A freak accident to a Hollywood movie star, now his world is falling apart… Antonio Morris has it all, and in a second almost lose everything. Now disabled, this once-headlining film star is left with an uncertain future. Until fellow actress & upcoming director Karina enters his life. Second chances…Karina is finally living her dream directing movies but none has hit mainstream. She now … living her dream directing movies but none has hit mainstream. She now has her eye on Antonio as her new lead and can see everything he can still be, even if he can’t see it himself. Antonio flirts with her, and although it’s flattering, Karina is overly shy and doesn’t see Antonio as her type nor does he.
Opposite attract…
Fiery passion ignites though the prep sessions and Karina finds that she cannot resist this possessive bad boy. Their steamy encounters soon heat up and she finds herself in too deep escaping reality.
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Minor Spoilers Alert
My tags for this Contemporary Romance:
Complex characters / Realistic / Steamy / Page-turner (absorbing listen) / Entertaining
Format Collected / Read: Unabridged Audiobook courtesy of a free redemption code
Narrated by: Shaeffer Hughes
Series: She Got Me Series, Book 5
Length: 5 hrs and 35 mins
Release date: 11-16-18
Publisher: Just Bae
Story rating: 3.5 stars!
This author’s work is new to me, so I wasn’t sure what to expect or if the author would successfully deliver on the intriguing premise. I was caught up in the tension between the two main characters Karina and Antonio from beginning to end. Their working relationship as film industry professionals created an interesting dynamic between them because they both had something to lose if the Karina couldn’t convince Antonio to finish filming the most critical scene in the movie. At risk for them were their reputations and punitive financial damages. I was wowed by what Karina did to make Antonio comfortable enough to finish that important scene. I paused and pondered if any director (male or female) in Real Life would go to that extreme length. It was truly impressive, and hands-down my favorite scene in the novel. Ultimately, the film got finished and competed for several Emmy awards.
One thing that really bothered me was the negative language used to describe Karina over and over. This never changed even after Antonio realized he was falling in love with her. So for me, this made the story less romantic. Even so, I enjoyed how their working relationship eventually evolved into a personal one. The epilogue covered a lot of future time in their lives which I enjoyed except for the ultimate fate of one of the main characters. To me, that future lacked a true happily ever after ending which meant a guaranteed lower rating from me.
Performance rating: 3 stars!
Narrator Shaeffer Hughes was also new to me. He has a pleasant narrating voice, but his vocal style was often a bit too stilted. I think he has the potential to be a better narrator if he could smooth out his speaking rhythm more.
Overall rating: 4 stars!
Typically, the Hollywood or celebrity trope rarely piques my interest. For once though, I was genuinely fascinated by this one. I loved that Karina was such a strong female and that she made no apologies for not being a traditional beauty working in Hollywood while breaking barriers in the film industry. She was just a normal woman who wanted to tell stories via the film medium. And, I also appreciated Antonio’s personal struggle and growth. He had to overcome a physical change to his appearance that made him go from a handsome playboy actor who was no longer whole-body capable to an actor with new layers thanks to Karina’s encouragement. I liked that he also decided to add producing to his professional arsenal as well.
Their happy for a time romance was quite unique to me, hence the 4 stars!
I loved this book. It is the first one in the series I have read and I can’t wait to read the rest of them.