Review: Hollywood Lies by N.K. Smith

Hollywood Lies
By: N.K. Smith
Publisher: The Writer’s Coffee Shop
Published: June 20, 2013
Genre: Erotica
Rating:

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 In a world where make believe is a multibillion dollar industry, it’s hard to know where the fantasy ends and real life begins. When Collette Stroud, an influential Hollywood actor and director, takes a chance on two young actors for her romantic teen movie, three lives converge in a complicated web of publicity, passion, lust, and lies.

The web is cast when Stroud, a woman with a few skeletons in her closet, hires two young artists in her low-budget film. She handpicks Liliana Addison and Devon Maddox to be Hollywood’s next big stars. Former child star Liliana has had limited success with her previous roles but hopes to take the world by storm under Collette’s tutelage. While Devon is an out of work actor, he never stops dreaming about making it big. The director’s interest in him assures Devon his dreams are about to become reality.

Sparks between Collette and Devon set their lives ablaze, but the studio has other plans. Executives concoct a fictitious romance in order to drive box office sales and launch careers between Devon and Liliana. When the studio offers to make the young actors into bona fide stars, will the price be too high to pay, or will the deal be too sweet to pass up?

Can the trio handle the pressure of a hidden romance coupled with a phony public relationship? Will love be enough to conquer the promise of fame, fortune, and a lasting legacy, or will it be an easy sacrifice?

All three will tread the thin line of Hollywood Lies and genuine passion on the most important red carpet walk of their lives.

This wasn’t my cup of tea. At first I wasn’t overly sure that I was going to finish it. I had to put the book down and come back to it a few weeks later. I was really hoping for a story about an up-and-coming actor who falls for his director but must pretend to date his co-star in order to hype up the movie. However, I found the story to revolve more around the sex and less around the actual story.

You see Devon is a really horny guy. When he’s picked for the role, he starts banging Cole’s assistant. However, when Cole starts to show interest in him, he starts banging Cole instead. As things as starting to look good for the couple, he finds himself wanting to go out and be exclusive with Cole but Cole is wholeheartedly against that and wants to keep their private life, private. So when Devon is under contract to pretend to secretly date his co-star Liliana, he finds himself attracted to her instead. Basically, Devon is a hot mess and is allowing his wiener to direct him.

I liked the concept of the story but in the end this just didn’t work for me. The story didn’t flow well and it was more like back to back sex scenes with little story to hold it together. I would have liked a bit more character building and maybe more scenes about their work mixed in.

“I don’t want anyone else. I want you. You’re my beer, remember? Everyone else is just peanuts.”- Devon