Author: Tina Reber
Publisher: Create Space
Publication Date: March 6, 2010
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Format: Kindle, 1175 KB
Buy this book on Amazon: Paperback
Kindle Edition
Author's Website: http://tinareber.com/
Synopsis from Goodreads
Ryan Christensen just wanted to be an actor. Never in his wildest dreams did he ever think that accepting a role in an unknown film would toss his career into overdrive. His new fame has cost him dearly; anonymity is no longer an option. His fans stalk him, the paparazzi hound him, and Hollywood studios all want a piece of him. Despite all of that, Ryan Christensen craves the most basic of human needs - to have love in his heart and privacy in his life.Diving In...
Taryn Mitchell, the story's protagonist, is a realist. She's been feigning contentment, running the family pub in Seaport, Rhode Island, while quietly nursing her own internal heartaches. Her feet are fairly glued to the ground and she doesn't buy into all the hype that has descended on her tiny, coastal town. In her world, men are safe if they're kept at a distance.
Fate has other plans for these two when their paths cross one sunny afternoon. A group of female fans has attacked him, leaving his shirt torn, his face cut, and Ryan in obvious distress. Bonds between them form from the most dramatic of circumstances while jealousy, insecurity, and the stress of his celebrity life try to tear them apart.
Through all the tabloid lies, secrecy, and pressure, can Taryn's peace and Ryan's high-profile insanity live together in harmony?
When I decided to read this book, I was looking at the reviews on Amazon and on Goodreads and it looks like it's one of those books that reader either love or hate. There isn't much middle ground, it seems. I am firmly in the LOVED it category. I don't get where all the hate is coming from. It's an independently published book by a first time author so it has it's problems, but the story itself is great. The characters are solid and I was pulled in to the story line immediately, once I started I couldn't out it down. It's a LONG book, I do think that it could have been pared down a bit, but I liked the story so much that I didn't care that it was so long.
I don't know if this is the case, but I want to compare this to what the Twilight filming would have been like. Ryan is a relatively young actor who rocketed to fame by a movie franchise. He literally can't make a move without being followed, photographed, stalked, etc... When I first discovered the Twilight books it was just as the first movie started filming and I joined an online message board called Twilight Moms. There were women posting about trying to get on location to meet the actors, get pictures and to basically have any kind of contact or interaction with any of the cast. I imagined that when I read this book. I think that the author did an excellent job describing that world. It really makes you think twice about what life must really be like for someone like Robert Pattinson....
I loved that Taryn was so down to earth when it came to meeting him. She isn't taken aback by his stardom, in fact she doesn't even really know who he is other than an actor that is in town shooting his latest movie. She admits to not even having seen any of his movies, even when he asks her! It's pretty much love at first sight for both of them, but they follow the friend track for a little while. It's not too long before they just can't deny their true feelings anymore.
I don't want to spoil any of the book in my review, so I am going to keep my comments pretty brief. I will say that there is more to this than just a love story. They deal with a lot through the course of the book, jealousy, stalkers, trying to cope with being apart, and loss. They know that if they want to be together they are going to have to work hard to get through all this stuff that is thrown at them. They are both strong, independent people, though, and they do the best that they can.
The ending is left pretty open, there is a sequel in the works that will be out soon...I hope! It's hopefully going to wrap up all those loose ends. This book also has an excellent cast of supporting characters that I am pretty sure we will hear from again. There is whispers of one of them getting a spin off series, and I will say that I didn't care for his character in the book so I don't know how I am going to like that. We shall see how that turns out!
As far as the writing is concerned, I think that this book could have used a good final edit. There was some misspellings and minor things like that. Like I said in the beginning, the length is a problem for some, so a good edit probably would have cut some of the content out. I will also say that I could have used some more steamy love scenes. I was really kind of disappointed in that aspect. She did have one good scene the first time they were together then every other one was more like a YA novel with a cut to the next scene once the bedroom door closes. I am not saying we need description every single time, but more than one scene in a book this length would have been nice.
I do think that Tina Reber is a nice writer, I was pulled in immediately. I cared about these characters and I found myself tearing up on more than one occasion and that, for me, is a good sign. When I care enough about the characters to cry for them, then I call it good!!
There isn't a whole lot of profanity in this book, it's definitely not overused and it's not crude at all. There was the one steamy scene, but after that it was pretty tame. I will absolutely read this book again. If it takes too long for the next one to come out, I may have to read it again soon! I will be recommending this to my friends, I know one of them read it while I was reading it and I think she loved it as much as I did.
Rating 8/10
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