e-ALC, 10:43:41
Narrated by: Elena Rey & Michael Crouch
Release Date: January 6, 2026
Published by: Simon & Schuster Audio
Read from: December 29-30, 2025
Stand-alone
Source: Libro FM (I received this ALC free from the publisher and Libro FM. This did nothing to influence my review!)
Content Warning: Car Accident, Drug Abuse/Use
For Readers Interested In: ARC, Audio, Contemp Romance, Contemporary, Sparkly Covers, Realistic Fiction, Romance, Fake Dating, Social Media, YAAn aspiring pop star crafts a fake relationship with a small-town boy to rehab her image, until her ex and her real feelings get in the way in this sweeping romance perfect for fans of Lynn Painter.
Love Thompson went viral. Now she has it all—fifty million followers, brand deals, a Hollywood address, and the fast track to the music career she’s always dreamed of—until…she doesn’t.
After Love takes the blame for her influencer boyfriend’s mistake, the fallout goes more viral than the video that rocketed her to fame. By the next morning, she’s already lost sponsorships, ten million followers, and her debut single. Love needs to rehab her image, and that means dating someone a little more homegrown.
Enter Austin Grey. Austin is about as homegrown as it gets. His only followers are the regulars at his family’s struggling diner that he’s doing his best to save. But everything changes when he gets a DM from a star he never expected to cross paths with again.
When Love walks back into Austin’s life, she thinks this is a purely online scheme with an expiration date. But as genuine feelings start to develop that keep them coming back to each other again and again, will either of them be willing to take a chance on something real?
*MY THOUGHTS*
I did not expect this book to be as toxic as it was. Like I thought this was going to be a cute fake dating YA romance about some teens who have accidentally gone viral. But yeah no, this was everything but that lol I REALLY need to start reading the synopsis before I read the book lol
Ok so the thing that got me was the toxicity. Her superstar boyfriend? Yeah I kind of hated him. How they let him get away from being held accountable for everything is beyond me. Even when he was supposed to “in trouble” he still got off easy. He learned nothing from him acting a damn fool. And the PR team was an effing joke. Literally taught him nothing but how to get out of trouble by paying your way out. Yeah if you’re wondering, I hated him lol
Then there was the way she was. She was so attuned to also giving him what he wanted. I hated that for her. She was so nice. In fact this whole thing started because she took a bullet for her bestie. I was disappointed that she was that girl and let that jerk turn her into someone else completely. It was the fastest slide I ever saw. I don’t think she even saw it happening. It was so sad. But I did love her arc tho. She was the only one who seemed to have learned anything. I hated that she had to use someone else to learn it tho.
Which brings me to Austin. The way he deserved so much better. The way they used him hurt even me lol I was so mad at them. How could you do something like that to someone. And without another thought? Like I would have respected her more if she had just used the person who would have gotten something out of it too. I knew where this was going as soon as she said it, but it still really took a turn and it took me by surprise. And no I’m not going to talk about their romance because like I said, he deserved better. So no, i will not be elaborating at this time lolol
The plot to this was hella weird. And I only say this because it felt so real. Like I was reading this off a paper irl. This is almost exactly how it would have happened in the real world. I was so impressed that as much as these characters irritated me and even though they had so many issues, I couldn’t be mad that this actually sounded like something that would happen in real life. Girl goes viral, companies look at her and what she was doing before she went viral, brings her on, and then she realizes its a big big world out there and things don’t go as she wants them to. It was unfortunately accurate, as much as I wanted to hate it.
This was an accurate look at some ways that influence culture could go wrong. This was good but Lordt was it toxic. Also, can we get some content warnings? I’m not sure if they’re in the physicals, but I know they’re not in the audio. I hope y’all go pick this up!
Overall, I give this
