Life can sometimes be just like a soap opera…

Synopsis

These stars seem to have it all…

Valeria Joseph seems to have it all: career as actress on the soap opera, Charmed Lives, and everyone wants to be her. Her so-star, Cecily Taylor, fixes her up with a rising pop star named Dex Doyle and suddenly Valeria has a bigger spotlight on her.

Then, on the busy streets of New York City, she runs into her first love, Davis, who she never got over. Davis is a college basketball player who is dealing with high pressure stressors of his own and they find themselves supporting one another and falling back in love.

But, just like being on a daytime soap is full of drama—so is the publicity that surrounds Valeria. Throw in a pop star who’s crazy about her, an award show event that trends on social media for all the wrong reasons, and tons of swoony moments. Can Valeria find true love in the big city?

My review

While Valeria Joseph seems to have it all, the life of a young soap opera actress isn’t easy… with the constant spotlight on her, and the pressure of performing, Valeria is trying to not lose herself while the competition and rivalry is strong. When her co – star Cecily Taylor tries to fix Valeria up with pop star Dex Doyle, the pressure is even more on! And then on the streets of New York City, Valeria runs into her ex – boyfriend and current college basketball player Davis. Davis, who was Valeria’s first love… As they have each other back in their lives, they find support and understanding but also learn that those feelings of love never truly disappeared. But with the both of them having the pressure and the spotlight on them, will their second chance at love stand a chance?

Don’t we all have that first love, making us wondering what would happen if we could get a second chance? And with this book, we can see the possibilities of that!

While the world of actors can look like it’s all glimmer and glamour, we see that for young actress Valeria it isn’t all that easy.

Obviously she enjoys being part of the soap opera Charmed Lives, but we also see how being in the spotlight can affect someone. Because Valeria learns also the hard way that being an actress also means that she is subject to the opinion of others. And not everyone is showing kindness.

It saddened me to see how the confidence of a teen can be crushed and how doubt can rise and self-esteem can decrease. And while Valeria shouldn’t be worrying about not being good enough, because for sure she is a lovely person!

For me, it was also sad to read how some characters would dare to ‘use’ Valeria for their own benefits, to make the headlines, to be trending online. And it was just terrible to see how Valeria’s success was being ridiculed!

But it was also sweet to see that even in that ‘fake’ world, there are genuine people that truly care about her. Genuine people that have Valeria’s best interest at heart, and want the best for her. They support her and there is no room for rivalry, just honest friendship.

Of course it was lovely to see Valeria and Davis meet again, and see how their connection quickly rebuilds. But it was also great to see how both characters have matured since being apart, and now are able to talk freely about the past and why some choices were made.

And then there is the mutual support, and understanding, showing once again the adultness of both characters despite their young age.

Yet this young love also has to face the way the world unfortunately works. Because it’s easy to believe what we see online, especially with picture and videos spread around the world. How can we believe what someone says when there is ‘evidence’ telling us something else?

And that is something both the main characters have to learn, to not believe the online gossip, but trust each other. But they also have to learn to understand that they are enough, they are GOOD enough, and that they just perfect the way they are!

This may be a young adult book, but it has such a strong message that even more adult adults can learn from it!