| Title | : | In Development |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0998790729 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780998790725 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 303 |
| Publication | : | First published May 19, 2018 |
| Awards | : | Lambda Literary Award Lesbian Romance (2019) |
Pop star Lila Wilder built a multimedia empire by always having her finger on the pulse of what's hot. However, as she struggles to produce her next smash hit record, she's finding it hard to keep her name in the public eye, and a string of tumultuous relationships with Hollywood boy-toys no longer captivates anyone's attention.
Both women tentatively agree to a headline-grabbing fauxmance, with two simple rules: Always stick to the script, and never forget that on the stage of public perception, nothing is real. Can two women find love in a world of carefully crafted illusions, or will a successful charade mean the potential for something more gets left on the cutting-room floor?
In Development Reviews
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This is one of those celebrity stories – though unlike many I’ve read, it is a mixed story. As in, if the story involves an actress, the other party tends to be an actress as well (or actor), a background person (an assistant, or an up and coming writer who isn’t famous yet, or a stunt person), or someone completely outside celebrity-ville. Well, here, we have an award winning actress (teen awards), and an award winning and popular pop star who end up circling each other.
Cobie Galloway is somewhere around 28 (or was it 26?), but still tends to play teenagers or people close enough to that age in films. She has been doing so since she was a teenager. But now she wants to move on to more mature work, and has a specific script she wants to work on. A script she has some control over. A script based on a lesbian fiction novel. Oh, forgot that part – she’s been out as a lesbian, Cobie I mean, for eons. So that part isn’t an issue with doing the film. No, the problem her manager, as he explains it to her, is that she might in many ways be perfect for the role (not words he used but whatever), but that no one would believe her for that role.
Well, that paragraph got away from me. Started off just mentioning one of the point of view characters. I assumed I was going to say something like ‘Cobie was in to see her manager about a new project that would turn her career in a new direction; while leaving the meeting she literally stumbled across the other main point of view character in the book, Lila Wilder, a pop star.’ But alas, the paragraph got away from me.
Well, as noted, there are two points of views in this book – a pop star, Lila, and an actress – Cobie. They both are represented by the same management agency, though by different managers – Stan for Cobie, and . . . it was Mimi, right? For Lila. Lila had also been at the agency for a meeting, and like Cobie, she was there for a new direction type of thing. Though, in her case, it is a constant in her career that ‘new stuff’ would occur – and by that, I mean, she’d date some hunky guy to drive up press attention in between album releases, then move on to some other new hunk. And that’s one of the reasons she’s at her manager’s place that day – though the story, at this point, was more centered on Cobie.
Stan and Mimi put their heads together and come up with a plan – Cobie and Lila would pretend-date. Why? Lila’s only dated men up to this point, and that’s actually why – because people are actually becoming bored with Lila’s flings. No longer edgy and stuff. But a relationship with a woman? Back to being edgy. Why do they want Cobie to do it? Because Cobie wanted to transition from being thought of as a ‘sweet’ teen like person, to a person who could play the much more rough, edgy, player-like Vale (I forget if that’s the name or not) character from the movie she wanted to do.
So, that’s what they do. Cobie and Lila pretend date. Feelings are found; feelings are suppressed; sex is had; feelings are suppressed; some hard conversations are had . . . and stuff.
Long and short – I rather enjoyed the book. Something like loved it. I��m still toying with whether to give this book a 5 star or 5+ star rating.
Rating: 5
May 27 2018 -
Another story with a fake relationship. Fauxmance in this case. And it was a good story. A rather good story. But... But the problem was that I got bored halfway through this book. Everything was fantastically over-the-top. And Ms. Spangler kept going on and on about the same things.
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This book is in my list of recommended books of the month:
https://lezreviewbooks.wordpress.com/...
Cobie Galloway, America’s sweetheart, is tired of playing the straight girl-next-door beauty in teenage movies. She desperately wants to play a badass lesbian action heroine but needs a complete makeover, along with a super famous fake girlfriend. So, who’d be better to play that role than straight pop star Lila Wilder who’s edgy, fiercely independent, bossy but dangerously attractive? Cobie soon finds herself in a moral dilemma: is she prepared to lie her way to get the acting part of her dreams? And what if it’s not so fake after all?
