Rating: 4 stars out of 5
“It’s all about motivation,” he explained. “And repetition.” He grabbed Pasha’s hand again and looked carefully where their fingers knit together. “Like stripping down a rifle before putting it back together. You do it over and over until it stops feeling clumsy.” He turned their joined hands over, studying them from another angle. “And then you do it some more.”
Winning BritPop! is more than just a chance at stardom for both Ed Britten and Pasha Trueman. They’ve each come from chaotic places, worlds that are so close but seem so far away, and winning this show holds something more for each of them, something that only they understand.
At first, the two are unable to stand each other, both so caught up in the branding of who the other is. Ed – stoic (aka lacks any personality), great very, great body, but that’s about it. Pasha – the joker, likes to mess with people, gets by on his showmanship and not his talent. But after overhearing a conversation that changes everything, the two band together to grasp onto the only chance they have to win BritPop! – they create #TrueBrit, a love story sure to garner the public’s attention and keep them in the running.
At some point, faking romance becomes more than that, and each of them have to deal with pieces of their past and how they fit into the puzzle known as their future. Can #TrueBrit be #TrueLove, or is it all just a show?
For the first time, he wished he could stop the clock on the contest. He’d hoped winning would prove his worth and change his life for the better, but he’d turn back time right now if he could. Turn it back and revisit the auditions to make Ed look at him like this from the very first day.
He’d do it in a heartbeat, so they were right back at the start of the show rather than so close to the end.
I’d be lying if I said I didn’t initially love American Idol when it first aired. Since then, I’ve grown bored with it. The truth is that parts of the show really are fixed, and some of the most talented people never even get to see the judges. When I read the premise for this book, I was intrigued but also reluctant. It sounded interesting, but at the same time I was worried I’d grow bored like I did before.
Well, I didn’t get bored. I really enjoyed this, for many reasons. First of all, the writing is easy and flows well. The story wasn’t hard to follow. Secondly, it made a tired concept fun again. Will I watch this season of American Idol? No, but I did enjoy this little visit with a talent show such as that, and all the gimmicks that go with it. Also, the cast of characters were quite great. I adored Anya and Ed’s family, each of them added a little something special to the story.
One of the things that fell short for me was the way the music was described. Obviously when reading a book, you can’t hear what is being sung (which, bummer). I would’ve loved if the author could’ve described it in such a way that I would’ve felt it much more than I did. Also, I wanted to know what happened to Anya at the end, but after the final performance she just kind of poofed.
This was my first Con Riley book, and I definitely enjoyed it and would read more. All around, a nice, lazy weekend reading book.
The cover art by Natasha Snow is great as per usual. I love the overlay of the flag on the body, and the simplicity of the whole thing. The only nit-picky thing I can say is that I’m not a fan of how the text overlays and gets whiter were True and Brit overlap, but that’s just me and personal stylistic thing. In general, it’s a very nice cover.
Sales Links: All Romance (ARe) Amazon 
Book Details:
ebook, 200 pages
Published February 18th 2015 by Figment Ink Ltd
edition languageEnglish
Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words 