Sale Blitz + Excerpt + Review: "Hidden Hollywood" by Kylie Gilmore

Happy Wednesday! Some good news this morning for my fellow one-click addicts: for a limited time, "Hidden Hollywood" by Kylie Gilmore, book #1 of the Happy Endings Book Club series, is FREE!

A-list actress Claire Jordan has sworn off dating because of a history of bad relationships as well as to build buzz for the upcoming movie she's directing and producing, based on a popular trilogy of romance novels. With almost no budget left for marketing, Claire hopes that rumors of a real-life romance with her co-star will be enough to drive ticket sales. However, Claire's new friends from the book club she joined in order to research her movie role think she needs to get out and have some fun, so they convince her to go on a blind date disguised as "Jenny," an average small-town girl. What none of them realize is that her date is also pretending to be someone else; instead of bartender Josh, Claire actually meets his identical twin, billionaire tech mogul Jake Campbell. They're immediately drawn to each other and end up spending the night together, but their arrangement was only supposed to be for one fun date. Once their true identities are revealed, can Jake convince Claire that it's worth taking a risk on a relationship with him?

 

I really enjoyed several aspects of this story, particularly Claire and Jake's first meeting while paddleboarding, the fun relationship between Claire and her friends in the book club, and the behind-the-scenes glimpses into Claire's life as a famous actress. The author did a good job of showing that, as much as Claire loved her job, she sometimes felt trapped by it too. She was constantly under pressure to be perfect because the media was watching, crazed fans had invaded her home or accosted her in public, and people she trusted had betrayed her by selling stories and private photos to tabloids. Given that history, it wasn't surprising that trust became an issue in her relationship with Jake, especially when he was dealing with trust issues of his own.  

Unfortunately, there were also quite a few things about the book that frustrated me. The biggest one was the relative lack of emotional development between Jake and Claire. They definitely had physical chemistry, but Claire's thoughts about being "in love" with Jake after only a couple of dates (and almost immediately after a huge fight in which his true identity was finally revealed) seemed to come out of nowhere. On the subject of their mistaken identities, it irritated me that Jake not only waited so long to tell Claire the truth, he had the nerve to act like the injured party when he did the exact same thing as she did. I have to admit that I didn't really like Jake much at all. Rather than listening to Claire and trying to understand her reasons for handling the press and her co-star the way she did, he completely ignored her and did whatever he wanted. It felt very disrespectful to me, like he didn't truly care about Claire or her feelings at all.

Ultimately, even though I wasn't completely sold on Claire and Jake's romance, I would still recommend this book for romantic comedy fans. There were some cute and funny parts I enjoyed, and I suspect that fans of alpha heroes will like Jake a lot more than I did. I plan to continue with the series.

 

*Review copy provided by the author/publisher via Give Me Books Promotions. All opinions expressed are my own.

 

About "Hidden Hollywood"

She’s on top…
When superstar actress Claire Jordan researched her role for the Fierce trilogy movies, she never expected the bond she feels with the author and her romance book club aka The Happy Endings Book Club. Soon Claire finds herself confessing her secret longing for a regular guy—no more egocentric wealthy players—and the book club is all too ready to help. In disguise as a regular girl, she’s all set for a date with book-club-approved Josh Campbell.

He’s on top…
Billionaire tech CEO Jake Campbell is weary of gold-digging women, especially the glamorous superficial types. So when his identical twin, Josh, calls in a favor, asking Jake to step in as him on a date, Jake figures one of Josh’s cute girl-next-door types might be just what he needs. One night of passion with the sweet girl next door leaves Jake wanting more, except she seems to have vanished.

Sometimes a Happy Ending is just the beginning. 

Read an Excerpt from "Hidden Hollywood"

Claire bit her lower lip. “This is why I can’t have real relationships. I can’t trust anyone.”

“You can trust me,” Jake said.

She sighed. “I don’t even know you.”

“Get to know me.”

“Jake…” She looked away.

“One date, the real deal. Jake and Claire.”

He could tell she was tempted. She didn’t give him a no right away and now she was searching his face, looking for the truth. He leaned forward, brushing his lips against hers, coaxing. He pulled back and met her eyes, fully prepared to do this all night if he had to. Coaxing, charming, easing his way in. He’d thought coaxing would be too difficult with the way he wanted her, but having her pull away was much harder.

She spoke quietly. “You don’t want that kind of spotlight on you. It’s not pretty.”

It wasn’t a no.

“I want you, and whatever comes with it, I don’t care.” He cradled her face with both hands. “I want Claire.”

She closed her eyes, and he dropped his hands to her shoulders, sliding them down the satiny smooth skin of her arms to her hands. He took her hands from behind her and pulled them forward, just holding them. She didn’t pull away. He sensed she was leaning toward letting him in.

Finally she spoke, the words filling him with elation. “We’d have to keep it quiet.”

Not that he wanted to keep it quiet. He just wanted to be with her so much he was willing to play the game her way. For now. He kissed her softly and spoke against her lips. “Is that a yes?”

“Yes.” She shoved him away. “Now stop kissing me. One date. Jake and Claire.”

“Why do I have to stop kissing you?”

“Because you want to get to know me, remember?”

“I can get to know your body first. Get reacquainted.”

She laughed. “Yeah. I’ve heard that one before.”

He figured she probably did. Everyone wanted the sexiest woman alive. He’d seen the magazine giving her that honor and her bikini body splashed everywhere. He knew that kind of attention didn’t always bring out the best in people, and he realized he had to stand out from the pack.

He stepped back and helped her off the table.

“Such a gentleman,” she teased.

“It’s all an illusion,” he replied, not bothering to hide the edge of unsatisfied lust in his voice.

“Story of my life,” she said breezily. “I’ll text Hailey to let you know when I’m free.”

“At least give me your number now that we’ve established how much you lust for me.” She laughed, and he grinned. “I’d like to stop going through other people.” He pulled his cell from his pocket, punched in the code, and handed it over.

She typed her number in while saying, “I never give this number to anyone. Only a handful of people have it on a need-to-know basis. Can you handle that kind of responsibility?”

“What do you think?” It was an honor and, hell, he’d earned it with all his restraint.

She met his eyes, fire back in hers. “I hope so. I swear I will hunt you down—”

He cut her off with a kiss. Not a gentle one. The kind that said he’d be taking what he wanted and she’d damn well like it. She sagged against him.

When he was good and ready, he broke the kiss and snagged his cell from her limp hand. “Later, Claire Jordan.”

She fought back a smile and then beamed a big one at him, stunningly beautiful in her well-kissed, hot-for-him state. “Later, Jake Campbell.”

He grinned and headed out the door. Now that was more like it.