This book was a real surprise. A romance set in the world of TV talent shows, it tells the story of Pasha and Eddie, two singers from utterly different backgrounds who both have a burning need to win the Brit Pop contest. Once they find out the show is rigged, they work together to milk social media, and the British public’s love of a good romance, to stop the producers manipulating the vote to get rid of them. And then they fall in love for real…
Not being a fan of reality TV talent shows, I wasn’t expecting to like this as much as I did. Instead, I found myself drawn to both the premise and the characters. Not just the two leads (who are lovely), but various secondary characters including Eddie’s Mum and Pasha’s best friend Anya who also sings on the show. And the idea of the producers faking the results struck a particular chord with me as I based my own book Got Ghosts? on a similar idea in the world of TV ghost hunters.
The one bit that didn’t quite gel for me was the idea of Pasha being ‘gay for you’ for Eddie, because he came across as such a drama queen that I assumed (and was happy to accept) he was gay from the very first page. Was the drama queen thing all just an act to help him win the contest? Perhaps a little more explanation would have helped.
Overall, though, it’s a lovely story with warm-hearted characters, just enough tension to keep the reader guessing, and a nice line in modern-day relevance. I loved it!
FIONA GLASS 