After failing miserably to keep up with reviews last year, I’m hoping to do better with this Cannonball. And so to start off my year of reading I picked You Had Me At Hola by Alexis Daria.
This romance reminded me a lot of Jasmine Guillory’s better books. Jasmine is a soap star looking to get a big break and make more of her career. She lands the lead role on a series for a streaming service and is determined to make the most of it. She runs in to an issue, however, when she meets her costar. Ashton Suarez is a telenovela actor trying to make his way to Hollywood features, and is cast as Jasmine’s ex-husband and current love interest. They get off to a rough start- their meet-cute involves language difficulties and ruined clothing- and their scenes together are stilted and awkward initially. Eventually they open up to each other as friends and eventually acknowledge the sparks between them. There are several roadblocks to their happiness, though, including a secret family and a tabloid scandal.
Daria’s book is fun, fast-paced, and a really quick read. The entertainment world is made mundane here- this is not a criticism, it makes the nagging self-doubt more believable in these physically perfect famous people- and I appreciated the behind-the-scenes filming bits as much as the real action of the book. I’d definitely recommend this as a vacation read.
