This is a celebrity, (soft) age-gap, ice queen, fake romance. Though, the ice queen was also a bit soft. Personally, my book choices aren’t really influenced by tropes, but they sure can be fun and this book has quite a few, in case that’s something you’re into.
This romance novel is well-written. Lee Winter is very detailed oriented and really brought this story to life. She built a believable atmosphere that often times transported me right onto the set.
Here’s the premise-
On the set of a top rated TV medical drama, former child star actress, Summer Hayes, literally falls into the arms of British A-lister, Elizabeth (Bess) Thornton leading to a false rumor of them as lovers being leaked, and just when the two woman were starting to be friends. The answer for closeted, cold-hearted Bess is to follow her management team’s direction and steer clear of Summer. This callous treatment of their friendship hurts Summer as Elizabeth was an idol of hers when she was a teenager and, well, it is just a shitty thing to do to someone. A French movie director wants to cast Bess in his upcoming American debut and insists on meeting her girlfriend, having not believed the rumors to be just rumors. Bess is desperate to leave her current role as America’s most hated TV villain and manages to convince Summer to forgive her and play the role for her. Thus ensues comical scenarios, witty dialogue, and a fair build-up of sexual tension.
I really liked Bess; she is reserved and focused, though at times can be a bit self-absorbed which I thought was a fair character trait for an actress who is used to fans and attention and keeping all of that at arms length. Summer brings out the human in Bess and reminds her of the fun in the world and that you can be nice and trust some people. Bess has a reputation for being a bitch, but the title doesn’t hold up and is actually the result of a disgruntled producer trying to make her life difficult after a disagreement. Summer is able to see past the rumors and falsehoods and gets Bess to open up. Summer herself is a breath of fresh air; she’s vibrant, brave, and even cheery. I adored these characters.
I thought that it was a little unbelievable how Bess didn’t catch on that Summer was actually gay, especially after the family picnic scene, but I did greatly enjoy how Summer came out to her when it did happen, what it all signified, and the following scene. That was electrifying.
There were so many characters in this book ranging in importance and I felt like they were all balanced and genuine (even the in-genuine ones). Everyone had their own voice and felt dimensional.
I am by no means an expert on anything romance, but I felt that this did lose some momentum by the end when they didn’t see each other for weeks after deciding to give a relationship a shot- to me this turned the climax from a mountain to a hill. I did enjoy how their friendship was so well established by the end though and we could see why and how these two opposite personalities respected and cared for each other. I would just say that the pacing was a bit off for me, but this didn’t take away from my enjoyment.
If one of the tropes mentioned above is your niche, and you like slow burn romances with well-drawn out opposites-attract characters, then you might enjoy Breaking Character. https://www.amazon.com/Breaking-Character
Follow Lee winter on Twitter: @leewinteroz and Instagram: @leewinteroz