There’s been quite a few lesfic books about fake relationships, sham marriages or ‘fauxmance’ as it’s called in this book. ‘In development’ combines A-list celebrities, a temperamental ice queen and a fake romance all in one package. Even though a part of the plot shows the luxurious life of the rich and famous, this book goes beyond the superficial, dealing with the characters’ search for true happiness and meaningful relationships. Written from both main characters point of view (with the peculiar addition of Cobie and Lila’s agents’ point of views), the author gives the reader full disclosure on their actions though their feelings remain a mystery. At a slow teasing pace, both women start revealing their emotions, contradictions and fears to the reader and to themselves. Their chemistry is perfectly crafted: sizzling, undeniableable and irresistible. The secondary characters play a substantial role in making the story realistic and showcasing different facets of the mains’ personalities. Kudos to Ms. Spangler to raise the issue of conversion therapy which is still allowed in many parts of America.
Overall, a compelling, emotional and engaging story. 4.5 stars.
ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
See all my reviews at
www.lezreviewbooks.wordpress.com -
I have an ok relationship with Spangler’s books and have, for the most part, given them 3 or 4 stars. Nothing earth shattering, but always well written. It’s usually just my personal enjoyment that fluctuates. I liked ‘In Development’ almost completely up until the very end. I have a bit of a personal pet peeve with romance books that are really great up until the end...when everything falls apart and is then wrapped up in an overly cheesy, over the top manner, as it is here.
Most of this book is just living-the-life-of and it comes across as very real. Two people, Lila and Cobie, are two very different characters with very different personalities and struggles, but they somehow mesh well. I felt what they felt and understood their motives, desires, and apprehensions. These two do not fall under the miscommunication trope, thank the universe, because that is absolutely one of the things that makes me nuts in 3rd person from 2 character’s POV. Lila is known for being blunt and ‘real’ and Cobie is just so heartfelt that she can’t help but be real. They fight, they love, and fight all over again. It takes Cobie’s genuine personality to teach the hard-ass Lila what ‘real’ actually is, because despite how genuine and authentic she thinks she is, Lila is constantly running from her demons by denying her true capacity to feel.
Both Lila and Cobie are really enjoyable characters and I was happy to take this journey with them. Recommended to fake relationship and pure romance fans.
PS: one thing I do find annoying is when authors include lyrics to songs that their characters have written. I have NO idea why this bothers me or makes me uncomfortable, but it does and I cringe as I read it. It’s done here, so if anyone else has this weird anti-lyrics-for-fake-singers-in-fiction-thing, then just know it’s done more than once here...and it was cringe worthy. -
4.5 rounded up.
Wow, this is my first Spangler novel and I have to say what a way for me to start. Despite my Sci-fi/ dystopian / spec fic/ fantasy leanings. I do love a good slow burn romance if the plot interests me enough. And for whatever reason, I've enjoyed many of the "celebrity" roms I've read.
Let's talk about the characters. Famous singer, Lila Wilder, is person of interest #1. Famous "girl next door" actress, Cobie Galloway is our #2. Lila is a singer and clothing designer who's known for her scandalous parade of male arm candy, but her place in the limelight is slipping. Cobie is ready to break out of the Disney type roles and go after a movie part that is significantly darker and more edgy. Their agents come up with the perfect plan. A fauxmance. What could go wrong, right?
Throughout the novel I got the feeling that Lila was trying to come across as a controlling and unfeeling, eye on the prize, kind of person. She went into the arrangement thinking that it didn't make any difference if her arm candy was a man or a woman. She's never even considered a woman before but thinks "how hard could it be?" She truly believes that everything is fake anyway and all her interactions are best left as negotiations and pre-written scenes. She's always aware of the paparazzi and treats life as just one big show. But there is something deeper to her character that the astute reader will pick up on and while you may want to shake her out of sheer exasperation, you keep reading to see what happens next.
