YA Hollywood | Book Review: Truly, Madly, Famously by Rebecca Serle

“In this romantic sequel to Famous in Love, new Hollywood “It Girl” Paige must navigate love with her co-stars, both on and off screen and all in the public eye.

Lights, camera, love!

After being plucked from obscurity, Hollywood’s newest starlet, Paige Townsen, has a hit film to her name and Rainer Devon on her arm. But being half of the world’s most famous couple comes with a price, and soon Paige finds herself dodging photographers; hiding her feelings for her other costar, Jordan Wilder; and navigating tabloid scandals that threaten to tear her and Rainer apart-and end her career as quickly as it began.”

The Magic Is Gone

As the sequel to Famous in Love, I expected Truly, Madly, Famously to follow its predecessor’s tone – sweet, addicting, frilly fluff.

Instead, this sequel took a bland, basic turn.

Famous in Love was set in the lush, tropical setting of Hawaii, where romance and love triangles are born. It had the excitement of shooting a movie and the intrigue of the co-stars getting to know one another.

Truly, Madly, Famously is set in L.A. The co-stars are on rocky terms the whole novel (immature fights and obvious secrets), and our girl Paige learns the real cost of celebrity with scandalous rumors and mean it-girls.

This book was essentially filler for the final installment of this trilogy where the love triangle will finally be resolved for good…I hope.

I was sincerely disappointed with this book. If the first book is cotton candy fluff, this sequel is the bitter aftertaste.

My main problem with Truly, Madly, Famously is that the shift from book 1 is so abrupt. Gorgeous Hawaii back to reality in L.A. Dreamy romance with both Rainer and Jordan turns to fights and lying. Enjoying being discovered to avoiding the paparazzi.

Books that don’t have a lot of action or “things that happen” are usually balanced out with emotional struggles or overcoming some issue. That’s not the case here. Paige mainly hangs out with new friends, her boyfriend, and goes to one or two appearances for the movie.

The one HUGE opportunity for resolution and emotional pay-off is 100 percent brushed under the rug and cited as “that’s the way they are.” What?!

This was too much of a shift in tone to be enjoyable for me. The magic and fun of the first book was completely lost.

OVERALL:

Unless you are deeply invested in the Famous in Love series already, stop where you are now. Truly, Madly, Famously sadly does not live up to its flirty, fun first book.