Now, this book had everything in it that makes for a good romance. I devoured it. Former child stars, Georgie and Bram, had fabulous on screen chemistry, but completely hated each other in real life. The book begins eight years after their sitcom is cancelled. Georgie is coming off a string of box office failures and recently was dumped by her action star husband when he ran off with his co-star who is a do-gooder actress type. (Yes, it is Aniston-Pitt-Jolie all over again, but very fun!) With both her personal life and career in dire need of a makeover, Georgie runs into her old nemisis, Bram, in Vegas. After having their drinks drugged, the two wake in bed with each other and a marriage certificate in their pocket.
While Georgie is concerned with how the quicky marriage would play in the press, Bram is hoping it won’t perpetuate his bad boy image when he is desperately trying to get Hollywood to respect him. The two decide the best way to handle the situation would be to continue the sham marriage for the public and after six months or so, they can part as friends (at least public friends, they still hate for each other). The banter between these two goes a long way toward establishing chemistry. They start by purposely picking at each other to gradually being nicer. The progression is incredibly well done.
Aside from the main characters, there are many side characters and sub-plots that are interesting. Chaz, Bram’s twenty year old punk housekeeper is brilliant. Under her shell of angst lies a soft heart. Aaron, the geeky Personal Assistant, is really endearing, as is Laura, Georigie’s agent. Georgie’s father and manager starts out as an obnoxious stage-dad and grows nicely. You don’t find a lot of romance novels with multiple layers like this. It makes me want to read more of Phillip’s books.
Overall, I give What I Did For Love…
Plot – 4 bookmarks (Some of it very familiar, but done in a new and funny way.)
Character Development – 4 bookmarks (Even the sub-characters were multi-dimensional.)
Love Story – 3 ½ bookmarks
Humor – 3 ½ bookmarks
Dream Cast (otherwise known as who I pictured while reading) – Christina Ricci (Georgie), Bradley Cooper (Bram), Brangelina (the ex-hubby and his new woman), Jonah Hill (Aaron), Richard Gere (Georgie’s Dad), and Rachel Melvin (Chaz)
No comments:
Post a Comment