Guest post written by Love and Other Hollywood Endings author Susannah Erwin
Susannah Erwin is a former Hollywood studio executive who traded in her high heels and corner office for yoga pants and the local coffee house – and she’s very happy with her decision! She writes fun, sexy, escapist romances about strong-willed, ambitious people who just can’t help falling in love. Her first novel, Wanted: Billionaire’s Wife, won the Golden Heart® award from Romance Writers of America and was published by Harlequin Desire. Subsequent books have been listed for the CALIBA Golden Poppy Award and Ever After Exes won a Reader’s Choice Award from Contemporary Romance Writers while Seven Years of Secrets won the Stiletto Award for Short Contemporary Romance from Contemporary Romance Writers. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and if she’s not sitting in front of her computer writing her next novel, she’s probably in a theme park.
I’ve always been in love with stories. My earliest memories are begging adults to read to me. Once I learned how to arrange letters into words and sentences, I carried a book wherever I went in case a minute or two of downtime presented itself and I could lose myself in a story. But while my allegiance will always be to the written word, in high school I started a passionate affair with stories told with pictures, from comic books to television series to films. I went to film school – although unlike Sutton in Love and Other Hollywood Endings, no crush on a professor – and worked in the entertainment industry for many years after. And when you work in Hollywood, you soon learn the seasons: summer box office, fall TV, and, perhaps the most festive of all, award season – which is happening right now!
To celebrate award season, which comes to its peak in March with the upcoming Oscars, here are some recommended romances set in the glamorous (but not always!), competitive, frustrating but rewarding and always highly entertaining world of show biz – with love stories that deserve all the gold statues.
Act Like It by Lucy Parker
The first book in Parker’s London Celebrities series sets the stage – literally – in London’s West End, as the two stars of a theatrical production agree to fake date to save falling ticket sales, but maybe they aren’t just acting…. The banter is delightful and the chemistry smokes. Perfect for readers who feel the real award season happens in June when the Tonys are handed out.
Dating You/Hating You by Christina Lauren
Carter and Evie are both high powered agents who hit it off at a Halloween party – only to discover when their agencies merge, there’s room for only one of them. Cue the flying sparks as the war to see who will come out on top commences in this sparkling romcom battle of the wills. If you’ve ever wondered why actors thank their agents in their award acceptance speeches, look no further.
The (Fake) Dating Game by Timothy Janovsky
For some, the best entertainment begins and ends with reality shows – especially game shows. Holden James, the main character of The (Fake) Dating Game, would agree. Appearing on Madcap Market would be culmination of a lifelong dream, but Holden’s partner just dumped him and the show requires contestants to be in couples. Can he and the oh so sexy concierge at his LA hotel he just met convince the show’s casting directors they are indeed the real thing so they can win the big cash prize? For anyone who’s ever been tempted to audition for their favorite reality show!
Ship Wrecked by Olivia Dade
Ship Wrecked takes readers behind the scenes of the cultural phenomenon Gods of the Gates – think Game of Thrones – for a lovers to friends to lovers tale that gives all the feels (also the title of the previous book in Dade’s Spoiler Alert series). Readers curious about what happens when the cameras stop rolling on their favorite big budget television series will very much enjoy watching co-stars Peter and Maria learn how to mutually find their way to their happily ever after ever, with the found family camaraderie of the production crew as they film on a remote island an added bonus.
You Had Me at Hola by Alexis Daria
The deliciously soapy world of telenovelas takes the spotlight in You Had Me at Hola. Jasmine and Ashton are smart, ambitious actors who must make their on-screen pairing convincing if they want to reach their career goals – but when rehearsing in private leads to explosive personal chemistry, the resulting media attention might tear down dreams and expose secrets. Daria includes scenes from the telenovela, comparing and contrasting reel and real life, making this fun, passionate romance the number one choice for readers interested in the boundary between creating fantasy in front of the camera and the reality when the cameras are off.
Reel by Kennedy Ryan
Neevah Saint is an actress looking for her big break. Canon Holt is the director who gives her that break, casting her as the lead in his biopic about a 1930s Harlem Renaissance singer. It’s a tale as old as Hollywood – but Kennedy Ryan breathes fiery, captivating new life into her story of two talented individuals who follow their passions, creative and otherwise, even as the world is arranged against them. Reel is an award-worthy romance for all seasons.
It Happened One Fight by Maureen Lee Lenker
If your favorite part of watching award shows on television is seeing clip montages from timeless Hollywood films, then It Happened One Fight is for you! Set in Tinseltown during the 1930s, Joan Davis and Dash Howard are America’s Favorite Sweethearts on the screen – but off screen, Joan is through with Dash’s needling and attempts to get a rise out of her. She thinks she’s found her perfect escape from his orbit – only to learn one of his pranks was all too real and they are, in fact, legally married. The romance novel version of a classic screwball comedy, It Happened One Fight is an ode to Hollywood of yore — and a great choice to cap off your award season reading!
