Truly Madly Famously – Rebecca Serle

TRULY MADLY FAMOUSLY is the second book in the FAMOUS IN LOVE series. Is it the final book? I don’t know. I sure hope not. It is not the best YA romance series ever to be published, but it sure has an additive quality to itself that makes you want to turn the pages, even when doing so is a little painful.

Paige has made her choice. She thought she would be at peace with it, since it seemed like the more reasonable choice to make, but her heart certainly is not in agreement. Though she is happy—or perhaps ‘‘content’’ would be a better choice of words—she cannot help but miss someone else in her life, someone who has chosen to keep his distance and even start dating another girl. Paige becomes especially unsure of her love situation when her boyfriend begins to act a little distant at times as well.

In the beginning, it is slower but once the drama really starts, it moves faster. There are also way more emotions involved. More scenes. More reactions. More entertainment, of course. Frankly, Paige is a mess in this book. Yes, she is figuring celebrity out, so she is allowed to have her moments, but her feelings and thoughts all over the place. What I do like is that she does grow confidence, especially in her skills as an actress but also in herself. Love-wise, I’ll admit that at some point I had no idea what she would do or who she would ‘‘definitely’’ pick. I’m not unsatisfied with the ending (heh, it’s typical YA stuff), but to be honest I would not have been displeased if she had made a different decision as well. On the contrary, I would have admired her strength. I do so hope there is a third book, because I would love to follow Paige as she is catapulted even higher in the entertainment industry. I’m now curious to read this author’s adult stories.

Thank you Hachette Book Group Canada for the copy in exchange for an honest review!

Famous In Love – Rebecca Serle

I can’t say I expected to enjoy this book all that much. I watched maybe the first and second episodes of the TV show with Bella Thorne and it felt so melodramatic that I gave up on it. It’s not that the book version isn’t like that, but it just seems to work so much better than on TV. Oftentimes, I disagree. I mean, I did quite enjoy the first four books in The Vampire Diaries series, and Pretty Little Liars as well, but the characters on screen had so much chemistry and added something extra to the story that I was happy to make the switch from book to screen and stick to it.

But Rebecca Serle’s writing drew me in instantly. It’s as though she remembers perfectly what it’s like to be a teenager and have dreams and hopes and be confused and a little innocent and need guidance but also want to become our own person. Ouf, it’s a lot, yes, but most of those things, I actually still feel even as I’m about to turn 24. Some things are just universal and Rebecca Serle seems to have understood that quite well. It’s very easy to connect with Paige Townsen because she’s so ‘‘alive,’’ full of life and I genuinely wanted to see her succeed. I was rooting for her in her professional career and personal life throughout the story.

There are a lot of emotions in this story, so yes, it can definitely get melodramatic, but on paper at least it seemed like a genuine type of drama. It didn’t feel forced. It can get a lot at times, for sure, seeing that there is quite an intense love triangle present here, but hey my guilty pleasure-seeking side actually enjoyed it. Anyone who knows The Vampire Diaries knows how complicated the love triangle gets—and yet, you just can’t help but get sucked in because part of you knows what’s going to happen, eventually, so you kind of just wait patiently for the right characters to figure out that despite everything they should be together and stop at nothing to pursue their connection. This is how I feel with Rebecca Serle’s series. It’s full of clichés, but I can’t help but love it.   

Thank you Hachette Book Group Canada for the free copy in exchange for an honest review!