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Continuing with my contemporary binge before February, I wanted something a little more romcom feeling. After reading Max Monroe last year and loving their books, I decided to pick up another one of their series. I went with Taming Hollywood's Baddest Boy, the first in their Hollywood series. I was able to use this for the prompt Shelby gave 5-stars for the 2nd board of Winter's Kiss. I also used this for the prompt forest bed for the Heaving Bosom's 2022 Reading Embrace.
Billie is a PA, producer assistant in Hollywood and is hoping to be chosen as her boss's only mentee moving forward. When she suggests Luca, a actor that has been off the grid for the last 8-years, for the lead role in their new film, Billie overpromises that she can get him to come back. When Billie tracks him down to the middle of Alaska and forces herself to join him on a multi-day hike through the wilderness, they start to connect. When it's time for Billie to go back to Hollywood and bring Luca with her, he's reluctant. Luca stepped away after those that were supposed to be his support system helped keep him in situations that were harmful to him. He doesn't want to go back to Hollywood and be put in the same situation. He does come back though, but mostly to make Billie his girl.
This was fun and a different take on a celebrity romance. I liked that we came into the situation where Luca didn't want to be the "bad boy" and got himself out. He's now been able to process and move on. Now, I know that some people sometimes struggle with Max Monroe's humor style, and I think this book would be one that might bother the same people. It wasn't too much for me, but sometimes Billie did toe the line to being a little too over the top for me at times. I still did really enjoy the story overall, but I have to be honest, the first half of the book when they were in Alaska really made it for me. I loved the way they became close and how Luca kept trying to be antagonistic but really couldn't keep it up. Plus his dog Bailey love Billie too.
Now, there is a really big reason why I gave this 4-stars and not 5. When Billie is getting ready to leave Alaska, she pushes Luca to do the movie and they get into an argument. It quickly escalates and they both end up saying some pretty drastic things. Billie goes back to Hollywood and eventually Luca chases after her. Now, Luca does a lot of groveling and tries to make it up to Billie. He wants so badly for them to make up and for Billie to give him a second chance. My issue comes with that, he is the only one that apologizes. Immediately after the argument Billie thinks to herself that maybe she shouldn't have pushed so hard so quickly, but that's it. There's no acknowledgment to Luca that she was also in the wrong. It just really bothered me that wasn't even discussed.
I will definitely read more of Max Monroe, but I don't think the rest of this series will be what I pick up next. I will read them eventually, but I'm just not quite as intrigued compared to some of their other works. I will get through their backlist at some point though.
Have you read Taming Hollywood's Baddest Boy?
Bookishly Yours,
Stasi🍎
STATISTICS: Taming Hollywood's Baddest Boy, Max Monroe, 4-stars, 2 days, eBook, 336 pages, published in 2020, indie published
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