Fame, Fate, and the First Kiss by Kasie West

Fame, Fate, and the First Kiss

by Kasie West

Lacey Barnes has dreamed of being an actress for as long as she can remember. So when she gets the opportunity to star in a movie alongside one of Hollywood’s hottest actors, she doesn’t hesitate to accept the part.

But Lacey quickly learns that life in the spotlight isn’t as picture perfect as she imagined. She’s having trouble bonding with her costars, her father has hired the definition of a choir boy, Donavan Lake, to tutor her, and somewhere along the way she’s lost her acting mojo. And just when it seems like things couldn’t get any worse, it looks like someone on set is deliberately trying to sabotage her.

As Lacey’s world spins out of control, it feels like the only person she can count on—whether it’s helping her try to unravel the mystery of who is out to get her or snap her out of her acting funk—is Donavan. But what she doesn’t count on is this straight-laced boy becoming another distraction.

With her entire future riding on this movie, Lacey knows she can’t afford to get sidetracked by a crush. But for the first time in her life Lacey wonders if it’s true that the best stories really do happen when you go off script.

Reviewed by Sam@WLABB on

5 of 5 stars

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Lacey was focused on her acting career and saw boys as a distraction. She was determined to convince her dad, that acting was important to her and her future, but first she had to sort out her feelings for Donavan, and uncover who was sabotaging her on the set.

• Pro: Lacey was so easy to love. She came across as likable and authentic. Her worries and fears were plausible, and I really admired her focus and determination, as she tried to juggle the movie, school work, her dad's interference, and her burgeoning feelings for Donavan.

• Pro/Con: One of the things I wished there was more of was Donavan. He was great, and I would have loved to get to know him even better. I know I kept wishing there were more scenes with him and Lacey together, because I really enjoyed watching them on page together.

• Pro: West always includes family focus in her books, and the dynamics here were sort of interesting with respect to Lacey. I really felt Lacey's struggle with adjusting to life with her non-custodial parent, while missing her mom and siblings. I also got to meet Donavan's sister, who was cute as a button, and shared a very endearing bond with her big brother.

• Pro: The romance was, as I expected, very sweet. I loved the way Lacey slowly came to realize her feelings for Donavan, and I was solidly aboard this ship.

• Pro: It was fun being on the set and getting a look into the day to day life of "stars". I enjoyed seeing the friendships between Lacey and her co-stars develop, and the cameos from the Love, Life, and the List couple made me smile. The mystery of who was sabotaging Lacey was not very necessary, but I thought it added another level of fun to the story.

• Pro: This was a solid 4-star read, but the ending made me so happy, I bumped it up a half star. West did so many things right in that last chapter, and I can only smile and think fondly about it.

Overall: Once again, West left me with a smile on my face and a light heart. It's always a delight to read a one of her books, and as always, the story was fun and cute with friends, family, and an adorable romance to round out my overall enjoyment.

*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 24 January, 2019: Finished reading
  • 24 January, 2019: Reviewed