Tabs’ review of Beyond The Stars by Stacy Wise
Contemporary New Adult published by Entangled: Embrace 08 Feb 16
What happens when you throw together a down-to-earth college student, a young movie star who values his privacy, and a pet pig? Apparently, you get a totally adorable slow-burn new adult romance. This is a debut novel and it’s a whole lot of fun.
Jessica Bennet is taking a year off from college after a bout of the flu derails her study-abroad plans. In order to pass the time, her Hollywood-agent aunt sets her up as an assistant for one of her clients. Jessica’s a great match for Jack McAllister. She lets him know when he’s being unreasonable, but she also understands his needs and the responsibilities of his job. She’s actually a great assistant. Since I’m a big fan of competency, this is something I always appreciate. Jessica is also super funny. She had me laughing from the first few pages and it never really let up.
Jack is a great hero. He’s been burned by the paparazzi and by a selfish ex, so he’s kind of wary and rather hermit-like. He’s not the kind of guy with hanger-ons all over the place. He likes his privacy and is wary of letting anyone in. He’s totally prickly in his own way, until he gets comfortable having Jessica around.
This romance is adorable. It just…is. It’s a really well-done slow burn. They start out as employer/employee, morph into friends who just really enjoy each other’s company, and then fall in love. The whole thing feels natural. They’re both so sweet and careful with one another. There’s a scene where Jessica is nervous but afraid to speak up and Jack totally picks up on it, makes her tell him what’s going on, and then fixes things. I won’t lie, it is so sweet that I totally swooned.
I really enjoyed this book. It had me smiling and laughing from the get-go. I did feel that things got a little choppy in the wrap-up, but it wasn’t a major problem. For a debut novel, though, it showed a lot of promise. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for Stacy Wise in the future.
Grade: B+
Summary:
Falling for him wasn’t in the plans…
Most girls would kill for the opportunity to work for Jack McAlister, Hollywood’s hottest actor, but twenty-one-year-old Jessica Beckett is ready to kick him out of her red Ford Fiesta and never look back. She should be spending her junior year in France, eating pastries and sharpening her foreign language skills. Instead she’s reluctantly working as Jack’s personal assistant, thanks to her powerhouse talent agent aunt.
Jack is private, prickly, and downright condescending. Jessica pushes his buttons—she’s not the type of girl to swoon over celebrity heartthrobs, precisely why her aunt thought she’d be perfect for the job—and Jack pushes right back.
But as she begins to peel away his layers, Jessica is shocked to find she craves her boss’s easy smile and sexy blue eyes. The problem is, so does the entire female population. And what started out as the job from hell soon has Jess wondering if a guy like Jack could ever find love with a regular girl like her.
