Relatively Famous by (The Lovely) Heather Leigh

Relatively Famous by Heather Leigh 
Series: Famous #1
Source: Free Kindle Copy
Publisher: Shelbyville Publishing
Publication Date: June 7, 2014
Age Genre: Adult
Relatively Famous on Leafmarks

This is NOT your average Hollywood romance. There are no virgins falling in love with hot actors. There isn't a famous guy falling for the normal girl next door.
What there IS in this book, is a fragile, damaged girl and the sexy alpha who rescues her.
Sydney Allen is trying to be your average 24 year old New Yorker. It’s hard to be average though when your mother is Evangeline Allen, an Oscar winning actress known as “America’s Sweetheart” to moviegoers across the globe. It’s even harder to be average when your dad is Reid Tannen, Hollywood Bad Boy and one of the highest paid actors in the world.
Their divorce when Sydney was 12 years old was set off by a series of haunting incidents that left Sydney scarred mentally and physically. Hollywood destroyed her parents’ marriage and almost destroyed her. She hasn’t owned a TV, read magazines or watched movies since the divorce, refusing to take part in an industry that brought her so much pain.
Now 12 years after her mother took her from LA and hid her in New York to keep her safe, no one but her best friend Leah knows who Sydney is or that her parents are famous movie stars and she’s determined to keep it that way. She guards her identity fanatically, not letting anyone get close enough to her to find out who she is.
When Sydney meets the gorgeous but mysterious Drew Forrester at a rough MMA training gym one morning, her life changes. It’s time for her to decide if he’s worth sharing her secret with, or if she’s better off being alone forever. Or maybe she’ll find out that she’s not the only one hiding something. Dating Drew, Sydney is forced to confront all of her fears at once; celebrity, fame, tabloids, stalkers. Can she survive another high profile exposure to the world?

DNF★

I'm not going to rate this one, because I didn't finish it and I didn't hate it quite enough to rate it one of my rare one stars. Honestly, I didn't hate the book at all. I just found it frustrating and ridiculous. Usually, I give a book at least 30% to impress me before DNFing, but with Relatively Famous, I called it quits at 23%.

I just reached this point where I couldn't stand to hear how his smallest touch made her nipple harden one more time. I mean, I get it. He's hot, and looking at him makes you hot and blah blah blah, but you really need to stop telling me about it. Move on to the actually important stuff - getting to know him!

Not to mention that by this point, I already knew Sydney and I do not get along. I found her so ridiculous. She would be in an awkward position, and when the guy tries to make small talk she uses the term 'awkward ass' on him in her head. Why is he an ass? Oh, and let's not talk about the fact somehow telling someone two generic sentences equals in her head to spilling her gut. Her gut must be truly tiny and empty, then. And her narration style really didn't make me sympathetic. Instead of feeling for Sydney, I felt indifferent. Instead of truly feeling her trauma, I felt like I was being beaten by Sydney with how many times she says it. Show and not tell, Syd. Stop telling me how traumatized you are and make me truly and honestly believe it, because I didn't.

But the straw that broke the camel's back, was her whole relationship with Drew. Or really lack of thereof. She knows Drew for two days, the first of which they exchanged two words. But their second meeting, which evolves into a date, she mentions a bond. They feed each other (first date!). She thinks of the possibility of a future. Entertains the idea of one day telling him the truth. Sydney, the supposedly traumatized girl who doesn't let anyone in. Very believable. Not. 

The only thing I'm semi sad not to read more of, is the story of her mother and dad. There's something there, and it's kind of intriguing. The only intriguing part of this whole book. I want to know what really happened, and what her dad's version of events is. Sadly, I don't want it enough to suffer through everything else...

Now,

I didn't really plan on posting this review. I don't really know why - I just decided to post it on GR and LM and that's it. But then I got a comment from the author. When I got a message telling me I had a comment from Heather Leigh on my review, I was semi petrified to read it. My review is not positive, and I was afraid the comment will be hurtful. I never encountered such an author, but I knew they existed.

I couldn't be more wrong. Instead of anything bad, the author... agreed with me? She told me she's heard similar critique from other readers and was working on fixing these problems. She told me she'd love to send me a free copy of her newest book to show me she has improved since this book. She asked me to be a beta reader.

I've rarely had such a pleasant conversation with an author - and never with one regarding a bad review from me. I just had to share it. 2014 held many author scandals where authors Behaved Badly. So I had to share with you guys this lovely instance of the contrary.

The titles calls Heather Leigh lovely because I truly think she is. She's also a really intelligent woman, and despite this negative review I know I will read other books from her just because of the kind of human being she is. So, this is a positive review of the author ;)

Nitzan★