Cobie has live her life nearly the opposite. She has not lost the shine of realness, despite her years in Hollywood. She is genuine and refuses to compromise what she believes in for her acting career, which is what makes this fauxmance deal a little off-putting for her. Cobie doesn't want to lie and put on such a false act for a part but it's more than her dream role she's after, it's a chance to pay back an old debt. So she lies to her family, and lies to the world, to play perhaps the hardest role of her life. And as a lesbian, she knows exactly how hard it is to make a believable couple between two women.
Can I take just a hot second to mention the outfits that Lila dresses Cobie in? She took a Hollywood princess and turned her into a suave stud. Dark, dangerous, and handsome. Yassss!
There is definitely struggle in between all the building tension and romance of this book. They go off script more than once, and improvise more than wise considering their agreement. Oh, and on top of all that, stubbornness abounds and feelings get hurt, as you'd expect from a fauxmance between two women. But if you stick it out through to the end you'll find a sweet culmination of both the character's and Rachel Spangler's talents. Truly an award winning performance. Well done! Loved it. -
50 billion of you have already read the story so I won’t say much beyond a music star and an actor fake a romance to stir up publicity and to change their images.
What impressed me most about the book were the layers and attention to detail in the behavior between Lila and Cobie, the two mc’s. The author used small moments to build intimacy between them. Scenes of bantering and then sharing dessert, Lila washing Cobie’s hair, Cobie giving Lila the courtesy of a first kiss in private, these tiny gestures of two people showing care and consideration for each other, all the earmarks of falling in love. The book is quietly full of these scenes.
There were also good back stories, especially Lila’s, that included a heartbreaking how-to of family cutting a loved one to the core. The secondary characters were full bodied and added even more depth and humor. Glad the book ended up in my queue again via a book chat because otherwise I might have missed a good one. -
When I started this, I was so sure that it'd be a favorite. The writing is great, it has many quotable lines, and the characters develop well over the course of the plot. It's a good book. Sadly, I couldn't ever get over the 'like' hump to 'love.'
For this story, we follow the fauxmance between singer/songwriter extraordinaire Lila Wilder and wholesome, girl-next-door lesbian actress Cobie Galloway. I loved their initial chemistry, then...is it me? Maybe I'll take an L here. It was a bit of a chore to get through this book because their chemistry was sometimes-y. Sometimes, I can feel the heat between them, other times I'm bombarded by too much internal dialogue. I felt like the story could breathe more. Plus, the drama got repetitive.
I would've liked more backstory on Felipe and Malik. They were cute together.
I should've had a raging crush on Lila and it didn't happen, which probably affected my eagerness to see their romance play out. Cobie was genuine, if not too noble. Sigh. I probably would have appreciated their relationship more if it were behind the scenes. I couldn't get into their real kisses and flirting while greasy paparazzi lurked at every public corner. It took away from it and I know that's the point.
Also, I don't like that we see an emergence of love/lust from Lila while Cobie is playacting as a completely different person. The fake edgy style and leather and spiked hair? It didn't suit the character, just who she wanted to play in the movie. Felt like she was always in a tryhard costume.
This is my first Rachel Spangler book and hell, she can write! I think this couple wasn't a home run for me. Didn't stop me from highlighting great parts. That's talent.
Three stars from me! -
If you're a sucker for fauxmances like I am there's a good chance you'll like this book. I liked the majority of it because once again towards the end the author made me roll eyes so hard I was afraid I had given myself brain damage! Rant:
Sorry I had to get that out of my system because the rest of this book is good. Like really good! Aside from being well written and the characters having amazing chemistry, something happened that I don't really see a lot of in lesfic or at least not enough of. How many times do you read a book and think during an couple's argument "say something" or "tell her the truth" or "don't let her talk to you like that"? Well these women both have a fully loaded arsenal and they are not afraid to take shots at each other.. at all! It was like watching a Jerry Springer episode but without the chair throwing or Steve intervening.
