Review of ‘To the Moon and back’ by Melissa Brayden

Lauren Prescott has always dreamed of being an actress but after a few failed auditions she settled for her other passion: stage managing. Carly Daniel had a successful career as a film actress but when her excessive partying got in the way of her acting, she paid a high price. Now that she hasn’t got any high profile film gigs, she accepts a starring role in a play with a very attractive but standoffish stage manager. When Carly’s co-star is sidelined, Lauren has the chance to revive her forgotten acting dream and to explore her relationship with Carly on and off stage…

Melissa Brayden is one of the A-listers of the lesfic genre and every single time she consistently delivers great lesbian books. If you like feel-good, happily-ever-after romances, she won’t disappoint you. Her career as a writer is well known but her theatre vocation is usually overlooked. In ‘To the Moon and back’ Ms. Brayden gets to mix both worlds as she did in ‘Waiting in the Wings’. The result is a heartfelt depiction of the theatre world, a fascinating comparison to the film industry and, on top of that, a feel-good, chemistry-ridden romance. What’s not to love?

Apart from the excellent description of the theatre world, one of the best features of this book is the character building. Both leads are actresses and the author exploits this well, making them outgoing, charismatic and with a dramatic flair. Having said that, Carly and Lauren are quite different and they complement well, taking their chemistry to off-the-charts levels. Ms. Brayden is fantastic at writing dialogues, making the most of the characters’ banter and wit. The cast of secondary characters are all multilayered and play a big part in making the story believable.

Unlike other Brayden’s novels, ‘To the Moon and back’ is low in the angst department which might not please some of her fan base but it’s right up my alley. Don’t expect to shed many tears with this story but you’ll definitely get the feel-good, ‘in love with love’ sentiment. As usual, Ms. Brayden turns the heat on between the characters and delivers hot sex scenes. Overall, a superb feel-good lesbian romance, low on angst but high on chemistry. 5 stars.

ARC provided by the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.