“Cover Story” is a charming read. Rachel Lacey has become one of my favorite Sapphic authors. I am always excited to read a new book by her I really enjoyed this take on a bodyguard/celebrity romance, which is no surprise because I love all of Lacey’s sapphic books and she does Hollywood so well. I loved the dynamic between Taylor and Natalie. I felt so bad for Natalie, but I loved how Taylor was there for her from the beginning. The story was well written their friendship/relationship flowed so easily. The chemistry between them was immediate. The way this book was written had me hooked immediately. I loved that it was dual POV. As a reader, I really enjoy when romances are dual POV because it allows you to be able to read the thoughts and feelings of both characters and see why they are falling for each other. It also helps you understand what each of the characters are going through and helps you love them that much more. The pacing was perfect and by the first few chapters I had already found myself really liking these characters. Both characters felt fully realized and I flew through their journey together. The story takes time to show the emotional state of each our leads, how it affects their lives and their relationships. I also liked how they slowly opened up to one another and how they are there for each other. My favorite part of this book was the intimacy, not just the sex scenes, but the stolen looks, the tender caresses and the way these two oozed love for one another made this book absolutely perfect to me and I already can’t wait to re-read it once I get my hands on a physical copy! There are also two sweet dogs and an adorable kitten in the mix and who doesn’t love a book with cute animals! The epilogue nicely ties up loose ends, leaving room for anticipation of potential future stories in this engaging celebrity series. I loved the cameo in the epilogue with Eden and Anna Moss. “Cover Story” is a must-read for fans of celebrity romances, fake dating tropes, and sapphic love stories! Thanks to Rachel Lacey, Montlake, and Netgalley for an e-arc in exchange for my thoughts! I can’t wait for Rachel’s next book!

i feel like admitting this will get my lesbian card revoked, but "cover story" is the first rachel lacey book i've read and i can't believe it took me so long to read something by her! i absolutely loved this book, natalie, taylor, and their love story. i mean, who doesn't love a bodyguard trope?! and make it lesbians?! it's obviously the making of a great book! beyond all of that, i felt like natalie and taylor's relationship developed so naturally and even their miscommunication and the baggage they brought into the relationship all felt so real. insta-love isn't really a trope i like, so i really appreciate a dynamic that develops at a realistic and healthy pace. overall, this was a really fun (and surprisingly tense!!) book that besides being a fun combination of the bodyguard and fake dating tropes, it also tackled their individual healing journeys in a very satisfying way.

I have never read anything by this author before, but I will be watching out what else they publish! This book kept me interested from cover to cover.

✨3.5 stars✨

This was a cute queer romance that follows the protagonist Natalie and her bodyguard/fake girlfriend Taylor.

I enjoyed this book at the start, before I found it to be a bit slow in the middle, before picking up again at the end.

This was the first Rachel Lacey book that I have read and I am interested to see what other books she’s written.

4.5

I’m totally in love with Rachel Lacey’s writing and this book is not exception. So far, it’s a personal favorite. Love it SOOOO much!
The chemistry between Natalie and Taylor? OH. MY. GOD. Look, I always love a good fake relationship, but this… this is AMAZING! I mean, she is her BODYGUARD. The angst, the tension, the laughters that those two shares… I’m so in!
If I have to find a problem, I think the resolution is a little fast, but this is not a great problem. The plot is adorable, the characters are adorable, the relationship is adorable and I’m so in love!

This is by far my favorite book by Rachel Lacey and she has definitely become an automatic buy. The chemistry and attraction between Taylor and Natalie was instantaneous and hot. I loved the journey of Natalie healing from her past trauma. I'm just now getting into the bodyguard/celebrity trope and this one makes me want to read more. Also, I need Noelle’s story ASAP!


Thank you to Rachel Lacey and Net Galley for the arc for an honest review.

This was a very cute and fun story. I LOVED styars collide so a sequel in the same universe made me so so happy! Rachel is incredible at writing a good sapphic story. Highly recommend this book :)

Another sapphic gem by Rachel Lacey. I enjoyed this book so much! Bodyguard romances are addictive for me, and adding a fake dating element makes it even better.

Natalie’s traumatic experiences in the past force her to request more security when her stalker is out of jail, so she hires Taylor to pose as her girlfriend when in reality, she’ll be her bodyguard. Obviously, this comes with a ton of forced proximity that makes them develop real feelings. Their relationship wasn’t easy at first since Natalie had some serious trust issues (and with good reason), but their attraction was strong and Taylor became her safe space. I loved the realism of the progression of their feelings, how they both struggled to navigate their connection. In the end, their HEA felt rewarding and so, so deserved. I love them!