The book started great and only got better as we slowly got to know both Cobie and Lila's backstory. Along the way several interesting and well written secondary characters are introduced that really help flesh out the story and keep the pace moving along nicely. Although I got a little frustrated with one of the characters once or twice I ended up liking this more than I thought. -
Yes, this is a fauxmance, and yes we have had a lot of these run across the literary lines lately, but I thought this one had a different edge to it. It kept my interest piqued because of how MC Lila organized and planned every single liaison between her and MC Cobie. She made their affair into a job to benefit each of their careers, and she did a damned fine job at this. Every move, touch, glance, kiss was scripted for the paparazzi, and when real feelings started to creep in, hyper-vigilant Lila was thrown for a loop, and I liked seeing her unravel. Emotions are unpredictable! It really made me wonder how much this must happen in Hollywood. Robert P and Kristen S, anyone? Samantha Ronson and what's her name.....oh stink what's her NAME....Mean Girls, freckles, rehab.....shit.....not gonna Google it not gonna Google.....
The build up of heat between the two totally drew me in, it was like a cat-and-mouse game as to who would take things that one step further. There was a good amount of sizzle between them, though one of the too few sex scenes had too much music terminology and analogies that killed the mood for me
......red head, was in Parent Trap Disney movie......
Yes it is entirely predictable and of course there is the obligatory break-up scene and angst that we are used to, and the occasional misuse of punctuation, but otherwise a fun read! 3.75 stars.
LINDSAY LOHAN, goddamned it. I ended up asking the receptionist at work, and right when I raised my arms yelling "YES! LINDSAY LOHAN, I FEEL SO MUCH BETTER!" my boss walked around the corner. *sigh* Gonna be a good day, people. -
I'm a fan of the fake relationship trope and I'm a fan of Spangler's writing (although I'm not sure why I haven't read more by her) so this was so this was always going to be good read. I enjoyed both main characters but I think what's holding me back from five stars is that I wish they had had a little more personal, open and honest interaction and a little less orchestrated interaction.
-
Well hell, that was wonderful…
Actress, Cobie needs to change her image to land her ultimate acting role and she will go to any lengths to get it. Lila has been central to all the big scandals in the tabloids and has had her fair share of torrid affairs with famous men but she needs something big to promote the next stage in her career so why not try on a new sexual identity. Together, Cobie and Lila agree to have a fake relationship (or ‘fauxmance’ as Rachel Spangler calls it) to stir up the headlines while changing Cobie’s ‘good girl’ persona to a darker image. But when the romance is no longer fake and hearts are on the line, can they throw the currently plan away for a new one?
This was hands down my favourite Rachel Spangler book to date and could be stiff competition for ‘Book of 2018’. It’s sexy, enthralling but stays true to what Rachel Spangler does best and that’s writing phenomenal love stories. I’ve read a few ‘fauxmance’ novels over the past few months and this one is definitely one of my favourites so far.
As the reader I felt like I was taking the journey with the characters and felt every heartbreak and lovely moments along with Cobie and Lila. I want this novel to be adapted into a movie with Taylor Swift and Ellen Paige playing Lila and Cobie.
Rachel Spangler also wrote her best sex scenes to date in this novel because they weren’t only sexy but showed an intimate side of the characters that really built on their chemistry (not that it needed it… wow) but also their candidness, in the aftermath of making love, about their feelings during the fauxmance process.
This novel was everything I wanted and so much more. Rachel Spangler just keeps knocking them out of the park with her books getting better each and every time. 5 stars are no longer enough for books of this calibre.
5 Stars… I want more from Cobie & Lila. -
I like a good fauxmance, what can I say. You know what's going to happen. It's a bad idea that totally seems like a good idea at the time and then it all gets derailed by those feelings of the heart. I'm a sucker for a high degree of tension with a huge serving of angst. Give that to me every single time!
Cobie Galloway has been pigeonholed as the nice girl next door in every film she has been cast in. She wants to break that mold ASAP. She has her heart set on playing a bad girl in a new film that has yet to be cast. Cobie needs a new image and she needs it fast. When she approaches her agent, even he is skeptical of her pulling off such a dramatic image change. She asks him to think outside the box and boy does he ever.
