Fiona Riley

i listened to this as an audiobook and really enjoyed it overall. i liked emerson a lot and the relationship was nicely built up and sweet. i did feel like the end was a little... idk, resolved a bit quickly/oddly? but not necessarily in a terrible or totally unbelievable way. a nice wlw romance if you're looking for one

Emerson Sterling had been a child actor and had paid her dues. Now she stands at the pinnacle of her profession and an ex, Rachel Blanche, is threatening to expose personal information that could destroy Emerson’s career. Hayley Carpenter is a tabloid journalist with dreams of being a top-tier screenwriter. When Hayley is given the assignment of attending an awards gala, she’s less than happy. However, when she meets Emerson, she changes her mind. There is an irresistible attraction show more between the two that leads Emerson to give Hayley the chance to tell Emerson’s side of a feud between her and Rachel that is being fueled by Rachel in the tabloids. The more Emerson and Rachel see of each other, the more the attraction deepens. When Emerson finally tells Hayley what the secret is that Rachel is about to tell the world, Hayley doesn’t handle it or the ensuing publicity very well.

This story started out strong and will suck the reader into the lives of the two main characters. Riley carefully crafts their stories while building the tension of when Rachel will expose Emerson to the world. There are flashes of humor throughout the book that will have readers smiling. The run in between Emerson and Stan the moose should have readers laughing out loud.

Somewhere around halfway through the book, however, Riley begins to lose her way by trying to maintain the feud between the stars overly long. The story of Rachel’s perfidy is stretched to the breaking point. It is with a sigh of relief when Riley tells us that the deadline for the article Hayley is writing is only a couple of days off. Unfortunately, for Riley and her readers, the deadline becomes a moving target. There isn’t enough to sustain the tension and the story simply limps along until Emerson tells Hayley her secret and says she can use it in the article she’s writing. There is a false note toward the end of the book that simply doesn’t ring true involving Hayley’s reaction to Rachel's exposé – it seems out of character with how Riley has portrayed Hayley from the beginning of the book.

The writing is generally very good (with the exception of the flagging tension), the characters are likable, funny, intelligent, and pretty self-aware. The minor characters are well-drawn, too. Even Stan the Moose has his merits despite his wooden personality.

I wanted the story to maintain the pace to the conclusion every reader knows is coming, but instead, the air is let out of the balloon and rather being a race, we have a ramble. In spite of that disappointment, though, this is a good read and any lover of LesFic should enjoy it. show less

Lucinda is the Director at a PR and Crisis Management firm. Samantha is the co-owner/runner of Perfect Match, a matchmaker company. Both have drama in their lives, not to mention pasts that they're both trying to get over. But, when they meet each other they slowly come to realize that perhaps this relationship between them could be something that deviates from the pain in their past.

The romance plot part of the story wasn't super surprising. But I really did like the characters. Especially show more Andrew, Samantha's partner. As well as some of Lucinda's friends and family-ish characters.

What was my very, very favorite part of the whole novel though, was just how perfectly the Boston MA stuff was done. From the restaurant, to the streets, neighborhoods, all of it just felt right and real. And that doesn't always happen, whether or not the author's from the area.

It was a fun read and once I got into it quite an engrossing one too (and now I really am jonesing to go to the Aquarium and see if I can see Myrtle!)

I got this advanced galley through Netgalley on behalf of Bold Strokes Books. show less

This is my first Riley book. I've heard her name for years and even picked this book up as an ARC last year but kept passing it by on my ereader in favor of something else that piqued my interest a bit more. I've been on a romance kick lately and Beginner's Bet finally grabbed me.

I was pretty sure this was going to be a 4 - 5 star review for me but as I got to the last quarter or so, a few things got in the way. The sheer perfectness of Ellison got to be too much. I mean, really, she's show more perfect: gorgeous, super rich, charming, generous, devoted, and a knight in shining armor for Katie. Katie is pretty awesome, too. I won't go into spoilers but Katie stopped being pretty awesome in order to create the drama in the story. Suddenly and without much thought, it seems. And the resolution was just too easy.

This is a longish book for romance and there was a lot of time given to family issues, work stuff, reflecting on just how rich Ellison is, and how poor - and plagued by bad luck - Katie is. What there wasn't much of was discussion between the protagonists about the future. Which struck me as very odd since one of them was actively trying to have a baby. You know, a pretty huge thing. The very thing that broke up her marriage.

I don't know... Maybe I'm being too hard on the way these things were handled. I really loved the beginning of the book so I was extra disappointed when it all seemed to unravel for me.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC. show less