e-ARC, 384 pages
Release Date: August 4, 2020
Published by: Avon
Read from: August 1-5, 2020
Stand-alone
Source: Edelweiss (I received a copy of this book from Edelweiss and the Publisher in exchange for a just and honest review. This did nothing to influence my review.)
TW: Mentions of a stalker and break-in, Anxiety
For fans of: Romance, Diverse Voices, Rom-Coms, Own Voices authors, Adult, Multiple POV, Between the Covers, Sparkly CoversRITA® Award Winning author Alexis Daria brings readers an unforgettable, hilarious rom-com set in the drama-filled world of telenovelas—perfect for fans of Jane the Virgin and The Kiss Quotient.
Leading Ladies do not end up on tabloid covers.
After a messy public breakup, soap opera darling Jasmine Lin Rodriguez finds her face splashed across the tabloids. When she returns to her hometown of New York City to film the starring role in a bilingual romantic comedy for the number one streaming service in the country, Jasmine figures her new “Leading Lady Plan” should be easy enough to follow—until a casting shake-up pairs her with telenovela hunk Ashton Suárez.
Leading Ladies don’t need a man to be happy.
After his last telenovela character was killed off, Ashton is worried his career is dead as well. Joining this new cast as a last-minute addition will give him the chance to show off his acting chops to American audiences and ping the radar of Hollywood casting agents. To make it work, he’ll need to generate smoking-hot on-screen chemistry with Jasmine. Easier said than done, especially when a disastrous first impression smothers the embers of whatever sexual heat they might have had.
Leading Ladies do not rebound with their new costars.
With their careers on the line, Jasmine and Ashton agree to rehearse in private. But rehearsal leads to kissing, and kissing leads to a behind-the-scenes romance worthy of a soap opera. While their on-screen performance improves, the media spotlight on Jasmine soon threatens to destroy her new image and expose Ashton’s most closely guarded secret.
*MY THOUGHTS*
I remember first seeing the cover for this and immediately adding it to my TBR. I didn’t need any feedback or to read the synopsis, I just knew I needed to get my hands on it. This cover has to be my most favorite adult cover of 2020. And the inside is just as pretty, trust me!
“How could she not fall for him? But she couldn’t. Not this time. For once, she was going to cock-block her stupidly romantic heart.”36%
After Jasmine ends up on a tabloid cover from a bad breakup, she makes and puts in action her Leading Lady plan. Its all well and good until her co-star on her new project is changed to popular, Ashton. Ashton is trying to make a name for himself and make it to the big time. But with all the secrets he’s hiding and how he always disappears around the paparazzi, how can that happen? Can they come together and help each other?
“Lulled into a spell by her words and the silkt tone of her voice, he lowered his own as well. […] And what reaction do I elicit from you?” She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. “Nada.” […] Ay, linda. Estsa mintiendo. You’re lying.”44%
The best thing about this was the characters. I really liked Jasmine. Her family was a large part of her life and I loved meeting them. Her growth isn’t really visible until the Epilogue, but when you get there, you will see what she came to realize throughout the novel. As for Ashton, I felt his anxiety almost radiating off the page. His growth is shown at the very end of the novel, and I was completely proud of both of their progress.
“Leading ladies are badass queens making jefa moves..”68%
The writing style was also pretty great. I LOVED that the scene recaps are included! We got to see them fall in love twice! *swoons* This seems simple, but it worked so well for me. However, I did feel that some of this was repetitive. And I don’t mean pages later, I mean like Ashton says something, and then the next page something was said, but it was Jasmine this time. It kind of threw me off, but it wasn’t bad enough for me to stop.
“But this- opening up, letting people in, even if it’s just to carry the burden of the knowledge- it’s the a star. You’re not alone, mi amor.”71%
As for the romance, I enjoyed it. From the rest of the book, it seems like it will be pretty mild. But then once they start falling for each other, it gets spicy. If you’re concerned how spicy, I would say it’s about a 4 on my own personal romance scale. (I will have to do a blog post about my romance scale….) But even still, I do wish it had been more. From the cover alone I was expecting something to make me blush. I think my ears got hot, but that was about it.
“Dime que quieres.”73%
The plot for this was repetitive as well. There’s only so much you can do on a film set. Daria tried making it interesting by having them go to other places and to get drinks, but it was still repetitive. But it still came out wonderful.
“The post-coital quiet called for truth.”74%
This book has been on my most anticipated list for a long time. As usual with books that I’ve been waiting for ever for, I was worried this wasn’t going to be as great as I was hoping. But all in all, it was great. I loved the diverse characters and they way they all interacted with each other. I loved seeing their journey of falling in love. This was pretty close to everything I hoped to get out of this book.
Overall, I gave this