Lila Wilder is the pop star of all pop stars. Her image is everything and she has a carefully crafted empire that she rules meticulously. In my head, this character is totally T-Swift. Lila is not new to fauxmances, she needs the publicity from the tabloids to keep her name front and center with every new love interest. The only problem is even that is losing momentum, so her publicist and Cabi's publicist switch it up a bit. Hello lady loving fauxmance time.
These two go round and round. You have banter, you have biting witty comments, a lot of heat and whole lot questions swirling around. They like each other, they are afraid of love and image is everything. Conundrum after conundrum with lots of glitz and glamour. This was a really fun read. -
The narrator made one of the mc's sound exactly like micky mouse. I couldn't listen without picturing the big white gloves and black ears.
-
Is it just me or Cobie and Lila actually seem so hot together as a couple?
Cobie seem such a dork to me (i think), i dont know why. And i like her for it. She also seem like an innocent actress who had been acting as a girl next door since her teenaged year. if i recalled, she never been in any bad scandals. And she was a private person. Lila, on the other hand, she likes attention, press and need to be in control in everything she does. She dated lots of guys to gain the attention. So yeah, Cobie wants to change how people view her on the screen, so she can take the lead role in one of the book that about to become a movie. Lila, dating guys seem doesnt get much press attention anymore. So they both went to meet their manager and demand what they want. And both managers happened to be husband and wife as well. They discussed, plan made and Cobie and Lila ended up fake dating each other. And the story go on from there.
I fel like i just paraphrased the synopsis. 🙄
This is such a goood book. I really enjoyed it. The chemistry between Cobie and Lila is really up the top notch. And they are really suit each other. I really enjoyed their banters, their flirting and the dialogues. Somehow this book kept making me smile for some reason.
All in all, the book is just so good. I like it and i really enjoyed it alot. -
Cobie and Lila... they made me laugh, they made me cry, they made me blush and then cry some more but in the end those tears turned into tears of joy. They got their happy ending and I was so happy for them! What a rollercoaster of emotions... damn... but I gotta say I LOVED EVERYTHING!! I bow down to this author! This story was amazing and I couldn’t stop reading until reaching the end. This book held my attention from beginning to end. Simply amazing! This part in the end made me cry like a baby but they were more tears of relief and joy and happiness for these two characters. The way this book was written and how I could feel these characters’ emotions was just wow.
“Her biggest contribution to ‘Miss Me’ wasn’t the lyrics. It was freeing me up to sing it by promising I’d never have to live its message.”
100% recommend. -
3.5/5 stars
This book completely swept me up. While the romance was very frustrating at times, it wasn’t in a bad way (if that even makes sense). Some might not consider this to be an angsty book, but since I’ve taken a long break from angst, this was about as much as I could take. It was a fiery, passionate relationship that was full of sizzling tension and emotion (a lot of which seemed to be anger). Considering the kind of dynamic in this book wasn’t what I usually enjoy reading in a contemporary romance, since it was full of subtle manipulations and power plays, Rachel Spangler did a great job in making these characters and their relationship loveable despite the faults.
I feel like I’m making the characters out to be awful, but they really weren’t. Cobie was really down to earth and genuine, and very much likeable. It was Lila that was more difficult as she was often quite callous, unapologetically driven and quite manipulative. I really found it hard to like Lila at the start, but somehow by the end I was rooting for her as well. Even when she was a difficult to like character, the chemistry between Cobie and Lila was unbelievably good and was enough to keep their relationship alive. They fought, they laughed and they loved, but it was all full of passion which I really appreciated.
I also just love reading both celebrity books and fauxmances, so this book was right up my ally in that way. The interesting dynamic of the relationship and uniqueness of the characters meant that despite quite a common trope, the string felt new and completely enjoyable. I definitely recommend this one if you are prepared for some angst and frustration, but also a very passionate romance -
Another good addition to the fauxmance trope. Expect angst because it's written by Rachel Spangler.
4/6/21: Still excellent. Spangler really knows how to use angst to tug at your heartstrings. Unfortunately the audio book version was a bust for me. I didn't enjoy the way the narrator voiced Lila. I'm not quite sure why but it was a bit grating and not what I would expect from a singer. -
I'd have thought this book would be lacking of feeling, out of depth, given the showbiz faux romance storyline.
