Love Scenes was definitely enjoyable, but more of a women’s fiction with romantic elements than a romance when you get down to it. Did it hold my attention? Absolutely, but the plot lacked depth and the romance was lacking leaving me feeling a bit unsatisfied. ~ Slick – Guilty Pleasures Book Reviews
Synopsis:
Out-of-work actress Sloane Ford is in desperate need of something to do after losing her steady TV gig. When her famous family ropes her into working as a producer on their World War II-era romance, they neglect to mention that the film will be headlined by Joseph Donovan, her least favorite former co-star of all time. The roguish actor made her life a living hell the last time they worked together, using his movie star good looks and Irish charm to cover for his erratic professional behavior. On their new film set, he promises he’s different now, but Sloane is far from convinced.
As filming gets underway, it becomes clear that anything that can go wrong will go wrong. When the lead actress is abruptly fired, Sloane agrees to step in and take over the role, and she starts to remember why she fell in love with acting in the first place. On camera, she and Joseph share an electric chemistry. Off camera, they’ve been honing their characters and, much to Sloane’s surprise, growing closer. But playing the role of a woman in love with Joseph Donovan is a dangerous business, and the more time they spend together, the less Sloane can tell what’s real between them, and what’s just for show.
I’ll be upfront and honest that I don’t get people’s fascination with celebrities at all. I never have and never will, but there was something about the synopsis of the book (not the cover at all) that made me request it and my wish was granted. I liked this book a lot, I felt like it explored celebrity families very well and showed just how messed up and honestly crazy they can be. I felt the heroine was a bit of a drama queen and not as strong as everyone around her seemed to think she was. I enjoyed the hero quite a bit, there were a lot of layers to him and he was the one character I felt was properly developed. The secondary characters were a varied group and added a lot of interest into the story almost too much though because I felt the romance/relationship suffered because there were just so many other characters. Granted the book would not have been the same without them, but I personally needed to see the two main characters together more on their own developing their relationship and sadly that didn’t happen.
Sloane Ford grew up in a famous family, her actor father was a multi-award winner, her actress mother was as well until after their divorce she was blackballed (not related to the divorce but her sexuality), her younger sister is a director, her younger brother scores movies, her once step-mother is an actress, her step-father is a director so to say her life is all Hollywood is putting it mildly. Fired from the series she’s been working on for 5 years (actually killed off of it) Sloane has no choice but to accept a producer role in a film written by her step-father, being directed by him and her sister, featuring a sub-romance between her mother and her step-mother, scored by her brother, and her former co-star that almost ruined her career starring in the lead. She is not looking forward to working on this movie because of Joseph Donovan, her co-star who she will not have to see every day of production.
The chaos of making the movie was interesting to read about and I felt I was part of the action which is always a good thing. The immediate tension between Sloane and Joseph was easy to feel and I could tell that they had a lot to accomplish to become lovers and I enjoyed their journey, there just wasn’t enough time with them once they figured it all out. Sloane’s family dynamics was fascinating and I enjoyed watching how everyone interacted with each other because they were one huge dysfunctional family yet there was an underlying sense of camaraderie between them all that was interesting to watch.
The biggest disappointment in this story were the storylines that went nowhere; Sloane’s ex, a singer Kearns Adam releasing and entire album painting her and their relationship in a bad light and then doing a benefit concert on the night of a gala her foundation hosts every year. The album I get, it made her reassess and look at her life and their relationship, but the concert on the night of a gala was made out to be this huge thing and it honestly went nowhere, and it could have been handled so easily by someone reading a gossip column about how poor of a turnout his concert had or something, there was NOTHING and it just hung out there stinking up the story. Why didn’t Joseph’s dad show up beside the “he missed his flight” and why wasn’t the scene written in, the conversation between them so the reader can get a better feel for their strained relationship? Leaving these two big tangents hanging made the story feel unfinished.
Love Scenes was definitely enjoyable, but more of a women’s fiction with romantic elements than a romance when you get down to it. Did it hold my attention? Absolutely, but the plot lacked depth and the romance was lacking leaving me feeling a bit unsatisfied.
3.5 stars
