A good celebrity romance in audio

This is Ms. Morrison’s debut novel and part of the Branded Hearts series. A typical romance between a celebrity and an ordinary person.

Robyn White is a world-famous actress who is filming in England. Charlie Evans is a secondary school teacher who is hired as an on-set tutor for Robyn’s young co-star. After a bumpy start, both women feel a mutual attraction which might pose a threat to Robyn’s career.

Celebrity romances are always fun to read maybe because they open the door to a glamorous and exclusive world unknown to most of us. This story brings light to film production in the UK and the difficulties of attempting a career change, especially for beautiful, young women in the film industry.

It is increasingly more difficult to create stories with closeted protagonists and make them realistic, especially if they are set in 2022 in the more liberal parts of the world. I personally struggled a bit with Robyn’s life decisions as I found them hard to believe at parts. On the other hand, I loved the way the author describes Robyn’s anxiety and how behind a well-practiced on-screen persona, there’s a human being who struggles with many aspects of her personal and professional life. It gave Robyn’s character depth and made her human and easy to empathise with.

Sara Vonn narrates this audiobook and it’s my first time listening to her. I haven’t seen other audiobooks narrated by Ms. Vonn so I assume she’s at the beginning of her career. Sapphic fiction listeners are spoilt for choice of talented and experienced narrators and the differences are noticeable. But, overall, Ms. Vonn did a good job and made it entertaining to listen to. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

Length: 10 hours and 35 minutes

Audiobook code provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.