Life has become a farcical mess for icy British A-lister Elizabeth Thornton. America’s most-hated villain stars in a top-rated TV medical drama that she hates. Now, she’s been romantically linked to her perky, new co-star, Summer, due to the young woman’s clumsiness. As a closeted actress, that’s the last thing Elizabeth needs. If she could just get her dream movie role, life would be so much … better. The only problem is that the eccentric French film-maker offering it insists on meeting her “girlfriend”, Summer, first.Summer Hayes is devastated when her co-star shuns her for accidentally sparking rumors they’re lovers. Now the so-called British Bitch has the audacity to ask Summer to pretend to be her girlfriend to get her a role? Elizabeth doesn’t even like Summer! Oh, how she’d love to tell her no. And Summer definitely would if it wasn’t for the fact she’s maybe a tiny bit in love with the impossible woman.A lesbian celebrity romance about gaining love, losing masks, and trying to stick to the script.
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Loved everything about this book. I intended to spend a few hours on a Saturday reading, but Lee Winter’s elegant writing enticed me to stay engrossed for the rest of the weekend. She not only is a skilled storyteller but also an immaculate writer. Prose, plot, dialogue, character arcs, all masterful. The most admirable aspect of the book was how Ms. Winter created and stretched the tension without the nasty side effect of a saggy middle. No one likes a saggy middle, especially during a much-anticipated romance. The tension and anticipation in BC were palpable but not overly drawn. True mastery. Highly recommend.
If you love fake relationships, please do yourself a favor and track this story down! Pure catnip on a couple of different levels.
Elizabeth and Summer are both actresses who are closeted lesbians. Bess is 37 and a veteran in the industry, working on a popular medical drama that she hates. Former child actress Summer is in her mid-twenties and hoping her new role on Choosing Hope will help her get more serious parts in the future. They are complete opposites: Bess is a snobby ice queen while Summer is a literal burst of happy sunshine.
There are a couple of great meta aspects to this story. First, Choosing Hope eventually gives Bess and Summer’s characters a love story. So they’re closeted in real life while playing queer characters on TV. The show has it out for Bess and she’s just biding her time until her contract finally ends. Both actresses have to advocate for their characters, especially when they show decides to kill off Elizabeth’s character, despite Elizabeth and Summer arguing otherwise. The behind the scenes was fascinating.
And if that wasn’t enough, Bess is offered a coveted role in a movie but the director believes she’s dating Summer. Insert fake relationship trope! They have to convince the director their love is real and this is what finally gets Bess to see Summer in a less snobby light and winds up getting Summer a role on the production as well. There’s no escaping each other!
Still, this is a slow burn romance for a few different reasons. Summer has feelings for Bess early on. She saw Elizabeth perform Shakespeare years ago and it made her want to be a serious actor beyond her child star fame. Bess is her hero and it’s hard for her to navigate Bess’s stony exterior. But the more time they spend together, the more Summer comes to care for who Bess really is. It takes Bess longer to figure it all out, in part because of a toxic friendship.
Grace is one of Bess’s oldest friends but it’s a completely unbalanced relationship. Grace was her mentor but has a self-inflated view of herself and it’s not a reciprocal relationship. She is a horrible friend, beyond self-centered and narcissistic. We can so clearly see what Bess can’t and isn’t that so true to life? It was painful to read in places because you just want Bess to break free but I really appreciated the way the story explored toxic friendship and how Bess ultimately handled things. By dealing with Grace, she’s able to see a number of things more clearly, including her feelings for Summer.
I just adored Summer and Bess together. They have things to work through, such as how to handle their careers and when to come out but this is completely in their control and I was glad that forced outing was not a part of this plot. This was a delight to read and I look forward to reading more by this author.
CW: toxic friendship, Hollywood diet culture, closeted characters, Summer mimes shooting herself in the temple, Kill Your Gays trope on TV show
Turns out I’m a sucker for a good Hollywood romance, especially fake relationship Hollywood romances. This is one of the best. I absolutely loved the characters and their complexity. None of the barriers between them felt inauthentic and, if I remember correctly, none were due to lack of communication (a pet peeve of mine). I’ve yet to read a Lee Winter book I didn’t love, and this is one of my top two.
Breaking Character had pretty much everything I love in a book: British ice queen, celebrity fauxmance, and even references to fandom and shipping! And maybe even more importantly, it delivered ALL the feels. I laughed cried, gasped, and swooned. This was my first book by Lee Winter, but it won’t be my last!
An excellent fake relationship rom-com! Highly reccomend!
A fun fake relationship romance with complex characters and great dialogue!