Fan favorite author Kasie West delivers an effervescent story about chasing your dreams and following your heart, perfect for fans of Jenny Han and Huntley Fitzpatrick. Lacey Barnes has dreamed of being an actress for as long as she can remember. So when she gets the opportunity to star in a movie alongside one of Hollywood’s hottest actors, she doesn’t hesitate to accept the part.But Lacey … accept the part.
But Lacey quickly learns that life in the spotlight isn’t as picture perfect as she imagined. She’s having trouble bonding with her costars, her father has hired the definition of a choir boy, Donavan Lake, to tutor her, and somewhere along the way she’s lost her acting mojo. And just when it seems like things couldn’t get any worse, it looks like someone on set is deliberately trying to sabotage her.
As Lacey’s world spins out of control, it feels like the only person she can count on—whether it’s helping her try to unravel the mystery of who is out to get her or snap her out of her acting funk—is Donavan. But what she doesn’t count on is this straight-laced boy becoming another distraction.
With her entire future riding on this movie, Lacey knows she can’t afford to get sidetracked by a crush. But for the first time in her life Lacey wonders if it’s true that the best stories really do happen when you go off script.
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Another Kasie West gem – I know I’ve long surpassed her target audience, but her books always remind me of high school summers, of the cutesy romances my friends and I would pass back and forth after days at the pool, and I always find it so comforting to spend a little time in her joyful, fun worlds.
I really like Kasie West books. They are great to recommend to high school students that like a clean, light, romantic vibe with a little drama and mystery. When seventeen-year-old Lacey Barnes get to act in a zombie movie with famous actor, Grant, something just does not click. As Lacey tries to get the “click” to work on the set, she is also subjected to sabotage, dealing with an interfering father, and a nerdy, cute tutor. Light, fun, quick read that leaves that gives one the “awww” feeling.
Lacey Barnes has landed her first big role in a movie opposite a big name teenage heart throb. Wanting to focus 100% on doing her absolute best acting as the love interest/zombie she is foiled by her father who wants to make sure she is keeping up with her school work and not working more hours than an underage performer should be. He hires a local high school student, Donavan Lake to tutor her. When someone starts sabotaging her chances on set, Donavan becomes the one person she can trust to help her find out who is behind these pranks.
I liked Lacey and her drive to succeed quite a bit. She is charming on set and that charm carries over to the reader very well. She and Donavan have some great dialog and I liked him overall, but I thought their romance was a bit contrived. Yes, he was her tutor and they were thrown together but I thought the story would have been stronger if they stayed friends. I don’t know, I guess I have mixed feelings because I did really like each characters on their own. I thought the movie plot was cute and kind of liked how each chapter began with a scene that they’d be working on in the next chapter. It tied the movie to the plot really well.
I really felt let down when it came to the relationship between Lacey and her father. I would’ve like to have seen the relationship grow a bit more than it did. He and her mom are divorced and this was his chance of living with his daughter and their relationship didn’t have enough depth and because of that his scenes felt flat. I didn’t feel the emotion that the scene was trying to build towards which was disappointing.
Fame, Fate, and the First Kiss is a stand alone novel set in the same world and with the same characters as in Love, Life, and the List. Lacey’s best friend is Abby from the previous book, which would make this the second book in a series? BUT, it can be read as a standalone since Abby and Conner show up towards the end and don’t really need more explanation than what is given to the reader. I do think reading Love, Life and the List first would be helpful only because you learn a little of Lacey’s back story and without that the reader is thrown into the story. Overall, I enjoyed reading Fame, Fate and the First Kiss, but it was not my favorite Kasie West novel. Funny enough, that title goes to Love, Life, and the List.
Fame, Fate and the First Kiss by Kasie West is a fast-paced, lighthearted Young Adult book that delivers everything from laughter, young love, and a bit of mischief thrown in to keep you guessing. Although this book in the second in the series they can be read as a standalone book. This is my first read by Kasie West, and now I am asking myself why I haven’t read any of her books before this since I do have a bunch on my to-read shelf.
This book was well written, with very engaging characters. Ms. West does a great job capturing the essence of what it’s like to be a teenager in an adult world. Lacey is a seventeen-year-old actor, who has landed her dream movie role, and her leading man just happens to be Grant James, who is one of the hottest actors in Hollywood. But, things are not all that easy. Lacey has a lot to deal with, the demanding work schedule of the movie, passing her senior year, and an overprotective dad that is not thrilled with his daughters choice of professions. Her dad hires an uptight, inflexible tutor to help Lacey focus and keep up with her school work. Meet Donavan, a cute if a somewhat geeky high school senior who writes for the local high school newspaper. I liked that there was some push and pull between Lacey and Donavan, no instant-love for these two. The story had a bit of mystery to it which I liked, but don’t want to say too much and give it away.
