Review: Behind the Scenes

Title:  Behind the Scenes
Series:  Daylight Falls #1
Author:  Dahlia Adler (Website | Twitter)
Age Group:  Young Adult
Publisher:  Spencer Hill Contemporary
Publication Date:  June 24, 2014
Source:  Bought

High school senior Ally Duncan's best friend may be the Vanessa Park - star of TV's hottest new teen drama - but Ally's not interested in following in her BFF's Hollywood footsteps. In fact, the only thing Ally’s ever really wanted is to go to Columbia and study abroad in Paris. But when her father's mounting medical bills threaten to stop her dream in its tracks, Ally nabs a position as Van's on-set assistant to get the cash she needs.
Spending the extra time with Van turns out to be fun, and getting to know her sexy co-star Liam is an added bonus. But when the actors’ publicist arranges for Van and Liam to “date” for the tabloids just after he and Ally share their first kiss, Ally will have to decide exactly what role she's capable of playing in their world of make believe. If she can't play by Hollywood's rules, she may lose her best friend, her dream future, and her first shot at love. 

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My Review:  Gah, I love this book!  It was such a fun, quick read and such a nice break from studying (which I was dealing with while reading it).  It had everything I was looking for in a book:  relatable characters, sweet romance, interesting plot, and a fun Hollywood spin on everything.  I really enjoyed seeing the Hollywood aspect of this.  It was interesting to get a glimpse at that sort of life, especially through the eyes of someone who wasn't completely submerged in the world, like our main characters.  Overall, this was just a really cute and romantic book!

Ally Duncan is up high on my list of relatable characters.  As I was reading, I connected so quickly and easily with her.  Some of her thoughts mirrored ones that I had had before and it was awesome to be able to fall so readily into her shoes.  She was a really sweet and strong character and I loved the relationship she had with her best friend, Van.  They had a pact to never to become jealous of each other and they stuck with that pact pretty well.  The only real complaint I have about Ally is how quickly she turns to alcohol when things go badly.  This really annoyed me about her.  Anytime a situation went the way she didn't want it to, she got drunk and it was just so frustrating and unproductive.  

Liam was such a sweet dude and so cute.  I just couldn't get over how amazing and wonderful he was.  There were many times throughout this book I found myself "aww"ing out loud.  He was just that swoon-worthy.  Not to mention very thoughtful.  I was so happy seeing the way he opened up to Ally and how their relationship unfolded.  It was an instantaneous thing; it moved at a slow and steady pace that just made it so perfect and cute.  

The plot was relatively fast paced which I enjoyed.  There was a lot of internal conflicts that kept it moving and kept me engaged.  I also really liked that this book wasn't only focused on the romance between Ally and Liam.  A lot of the book was centered around Ally's family dealing with her dad's cancer.  It added an extra layer to love in this story, despite how it was sad and hard to read at times.  

Overall, Behind the Scenes was a book I really enjoyed.  There were some character quirks I wasn't a fan of but for the most part, I was kept smiling throughout.  I'm so so so excited for the second book in this series, Under the Lights to release!  

"Of course you were enough, Al. You were everything." 

PS:  I am so sorry I haven't been posting as much lately.  I'm in my first year of college and it is keeping me seriously busy.  I'm hoping things start settling down soon so that I can get back into posting more regularly!  Thank you for understanding :)