So I knew the moment I opened the publicist email I wanted to read this. Long time friends know I avoid "New Adult" except for some paranormal/fantasy authors and I avoid contemporary romance by in large almost as much. But shit this had so much I love in the summary,

Shy, awkward writer? Check.
Hidden identity? Check.
Coping with anxiety? Check.

I'm also horribly superficial and if I was picturing a young James Marsden as Gavin, well suck a lemon that's my fantasy.

That isn't to say there weren't issues--typical miscommunication issues in romances, a bitchy character who was written shallowly, a bit of a deus ex machina to bring the chars' problems and the central conflict Elise has to resolution. But I gobbled this up faster than blueberries. Its a quick read and while Elise makes dumb decsions (which folk call her out on a lot) I could relate. I make bad decsions when panicked.

So in conclusion LOVE. Though I wonder about Veronica. I felt bad for her in the end honestly. ( )

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: Adorable coming of age story filled with sweet romance, laugh out loud humor, fun characters and a great inspirational message!

Opening Sentence: If the Queen of England booked a gig at Fernbrooke’s only theater to do a lyrical jazz routine with a unicorn, I might’ve had an easier time finding parking than I did that night.

The Review:

Elise Jameson is a nineteen year old bestselling author of the Viking Moons series! At the age of fifteen she sold her first novel and it has became a huge success! The film rights were bought for it and it is going to be made into a TV series. All of this is amazing until Elise finds out that they want her to be on set while they are filming so she can give everyone her opinion. Most authors would jump at the chance to be on set and seeing their dreams becoming a reality, but Elise hasn’t been 100% honest about herself.

When she was younger there was a terrible accident that left her face scarred and she went deaf. She is very self-conscious about her scars so when it came time to send in her author photo instead of sending a picture of herself she sent a picture of a beautiful girl she found on the internet! Instead of coming clean Elise decides to track down the girl in the photo and convince her to pretend to be her on the set of the movie. Elise will pose as her assistant and no one will ever have to know the truth.

But watching someone else take credit for all her hard work was much more difficult then Elise thought it would be! Is she finally ready to be honest with her fans, with her friends and most of all with herself?

Elise is a very sweet girl and I definitely sympathized her. Obviously she doesn’t have the best self-esteem, but given her current situation I can understand why. She’s very self-conscious about the scars she has on her face and while most people can’t tell by looking at her, she is also deaf. I can’t imagine what it would be like to go through high school like that, but I loved that she found comfort in writing. Instead of dealing with everything that was going on in her life she wrote all of her aggression, pain, and happiness in to her books. While I can understand her lack of confidence there were a few times it was a little bit frustrating. But overall, I thought she was a wonderful character and I thought her story was very inspirational.

Gavin is a sexy guy that is basically every girls dream come true. He is gorgeous, kind, and a movie star. I loved how sweet he was to Elise right off the bat and the fact that she was deaf didn’t bother him at all. He did act really superficial sometimes, which I didn’t love, but it made sense for his character. I also found his background story interesting and it made me understand him much better. The romance between Elisa and Gavin was cute and slow burning. There was a little more drama between then I liked, but overall, I loved them together!

Flirting with Fame is a cute romance that will make you swoon. This was a fairly quick read and even though it is a new adult novel, I felt like it was very much a coming of age story. There was great humor in the story and I found myself laughing out loud multiple times! The drama was a tad bit overdone at times, and there were a few things that felt a little too convenient. For the most part the pacing was great, but there were a few spots throughout that story that seemed to drag. I liked how Joyce integrated a physical disability into the story. I personally don’t think I have ever read a book where the MC was deaf and I enjoyed learning more about that particular disability. I also loved the inspirational message that was delivered. You should never be ashamed of who you are and no matter what your problems are in life, maybe you can overcome them. The story wasn’t perfect, but overall, I really enjoyed it and would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a cute new adult romance.

Notable Scene:

Pain shimmed up my cheek and behind my eye and the world spun, threatening to go black. I moaned and closed my eyes, willing everything to stand still.

A hand touched mine, making me jump. I opened my eyes. At first, all I saw was the sun, piercing my retinas and blinding me. I moaned again and squinted against the light. Something touched my face and shaded my eyes.

With my vision cleared, I found the bluest eyes I’d ever seen—in person, anyway. I knew those eyes well. I’d seen them in plenty of movies. But I’d always thought they were too perfect, added cosmetically, maybe a product of contact lenses. At that moment, they were real, though. And they stared down at me with real concern.

“Gavin Hartley?” I mumbled.

FTC Advisory: Pocket Star/Simon & Schuster provided me with a copy of Flirting with Fame. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review. ( )