Reviews

Starr Weatherby is a 20-something aspiring actress who has had no luck. Stuck waitressing in a dismal diner with a handsy boss she is suddenly given the chance of a lifetime to feature on a "reality show" that no one has ever heard of. The catch: It's a scripted reality show 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 humans made 𝘧𝘰𝘳 the viewing pleasure of the mythical creatures who live on the other side of the Veil.

Once transported through the portal she meets the dragon security guard, her producer is a faun, the writer is a werecat, and a herd of centaurs are her biggest fans. Sadly Fiona, the long-running human star of the show, isn't keen on sharing the spotlight and has it in for Starr.

There you have it... The synopsis. Now I'll give you my notes:

𝘞𝘩𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳? Why is it so childish? Is it meant to be YA? Why don't they actually curse if they're from New York City?

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘉𝘖𝘙𝘐𝘕𝘎!
Our protagonist Starr was mostly bland as shit despite being written as fearless and plucky. Fiona was a Disney villain with no depth whatsoever. Mav and Nico, the two male leads (who both happen to fall head over heels for Starr 🙄) were caricatures of the Upstanding Polite White Cowboy and the Sleazy/Sexy Olive Skinned Lothario. Why even bother with the mythical creatures? They were given all the same attributes as humans. They were not at all intriguing. What was the point?

𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘯𝘥? Why is this still going? Did an editor even see this before it was published? This could have been a silly short story but no. Someone decided to write a book that felt as long as the 72 year run of Guiding Light.

Needless to say I don't recommend tuning in tomorrow. Maybe it's a YA? It's possible a 13yo might get a kick out of it. I like the cover, though. I'm a sucker for neon lights and maybe that's what made me pick this up. I can't bring myself to rate it 1 star because I finished it and clearly Randee Dawn had an idea where she was headed... She just didn't get there.

vivavia's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

readwithbells's review

Go to review page

4.0

That was fun! I wanted a palate cleanser, something light-hearted and chaotic and silly and this was perfect. It’s not winning awards but it’s a good freaking romp.

Also, usually I don’t like love triangles but this one didn’t really feel like a love triangle. It felt quite a bit more natural than that, I wish all love triangles were written this well.

Spoiler

and end in polyamory, we LOVE that

bel017's review

Go to review page

adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

This was fun. I did not like the main romances

Spoiler

Starr and Nico and Starr and Mav

, they were weird, lacked chemistry, and the narrative would not have suffered by removing them. But, I loved the world building. That was fabulous. The side characters and the mystery were great too. An ode to creativity.

amblejambles's review

Go to review page

So boring

neens_m's review

Go to review page

adventurous lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

annarella's review

Go to review page

5.0

I was attracted by Jasper Foorde and, even if it's more Douglas Adams ihmo, loved this story and had a lot of fun.
A well plotted urban fantasy story, enjoyable and full of humour.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

More...