Movie star 101: A smile hides all pain. Quellcrist King has been playing a part his entire life. The more famous he becomes, the more he hides. The only person he ever let see the real him rose with him from nothing to the very top. They were the king and queen of Hollywood— and then she wanted a divorce. The only way to survive his depression is to bury himself in work. If he can be a character, … can be a character, maybe he won’t have to remember himself. A gay role can’t be any different than playing a straight one, can it?
But instead of finding solace in the character, he finds it in his costar. Hale becomes his best friend, his lifeline, the light in his darkness. Quell is forced to examine everything he thought he knew about himself while filming intimate scenes with Hale that feel more real than anything ever has before.
He’s lived his entire life following the script. What would life be like unscripted?
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I loved every word of this delicious slow-burn romance. Unscripted is unputdownable friends-to-lovers goodness, and the most fun I’ve had reading in ages.
I loved the premise of this story and did Quell and Hale steal my heart! Quell is definitely a broken soul dealing with depression and a breakup. I hurt for him as he tried to keep everything bottled up inside. Hale really is a breath of fresh air. Unpretentious, sweet and giving…who wouldn’t fall for a guy like that? This friends to lovers book was a lot of teasing of when will they cross that line and I pretty much was dying…the tension was making me crazy. Steamy scenes while filming and not. Yum.
My first book by this author and I loved it!
Unscripted really packed a punch for me. It’s been quite a while since I’ve read an “out for you/gay for you” story. I know they can be controversial, but I admit that I like them a lot.
Quellcrist King is an actor going through a secret divorce he didn’t want but his wife did. He’s always thought of himself as straight but the chemistry he has with his new co-star of the new TV series he is producing has him asking himself a lot of questions about his sexuality.
Hale is an actor who hasn’t done a lot more than bit parts here and there. His world is turned upside down when he is invited to read for the second lead in Quell’s new show, playing opposite Quell himself. The show is a fantasy gay romance. Hale is gay so he has no problem with playing a gay character but he’s concerned he will be unable to hide his growing feelings for Quell and that it will ultimately cause a problem.
I devoured this book from start to finish. The writing kept me engaged and I could feel the chemistry between the characters radiating off of the page. There are a lot of light-hearted moments in the story but there are some pretty serious ones as well. A major theme in the story is Quell’s depression and how it impacts his life and his relationships with others.
I am very familiar with depression and how it affects family members. I feel like the book portrayed Quell’s difficulties with it pretty well. It’s heartbreaking to watch someone you love suffer from something they really have no control over. Depression is almost always misunderstood. A lot of people think you just have to psych yourself out of it but that is not the case. In the portions of the story where Quell was suffering I could feel his anguish.
While this is mostly a slow-burn story when things heat up the sexy time between Quell and Hale gets really hot.
I feel an obligation to mention one thing that bothered me as I read the book, and I’m not sure if it was me or the writing… Many times, I had trouble keeping track of who was speaking/thinking. The story is told in first-person, alternating between Quell and Hale. I can’t put my finger on exactly why I had this trouble. Perhaps I just need to get used to this writer’s style. In any case, my overall love of the story made this be a minor inconvenience for me.
Unscripted may have been the first book I’ve read by J.R. Gray but it won’t be the last one.
A copy of this book was provided to me but my review was voluntary and not influenced by the author.
***Reviewed for Xtreme-Delusions dot com***
I absolutely adored Quell and Hale and this is why;
I could really relate to Quell’s mental health issues and recognised some of his challenges so it was a emotional read for me. Hale was just what Quell needed and I felt so happy for him to get someone who sees past his challenges. I’m lucky enough to relate to that too.
The storyline is great and progresses nicely in to a happy ending.
No unnecessary descriptions of surroundings
Lots of good dialogues between Hale and Quell
The chemistry between them is noticeable from the beginning and the love scenes is intense and passionate but also sweet.
This story is now among my favourite mm romances
Unscripted by JR Gray is a standalone, contemporary m/m romance about a straight movie star who, while going through a divorce from his starlet wife, develops feelings for his gay co- star. It delivers a well balanced story of angst, humor and slow burn romance.
Hale and Quell are fabulous characters and I absolutely adored them together. They are so sweet together, co-stars to friends to lovers, their relationship evolves to naturally it felt like, not a rush in but instead the confusion, the slow evolution into accepting the feelings and coming to terms with what it all means. They are fantastic and wove themselves into my heart. Overall, fantastic story, marvelous characters and well written story. I enjoyed every page.
I received an advanced reader’s copy of the book and I am voluntarily leaving my honest review and recommendation.