Ms. West does an excellent job of keeping the language and romance within the YA boundaries. I would feel comfortable recommending this book to kids sixteen and older. Overall, I enjoyed this book very much. If you are looking for an upbeat super sweet book with a tad of angst, that will have you smiling throughout, look no further, you have found your next book.
***I kindly received a DRC of this book by way of Edelweiss/publisher/author. I was not contacted, asked or required to leave a review. I received no compensation, financial or otherwise. I have voluntarily read this book, and this review is my honest opinion .***
3 1/2 stars. I had a difficult time connecting with Lacey and Donovan. I felt like there wasn’t a whole lot of detail about their relationship and how they got there. There was really no background to either character, but especially Donovan. However, this is a YA novel and I am no longer a YA! I bumped it up a whole star because I think the target audience will enjoy it.
Absolutely fabulous!!! I’m not usually a fan of books with movie star characters, but Kasie West pulled it off! I highly recommend this one.
Does anyone else feel incandescently happy reading Kasie West? Her books are books are my go-to happy place. She writes sweet, funny, romantic stories that always, always leave me with a smile on my face and a glow in my heart. That particular book is a companion to Love Life, and the List (which you should also read because=joy) and follows a side character becoming the literal leading lady in her own story. What can I say about Lacey Barnes except I love her with every fiber of my being and if she were real we would legitimately be best friends. She’s so outgoing and hilarious and she finds ways to invite everyone she meets her to her world. And Donavon Lake? He is made of book boyfriend material. Bottom line, it’s fantastically wonderful.
Somewhat predictable. There is, however, a mystery.
I have loved everything this author has written and this book I’d no exception. Great story.
This book is really amazing. It has action, suspense, and even a little romance. This author combined all of these categories perfectly.
3.5/5 Stars
Disclaimer: This review MAY contain spoilers.
Where do I start with this one? This was definitely another cute read from Kasie West, but this one is my least favorite of the three that I have read. I was a little let down with this one, not because I didn’t like it, because I did, but because I didn’t love it. While I enjoyed this book immensely, I didn’t feel the same love or adoration that I felt from P.S. I Like You or The Fill-In Boyfriend.
The plot for this one was compelling enough but too many things were entirely too predictable. I could peg the saboteur from the beginning which made the mystery surrounding the plot much less stimulating for me. I kept reading and hoping that I was wrong and that I would be surprised, but in the end, my instincts were correct. Not that it shouldn’t be said that the journey to that reveal wasn’t worth reading. It was, it just wasn’t as suspenseful for me.
Most of the characters felt flat to me. I felt Lacey’s character was the most relatable, but I didn’t necessarily love her. She actually had qualities that didn’t mesh with me personally. Like her lack of concern over her high school studies. That part aside, her character felt the most real to me. As for Donovan, I liked his character a lot but he lacked depth to me. I really thought that he was quite adorable, but something about him made me feel distanced from his character. I can’t place my finger on it though. I enjoyed the side characters, but none of them really shouted out to me. While they didn’t feel like filler in the story, I also didn’t feel overly connected to them. I liked the friendships in the book. Lacey still spoke with her BFF from home frequently enough and she made friends with Amanda on set. I liked the family aspects as well. Lacey dealing with her father acting like a helicopter parent most of the time, feeling like her father didn’t support her dreams, and her mother that loves her but is clearly preoccupied with her younger siblings most of the time.
The romance felt like it had the barest amount of chemistry. There was something there, but not enough. The romantic scenes between Lacey and Donovan were not really that satisfying. The progression of the romance almost felt forced. The “falling in love” part felt like it wasn’t even there. They meet, hang out and talk a handful of time, and then they are kissing and becoming a couple. And even the kissing was uneventful. (Although, I admit to liking the times he kissed her forehead. Cute!) It didn’t feel like there was a real reason why they got together. The body language and chemistry was all off.
Overall, this was a cute and enjoyable read. If you like Kasie West’s books then you should like this one as well. It has the same overall structure as her other books I suppose, it’s just that this one didn’t wow me like the others that I’ve read before. If you are looking for a quick and entertaining read then you’d like this one.