Review: Fame, Fate, and the First Kiss by Kasie West

 

Fame, Fate, and the First Kiss
by Kasie West

February 5, 2019
384 pages

Goodreads      Indigo

Goodreads Summary:

Fan favorite author Kasie West delivers an effervescent story about chasing your dreams and following your heart, perfect for fans of Jenny Han and Huntley Fitzpatrick.

Lacey Barnes has dreamed of being an actress for as long as she can remember. So when she gets the opportunity to star in a movie alongside one of Hollywood’s hottest actors, she doesn’t hesitate to accept the part.

But Lacey quickly learns that life in the spotlight isn’t as picture perfect as she imagined. She’s having trouble bonding with her costars, her father has hired the definition of a choir boy, Donavan Lake, to tutor her, and somewhere along the way she’s lost her acting mojo. And just when it seems like things couldn’t get any worse, it looks like someone on set is deliberately trying to sabotage her.

As Lacey’s world spins out of control, it feels like the only person she can count on—whether it’s helping her try to unravel the mystery of who is out to get her or snap her out of her acting funk—is Donavan. But what she doesn’t count on is this straight-laced boy becoming another distraction.

With her entire future riding on this movie, Lacey knows she can’t afford to get sidetracked by a crush. But for the first time in her life Lacey wonders if it’s true that the best stories really do happen when you go off script.

Review

Anyone who knows me knows I'm a huge Kasie West fan. When it comes to YA contemporary stories, nobody delivers the feels and swoons better than her. Fame, Fate, and the First Kiss is yet another gem!

Lacey was easy to like. I love her drive and determination. She knew exactly what she wanted in life and she went for it. The dedication Lacey put into building her career should not be undermined. While her choice strained her relationship with her father he was very much a part of her life. I liked that a lot.

The script pages tucked between the chapters were really fun to read. Even though those pages were short, they were complete giving us another little story to enjoy. I was able to visualize the scenes and watch the movie play out in my mind.

Lacey and Donavan were cute as can be! It was adorable seeing her banter with him and joke about his level of seriousness. Donavan wasn't as immune to her charms as he pretended to be. Lacey's quirkiness was contagious. I especially loved watching her slowly learn and figure out who Donavan was. His hidden depth and tenderness set my heart fluttering~

The mystery component in Fame, Fate, and the First Kiss was easy to guess. As an older reader the reasoning felt juvenile to me but I believe for the intended audience it is appropriate and acceptable. Even though I already suspected the culprit, I liked doing the small bit of detective work with Lacey.

As a close friend of Lacey's, Abby and her boyfriend Cooper from Love, Life, and the List were a big help to Lacey. I had forgotten these were companion novels so their appearances were a lovely surprise. One that I'm more than excited to see a similar repeat of in the next book!

Fame, Fate, and the First Kiss was filled with important realizations and cute swoons. I will never stop telling people to read Kasie West because her stories just make you float in happiness. Yes to all the goofy smiles and silly grins!

 

*I received an Advance Reading Copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and not affected in any way. All quotes were taken from the ARC I received.