Beyond the Stars by Stacy Wise Pages: 336
Published by Entangled Embrace on February 8, 2016
Genres: New Adult, Romance, contemporary
Source: eARC from Publisher
Falling for him wasn't in the plans...
Most girls would kill for the opportunity to work for Jack McAlister, Hollywood's hottest actor, but twenty-one-year-old Jessica Beckett is ready to kick him out of her red Ford Fiesta and never look back. She should be spending her junior year in France, eating pastries and sharpening her foreign language skills. Instead she's reluctantly working as Jack's personal assistant, thanks to her powerhouse talent agent aunt.
Jack is private, prickly, and downright condescending. Jessica pushes his buttons—she's not the type of girl to swoon over celebrity heartthrobs, precisely why her aunt thought she'd be perfect for the job—and Jack pushes right back.
But as she begins to peel away his layers, Jessica is shocked to find she craves her boss's easy smile and sexy blue eyes. The problem is, so does the entire female population. And what started out as the job from hell soon has Jess wondering if a guy like Jack could ever find love with a regular girl like her.
Beyond the Stars is a new adult contemporary romance from Entangled Embrace and debut author Stacy Wise. I think Embrace might be my very favorite imprint line from Entangled. All of their books just make me feel all the warm and fuzzies. Beyond the Stars was such a wonderful book. I really really loved it. It was the kind of book that not only made you lose track of time, but also being away from it makes you kind of jittery and distracted. (True story example: I had been reading Beyond the Stars for about 3 hours straight, and I was about 75% done with the book. My boyfriend called to chat and say goodnight, and I couldn’t even concentrate on anything he was saying. I was more than a little rude when I rushed him off the phone because I wanted to get back to reading. I felt like I was going through Beyond the Stars withdrawal for the 10-15 minutes I spent on the phone with him! That is crazy. But that is how much I adored this book.)
Beyond the Stars is told entirely from Jessica’s point of view, with the exception of the epilogue being Jack’s POV. Although I thoroughly enjoyed Jessica’s narrative, I would have loved to get some peeks into Jack’s head throughout. I am a suck for a dual narrative in romances. I don’t read a ton of celebrity/Hollywood type romances, but I am starting to think that needs to change because I enjoyed this one so much. I think what I loved most about this story was that it was a very slow burn romance. It gave us tons of time to get to know each of the characters and for them to get to know each other, without rushing into anything. It was perfection.
Even though the romance took place late in the book, the chemistry between Jessica and Jack was present throughout the entire story. It jumped off the pages. I want to read more about these two. I just love them to pieces. Jessica is spunky and a totally capable woman and Jack is so guarded and secretly vulnerable that you can’t help but fall for him. The two of them together gave me all the feels. I cannot believe that this was author Stacy Wise’s first book. I will be reading more from her. Of that, I am certain. I can’t wait to see what she has in store for us next.
Bottom line: This will be one of my favorite books of 2016. Beyond the Stars has everything I love about contemporary romances: a realistic, slow burn romance, great characters, even better chemistry and dialogue, hints of jealousy and a satisfying romance that is sure to put you in a better mood than when you started the book. Beyond the Stars is a blockbuster hit in my book! Go read it now.
Beyond the Stars by @StacyWiseBooks is a @BookBriefs top pick of 2016 @EPEmbrace Check out her #review & #giveaway Click To Tweet
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About Stacy Wise
Stacy Wise is the author of BEYOND THE STARS (Entangled Embrace, 2016). She has a B.A. in Communication Studies from UCLA and a Masters in Teaching from Chapman University. She lives in California with her husband, four children, two dogs, and ever-changing number of fish. BEYOND THE STARS is her debut novel.
lilyelement
This does sound like a good read. Had to laugh about the rushing your bf off the phone a bit so you could go back to the book. Always a good sign for a book 😉
Sierra @ Yearning to Read
Oh my goodness, this actually sounds SO good! I love slow burn romance and Jessica sounds like a lovable heroine! I love that you were so into it that you couldn’t even focus on your boyfriend calling…sounds like a book I wanna get into. Thanks for the awesome review, Michelle!