Review: Spotlight by Krista Richmond

Summary

Lily Richards loves a good story. As a journalist, she’s often writing one. As a fan, she’s often reading one—especially when it’s about her favorite celebrity.

The attention he generates fascinates her. As does the role her profession plays in creating the phenomenon that is actor Daniel Brighton. Are the media to blame for the way the paparazzi chase him? Do they provide too much information about his private life to obsessive fans? And are they the cause of all the madness surrounding Daniel’s rumored relationship with a certain former costar?

Personally, Lily would much rather report on Daniel’s latest role than on his latest dining companion. And a chance encounter with the star gives her the opportunity to prove she’s not like every other journalist, or every other “fangirl.”

Nate Brennan—Daniel’s publicist—isn’t convinced of Lily’s altruistic nature. His client’s sudden preference for the no-name columnist baffles him, and when he is forced to concede to Daniel’s wishes and work with her, their professional battles soon lead to personal sparks. While Daniel and Lily grow closer, Nate finds himself caught between mistrust and attraction.

As Lily’s career slowly transitions from the newsroom of her hometown paper to the online world of entertainment media, she must find a balance between the demands of the job and the personal relationships she now holds dear.

Is a photograph worth losing a friend?

Is her next story worth losing the man she loves?

She never knew it would be so hard, standing near the glare of the Spotlight . . .

Rating

★☆☆☆☆

Review

First of all ... longest. Blurb. Ever. Moving on ... I can't even ... (sigh) ... I just don't ... oy vey. 

I was VERY conflicted about the rating because in my head, I wanted to give it one star but my heart wouldn't let me because I did finish this novel. Barely. I made so many notes, I just don't know where to start. 

Right from the beginning, I found Spotlight a bit creepy. And stalker-ish. I just noted that over and over and over again. I mean, the author took great pains to note how the main character wasn't a stalker fangirl and then each sentence following that declaration was just a sign to the contrary. It was page after page of obsession, creepy stalk-ery and stalk-ishness. Maybe it was the constant "Not a fangirl" commentary that really made it stand out in my mind.

After you get through that awkward first section, the book takes this sharp, face-first dive into left field. I was totally confused by change in the focus of the book. I felt like it really came out of no where and and I don't think that the ten page blurb on the back gave any indication that there would be this shift in the plot. Now don't get me wrong ... I'm not saying that I want to know all of the secrets of a book up front. Come on, why would I read if that were the case?!? But I would like for the changes or surprises to actually kinda go with the flow of the book. Two words from my days in Latin class kept coming to mind ... non sequitur. I knew all of those hours studying a dead language would come in handy.

There was also this weird section where it felt like reading a marketing handbook ... again, the book totally shifted focus and it just didn't make sense. Oh, and the company Lily works for had their website plugged so many times in the book that I actually looked it up to see if it was a real company. It felt like it was forced into the book WAY too many times and it became really old. Mentioning it that many times was totally unnecessary and we can talk about it more on my blog, Little Miss Bookmark unless you don't like hearing what my blog, Little Miss Bookmark thinks, in which case, my blog, Little Miss Bookmark will probably go ahead and give you Little Miss Bookmark's (<--- my blog) opinion anyway because (my blog--->) Little Miss Bookmark thinks that her opinion is totally important. You get what I'm saying.

Lastly, it was a boring romance. Dude, it was a total wet blanket. When I pick up a novel, I want to be transported into another life. An interesting one, preferably. I don't want to read something that could happen to one of my friends ... if it's a romance novel, I want the book to make me fall in love again. I want to experience what I felt when I first met my husband. I want to find the pet names endearing and not annoying and fake. I don't want a rubbing-my-feet-on-the-carpet kind of spark ... I want to be struck by lightening. I want to get that giddy feeling of knowing that these two people in the book would be perfect together. I just want to be swept up by it all and not smacked in the face with a dead fish. So frustrating. 

After writing this review, I've totally changed my mind on my rating. Reliving this novel through my notes has made me even more disappointed with everything on its pages. It was a total let down and now I'm going to have to give it only one star. I hate doing that but I think it all comes down to the fact that I just didn't get it. I didn't get the motivation, the struggles, the fanstalkery, the sad romance or anything in between. I hate not liking a book. (Sigh)

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