Fictional Celebrity Romances
I love reading books where I’m transported into an entirely different life. For me this sometimes means deep diving into nonfiction books about a topic I’m unfamiliar with. I just finished reading “Dogland: Passion, Glory, and Lots of Slobber at the Westminster Dog Show” by Tommy Tomlinson. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about the world of dog shows and the people that invest so much of their time and energy pursuing them. Other times, I get a peek into people’s lives by reading novels. One sub-genre that I enjoy is fictionalized celebrity romances. These are pure fiction, although sometimes you can guess at the real relationships that inspired them. Fans of People Magazine will eat these books up.
Heavy Hitter by Katie Cotugno
This fictionalized Taylor Swift/Travis Kelce romance was so fun to read. International pop star Lacey Logan is not someone you can casually date, as MLB Orioles catcher Jimmy Hodges discovers when the two meet and sparks fly. Due to her extreme level of fame, Lacey's world needs to be carefully crafted. This isn't easy in a relationship, and Jimmy has baggage of his own as well. I stayed up late finishing this slim, 230 page novel. Recommend this to all the Swifties in your life.
The View Was Exhausting by Mikaella Clements and Onjuli Datta
Win Tagore is an actress under constant public scrutiny. As a brown, British Indian woman, she has to work extra hard to stay in the spotlight. Enter rich, directionless Leo, who Win's publicist sets up as her fake boyfriend to win over the public. Over the years Win and Leo turn to each other when it benefits their public images, but behind the scenes, real feelings develop. This novel feels like getting the inside scoop from a celebrity. It is a fun, light read, but also a thought-provoking romance with a handful of spicy scenes. Clements and Datta are a wife-wife author team. They have a horror novel coming out in October titled “Feast While You Can.”
Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld
Sally Milz is a writer for The Night Owls (TNO)--think a fictionalized Saturday Night Live. When smoking hot musician Noah Brewster comes on the show as the week's host, Sally pitches a skit called the Danny-Horst Rule, named after her office mate and fellow writer Danny Horst. The Danny-Horst Rule is that while beautiful, famous women end up dating the slovenly male writers at TNO, the famous men that come on the show never date the slovenly female TNO writers. This book was funny, thought-provoking, at times laugh-out-loud funny, and a ton of fun to read. You root for the characters as they grow and learn. I loved the fictionalized look at what goes into writing a show like Saturday Night Live. Sittenfeld has clearly done her homework. If I had a completely free day, this is the type of book that I could read in one day.
The Idea of You by Robinne Lee
This is the very-spicy story of a mom who starts a whirlwind romance with a young member of her teen daughter’s favorite boy band. Solene is a successful art gallery owner who is not looking for love. Her tryst with boy-band-member Hayes surprises them both when it turns into a deeper relationship, but can they stay together despite their age difference? To read this, I changed Hayes' age in my head to 26--still very young but not way too young like 20 seems.
Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
In this novel set during the pandemic lockdown, 57-year-old Lara enjoys the unexpected time with her three adult daughters, each of whom has returned to the safe oasis of their Michigan cherry farm. Lara tells them the story of her relationship with an actor before he became famous. She slowly unravels her young adult years spent pursuing acting over the course of many days, while picking sweet cherries. Fans of character-driven novels and Ann Patchett's writing will enjoy this one.
Katelyn Boyer is the Adult Services Librarian at the Fergus Falls Public Library.
