How to Fake it in Hollywood by Ava Wilder
Contemporary Romance
June 14, 2022 by Dell
ARC

Review by Angela

The first thing I want to say before getting into the meat of this review is that this is another case of the illustrated cover not accurately reflecting the contents of the book. I went into How to Fake it in Hollywood thinking that it would be a lighter rom-com featuring two actors having to fake a relationship for the tabloids in order to pump up their careers. What I got was a much, MUCH deeper, angsty romance with some pretty dark themes.

Our two main characters are Grey Brooks and Ethan Atkins. Grey is a B-list actress who is looking for work after her long-running teen soap opera comes to an end. She has several projects she’s set her sights on, she just needs that media bump to get the public’s (and hopefully movie execs) attention. Even if that means fake dating a reclusive A-lister.

Ethan Atkins was once a Hollywood heavy hitter. After having won an Oscar for a film with his best friend and ex-wife he went on to star in several movies. Now he’s just a man who has shut himself off from everyone, drinking to oblivion and still avoiding the pain of losing his best friend. He has one last project from the time when he and Sam were a team and the only way for him to get back out in the public eye and maybe try to get it made is by indulging in his publicist’s dating scheme.

This is 100 % a grief book. Ethan is languishing in his grief and guilt over the death of his best friend. He has never moved on from it, and really has no intentions of doing so. Then he meets Grey and is forced to let someone new into his life. His alcoholism plays a huge part in this book. From the moment he is introduced sitting in a bar, getting blind drunk, you as a reader are aware that he has a major problem. And that point escalates all through the book as he continues to nurse his feelings with beer and bourbon.

Grey is a wonderful FMC. I really loved her. She has been in the business since she was a small child and has struggled to find work since her teen drama ended. She has some bitterness toward her family after basically being the breadwinner until her mother remarried, and as a result, doesn’t have a close relationship with her. But she’s formed her own found family of sorts with her roommate and manager. She’s smart, savvy, and talented. And she does not take Ethan’s shit.

The romance between Grey and Ethan builds slowly from strangers to hesitant acquaintances, to finally lovers who are just looking to get their lust for each other out of their systems. But something happens along the way and they become confidants and start to really care about each other. Their fake dating becomes real. Grey’s been burned pretty badly relationship-wise in the past when her long-time co-star and boyfriend cheated on her, but she can’t help but fall into a relationship with Ethan.

This book is told from both of their POVs, which I appreciated. It’s easy to see why Grey cares for Ethan, he is charming and their chemistry is off the charts. But she starts sensing that something is really wrong with his behavior and alcohol usage. Yet she loves him. Ethan KNOWS he needs to get his shit together (as he calls it) or he is going to lose her, but alcohol is a crutch he’s used for so long he can’t stop himself. When he’s forced to confront Sam’s death and revisit a time when they were together, it all falls apart.

I think this author did a great job of portraying the ins and outs, ups and downs, good and bad of fame in Hollywood. I also think the depictions of struggling with drug and alcohol addiction were well done. There is a HEA, I know romance lovers out there will be relieved to hear. But it comes after Ethan finally checks himself into a 12-step program and starts seeing a therapist. There is a time jump between when it all falls apart and when he and Grey finally see each other again, and while I was at first worried that rehab would be glossed over, it wasn’t. These two sit down and talk it out, and acknowledge that it is something he will continue to struggle with for the rest of his life.

There is another time jump in the epilogue, but it was lovely to see Grey and Ethan in a good place, both professionally and personally.

One other thing I adored and would like to mention, is that Ethan’s ex-wife was well crafted. Nora isn’t just a plot device for the hero to compare to the current love interest. She’s a whole person, who is interesting, and nuanced, and plays a big part in both the lives of the main characters. She and Grey become great friends and business partners. I really loved that.

While this wasn’t quite what I expected, I did really enjoy How to Fake it in Hollywood. At times heartbreaking and sad, there were moments of fun banter and a really lovely HEA at the end.

Content warnings- Alcoholism, off-page death of a friend, off-page child abuse in the past, invasion of privacy

Final grade- B

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