Welcome to the sale blitz for Hidden Hollywood, the first book in the Happy Endings Book Club series by Kylie Gilmore, which you can currently download for free! Today I have an excerpt for you to read, as well as my thoughts on the book. Best of luck entering the giveaway!
Title: Hidden Hollywood
Series: Happy Endings Book Club #1
Author: Kylie Gilmore
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Release Date: October 18, 2016
BLURB
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.
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**My thoughts**
Claire Jordan is a super likeable super celebrity who is really concerned about her image, yet looking for real love and friendships. She's tired of people only looking to bed her or befriend her just because of her status.
Jake Campbell is the "successful twin" who created an app that has made him a billionaire. He misses the days of dating the "small town girl from next door" instead of all the money chasers.
They could be the perfect match, if only they could meet.
Claire's friends convince her to go out on a blind date, disguised as a regular woman named Jenny, who seems to be Claire's authentic self. That self is still in her but doesn't have the freedom to come out enough.
Her blind date is Josh Campbell, Jake's identical twin, who is the more laid-back bartender (and definitely more my type). Only at the last minute, Jake and Josh switch places, which works to their advantage.
"Jenny" and "Josh" are a perfect match and have a massive instant attraction. But of course, it's impossible to maintain a relationship built on these lies. And when the truth comes out, they are torn between wanting to recapture that budding relationship from their alter egos and then defaulting to their usual distrust of others. I guess the distrust is stronger from Claire's side and I can't say I blame her. But she is very quick to get angry and suspicious and Jake can be too laid back about her concerns.
To me, it would take a lot longer to develop trust in a relationship that was founded on lies, even if I was complicit in it. And I'm not sure that I ever would come around. Considering the ups and downs that these two experienced, I am surprised at how quickly they resolved everything, to be honest.
I also didn't get as much of the warm and fuzzy relationship feel from them as the intensely heated physical attraction. And yet they still seem to have the potential to be a powerhouse couple. And then I also got confused at times with the mistaken identities and the narration of the story using the other names. It was most confusing with the twins.
It's probably not my favorite romance, but it was entertaining enough. There are also plenty of other entertaining subplots hinting toward future stories in the series between other characters. I am particularly fond of the twins' younger sister, Madison "Mad" Campbell, whose story is previewed at the end of this one. She's super feisty and anti-girly, which I love. Plus Josh has his own romance story that features prominently throughout this book for a while. But then it just kind of disappears. I need resolution! So I am a little surprised that his isn't next in the series. It felt like we were being set up for it.
I'll likely check out some of the other titles at some point, just to see what ended up happening. But this was just an okay read for me.
EXCERPT
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.
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AUTHOR BIO
Kylie Gilmore is the USA Today bestselling author of the Unleashed Romance series, the Rourkes series, the Happy Endings Book Club series, the Clover Park series, and the Clover Park STUDS series. She writes humorous romance that makes you laugh, cry, and reach for a cold glass of water.
Kylie lives in New York with her family, two cats, and a nutso dog. When she’s not writing, reading hot romance, or dutifully taking notes at writing conferences, you can find her flexing her muscles all the way to the high cabinet for her secret chocolate stash.
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For more fun stuff check out Kylie’s website https://www.kyliegilmore.com.
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