I’m really loving the way Rachel writes celebrity romances. I’m hoping for a book about Noelle and Britt now. I love a second chance romance, and the circumstances of their breakup look like the perfect set up for an angsty book. Fingers crossed!

TW: Stalking, kidnapping, death of a parent

Rating: 4/5
Steam level: Open door, 2-3 scenes, high level of detail

I tried so hard to read this to the end, but I just couldn't. I got to 50% and it just wasn't enjoyable for me anymore. I loved the premise and enjoyed the character development, however, the storyline took too long to develop. At 50%, I felt like the characters had moved so slowly into a tentative friendship, and it was still awkward between them. I had hoped that by this stage, they would at least be friends and start softening towards each other, beyond thinking the other is hot.

In general, I do enjoy Rachel Lacey's writing and absolutely loved her previous book in this series, so I was disappointed to not love this.

Some tropes you'll find in this book:
♥️ Bodyguard/actor
♥️ Obsessed stalker
♥️ Fake dating
♥️ Forced proximity
♥️ A cute rescued cat

*I got this book for free, but this opinion is my own.*
When reading this book you can't help but wonder "Will an actress and a bodyguard be able to fool the media?".
The beginning is slow, but it gives us interesting backstory. At the same time, I love the characters. The romance was also refreshing. This story may be a common one, but it's done creatively.
The only negative I could see was that it was a little slow-paced. That's usual in a slow-burn, so I'm not saying it's not a nice read. If you like slow-burn,a cute relationship, and a teaspoon of suspense, this is the book for you.

Rachel Lacey is becoming my auto read authors. Cover Story is delightful and fun and really hot. Taylor and Natalie have great chemistry as they try to fake date right in front of all of Hollywood. I can't recommend this highly enough. Did I mention it's hot?

Thank you so much to Netgalley for Rachel Lacey’s latest book, Cover Story. I absolutely adore Lacey’s books and this one was no exception - a fun love story with great characters!

Celebrity/bodyguard, fake dating, suspense. This book ticked all of the boxes for me in terms of favoured tropes and I fell for the characters almost immediately. I sometimes struggle with smut in books but this was written and handled perfectly. I was rooting for Taylor and Natalie from the start and although I was confident from early on that they would get together I appreciate that it wasn’t immediately a done deal and they got to grow into the people each of them deserved

First and foremost, I want to express my gratitude to the author for providing me with an ARC. Being selected to read this book before its official release is genuinely appreciated.

Weak plot, but good chemistry.

Unfortunately, the book did not appeal to me as much as I would like although I still did find the storytelling enjoyable.
One significant drawback was the main plot's lack of coherence. Natalie's decision to hire a bodyguard and fake a relationship for the sake of diverting the press about Becker's release seemed implausible. The attempt to disguise the bodyguard's identity by changing her hair color to blonde felt outdated and unrealistic, particularly in the contemporary setting.
The main plot of the story doesn't make any sense at all. I can understand the cover story, it is known that many people in the entertainment industry use something similar if not equal but the reason for it in this book made absolutely no sense to me.
Honestly, I found myself skeptical. While this narrative might have been plausible in the 1950s, in today's era? Come on! You don't need to be a reporter to unveil Taylor's true identity. Even a curious teenager with ample free time could have unraveled Taylor's lineage in a matter of hours, particularly given Natalie's celebrity status.

The plot died for me there, but I liked the interaction between Natalie and Taylor enough to continue.

Then, we encounter our second significant issue which, once again, lacks coherence. Natalie claims her aversion to people stems from what Becker did to her, citing a constant state of fear and feeling like a caged animal reluctant to leave her house. However, her reality as an actress contradicts this portrayal. Natalie consistently engages with strangers on film sets, travels internationally for shoots, attends public award ceremonies, and even surrounds herself with a hair and makeup team at home.

Does that truly align with someone living in constant fear like a caged animal? The dissonance between her described fears and her actual lifestyle creates a glaring inconsistency. If Natalie genuinely felt like a caged animal, one wouldn't expect her to leave the house even for something as simple as a sunbath.
I also don't understand why the author felt the need to explore so much Natalie's fear for Becker and not use it on either the general plot or Natalie's mental stability. To me, it all just felt like words she was saying and not acting accordingly unless when it suited her.
Furthermore, I found Natalie's behavior in her narrative rather displeasing. Despite being identified as a 40-year-old actress, her actions and demeanor throughout the story suggested an age range more akin to someone between 17 and 23 years old.
This is what happened because she didn't win the Oscar:

