Star Crossed

Author: Jennifer Echols
Goodreads Rating: 4.00
Pages: 384
Format: ARC

Wendy Mann loves her job rescuing celebrities from public relations scrapes. She grew up with nothing, and now she’s drawn to glitz, glamour, and a lighthearted lifestyle. She speaks her mind, so she’s just the tough cookie to tell stars the truth about how other people see them, even when they don’t want to hear it. But after six years at the top of her game, Wendy crosses the line. A star she was sent to save rebels against her and nearly gets her fired. To salvage her job, she must rehabilitate the career of a singing starlet with a penchant for posting inappropriate photos of herself and arguing online with her famous ex. Problem is, the ex is represented by Wendy’s arch nemesis from college, the hot and haughty Daniel Blackstone. And both stars are scheduled for a collision course on national television, broadcast live from Las Vegas.
Daniel’s uneasy when he hears Wendy Mann from his firm’s most hated competitor has been brought in to revive the career of his client’s ex-girlfriend. Daniel must win at any cost. And if he has to seduce Wendy to smooth the way to their partnership, he’s willing to sacrifice himself for the cause. But Daniel doesn’t count on the scorching heat between them—and when they get to Vegas, all bets are off.

So I first got hooked on Jennifer Echols when I read her YA novel, Such A Rush. I was really excited to get to read Star Crossed because it sounded really funny and like something that I would enjoy. I was also under the impression that it was a New Adult type of book, and it in fact, is not. This book is really adult, and I was not expecting it. That being said, it was a really cute and fun read, and I’m looking forward to the future books in the series. But don’t be fooled, it is an adult book, and there is, quite graphically, sex.

I found Wendy to be really funny and tried a little hard to be sexy at some points. I’m not sure if that has to do with Echols having to describe and explain, but sometimes it felt like a bit much. I admired that she was willing to do what it took to make sure that she got the job done and that she got to keep her job even if it meant dealing with a guy that looked like her ex-boyfriend.  She was funny and clever and crude yet refined. I felt bad for her when she was handed her ass by her bosses and told that she had to tone down in order to keep her job. I have to say though, she was quite outlandish during this job, so I could only imagine what she was like without a short leash.

I liked that she and Lorelei were able to bond right away over having lost their mothers young. Both situations were tragic for young girls to have to go through and you can see how it shaped both of them. I was a little bummed that Echols had Wendy fall into the stripper with daddy issues when she was younger and that she had this awful experience growing up and that it made her more determined to not have to go back to that life. I liked that it did help her grow and becoming a better woman, but at the same time, bleh.

This book was a little harder for me to really get into, it wasn’t until around page 90, that I was really invested in what was happening with Wendy and Daniel and Colton and Lorelei that I was determined to finish the book. Had I felt it on the train, I would have been bummed, but at the same time, I don’t think I would have cared much at that point. What really made me stick with the book was Wendy and Daniel’s playful banter together, before that point there was no interaction between the two of them and it only followed them separately. I really appreciated this book playing both sides of the story, I think that without the tale being told from both sides, the sex scenes would have been a little too awkward, and I would have tired of Wendy’s shenanigans.

Even though the relationship between Wendy and Daniel moved at lightning speed, the rationale behind it seemed almost logical. My biggest problem was that until the ending it was a really strong desire, and then after a week of a whirlwind, (and by week I mean Monday-Friday) they were saying “I love you.” My biggest problem with young adult books is that they can be heavy handed about instalove, and while the love saying didn’t happen until the very end, I think I would have been happier had they stuck with the attraction aspect of it and used the L word in book two.

There were a few things left unresolved by the end of the book and I can’t wait to see what’s going to happen to resolve them. There was plenty of intrigue and love and excitement in this book. I loved how we got to learn more about Daniel and Wendy, even if they drove me a little batty during their conversations. I can’t wait to see where their relationship will take them next and what celebrities they will deal with next. One aspect that I really enjoyed was seeing how PR firms work and the way that some things celebrities do and say is a total puppet act.

The Courts Decision: