Who loves celebrity love stories!? I do!

For this Fiona Riley original, we follow Hayley Carpenter, a writer who's current gig is at a gossip magazine, and Emerson Sterling, a talented actress as glitzy as her name. Hayley and Emerson make a connection early on and once they start communicating one-on-one, their attraction is immutable.

Emerson's mysterious, hot, and not pretentious. Crush material! Hayley's character's pretty reasonable on her own, too, to be the sort straight-woman (in personality, not sexuality lol) in a world of excess and exposure.

Riley built a believable, suffocating environment for the famous life and I appreciated that. How their attraction slow-burned into lust and eventual love really tickled my romantic heartstrings. Their love scenes are hot. Very hot. Fiona Riley knows her way around a love story.

My star off would be for the obligatory drama portion, where some of the characters' personalities took a downward turn. Also, the way some of the characters spoke seemed not as natural as it could be. In addition, there are certain issues (the whole secret daughter thing) that happens on the side. While I appreciated avoiding those awkward situations, their absence minimized their importance. Read this for the lovey bits, not for the backstory there.

Another please, Riley! Four stars.

Media Darling is a fun and unique lesbian romance by Fiona Riley.

When the mysterious Emerson starts getting negative press, she hires Hayley to write her story. Of course, neither want to mix business and pleasure, but their attraction is too strong to hold off forever.

Emerson is lost, confused and unsure of how to proceed.

Their story is interesting, as Hayley learns what a multi-layered and complex woman Emerson is. This makes the story interesting, as we get to see a lot of the problems that accompany being a Hollywood actress, or famous in general. There's scorned lovers, fake stories, and the problems with the paparazzi.

Their romance is a slow burn, with a few steamy scenes. Of course, their course will not be easy, as they aren't supposed to get involved, and mistakes will be made. And as they get close, Hayley will have a tough time writing an unbiased article. We also have some mystery which is well done.

Overall, I think Media Darling's a good lesbian romance and I'd recommend it.

I was saving this book to read after some deadlines and I'm glad I did because I wasn't able to put this book down! I absolutely adored this book. I'm sure it is one I will be reading again!

Hayley dreams of becoming a screenwriter, but she finds herself working for a Hollywood gossip magazine to make ends meet. One night working the red carpet changes everything, and she witnesses the kind of gossip about an actress that could make her career. But theres something about Emerson that makes Hayley want to protect her. Emerson's image has been sullied by her ex-lover Rachel. That she can handle, but when Rachel threatens her family, Emerson knows she can't sit idly by and she hires Hayley to tell her story. As the two women spend time together, friendship grows between the unlikely allies and romance soon follows.

Hands down one of the most memorable scenes of the entire year is when Emerson and Hayley have their first interview. <spoiler>The way Emerson turned the tables on Hayley was priceless. It was a brilliant, brilliant scene. </spoiler>

Emerson and Hayley are beautifully matched, I loved the way they were able to talk to each other. Their chemistry was amazing and their relationship just adorable even in the face of so much drama. Emerson was such a brilliant character, she was her own person, she was so strong and smart and witty, with a giant gorgeous heart. I really connected to their relationship and to the characters themselves, for as strong as they were, we also got to see their vulnerable side when they were together.

The dialogue is witty and smart, definitely a highlight of the book. The pacing was really great too - I loved the slow burn of their relationship while the drama around them was a little more fast paced and kept the story moving along. This was a very unique take on Hollywood/actresses that I haven't really read before.

I will definitely be buying this in paperback first chance I get.

I received an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Fiona Riley has been a nice discovery, her way of writing romance already ranks with some of the best, although, I will admit that after the perfect match series she has been slightly failing to deliver the same passion she had been bringing to her books.

Media Darling has relatable characters, a nice dose of romance and a believable relationship, however, for me it was lacking a bit when it came to the climax of the story. While the main couple had me rooting for them, at some point I got slightly annoyed over the fact that they were creating unnecessary drama that didn’t last long or was entirely founded.

Regardless of, I do recommend following Fiona Riley’s work as her writing delivers and rarely misses.

ARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I’m a fan of Riley’s books and this one was enjoyable. I liked both Hayley and Emerson and the Hollywood setting was also interesting, especially because it dealt more with the media side of it than the acting side.

Because Hayley is writing about Emerson they spend a lot of time together and get to know each other, so there’s no insta-love her. I liked how their relationship unfolded for the most part. The supporting characters of Alison and Tremont added some depth, but given the plot line, I felt Emerson’s family should have played a bigger part in the story. The wait to get to the ‘secret’ reveal also dragged the book down a bit.

I also didn’t really enjoy the contrivances around the ‘angst’ storyline, mostly because it seemed out of character for Hayley, and not at all in keeping with what had been happening with them as a couple to that point. Thankfully it was short lived, but I still think it could have been done differently.

This is an enjoyable read though, Riley has yet to disappoint. 4 stars.

I enjoyed this Hollywood star/regular person romance by Fiona Riley. In fact, I think it's become my favorite of hers now. The two leads are fantastic and have a ton of chemistry, and each of the sidekicks add a great dimension. Fiona Riley writes super hot love scenes and this book is no exception. My only complaint is that it felt about an hour too long, though I'm not sure why. Definitely worth a read.

DNF at 20%.

I‘m just not finding my way into this. Not being interested in the characters as they are presented to me makes for tedious reading. I‘ve actively avoided looking at my kindle for the past three days because turning it on would have meant continuing with this book. And that’s just not worth it.

This was a good solid book by Riley. I was actually saving this book for last since it was the one I was most looking forward to of Bold Strokes Books November releases. While I did enjoy this and expect most people will too, I’m a teeny tiny bit bummed that I didn’t love this like I had anticipated.

This is a celebrity romance. I’m always a big fan of that kind of storyline. The main story is about an A-list actress Emerson who is stuck in a scandal and needs a reporter she can tell her side to. Hayley is a rookie entertainment gossip reporter. It’s not what she wanted to do with her life, but it pays the bills. When she is asked by Emerson to write her side of the story, Hayley knows it’s a big deal. But what happens if feeling start to get involved?

Riley is fantastic at writing chemistry. You will find no lack of that in this book. The characters set off some sparks together that leads to some good steamy sex scenes. Riley knows how to write romance and I have no complaints here.

I did find myself liking both characters. I also enjoyed them together. I did feel like as a reader we are so much closer to Haley than Emerson. I think Emerson was not left to shine as much and was a little eclipsed by Haley’s character. Part of that reason, and other reviewers have mentioned this, is a few big scenes of Emerson’s happen “off screen” so to say. The book would talk about something big Emerson had to do like face off against the movie studio or have it out with an employee, but we didn’t get to see it. It was just told to us after. That was disappointing and I think it stopped me from connecting to Emerson as much as I wanted.

I can be very picky about how I like my angst scenes. Sometimes I love a good angsty book, other times I find myself rolling my eyes at forced or contrived angst. Unfortunately, I did find myself rolling my eyes at one point in this book. I felt like the angst was totally forced just to drag out the end of the story. Haley started to act unlike her character and it didn’t even make sense. I really enjoyed this story but these few issues did prevent me from loving it.

Even with a few bumps this was still a really good book. Riley is a great romantic author and it shows. If you are a romance fan or a Riley fan I don’t think you will be disappointed. Riley is an automatic read for me so I can’t wait to see where she’ll take us next.

I am a sucker for Celebrity Romance stories. I think because I can understand how they could have a hard time finding love. Riley does a very good job with this story line to make it unique and entertaining. Not only is the story line good, but the love connection is electric. In Riley's previous books she does an excellent job creating that chemistry that is needed in a romance novel and Media Darling is no exception. This chemistry makes for some steamy sex scenes (not a ton of them, but just enough).

This one took me a little longer to read for some reason. It could be that I was on edge the entire time I was reading it. I would have to take periodic breaks just to calm my nerves. If you love some suspense in your romance, this book will do the trick for you. My only complaint is that it the ending seems a tad bit rushed. It does work in the grand scheme of things because of the timeline of the story.

I wouldn't say this is my favorite Riley book but it for sure is a solid read. 4.25 stars for me.

