Kristie J’s review of Showmance by L.H. Cosway
Contemporary Romance published by CreateSpace 16 May 16
I know we only halfway through the year, but if someone asked me about my reading life up until now, I’d say it’s the year of L.H. Cosway. I discovered her earlier this year, and I can’t seem to get enough of her books. I think she’s brilliant in her characters, in her settings – mostly Great Britain – and in her story lines. I’ve loved all her heroes and heroines, and I’m tickled pink to say the same thing about Showmance
Rose Taylor is an assistant choreographer. Although just as talented, if not more so, than many of the theatre performers, she suffers from a severe case of stage fright and is happy to just stay in the background. She has also had some bad experiences while ‘falling for’ actors who are performing in whatever show she’s working on. She hasn’t had the happies of childhoods. Her upbringing was unique, to say the least.
So she finds herself pretty leery and dismayed when she meets and is attracted to Damon Atwood, the star of the next project she and her boss are working on, a stage version of Moulin Rouge. Now, I’m probably one of a very, very small group of people who hasn’t seen the movie, but Damon plays the role of Christian (played by Ewan McGregor in the movie I haven’t seen). As with every other Cosway hero, Damon is wonderful, the kind you want to put in your pocket and take home. He was a childhood star but then just seemed to drop out of sight for years. Moulin Rouge is his comeback role.
Damon is such an appealing hero. His mother, whom he adored, died when he was young. His father, who, up until then, played no part in his life, popped up and just used Damon for his name and his money. Damon had himself emancipated and then went to live with his grandmother on the Isle of Skye. He is awkward around people and doesn’t really know how to carry on a conversation, but when he meets Rose, she settles him and helps keep him calm. They are very drawn to each other, but there are issues. Because of past experiences, Rose only wants to be friends, or so she says. Damon accepts that, even though he wants more. But he’s had his own traumas to deal with too.
This book is such a wonderful journey between two vulnerable people. They became friends before allowing anything romantic to happen between them and their whole relationship is so sweet. Being together fills holes and missing pieces in each other.
I gather this is the first book in a series. Looks like the next one will be about Rose’s roommate Julian, who has a most unusual occupation
Reading an L.H. Cosway book is always such a unique and amazing experience, and this book gets two huge thumbs up from me.
Grade: A
Summary:
Damon Atwood was Hollywood’s golden boy. Having won an Oscar at the tender age of thirteen, he had the life many could only dream about. But his success came at a price, and after a short but fruitful film career, he chose to live a life of obscurity on a remote Scottish island. Almost a decade later he’s finally ready to make his return, starting with a lead role in a musical on London’s West End.
As a choreographer’s assistant, Rose Taylor has always faded into the background. She watches shows come to life from the side lines, but has never craved the attention of stardom. When rumours begin circulating of Damon’s involvement in her latest gig, she doesn’t predict how she will be thrust into the limelight, nor how the mysterious and strangely introverted man will need her to teach him how to be a star again.
Rose knows that show crushes don’t last. Actors fall for each other during the intensity of a production, often losing themselves in their roles. These kinds of affairs burn bright and then they fade. The question is, should Rose let herself shine with Damon, or guard her heart from being broken after the final curtain call?
No excerpt available.
