Van Birch: Pop Star. A-list starlet. Off-limits.Clay Noble has spent the better part of a decade avoiding his taboo obsession: His stepsister Van. In love with her since the first time he’d heard her sing, even shipping himself off to the army couldn’t stop thoughts of her. Now that he’s lost everything in a tornado, he’s forced to move back in with the only family he has left, Van and her dad. … her dad. Sleeping down the hall from her is forcing every unwanted impulse back to the surface.
Clay Noble: Gorgeous. Infuriating. Untouchable.
Everything Van touches turns to gold with a side of outrageous. When she accuses her manager of sexual assault, the public thinks it’s just another one of her publicity stunts and the backlash is brutal. Wounded, she dashes home to a tornado-devastated Wellville, Kansas to heal and help rebuild, even though the constant stream of social media doubts and threats won’t let her rest. But there’s another reason for her sleepless nights and fevered dreams. Clay is back, hotter than ever, and his lingering glances and stolen moments have her convinced the feelings she’s fought for so long may not be one sided after all.
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The Van Birch Incident marries forbidden romance, bordering on taboo with a little danger and a guaranteed happily ever after, while exploring how social media and real life collide in a post #metoo world where the internet never sleeps.
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A book that sucks you in and won’t let go! Why did I wait so long to read this story?!?! This is my favorite book by Marla. Gah…so good! I went in semi-blind, knowing it was a forbidden romance, but not much else. And I’m so happy I did. I listened to the majority of it on audio then finished reading the book.
Van is a kick-a$$ female who fought for her life. She was strong yet vulnerable, relatable, and likable. You wanted her to get her happy ending. And Clay, her forbidden fruit. He was swoony and strong.
The story had great pacing, never lagging or speeding up, everything felt right. And the “news clips” between chapters added so much to the story. It gave the readers a glimpse of what was happening behind the scenes. Not only that, but it made me think. About all the headlines. What we think of people based on “news” or more accurately gossip. How social media plays a HUGE part of the legal system whether or not we want to admit it.
The story also placed a woman’s voice front and center. What happens when she discloses a rape/abuse/violence. It was a powerful story.
This story starts with a lot of background, like a ton, so I was almost overwhelmed. I felt like there was so much happening, this can’t be the first book in this series, I must have missed one. But I powered through and quickly got comfortable. Turns out, there is a prequel novella that probably covers a lot but I didn’t figure that out until after I finished this book (duh!). The backstory is interesting so I’ll probably read that eventually but it was not necessary to enjoy this book.
Pop star Van Birch goes home to heal after being hurt by someone she trusts and is immediately confronted by her longstanding attraction to her stepbrother, Clay Noble. Van had a crush on Clay as a young teen and was horrified when her widowed father married Clay’s mother. Clay was a bully to her back then so she thought those feelings were long gone, but they were simply buried.
Their parents made it clear to Clay from the beginning that the two were siblings and had better act like it, so Clay’s reciprocal crush on Van was a guilty secret he’s carried for years. He’s ashamed of the way he treated Van back then, lashing out at her to hide his forbidden attraction. Now they’re adults and things are much different, but Van’s life is extremely complicated so it’s not easy to make a relationship work.
Van is under constant scrutiny in the media and the story is sprinkled with gossip site articles and social media posts, which I love. She’s treated horribly by complete strangers because they think they know her and understand everything about her, but they couldn’t be more wrong.
I loved everything about this story and would be thrilled for more Van and Clay. This was a fun book and I can’t wait to read Bryant’s book, the second in the trilogy.
I literally devour any book this author writes.
This was such an amazing story of courage, healing and how the love and support from the people who care about Van helped her heal through the hardest of times. Some of the emotional scenes literally had me in tears.
As traumatic as ‘The Incident’ was for Van, she was still able to love again and the romance in this story is a slow burn of chemistry and suppressed feelings but an intense love nevertheless.