I'm proven wrong tho, I didn't expect some of turns. This was good, better than most showbiz themed book. It had me falling for Cobie, had me wishing Cobie would be off with Cordelia. The other protagonist, Lila kinda hard to like too distant and bossy.
I was really glad that Cobie wasn't the brooding lesbian type.
The story flows greatly, the dialogue wasn't too much and overbearing. Although most of the time I'd prefer book with balanced description than a chatty this one doesn't make me mind so.
4 🌟 -
You know it’s better if you didn’t have any expectations before reading because you always end up liking the book or in my part loving it. Waah!
This will go straight to my favorites.
Fauxmance that’s when Celebs pretend to be in a relationship with someone to gain popularity (from Google)
Cobie’s a really likable character, for an actress she’s really grounded and down to earth. She likes low key. And while reading this Kirsten Steward is popping into my mind.
She’s a perfect fauxmance. She’s been very patient with Lila. Although they both lack communication skills but still between the two of them I like her more.
Lila on the other hand is the typical Ice Queen with a heart.
She’ll do everything to maintain her in demand popstar status, Including having a relationship with a lesbian actress.
She’s distant and cold expect to her bffs.
With Cobie breaking her walls and melting the ice how long can she ignore what she’s feeling?
Lila is also possessive and insecure.
There’s a cute scene where she got jealous and I felt butterflies. I know some doesn’t really like jealous characters but for me with just the right amount I find it really cute and sweet.
Lots of nice secondary characters.
4.25 because of all the charades and running circle.. -
Easy to visualize Taylor Swift and Ellen Page as Lila and Cobe in this celebrity fauxmance. I enjoyed their story for the most part but did struggle with some head hopping issues in the latter chapters.
3.5 stars and no question T Swift and Adele have benefitted financially from their breakup songs. Clever concept for a fake relationship story. -
This was a ‘reread’ in audiobook format. My very first time listening to Ann Etter. Initially was good and I was all in, but then Lila’s voice just started to grate on my ears. I did get ‘Edge of Glory’ and that particular voice was a minor part so really enjoyed that one.
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I don't think this should be considered a wish-fulfillment romance despite both leads being rich and famous. Or maybe because both are more-or-less equally famous? So they're both fame insiders and the crux of the plot is that they can each get a career boost from a public fauxmance. Which held together well, I think, and Spangler does a good job depicting the environment that surrounds them and pushes them in their separate, but joined, ways.
And I was all-in with Cobie from the start. Her motives were good, and I liked that she recognized the need to mature her image and her determination to accept the consequence that it'd mean an end to the easy acceptance and success she had "enjoyed" to this point. I also liked how her unabashed acknowledgement of her sexuality was already firmly established by the story's start and that she had already navigated those waters when she's known as the good-girl romantic lead in her career (and that it wasn't a big deal any more).
Lila was a much harder sell and I'll admit I never did warm to her as a partner for, well, anybody really. She, too, is unabashed about who she is, but unlike Cobie, who she is wasn't anything I much liked. She's a self-promoting machine with no time for anything not in her "plan" (which seems to be roughly "world domination"). She's all about her career and fame and has no patience with anything that would detract from it. So she says and does things that are harsh. She delivers harsh truths unflinchingly, which isn't entirely a bad thing. The thing is, she isn't deliberately mean or cruel. She's just driven and impatient with pretense (even as she wields pretense like a lightsaber and without hesitation). So while I have to acknowledge that she gave Cobie some much-needed insight and handed her the keys to getting what she wanted (in both insightful advice and by going out of her way to discover and deliver the tools to succeed) I still didn't really like her and kept waiting for any hint of kindness or compassion. And yeah, Spangler has a very touching interaction with Lila and a young teen that shows she isn't completely divorced from human compassion but I just couldn't broaden that out to mean much more than a momentary "weakness".
