Book Review: Stars in Your Eyes by Kacen Callendar

Stars in Your Eyes by Kacen Callender
‎ Publisher: Forever
Publication Date: October 10, 2023
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Publisher’s Description:

Logan Gray is Hollywood’s bad boy—a talented but troubled actor who the public loves to hate. Mattie Cole is an up‑and‑coming golden boy, adored by all but plagued by insecurities.

When Logan and Mattie are cast as leads in a new romantic film, Logan claims that Matt has “zero talent,” sending the film’s publicity into a nosedive. To create positive buzz, the two are persuaded into a fake‑dating scheme—but as the two actors get to know their new characters, real feelings start to develop. 

As public scrutiny intensifies and old wounds resurface, the two must fight for their relationship and their love.

Logan Gray is a broody, troubled former child actor who is known to be a jerk. The only reason anyone puts up with him is because he’s also very talented. Mattie is an up-and-coming actor – the new It Boy in Hollywood. He is cast as Logan’s love interest in a new romantic movie. When asked about Mattie at an event before filming has begun, Logan says that Mattie has zero talent, which is horrible publicity for the film. The powers that be convince the two of them to start a fake relationship, hoping that the buzz around the two stars dating will create hype for the movie.

Logan and Mattie start hanging out per their obligation to look like they’re in a relationship and the line between what’s real and what’s not gets blurry. Logan is a clearly troubled person while Mattie exudes positivity. Can he help Logan without losing himself?

I really like the fake dating trope and I think it was done well in Stars in Our Eyes. It’s also got the grumpy/sunshine thing going on. However, Logan has some pretty serious issues – this is not a light romantic comedy. The author states the trigger warnings upfront so I wasn’t surprised at how serious the story actually was. Sometimes I think narration could sound a little clinical when explaining certain things and it would take me out of the moment. For instance, when the characters thought about consent, their thoughts kind of read like a magazine article about consent. That’s really my only criticism.

I liked the authenticity of Logan and Mattie’s relationship. The way their issues were handled seemed realistic and made sense. This book was fun but it had substance as well. Recommended.

***Stars in Our Eyes was one of my October 2023 Book of the Month Club selections. You can join Book of the Month with this link and get a hardcover book for only $5 with no obligation to continue your membership.***