The Van Birch Incident is the first book I have read by author Marla Holt and I really enjoyed it! I like that this is a rock star romance, but that the FMC is the “rock star” in the couple. Usually in those it is the guy who is a huge celebrity, so this was a nice spin on the trope. In this book Van, short for Vanessa, is a pop star/reality tv show celebrity sensation in her mid 20s. After being assaulted by someone close to her she flees LA for her hometown in Kansas. The timing couldn’t be more fortuitous since her former step brother also moves back home following his own tragedy. They have a slow burn relationship that develops while they both try to overcome their individual challenges. The Van Birch Incident is a wonderful look at horrible real world events, things like rape, the #MeToo movement, cyber bullying, and more are tackled here. Holt sets the stage quite nicely for the subsequent books in the series. Each book will follow a different couple. We get a little glimpse into those couples in this book and I am very excited to see where their stories take them.
This fun and interesting story delved into some serious issues at times while for the most part was fun and flirty with the main character Van and her best friend, step brother, father, and fake boyfriend. Good read that kept me wanting more!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Good potential but poor editing. I have given this book a rating of 3 mainly because of the myriad of grammatical, syntax, and spelling mistakes. Such mistakes and the mid-sentence changes in the person of the narrator, often make no sense. Where was the editorial team? This was an ARC copy and I do hope that the published version addressed the errors. Most of the characters were well developed. As far as the plot was concerned, the author had attempted a huge chunk of important issues, like rape, physical and psychological abuse, the curse of our modern internet presence, the trolling and making the target totally vulnerable and open to mass hostility. That was a valiant effort and the plight of the heroine, Vanessa, came through most of the time. but the description of some of the events in the story and her relationships, to Bryant, to Clay and Bishop felt at times dragged on to no benefit to the plot. Many questions were left unanswered in the book, such as Minnie’s future, who is the father of baby Malcolm, what happens to Phoebe and Robin? There is no mention of a sequel, as the story of the protagonists reached their HEA. As it is, I feel the story was rushed in places, dragged out in others. Such a shame, as if the editorial issues were to be addressed and a revised version published, this would be a cracker of a book, addressing some very important current issues in our modern society.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
The Van Birch Incident by “new to me author” Marla Holt was billed as a rock and roll romance but it is more of a celebrity romance type of story. This story may have triggers for you: rape, forbidden romance, stalkers, incels and trolling. Still with me?
The heroine is a young pop singer who trusts the wrong guy and gets hurt for it. We get to watch as she goes through the trauma and comes out the other side stronger and with a chance at real happiness. This book will have you clutching tissues and drinking wine but will leave you with a smile.
As distraction from the on-going world situation, this NC17 fictional documentary will more than fill the bill for a full day. I had an unedited ARC and this voluntary review is my own opinion.
I really enjoyed this book. Van, a famous singer, had a boyfriend she thought she loved who took advantage of her when he was drunk one night. She then went home to help out with disaster that happened there along with getting away from here life in California and everything that happened there. She starts hanging around her step-brother Clay, who she had a crush on since she was 14, and things between them build. This story deals a lot with the way the media and public reacts when things are slipped to the media. It was steamy, and had me from the start. I can’t wait to see what happens next in this series.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Van Birch was a pop star along with being a reality star as well. The “Incident” was in the very first part of the book and grabbed me bringing some hard hitting issues into the forefront. It was how Van dealt with this that drew me in. Her lifestyle was in front of cameras and the “un-reality” of her show was filled with many secrets. This author also touch on a seemingly taboo subject as well since her step brother was a big part of the future that Van really had dreamt of. Van had crushed on Clay long before their parents married so they never really considered themselves and brother/sister. Clay had never figured that Van would ever think of him as he did her.
Clay was the veteran who stayed in the shadows until Van came back to Kansas a broken woman. A tornado had just hit her small town but she knew this is where she needed to be after everything that happened to her.
As this book played out I was drawn in by the cast of characters and how true family and friends stuck by you even though social media was crushing you. This book brought a lot of issues to the forefront from the “incident” to the me-too movement to online stalking.