Book Talk: Behind The Scenes by Dahlia Adler

Want an “at a glance” look at what I thought? Check out my Review On A Post-It or my “Final Thought”

Ally and Vanessa have been best friends since they were kids. Ally is happy for and supportive of her best friend’s Hollywood career, especially now that she’s landed the lead role in a hot new teen show,  but she couldn’t be anymore different in what she wants for her life — going to Columbia and studying in Paris. When she realizes that the money to make those dreams come true is being all used up because of father’s serious medical bills, she knows she has to make some money so she becomes Van’s assistant on set. The gig is fun and she slowly starts to fall for Liam, Van’s co-star. And then Van and Liam have to agree to fake date for a publicity stunt to drum up gossip about their show. Ally’s left to figure out how to date a boy who appears not to be hers to the rest of the world and if she can handle being wrapped up in Hollywood.

THIS WOULD BE A FUN MOVIE OR TV SHOW!

It was really hard for me to NOT compare this to one of my favorite books of this summer — Open Road Summer. It was very similar plot-wise except this was Hollywood and not young music stars. Both stories featured “normal” girls who were best friends with a famous person. Both stories featured a love interest that was also famous and who ends up fake dating their famous best friend for a publicity stunt. Luckily I love this trope so reading another book so similar so soon didn’t turn me off to it and I felt like there were a lot of things Behind the Scenes did different/brought to the table that made me forget how similar they were on the surface.

1. I SHIPPED ALLY AND LIAM SO HARD: Like I said, I have a soft spot for that “normal girl dates a famous person thing.” I just do. As a teen I always fantasized about a celebrity falling in love with me. I really felt their chemistry! Ally is jaded towards Hollywood because she sees how it is for Van and Liam is also really jaded towards a lot of it but he has his reasons for staying in the business. I loved that they bonded over something that was actually really similar to how Will and I bonded. I loved how their relationship definitely had some sexy bits, too! You could feel that tension from Ally and Liam being forced to be so careful and private with their relationship spill over into their moments together. I really got the frustrations and hardships that made this relationship tough!

2. I loved the “drama”: It wasn’t over the top but, come on, this is Hollywood so there’s all that goes along with that. The biggest drama is obviously with the fake Liam and Vanessa relationship and I felt like it was done SO WELL and so realistically. I thought that it was realistic that Ally would think she would be okay with it at first and then we slowly see how hard it actually is for her so much that it DOES come in between them. Between having to watch them be all over each other, to barely ever getting to see him and not being able to tell really anyone I could really see why we had the drama. I think the drama level Open Road Summer had with the fake relationship was right for THAT story but I really liked that we saw how absolutely hard this would be to maintain in this situation. The fake-dating thing was definitely more of a bigger deal in this one and I think it suited the story really well! I just loved these characters and how they dealt with the drama at hand — even if not always perfect (which YAY FOR IMPERFECT CHARACTERS WHO MAKE MISTAKES) but always rang true to me.

3. I loved the family situations presented: Vanessa and Liam’s family situations are told but the one we see the most that contrasts those two is Ally’s obviously. Ally’s family is going through something really tough but they are so supportive and in tune with each others lives. I really loved Ally’s family and how Van was like another daughter to them. There was a lot going on in this story and even though the romance was important I still felt how her family situation was in the forefront of her mind and what kept her going.

4. Some things I didn’t love: Nate (I didn’t get his role at all or what his real deal was), sometimes the story would hit lulls for me where I wasn’t super compelled to read, sometimes characters (Ally) made really dumb mistakes which doesn’t bother me but I felt like it was SOOOO glaringly obvious and I felt like it was just drawn out for too long. I also found the ending to be a LITTLE rushed for the time they spent apart..I felt like there needed to be a little more there.

+ plot, romance, how fun it was,
– times when the story lulled for me, little bit of a rushed ending for me, some plot areas being drawn out

Re-readability: I probably wouldn’t but I’m itching to read the next book in the series.
Would I buy a copy for my collection? Probably not because I wouldn’t reread it and it wasn’t a favorite!

fans of Open Road Summer, people who like books set in Hollywood, contemporary YA romances lovers, readers who like the “normal person dates celebrity” trope, readers looking for something fun and romantic

Behind the Scenes was an enjoyable read with a fun Hollywood setting and a VERY shippable romance aka normal girl falls for the hot co-star on her bff’s new teen show who ends up being her faux boyfriend in a publicity stunt. Despite some random lulls in the story and little irksome things, it was an addictive read and I can’t wait for the next book in the series because JOSH…I want to know HIS story for sure.

* Have you read this one? What did you think? Similar or different from me? I would LOVE to hear regardless!
*If you haven’t read it, does this series feel like something you’d be into?
* What are some other “normal person dates a celebrity” type romances you’ve read?
* Is anyone else super intrigued by Josh?? I can’t wait to learn his story!