Happy Pub Day to Susannah Nix's "Fallen Star"!

I'm a total Susannah Nix fangirl, so I'm thrilled to be celebrating today's release of her latest book, "Fallen Star," book 2 in the Starstruck series.  "Fallen Star" centers on Scott Deacon, a former child star turned grown-up Hollywood bad boy, and Grace Speer, a script supervisor who has sworn to never again date an actor after her last boyfriend left her for his younger co-star.  Scott and Grace are thrown together on a location shoot for Scott's latest movie in New Orleans, his attempt at a comeback after several years spent away from the spotlight overcoming a drug addiction.  Scott is desperate to prove that he still has what it takes to be a successful Hollywood actor.  Grace, meanwhile, has serious reservations about Scott due to his bad reputation and is determined to keep her distance, but her job forces her to work closely with him throughout the shoot.  Not only that, Grace and Scott end up living next door to each other in rental housing provided by the production, and eventually form an unlikely friendship while fighting stronger feelings for each other.  Will Scott be able to overcome Grace's reservations about dating an actor, especially one with his track record of addiction and fear of commitment?  You'll just have to read the book for yourself to find out!  :-)

What I love most about Ms. Nix's books are her relatable, sympathetic characters, and Scott and Grace are both great examples.  I have never acted, nor have I ever been a drug addict (thankfully!), and yet because of Ms. Nix's believable characterization, I was able to completely understand the difficulties Scott faced on both fronts.  Although it may seem glamorous to those of us on the outside, acting is not an easy job.  For example, walking around naked in front of co-workers is a nightmare scenario for most of us, but Scott is forced to do just that several times while making the movie.  In addition to the difficulties of the job itself, Scott is plagued with self-doubt, continually questioning his own talent and self-worth.  It's easy to see why he turned to drugs to cope in the earlier stages of his career, especially since he doesn't seem to have had a strong family support system in place.

As for Grace, her trust issues are completely understandable following her previous boyfriend's betrayal.  However, as she gets to know Scott, she comes to realize that there is much more to him than his reputation and past bad behavior.  I loved watching the two of them get to know each other and gradually fall in love.  Their path to happiness wasn't easy, but they managed to make it work.

Overall, I highly recommend "Fallen Star."  It was absolutely a 5-star read for me.  I can't wait to see what Susannah Nix writes next!

*Ebook provided by the author via InkSlinger PR in exchange for an honest review. 

About FALLEN STAR:

The second he walked through the door, she could tell he was trouble.

Grace knows better than to fall for a Hollywood bad boy like Scott Deacon. An arrogant movie star with a troubled past and a big honking chip on his shoulder? No, thank you. He may be sex on wheels, but beneath the charming facade he’s just another cocky jackass destined to make her job more difficult.

Except...

The more time they spend together, the hotter the fire between them burns. With every flirtatious smile and brush of his hand, she feels her defenses crumbling.

She wants to hate him, but instead she’s in danger of losing all control.

Read an Excerpt from FALLEN STAR: 

Tuesday they were shooting on location in Jackson Square all day. The call time was two hours before dawn, so they could wring every second of sunlight out of the day, and Grace could not stop yawning on the transport van to the location.

“Wakey, wakey,” Scott said, leaning over the back of his seat to shake a plastic tumbler filled with something thick and green and disgusting-looking in front of her face.

“Ugh,” Grace grumbled. “Get that away from me.” She couldn’t help but smile a little though, even through her sleep-deprived crankiness.

An hour later, as the first streaks of light were glimmering in the sky above the river, Scott showed up at the pop-up tent where video village had been set up, and presented Grace with a white paper bag and a tall styrofoam cup from Café du Monde.

“For me?” she asked, perking up considerably. “Did you seriously walk over there and buy me coffee?” He didn’t seem to have gotten anything for anyone else. Just her. Her brain filed this information away to obsess over and analyze later, when he wasn’t standing two feet away grinning at her.

“Café au lait,” Scott said smugly. “And beignets.”

Grace narrowed her eyes at him in suspicion. “Did you make one of the PAs do it?”

“As a matter of fact, I did it all by myself. And I had to take a picture with the employees, so I hope you appreciate it.”

“I do!” she said, beaming at him. “You’re officially my favorite person today.”

He blinked at her, his smirk fading into something else entirely. Whatever that expression on his face was, it sent Grace’s stomach tumbling into a free fall. Rather than examine it more closely, she focused her attention on the bag in her hand. Inside was a mountain of powdered sugar, and buried beneath it were three pillowy squares of fried dough. “Don’t inhale while you’re eating those,” Scott warned her.

“Not my first rodeo,” Grace told him, excavating a beignet. “Want one?”

“Noooo.” He held up his hands in a warding gesture. “I’m doing a water cut for that fight scene on Thursday.”

Right. He’d be shirtless, which meant the Abs of Glory would be on full display. Grace found herself looking forward to Thursday with a little more enthusiasm.

“Sucks for you,” she said, giving him a taunting grin as she bit into a beignet.

His eyes homed in on her mouth with laser beam focus. “That’s fine. I’ll just enjoy them vicariously by watching you eat.”

“Does this get you off?” she asked archly and took another bite.

Scott licked his lips. “Not gonna lie, it kind of does.”

Grace couldn’t help laughing at his retriever-staring-down-a-dog-treat expression, which led her to make the fatal mistake of inhaling with the beignet in front of her mouth. Coughing sugar out of her lungs, she clapped a hand over her mouth as a cloud of fine white powder billowed out in front of her.

Scott sidestepped the powdered sugar typhoon and patted her on the back, chuckling. “Told you not to inhale.”