And since I was dissatisfied with Lila as a romantic partner my brain couldn't help picking at her as a character and was dismayed to find that her motives and background don't hold together, either—which made it that much harder to engage with her. The key to Lila is a deeply-seated need for security while not relying on anybody else. Anybody close can/will betray you and she therefore cannot count on anybody. Which is a giant negative motivation*, but it also doesn't work as the driving force behind Lila's career. You don't achieve that degree of success without taking big risks. Someone who wants security and is determined to carve it out for herself wouldn't have needed to keep pushing the way that Lila does. Indeed, she has already achieved enough money and fame that she could easily retire and not work another day and careful investment and harboring of resources would see her comfortable and in absolute control of her environment in ways that are impossible if she keeps pushing for more and more success. And here's the kicker: she still has her gay best friend in her entourage who she relies on for emotional support and needed home truths, anyway. So the whole "don't let anyone close because everybody will betray you eventually" is a lie standing right there in her face the whole time anyway.
Don't get me wrong, Lila isn't a dead loss. And I don't mean the bits that humanize her, either. Spangler does a fantastic job showing that all her harshest moments come from a desire to help and her engagement with Cobie is sincere and motivated by a view of team that includes a sincere desire to see Cobie successful in what she wants. She's never needlessly mean or motivated by a desire for cruelty or domination over others, even if that's what it could look like if you didn't bother digging deeper. Which makes Cobie that much more admirable that she does dig deeper. Seriously, I was all-in with Cobie and I liked her determination to learn and grow into the artist she wanted to be and I don't think that would have been as strong or as evident with a kinder Lila.
Two more weaknesses that pushed me out of the story sometimes and a note later that will all add up to a strong three stars (because Cobie was all win). First, the collaborative songwriting didn't work for me. I'm a huge pop-music fan (and loved that Spangler mentioned Taylor Swift, among others, in her acknowledgements) and I'm a huge word nerd so I know more than an average upper-middle-age guy normally would about the patterns and poetry that goes into those songs. And Spangler just didn't capture that, like, at all. Lila's songs depicted in the story were too strangled by strong rhyme and choppy cadence and I just couldn't see them working lyrically. And yes, I fully acknowledge that this is a personal issue that probably no other reader is going to care about and I may be entirely wrong about it anyway because who knows, a talented pop artist might make those songs dynamite. It just didn't feel like it to me in those moments in the story.
The second thing that pushed me out was the completely gratuitous dark moment caused by Lila retrenching for stupid reasons (that are at the heart of my complaint above about problems with her character background). This is made even worse by an "I loved you first" competition once they reconcile. I'm sorry, but if you really want to claim more attachment retroactively then that paints all those interactions so much worse than they were at the time because it means you did those hurtful things despite "caring" in that way. And that goes for Cobie as well as Lila and reflected poorly on both. This is a pattern that romance authors often indulge and I'm really not a fan. Those claims rewrite history and if it goes counter to what the reader knows already then it serves as a detraction to the story as given and disconnects the memory from the actuality. In other words, if a reader cannot go back and see that, "ah yes, that totally makes sense now that I know this new information in advance" on a reread then don't do it.
Anyway, like I said, three strong stars and a good story though my connection was totally Cobie and I wish that Lila had worked better.
A note about audiobook: I'm not a fan of the narrator for this, Ann Etter. Her voice for Lila particularly grated as it was maybe half an octave higher than any other character and the intonation grated. I'm not audio-enough to pick out what or why, but I want to say it was "flat" but I don't mean musically. Though maybe I do because Lila was supposed be this great singer/songwriter? I dunno, I just know it bothered me at times and always when it was Lila speaking.
A note about Steamy: Spangler pulled back without details on their first sexual encounter. And I thought that was an interesting choice to leave it to the characters' internal after-analysis to give the feel for that experience. And I don't mean that as a detraction; I mean interesting as in I think it worked and I was good with that. I thought that'd be the pattern afterwards, but nope. There were a handful of explicit sex scenes afterwards that served the emotional arc well. So not gratuitous, but it adds up to the lower-middle range of my steam tolerance.
