The complicated past of an ex-child-actor turned recluse in the English countryside is seeping into his present even as his new housekeeper arrives to get things in order.
Feeling particularly hard-done-by with her arrival, he takes to the internet and breaks one of his rules: he searches his name on the internet. And there he finds fanfiction about himself. Something makes him send her a message and the story continues in a series of messages back and forth.
My favourites were when we got to see the unsent drafts or hear the difference in what they were thinking and what they were writing to each other.
Kate and Charlie are the perfect example of an instant attraction they are trying to fight, rationalizing that it is impossible to feel something so strongly after only internet conversations. And when life gets in the way of being able to tell each other the truth, the two meet in a very unorthodox way. The drama of that situation was so delicious I couldn’t stop reading.
I loved how their relationship developed and how I was slowly given information to deepen my understanding of their characters as the story went on. Everything felt so natural and fun that I couldn’t put it down. This was a delightful story and I can’t wait to read the next one.
If you like celebrities with complicated pasts, aspiring artists, penpals, secret identities or sexy slowburns, you should definitely check this one out. There’s also amazing friends and family and a side character you’ll love to hate. No spoilers, but once you read it, you’ll know.
Your Romance Reviewer,
Eliza.
Release Date: June 21, 2022
Rule number one of former child stardom - never Google yourself in the midst of a pity party because you'll inevitably do something stupid. Case in point, me falling for a writer on a different continent who has no idea that I'm the star of her fictional fantasies.
I can’t stop thinking about Kate Dubois even as we talk everyday. I should have told her the truth of who I was before things got this far. In my defense, celebrity comes with a lot of baggage and it is nice to be seen (figuratively) for who I really am.
Now, I have a chance to actually meet her in person and there’s no way I can pass that up.
Just one harmless look at the woman who has changed my life and I can go back to hiding in English countryside obscurity.
What’s the worst that could happen?
Stranger Than Fan Fiction, a full-length romantic comedy, can be read as a standalone, and is the first book in the Unlucky in Love Series.