LOVER OF BOOKS

Starstruck by L.J. Stark
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was just what I needed this week. Super sweet, made me a little verklempt in places, and absolutely engaging. First time novelist L.J. Stark knocked this out of the park.

The story is a tale as old as time... hahahaha had to do it, but in a way it is, frenemies become friends and fall in love - while married.

Indie Actor Peter Czerny is a struggling actor, barely keeping his head afloat, when he nails the audition for an up and coming mega action movie staring A-lister Aiden Hunt, _the_ Hollywood hot property. Trouble is Aiden wants final say on who works with him so Peter finds himself in a hipster coffee shop with his agent waiting on the reigning king of Hollywood. Turns out Aiden Hunt is an ***hole! The man was rude, abrasive, annoying and cocky as heck without a shred of human decency... he was a freaking robot! Before he knew it, Peter was calling him on his ***holery and storming out of the meeting, effectively tanking any shot he had at making it as an actor. Or so he thought. It turned out that Hunt's agent _loved_ him and insisted that Peter be cast opposite Aiden. It was Peter's big break - he just had to get through the next three months without killing the arrogant jerk.

Three months of trading barbs and insults later, the movie wraps much to the relief of both Peter and Aiden. All they had to get through was the wrap party in Vegas and then they wouldn't have to see each other until the press junkets and premiere. The booze flowed freely and things happened and Peter and Aiden wake up _married_ with it already leaked and the media was reeling from the revelation that Hollywood's lead actor was into guys, not girls. Well hell.

Now Peter and Aiden are stuck in a fake marriage for the next few months in order to sell the movie and to let the furor die down. Once the movie premieres they can get a quickie divorce and get back to their own lives, right? The trouble is sometimes animosity is a cover for attraction and sometimes attraction leads to emotions like... love. Well hell.

As I said in the beginning, LJ Stark is a new author and this is their first foray into m/m romance. I truly enjoyed the writing style and the world created. There were a few rough patches where you get introduced to characters and you're like 'wha?' but for the most part I really enjoyed this story. I'm looking forward to Book 2!


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