Star Crossed

Star Crossed
By Jennifer Echols

I picked up this book on a whim and wasn't really sure I wanted to read it. It seemed to be about Hollywood stars and public relations with Las Vegas thrown into the mix. Would this be really interesting? I was pleasantly surprised.

Wendy Mann is about to be fired unless she can get one the hottest new stars to stop fighting with her old boyfriend on twitter. Daniel Blackstone is Wendy's college nemesis now her PR nemesis. He is trying to get the boyfriend to stop fighting with his old girlfriend as well as making a nuisance of himself through the media. Wendy and Daniel end up having to pretend they are dating just as they are trying to get their star clients to look like they've gotten back together as well. As both couples get closer together, so does an old boyfriend of Wendy's who wants to get back at her as well as create a scandal through social media outlets.

I liked the characters and the way Echols presented Vegas to the reader. The actions and motivations of everyone seemed real and their relationships developed in a more "normal" pace (more than 24 hours, at least!). This is a romance with some bedroom scenes in it but I was more interested in the plot than those scenes so I can't remember how spicy they were. Must not have been too bad if it went under my radar. What I really appreciated was the sexual tension that Wendy and Daniel displayed as they worked together -- it was very well done.

What did this book have to do with my faith? Wendy and Daniel make their clients appear to be a certain way in the public's eye. Often what they show is not the real thing but what the public wants to see. I wonder how often we Christians put on our own show or our own PR/media personas in order to appear proper or righteous or perfect. What sins or imperfections have we covered up in order to be perceived a certain way by the world. But that is just Big Red talking. God knows who we really are; we cannot keep secrets from God. God knows our hearts and our true selves. What would it take for us to live as God sees us or even live better so that our relationship with God is improved?

I recommend Star Crossed. Thought you would also like to know that Echols is from here in Birmingham, Alabama.

Happy reading!

Amelia