Fame, Fate, and the First Kiss

by Kasie West

[ladygrey]

This really didn’t take me 5 days to read. It didn’t even take me 5 hours. But I put it down and then it was hard to pick up again, through no fault of the book.

Which isn’t to say it’s without faults. The voice in this one was surprisingly low... I cant think of how to say it... simplistic. Too many statements of really basic description. Like, “I stood and walked to the door. I walked out the door, down the steps .” Or the actual line where they sat on the beach “that faced the ocean” ...as opposed to the beach that faces the meadow? Ok, that was a little snide.

Admittedly, I was probably more sensitive to the language having just read A Million Junes.

But it wasn’t just the lines that were simplistic. The plot had no depth and really very little intrigue (less even than I expected because I thought the agent told Aaron to do all those things). And the whole sub-plot about their chemistry is abandoned when they’re caught up in something being afoot. Like, did kissing just fix it? Or her reclaimed confidence (which didn’t last long)? Or did everyone just stop caring? A lot of the scenes, especially in the beginning, were too quick, cutting just when they were getting started. The romance, while apparent and sweet was also somehow more shallow once it actually happened.

Here’s the thing though, it’s still Kasie West. It’s cute, and unexpectedly witty (it shouldn’t be unexpected because I’ve read everything she’s written but it’s a whole different sort of witty every time, with each main character, which is more than a little impressive). The interplay between Grant and Lacey is fun. And Donovan and Lacey are clever and adorable (until they stop actually talking or doing stuff and just say “ok we’re going to make out). All that fabulous dialog saves so much of this book I’d probably read it again.

Even with the COMPLETELY unrealistic parts about the logistics of filming a movie in LA. I only forgive her because her acknowledgments admit some of it might be unrealistic but she needed it for the story. But I forgive her because the card game was fun and cute. And the banter works again and again, every time.