Before He Was Famous by Becky Wicks
Series: Starstruck #1
Publication date: May 29th, 2014
Pages: 269
Synopsis (according to Goodreads):
One guy, one girl. One in the spotlight. One in the shadows.
Falling in love with your best friend isn't always a great idea, especially when he's Noah Lockton--the sexiest, most famous new talent on the planet. When 21-year-old small-town photographer Chloe Campbell is offered the chance of a lifetime--to join her celebrity childhood friend Noah on tour as an exclusive blogger for a New York magazine--she's certain both have put what happened four years ago behind them. But his eyes still burn; his voice is still a jackhammer to her heartstrings; all his songs are about her. Is it possible that the night still haunts them both?
The music industry is a machine, spinning hype and rumors as much as his records. It's not just Noah's girlfriends who've got it in for Chloe (there's no stopping the Twitter-obsessed cat-loving pop-star Courtney Lentini for starters). Pretty soon, the jealousy and media frenzy surrounding these so-called-friends takes a life-changing turn and it seems making love means making enemies at every turn. When tragedy threatens to pull the final curtain on their relationship, both Chloe and Noah must make a choice. As much as this world leaves them starstruck, is living their dream really worth living without each other?
A story of lifelong friendships, love and hope, set in a world of celebrity, fame and social media gone very, very wrong.
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Review:
I received an e-copy of this book from the publishers at NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with books that are based on rock stars and the characters being celebrities in any form. Normally it touches on very hard subjects like drugs, anonymous sex, and the dangers of always being in the public eye. I also have a hard time dealing with books that have characters who cheat and the fact that in most of these rocker books the cheating is explained away due to being a celebrity? Nope. Doesn't excuse it for me. But, I decided to try this one out and see where it went. I had my fingers crossed the whole time that the celebrity male protagonist didn't tick me off too heavily so that it affected my entire viewpoint on the book.
Chloe has a very close relationship with Noah. They talk constantly, she is his muse and she gives him much needed advice whenever he asks for it (and sometimes when he doesn't). Chloe has combated her feelings for Noah for years. Ever since they had a tryst four years ago that she can't seem to get out of her head. However, she has learned to live with watching Noah flit around in his music career with various women on his arm to keep him company. It is only after Chloe breaks up with her boyfriend and moves to New York with Noah after his career takes off that she truly gets to confront those feelings for her best friend. She is assigned a blog to keep up with Noah's day-to-day antics so his fans are kept well informed. Really, she would do just about anything to be able to spend quality time with the boy who means the most to her. But things turn hinky the longer the two are together. Chloe is not just dealing with her evolving feelings for Noah but also worrying about one of his superfans that seem to have decided she needs to die.
Noah also keeps his feelings for his best friend as close to the cuff as he can. He follows her lead on keeping things platonic and imagines no situation that would cause them to ever cross that line... again. Noah is swept up in the fame, doing anything he has to do to keep his name out there. Even if that means dating the crazy new Miley Cyrus on the scene. However, while he deals with the fame and all the issues that come with it, he can't seem to take his eyes off his best friend. Is there even a remote chance that he could win her heart?
This book is a rollercoaster. Everything you think will happen, doesn't. You watch a scenario set itself up and you prepare for the outcome that is most likely and it doesn't happen. It's like getting on a coaster, getting to that steep incline then getting off the ride and going home. I found myself holding my breath a few times and then raising a brow as the rising action in the plot just fell flat. I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. I waited to see Noah do something irredeemable. I waited to see Chloe give up and run away. I waited to see someone get pregnant (hey, things get crazy on the road). I would have thought I'd loathe the sudden halt to action in many spots in the story but I didn't. I was okay with it. I actually found Noah even more likable than Chloe.
Before He Was Famous is a fun read. Check your expectations at the door though, because this book will go places that normal books of it's kind wouldn't.