"Now she felt doomed on both fronts and she knew she was overly emotional right now. She knew it was irrational to draw any correlation between this loss and her relationship with Taylor but in this moment sitting empty handed in the audience Natalie was trapped in an increasingly dismal thought spiral"

Seriously, Natalie?
I understand your disappointment over losing the Oscar, but how does that correlate with Taylor, really? You're forty years old! The notion that these thoughts even crossed your mind seems implausible; it's the sort of thing one would expect from a teenager, not a mature woman.
And that takes us to the sex scenes. Sorry to say this, but one particular scene between Natalie and Taylor felt so juvenile that I laughed. I laughed while two women were having sex.
There are numerous aspects in this book that fall short or seem unnecessary to the plot. The lack of character building is the main problem here, you dont see these people acting upon their or acting the way the narrative expresses.
What I did enjoy about this story was the refreshing departure from the often overused third-act breakup trope in sapphic literature which added to my overall enjoyment of this book.

Approaching it with a lighthearted perspective might make the reading experience more enjoyable.

Rachel Lacey is one of those authors who makes you feel every single emotion in her books. Cover Story is no exception. The character development for both Natalie and Taylor was brilliantly tied in with PTSD, which both had experienced. When reading, Rachel Lacey makes you feel as if you’re in the story with the emotional rollercoaster you’re on. This book is definitely a re-read and can’t wait for more books by her.

Rachel Lacey is one author that keeps blowing me away with every new release, and Cover Story is no exception.

After meeting Taylor in Stars Collide, I was super excited for her to get her own story, and it did not disappoint.

Taylor Vaughn is a bodyguard assigned undercover to pose as a girlfriend to Hollywood actress Natalie Keane. I thoroughly enjoyed both their own storylines and their relationship together. Plus, who doesn’t love a good fake dating trope! The story had great communication between characters, vulnerability, slow burn and a little suspense thrown in too.

Highly recommend this book, and while it could be read as a stand alone, I do recommend reading Stars Collide first, as they're both great books and you do get a little extra back story on Taylor's world.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Fairly predictable rom com but it was still a good read that I enjoyed it. It was also a quick read.

excellent side i guess sequel this time following Taylor story we readers in "stars collide".
unexpected play of tropes -bodyguard and fake dating which really worked.
it was real joy following Natalie and Taylor story and them learning to trust each other with really cute cat
and really cute dogos.

Cover Story is a sweet charming story about an actress falling in love with a bodyguard posing as her girlfriend.

The story puts a lot of time into developing the actress’ character — Natalie — and the way that she deals with the trauma of having been kidnapped by a stalker 10 years ago. This paid off, as I found that it did a great job of handling her problems in a sensitive way while critiquing the invasive nature of Hollywood.

As for Taylor, I loved the perspective put on her love for her family and facing recovery from her back injury.

I was initially interested in how both of these characters would come together and overcome their internal battles. But unfortunately, I couldn’t get invested because I felt that this book fell short for me in terms of conflict and tension.

This is partly due to the fact that I personally found the writing style stilted and disconnected. There is a lot of “this” then “that” then “this” to it. I previously mentioned that we see a lot about the characters’ internal conflicts, but we don’t really see it but are rather told it outright, if that makes sense.

Rather than being described a scene, or the way that a character truly feels, it just skips to “A” is feeling “this”, and “B” notices because it’s obvious. In that exact sentence format. There is little difference in it no matter the POV, which made it hard at some points to identify whether we were in Natalie or Taylor’s POV.

Similarly, there are a lot of time jumps where we miss out on scenes where the characters are meant to be bonding. A lot of it just happened off-page.

Due to this, I struggled to believe that they were truly falling in love with one another. I couldn’t pinpoint any romantic chemistry between them beyond them initially finding each other physically attractive.

Aside from the lack of romantic tension, I also felt that there wasn’t much tension in terms of the whole “forbidden fake dating” aspect.

The whole situation about what Taylor did to get the job is barely relevant. Them dating is not forbidden by Taylor’s company and never becomes a conflict. In fact, a bunch of characters are told of the fake dating situation outright, with barely any reaction to it, which made it lose even more tension.

In summary, though this book featured interesting perspectives, I failed to find myself invested in the characters or the romance.

Still, I am grateful to NetGalley for providing me with this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Montlake and NetGalley for providing me with this eARC in exchange for my honest review. Following well-known actress Natalie Keane and her struggles with trauma and anxiety for her own safety, Cover Story is a fake-dating romance which delves deeper into a lesser-known character, Taylor Vaughn, who was first introduced to readers in Lacey’s previous novel Stars Collide. This is a simple yet solid romance that was easy to read and enjoyable—fans of Lacey’s work should enjoy this one just as much as the Read Between the Lines series.