Something Real (Something Real #1) - Heather Demetrios

Goodreads summary:

There’s nothing real about reality TV.

Seventeen-year-old Bonnie™ Baker has grown up on TV—she and her twelve siblings are the stars of one-time hit reality show Baker’s Dozen. Since the show’s cancellation and the scandal surrounding it, Bonnie™ has tried to live a normal life, under the radar and out of the spotlight. But it’s about to fall apart…because Baker’s Dozen is going back on the air. Bonnie™’s mom and the show’s producers won’t let her quit and soon the life she has so carefully built for herself, with real friends (and maybe even a real boyfriend), is in danger of being destroyed by the show. Bonnie™ needs to do something drastic if her life is ever going to be her own—even if it means being more exposed than ever before.

My review:

4.5/5

4.5/5 Well, let's just say it was really stupid to wait so long before reading it. I'd avoided reading despite loving Heather Demetrios's other novel, I'll Meet You There, because I don't really like reading about celebrities. Authenticity is one of the qualities I value the most, so I was afraid I would be faced with characters that didn't have any, but I couldn't have been more wrong. While I can't say that with Chloe's mom and her stepfather, the rest of the family and their friends were some 4.5/5 Well, let's just say it was really stupid to wait so long before reading it. I'd avoided reading despite loving Heather Demetrios's other novel, I'll Meet You There, because I don't really like reading about celebrities. Authenticity is one of the qualities I value the most, so I was afraid I would be faced with characters that didn't have any, but I couldn't have been more wrong. While I can't say that with Chloe's mom and her stepfather, the rest of the family and their friends were some of the most realistic and amazing characters I've read about. Some, such as Lexie, start off as superficial characters, but I realized later that it was just a way to protect themselves from the horrible life they're living. I sincerely love all of them and I'm going to start reading The Lexie Project right now to see more of them. I loved seeing Chloe grow. I loved her from the beginning, but it was evident that she had issues bigger than her anxiety and depression (which are both portrayed very realistically). She struggles to be brave and she has a tendency to run away from her problems, which she grows out of in this book. I absolutely loved her determination at the end of the book, which made her such a fierce and inspiring character. While it might sound crazy, there were times when I could really relate to her, even though I'm the farthest from being a celebrity you can be. I understood her and I despised so many character that this was probably an unheathly read for me, but I guess we all love to channel our anger into fictional characters once in a while. The only slight issue that I had with this book was the love aspect. While I loved Patrick's determination, his protection and his love for Choe, I struggled to seize him as a character. He was very confusing to me and although I loved him for how important he is to the main character, I couldn't like him as an individual. Since this isn't a love story, it's not that important in this book, but after loving the romance in I'll Meet You There, I couldn't help but be disappointed a little. I got much more out of this book than I expected, so I would absolutely recommend it to everyone. Don't wait so long like I did!

Open Road Summer - Emery Lord

Goodreads summary:

After breaking up with her bad-news boyfriend, Reagan O’Neill is ready to leave her rebellious ways behind. . . and her best friend, country superstar Lilah Montgomery, is nursing a broken heart of her own.

Fortunately, Lilah’s 24-city tour is about to kick off, offering a perfect opportunity for a girls-only summer of break-up ballads and healing hearts. But when Matt Finch joins the tour as its opening act, his boy-next-door charm proves difficult for Reagan to resist, despite her vow to live a drama-free existence.

This summer, Reagan and Lilah will navigate the ups and downs of fame and friendship as they come to see that giving your heart to the right person is always a risk worth taking.

A fresh new voice in contemporary romance, Emery Lord’s gorgeous writing hits all the right notes.


My review:

4/5

This is the kind of books that I could read every day (and I'm guilty of doing that sometimes). It's just so cute and sweet and it leaves my with a giddy feeling for the rest of the day, which is the perfect cure for sad rainy days. 

Although this is definitely a summer book, I loved reading it in September, just before it gets really cold, because it reminded me of the last couple of weeks. Lilah and Reagan's summer sounds amazing, even though it's only because of Lilah's fame that they get to road trip around the country like that and it isn't everyone's dream to be famous. However, since it's her best friend's story, it's more focused on their friendship and Reagan's love life than on Lilah's career. I liked that fact, because I would not want to be famous, and reading this story in Lilah's perspective would probably have given me anxiety. However, I liked learning about the celebrity life and the struggles they have, because I thought it was really realistic. I've seen many celebrities destroyed by bad press, so I could absolutely understand how much pressure was on Lilah. 

My favourite thing in this novel was probably the friendship between Lilah and Reagan. They're always supportive of each other, listening and offering advice even during the worst of times. They think highly of each other and seeing how proud they are touched me, because it shows that they truly love each other and would never live without their best friend. Celebrity has never affected their friendship, which is a miracle in itself, but then again, I don't think it could be destroyed by anything. The best adjective to describe it is definitely strong, which isn't the case for every friendship out there. 

I really liked how Matt and Reagan's relationship evolved. She's quite hard to approach, so I wasn't surprised to see her resist to him in every possible way. On the other hand, his determination and tactics surprised me, because most guys would've given up long ago. I think it's the reason why they're such a good couple, because they put a lot of effort into the base of their relationship. There were a lot of swoon-worthy moments and I was touched by Matt's actions, which were exactly what Reagan needed. However, I was disappointed by the way Reagan acted when they became a couple, because she didn't seem like the kind of girl who would be so ready to let go of her best friend. She never abandonned Lilah, but I feel like she was much less supportive because of her love life. I loved Lilah's love life, which was the most adorable I've ever read about (just like herself). I wish I could've read the story in her perspective just for this reason.

In the end, I really liked this novel. I absolutely recommend it!