Publisher: Carina Press
Publish Date: Out Now
How I got this book: NetGalley
Anthea Cane is a successful actress—well, action star. Her films are mostly about how hot she looks silhouetted by fiery explosions. But Anthea is determined to prove she’s more than just a body. With the role of a lifetime up for grabs—a serious adaptation of her favorite novel—Anthea sets off to her small hometown in the name of research.
Cole Daniel is a blind farmer with no patience for divas, especially one who mercilessly teased him as a young boy. When Anthea shows up using a fake name and pestering him into letting her stay, he can’t pass up the opportunity to torment her just a little.
But Anthea won’t let the stubborn farmer deter her from her goal, even if he is hotter than any man she’s ever met. Cole finds his form of payback less than satisfying when Anthea keeps turning the tables on him, proving her mettle and gaining his respect. Will Anthea’s research land her a man, as well as the part?
*Blurb from Goodreads*
When I saw this blurb on NetGalley, I thought it sounded great. I love stories about actresses and actors, mix in the small town feel, and I was super excited. While there were some things I really enjoyed about this book, I also had quite a few problems with it as well.
Anthea is known as a sex symbol, and isn’t taken very seriously. When she wants to branch out and take a role in a movie based off her favorite book, she is given the chance only because she pushed and pushed. Now. she’s determined to research the hell out of the role, and do everything she can to land her dream job. She heads back to her small town home, in hopes that she can find someone willing to help her with her research.
Cole has been living life to the best of his ability since the day he went blind. He works hard on his farm, and despite not ever leaving, is happy with his situation. When Anthea shows up, trying to use a false identity, Cole figures it’s the perfect time to get Anthea back for her torment during their childhood. But as Anthea takes all of Cole’s crap with a smile, he starts to realize there is more to her than a sexy starlet.
Let me start with the things I didn’t really like, and the big one was probably the romance. I had a really hard time feeling the connection between Cole and Anthea. While they went through all the motions and said the right things, I just never really got emotionally invested in these two. I’m not sure if it was just the overall situation that Cole and Anthea find themselves in or what, but I just never got to the point where I believed in their love. There was even a point fairly early on in the book when I debated just putting it down and calling it quits. However, I stuck with it and found that I did enjoy Anthea. However, as a couple, I just couldn’t buy into it.
While I liked both the hero and heroine, I found Cole’s character to be a little immature. The only reason he initially let Anthea stay was because he wanted to get back at her for being so mean to him as a child. He seemed unable and unwilling to let go of the hate and anger that he held onto as an eight year old kid. Hell, I don’t even remember some of the kids who teased me at that age. I also thought the situation surrounding his blindness was a little wonky. I’m sure this kind of temporary blindness can happen, but I didn’t really understand what else it added to the story.
I did really enjoy watching Anthea’s character grow up and mature throughout the story. She started as a spoiled, almost petulant girl. Once she went back to her small hometown, she really got the chance to look at her life and reevaluate the way she was living. I like that she was able to recognize her own faults, and take the steps towards righting herself, in anyway she could.
All in all this was a pretty straightforward, typical romance. While I had problems with the actual romance itself, Anthea’s character made the book for me. Had it not been for her journey to self-discovery, I think I would have had to DNF this one fairly early on.
I give Playing the Part a C-
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