I love a Hollywood romance and this one delivered just enough cute and angst to keep the reader entertained.

Each character likeable and believable and the circumstances they were involved in were entertaining to read.

Thank you Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books for providing me an ARC of this book, in exchange of an honest review.

3.5 stars

Full disclaimer: I don't normally read adult romance books. However, the plot of Media Darling seemed so interesting and there's been a tremendous lack of cute f/f romances in my recent reads, so I decided to give it a try. And I must say I quite enjoyed it! Yes, it has its clichés and it's way too focused in just this single relationship imo, but I really enjoyed the storyline and the little details the author put into both Hayley and Emerson, the lives they lead and their difficulties.

I had journalism classes in university, so Hayley's work was extremely interesting to me, even though she's a journalist for a gossip magazine. But I also liked following Emerson around and seeing her work, how she loves what she does but hates what comes with the 'being famous' part of it (which is cliché, I know, but recognizable for most of us).

The big issue I had with Media Darling was not its romance or characters - I liked both Hayley and Emerson and they're pretty cute together. It was not even with the sex scenes, although some of them made me cringe a little. The thing is: the extreme focus on them and their romance that made everything else underdeveloped, from Emerson's relationship with her family (which was a major plot point and deserved more focus, at least some scenes together, you know) to all the secondary characters who felt pretty one-dimensional.

Of course, that might be normal (or usual) in romance novels and I'm just not used to it because I'm not the typical reader, I don't know. It's the reason I'm giving Media Darling 3.5 stars, even though I quite enjoyed it. I still recommend it, especially for people who crave some f/f romance in their lives (and with some pretty good bi rep!).

A-List Hollywood actor Emerson Starling and Celebrity Gossip Columnist Hayley Carpenter meet in an unusual way and it almost ended before it began. But then there wouldn’t have been Media Darling.

Author Fiona Riley takes us into the world of glamourous movie stars and the endless pursuit of the media for gossip and intrigue. And when it comes to gossip, there is plenty of action around former bad-girl Emerson. On the eve of her latest, biggest and most important movie project to date, she is the target of a smear campaign started by disgruntled (and recently sacked) co-star and ex-lover Rachel. Hayley has been sent out by her boss to get some dirt on the two.

After that rocky red carpet encounter, Hayley (to her big surprise) gets hired by the Emerson camp to make some positive noise in the form of a set of short feature stories to be published just before the movie premieres. This puts them together a lot and - as you can guess - during these meetings something deeper develops.

Fiona Riley knows how the write chemistry and we had a lovely build-up to wat becomes a steamy romance. The plot goes along fairly traditional lines. There’s a baddy, a gay best friend, trying to keep things on the down-low whilst living in a fish bowl is impossible, the pressure and insane demands of the outside world, the soul destroying price of fame, a drama waiting in the wings. The author shows us the rotten side of the industry and I thought that was an interesting angle.

I was not so impressed however by the plot contrivance to inject tension into the romance. Hayley was so constant throughout the book, but around the dreaded 85% mark she reacted totally out of character. I wish that could have gone differently. But oh well... she snaps out of it in time ;-)

Also, some very important happenings surrounding Emerson got dealt with off camera. I felt the author missed out on some emotionally laden key scenes that could have given Ms. Sterling more depth.

f/f explicit

Themes: beautiful people, Hollywood, celeb, paparazzi, media gossip, blackmail, living in the public eye, a cabin on a lake, being vulnerable.

4 stars

* A free copy was provided by Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books Inc. for an honest review.

While covering a red carpet event that she would normally stay well away from, Hayley crosses paths with the stunning starlet Emerson Sterling. When Emerson's former costar begins a smear campaign, Emerson selects Hayley as the woman to tell her side of the story - and the two begin working closely together to put together an article.

Where to start? I loved this novel. Fiona Riley continues to go from strength to strength with her writing. The characters were compelling; the two leads had layers and complexity. The novel had strong pacing, engaging dialogue, and enough heat to keep the the pages flying by.

I enjoyed the gentle nod to Riley's Miss Match series.

The novel had me caring about the characters and their interactions, and I enjoyed the humour added by the supporting cast. The wish fulfillment is real - who hasn't dreamed of a chance meeting with a Hollywood A-lister?

I had been looking forward to reading this and the book didn't let me down. I really enjoyed this, although I am a sucker for a Hollywood starlet storyline. Both of the main character were well developed and insight was given to their motivations. And the chemistry? I felt it. A. Lot. I also enjoyed both of their sidekicks, Allison and Tremont. They both had personalities that I found to be entertaining. My only complaint is that I don't really like the leaving-you-to-protect-you trope. I got over it though. This is a fun read with a small side of angst. Would definitely recommend.

(Book received from NetGalley and BSB for an honest review)

Hayley Carpenter, a Yale grad, has ambitions of hitting it big as a Hollywood screenwriter but at the moment works for an LA gossip magazine instead. After an odd encounter with mega star, Emerson Sterling, on the red carpet, Hayley is drafted into writing Em’s Tell All article. The next few months together find them growing closer as they learn that nothing is as it seems when you don’t really know someone.

The author nails it with not just dialogue but body language and gestures between them. In real life, it’s the tiny moments that create intimacy between a couple and she recreates those quiet interactions that make for a believable romance. It’s a sweet thing to watch as Emerson and Hayley expose their vulnerabilities and replace them with trust and affection as they fall in love. There’s drama but also plenty of humor and quirkiness to make for a perfect balance. I also enjoyed the little behind the scenes of the entertainment business. And broomball, who knew?

A warm, delicious comfort read for my cold, rainy Sunday.

Sadly, I found the characters rather annoying and un-relatable. It was a difficult book for me to get invested in and lose time reading.

'ARC provided by both NetGalley and The Publisher in exchange for a honest review'

**'No one says a book has to be one thing.It can be anything it want to be..Characters are never whole people but just those parts of them that fits the story or the piece of writing..'

Captivating read!
Atmospheric,poignant and searingly unique,'MEDIA DARLING' is also emotional and an engrossing saga to all the ups & down lifestyle of a screen actress being bombarded by unnecessary scandals,having to deal with unsolicited betrayal and maybe finding 'LOVE' unexpectedly. Ms.Riley does a masterful job of capturing the tension,the progress and the uncertainty through the eyes of each character when it came to her storytelling. The book even brings to life some behind-the-scenes happenings of the movie business and also the Hollywood shenanigans that appears in the headlines that can be interpreted as fact but sometimes are untrue. There are the usual reference to other well known actors,producers and directors but what Ms.Riley does vigorously is dive into the depth of everything pertaining to Emerson; the good and bad -- in quite a melodramatic way which i think makes this storyline more enjoyable and easier to get through. For Hayley,as she learns more about Emerson,the line between her resistance to her not appearing bias with what to publish and collaboration becomes blur,driving her to find the answers to some crucial questions: Who is the 'real' Emerson when they are intimate? And will they make it as a couple. The story is also filled with lots of believable characters like Tremont her PR,one of the only person that she trust and is tasked with keeping a watchful eye on all her surroundings. Then there is Rachel her ex that's bent on revenge because of being rebuff. Readers can easily spend much of the book obsessing over the identity of the 'leaker' to these headlines and when will Emerson gave the okay to all these revelations. But I urge readers to just give up these thoughts and let yourself go along for the ride because I guarantee the resolution to most things will be a nice surprise. Recommended to everyone!

Celebrity-Commoner is a favourite fantasy. But it is a fairly difficult theme to make believable, simply because the celebrity of the star eclipses everything else. Author Fiona Riley takes this difficult coupling and creates a lovely romance out of it.

Emerson Sterling is a gorgeous film star. Hayley Carpenter, an entertainment magazine reporter with a secret, passive ambition of writing a screenplay. On a punishment-assignment, Hayley and Emerson first come into each other’s orbits. Hayley creates a terrible first impression on Emerson and a fantastic second impression.

Grappling with ex-girlfriend and fellow actress, Rachel’s vindictiveness, at that moment in Emerson’s life, the shit has pretty much hit the fan. Because of the great second impression, Emerson chooses Hayley to be her medium for damage control.

