them to turn over a new leaf. As filming goes on, it’s clear that luck isn’t on their side, and when the leading actress gets fired, Sloane agrees to replace her. In doing so, Sloane reignites her passion for acting and can’t deny the on-screen chemistry she shares with Joseph. When that chemistry starts spilling over to real life, Sloane starts to realize she can’t differentiate the love between their characters from what she feels for Joseph, and maybe that’s not such a bad thing.

I was looking for something cute that I wouldn’t have to think too hard about, and this delivered. I thought the plot was fun and liked the movie aspect of it. I enjoyed watching Sloane and Joseph grow closer both on-screen and off. It wasn’t hard seeing how their relationship would play out, but the predictability didn’t lessen my enjoyment. There were times when I felt the focus was more on Sloane’s family rather than her and Joseph, so that took me out of the story a bit. While I liked this, there weren’t enough moments that stood out, but I’d still recommend it if you’re looking for quick to pass the time.

Grace

I loved the world of this book so much that I wish I could go back to page 1 and read it all over again. The banter between the leads was magical and the entire family that played the supporting cast was so endlessly quirky and fun that I couldn’t stop having a good time. I really enjoyed reading in Sloane’s point of view and I can’t wait to read more from Bridget Morrissey.

Cassie

Love Scenes was an enjoyable book that had a rom-com feel to it. I loved every moment of this story from beginning to end. The enemies to friends to lovers plot was one of my favorite things about this book. You could really get a sense at the beginning of why Slone hated Joeseph so much. By the end of the novel, you got to see how the main character's relationship grew from hatred to love. 

Another thing I loved was the strong family dynamics in the book since they were all working on the same film. It was interesting to see how even though there is a ton of drama in the family, they can still work on a project without it getting in the way. 

Overall, if watching movies is your thing you will differently enjoy this book.

Wren Hardwick

Thank you so much to the publisher and Net Galley for an advanced e-reader of this book.

This book had all the hits. You have two people who absolutely did not get along in their last on-screen romance, who then have to work begrudgingly together a few years later, Well, begrudgingly on one side, and hopeful on another. I really loved the setting of this book. It had all the checks and I was pumped to read it. It kind of fell a little flat to me though. I didn't really see or feel the chemistry between the two characters. 

I honestly was more interested in how Sloane was so down on herself and her family was down on her two. The interaction between her and her family was what kept me going, not the romance itself (which is why it fell flat, since this is a romance novel). The family dynamic was *chef's kiss* and I loved to see everything unfold there. 

Over all, this was really enjoyable! I just don't see myself ever picking it up for a reread.

shar

Aurelia Clarabelle

celene

amy screechfield

Olivia Mitchell

"A heart-stirring, tear-inducing read you won’t want to put down.”—Emily Henry, New York Times bestselling author of Beach Read Acting like she's in love with her handsome nightmare of a co-star—in a movie directed and produced by her complicated Hollywood royalty family—is Sloane's job. But what happens when the lines between script and reality get blurred? Out-of-work actress Sloane Ford is in desperate need of something to do after losing her steady TV gig. When her famous family ropes her into working as a producer on their World War II-era romance, they neglect to mention that the film will be headlined by Joseph Donovan, her least favorite former co-star of all time. The roguish actor made her life a living hell the last time they worked together, using his movie star good looks and Irish charm to cover for his erratic professional behavior. On their new film set, he promises he's different now, but Sloane is far from convinced. As filming gets underway, it becomes clear that anything that can go wrong will go wrong. When the lead actress is abruptly fired, Sloane agrees to step in and take over the role, and she starts to remember why she fell in love with acting in the first place. On camera, she and Joseph share an electric chemistry. Off camera, they've been honing their characters and, much to Sloane's surprise, growing closer. But playing the role of a woman in love with Joseph Donovan is a dangerous business, and the more time they spend together, the less Sloane can tell what's real between them, and what's just for show.

Love Scenes

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