* Negative Motivations: I kind of hate that the term "negative motivation" isn't widespread, yet. Since it isn't, I'm going to save off this little jag to append to my reviews that feature the term.
Jennifer Crusie blogged about it a bit back (or, if that link doesn't work,
here's a cache of the original) and it changed how I understand story. The problem with the term is that if you've never heard it before, you'd assume it meant motivations that are harmful or immoral. Not so. What it refers to is motivations not to do something. The thing is that many of us are motivated to not do things for a lot of different, perfectly valid and reasonable, reasons. The problem is that in a story motivations to not do things are a huge drag on the plot—particularly considering the fact that most negative motivations are overcome by the character simply deciding they don't care any more (or, rather, that they do care and are now motivated to do the thing). So not only do you have a counter to action but you also have a situation where to overcome it, all a character has to do is change their mind. Which means eventually, the reader is rooting for the character to get over him/herself already and do the thing we want them to do. Conflict drives story. Conflict between a reader and a main character drives readers away from story. -
Second read review: On second reading, I somehow couldn’t put this down. A sweet love story. No gritty or any other realism. But plenty of tugging at the heart strings.
First review: I LOVE the fake relationship trope more than a cold beer after a run or cocktails by the pool. And yet somehow this didn’t quite work for me. I didn’t care much about either of the characters and so the whole thing left me a bit bored. -
Easily one of my favourite books this year! The romance was adorable and perfect. The characters were all so lovely. And the writing was exquisite. I know this book will be one I will come back to many times over the years!
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Really good writing. Great chemistry.
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Nice romance for two more complex than meet the eye characters.
The end was a bit two mushy for my taste though. -
Take one up and coming Hollywood star who fits the Disney profile, and one rebel rock chick who has run out of ways to shock the public... add together, stir it up and wait for the sparks to fly.
Cobie is the quintessential girl next door, one of the safe lesbians who doesn’t scare the public and has that squeaky clean teen girl image. Now she wants to grow up, and in particular she wants to play the hard, ambiguous and edgy lesbian lead from a NYT bestseller. But despite having the script she will never get cast while she is seen as a rom-com specialist.
Lila has dated every eligible bachelor, and quite a few in-eligible ones, while trying to keep her profile high between albums. She has done everything she can to shock and tease the paparazzi and run out of men and tactics. When Cobie and Lila’s managers suggest a fauxmance to help both their careers Lila jumps at the chance and instantly takes control of the situation. But despite micromanaging everything from their public appearances, behaviour, kissing and wardrobes Lila can’t control her growing attraction to the gorgeous Cobie and all that means is trouble.
It takes a damn good romance with something of a twist to catch my attention these days; too many romances, too many repeats of the same story. So when you get one that grabs your attention you know it’s something special. “In Development” is one of the best books I’ve read this year and May was a pretty good month all round.
It’s a traditional romance in the sense of the story arc but much more in terms of the depth of the main characters and their growth. Cobie and Lila are so real you feel as though you know them. The juxtaposition of their public lives, one withdrawn and quiet, the other brash and demanding, with their private characters, makes for a really interesting character development scenario. Both have faults, both need to change, and Lil, in particular, has some very deep-seated issues. But while Cobie has less baggage to overcome she still needs to develop into the grown up, powerful and strong Hollywood star she is capable of being.
Extremely well written, this is Spangler’s best yet. I rarely want to re-read a romance, but i literally fell for these two and this is definitely on the pile to revisit. -
Another story on fake romance with all the glitter and glamour of celebrities! Main characters in Lila and Cobie where one is straight and the other a lesbian. What’s not to like? I must admit I was a bit frustrated reading the book; what’s with Lila blowing hot and cold air and Codie not standing firm (even when her points/standing are valid) and simply going along/accepting Lila’s reasoning. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the book, enjoyed the storyline and I enjoyed the fauxmance genre.
And loved the book cover too :)
Ratings - 4.25 -
I'm a real sucker for these Actress / singer tales - and this one does not disappoint. Both characters are so self centred that I weep for their ambition but I was swept along and, shrug, I loved it. PS As a re-read a cleansing of the palate following a disappointing read!