The girls spend more and more time together…and well, it is a romance, so they fall in love.

The thing about books is that synopses never give a real clue about the book. The magic is always in the way the story is narrated, and Riley narrates this one with spirit. She focusses on the characters, their personalities and gives believable dimensions to make them ‘people’ instead of ‘characters’. That is a big win for the writer.

The celebrity being attractive is easy enough to convey. The difficult part in such stories is justifying just why the celebrity would fall for this commoner and that the celebrity is indeed into this commoner. So the first half of the book is about the gorgeousness of Emerson and the second half is about how into Hayley Emerson is. A little much, and a little belaboured, that. But okay…necessary.

As a writer, Riley shows a growing maturity in this book. She has focussed more on the layers of the girls than on hot sex. (There is some sex, but if you’re looking for a ton of explicit scenes, you may be disappointed). There are some really well-written thoughts and dialogues…particularly in the first half when Emerson is baring herself to Hayley and expressing her thoughts and emotions using metaphors.

The epilogue gives us a HNF…but the die-hard romantic in us, wants a HFA. Well, that’s just us…but this one is a lovely, lovely romance with enough mush to give a shot of happy high.

Hollywood stories are one of my favorite themes in romance books. This one I've just finished will be without doubt at the top of my prefereds so far. Because it has all of what you can expect inside that glamourous world and it's put together in a way that results really engagging from start to end.

Hayley and Emerson are a really gorgeous couple. Their first meeting does not bode well. Hayley is forced to cover a red carpet event, she is working on a tabloid newspaper, although that is not what she would like, since she aspires to be a screenwriter.

Emerson is an actress with a reputation for being difficult, adding to that the recent dismissal of her female co-star in the new movie she is about to present. This co-star that has been dismissed, Rachel, starts a campaign to discredit her. Emerson then tries to counter-act, so she turns to Hayley to write her version of the story against Rachel's. From here, Emerson and Hayley must spend time together, so it's only a matter of time before they have a more than professional relationship.

The two women behave throughout the story in a fairly coherent way, taking into account the difficulties that appear at each step they take. They talk a lot, for obvious reasons since Hayley must write about Emerson, so they are discovering each other, little by little. And both are hesitant to start a relationship, although for very different reasons.

Although the subject is not new at all and has been used a lot in romantic literature, in this book there are many more things than glamour and parties. In fact, what I found very interesting is the way it deals with the darkest part of fame and media, envy, resentment and acts that escape control.

Actually this author is becoming one of my favorites lately and this book has been a really enjoyable and highly recommended reading.

Emerson Sterling is a famous actress with a bad-girl reputation. Hayley Carpenter is a celebrity gossip journalist whose dream is to be a screen writer. When their paths cross in an awkward situation, they start to form a bond which evolves into something deeper. But Hayley soon learns the high price to pay behind the apparent glamour of celebrity life.

I have to admit that I don't care much about celebrity lifestyle but this book got me hooked from the start because it's so much more than a relationship between a celebrity and an ordinary person. This is a sweet romance with the addition of a critique of the media role in their portrayal of celebrities. Both main characters, Emerson and Hayley, are multi-layered with their personalities well defined. Their chemistry is absolutely off the charts, Ms. Riley has done a great job at building their attraction slowly but surely. Some of the scenes of them together are cute and others are very sensual, that variety makes the romance even more enjoyable.

The secondary characters are well rounded, specially both mains' best friends, Alison and Tremont. The setting of the story is very well written, the descriptions of the places in both LA and Maine are beautifully portrayed. The dialogues are very well written, sometimes funny and witty, others seriously deep and moving.

The plot is tightly woven, Ms. Riley has got the ebb and flow of the tension perfectly. Even though there is a good deal of drama, the conflict doesn't feel contrived or artificially created, on the contrary, it makes sense and seems the logical consequence of the chain of events. Many readers are going to like the fact that the author takes her time to finish the book after the conflict is solved. The story has a perfect length, neither is rushed nor stretched.

Overall, an entertaining, poignant and romantic story with a side of social critique to celebrity culture and the media. 5 stars.

ARC provided by Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

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