Release Day and Review Tour: Stars in Their Eyes: Lauren Blakely

by - Thursday, October 09, 2014


Stars in Their Eyes 
Lauren Blakely
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Release Day October 9, 2014

A sexy and swoony new adult romance...


Celebrity photographer and college senior Jess Leighton desperately needs to crash the wedding of the year. Snapping just one pic of the A-list Hollywood couple tying the knot will pay her way through grad school. But with security tighter than the bride-to-be's corset, she'll need more than her camera and smarts, she'll need help from her biggest rival--hot, British, motorcycle-riding William Harrigan, whose sexy accent can melt the panties off any woman. He’s the last person Jess should trust, but he's her only ticket in.

William Harrigan wants one thing – to stay in L.A. past college graduation. With a student visa set to expire, the clock is ticking. When he lands a gig that pairs him with the beautiful blond spitfire Jess, he’s scored his best shot at living out the American dream. Winning her trust would be a whole lot easier, however, if he didn’t have ulterior motives...

But there’s no faking the intense attraction between them. Try as they might to resist each other, soon sparks are flying, as they devise a plan to sneak into the ceremony. But when Jess' new celebrity client raises the stakes, she starts to smell blackmail, and soon she and Will are chasing down cheating directors, staking out clandestine trysts, and making fake IDs, all while sneaking scene-stealing kisses and hot nights together.

The audience loves a happy ending, but in a town where everyone's acting and no one's playing by the rules, can Jess and William find their own ever after in time? Especially now that they’ve learned it’s quite possible to fall in love in Hollywood in only seven days.


**STARS IN THEIR EYES is a spin-off of the New York Times & USA Today Bestselling CAUGHT UP IN LOVE series. It is the start of the new adult series WRAPPED UP IN LOVE.**


If you want a free introduction to Jess and William, don’t miss the FREE Prequel Novella, A STARSTRUCK KISS! 
Note: It is also included in the Stars in their Eyes ebook. 
Amazon US ** iBooks ** Kobo ** B&N


“You played me,” he said, but he didn’t sound mad. He sounded impressed.

“It worked,” I said, pride suffusing my tone. “But the scrapes are real.”

“Yeah, I feel terrible. Shall I go hunt down a Band-Aid for you now? Oh wait. You carry them with you. You’re always prepared.”

“You never know when you might have to take a fall to be first,” I said, and rooted around in the front pocket of my backpack for a Band-Aid. I found one, peeled off the wrapping and started to press it onto my palm.

“Let me help,” he said in a soft voice, laying the ends of the Band-Aid onto my skin. He stepped closer, his body now officially in the zone of supreme nearness–the zone that would allow for hands to explore chests, and arms to be wrapped around necks, and lips to lock again. I held my breath. My hands tingled under his touch. “This is the part in the script where the reformed bad boy touches the heroine for the second time,” he whispered.

I wanted to close my eyes and linger in the moment. But I had to be stoic. I couldn’t say what I wanted to say. That this was the moment when the heroine’s skin raced from the barest touch. So I lied. “This is the part where the heroine doesn’t even notice.”

He raised an eyebrow. He held my gaze. I didn’t look away in enough time. My breath caught, and my lips were parted. “Hi,” he whispered in a voice that was getting under my skin.

“Hi,” I said against my better judgment, against my brain.

“Are we still on for the movie tomorrow?”

“You’re just asking me out because I’m the competition, right? Keep your friends close and your enemies closer?”

“I’m asking because I want to go out with you. Not because you’re the enemy.”

I scoffed. “At least you admitted I’m the enemy. That’s why you’re asking me.”

He raised his hand, reaching gently for a strand of my hair. My feet felt wobbly with him so near to me. The earth was suddenly operating at a bizarre angle. I pressed my palm against the brick wall behind me to steady myself as he ran a finger along my hair. So softly. “I swear,” he whispered, pinning me with his gaze. “I truly want to see the movie with you. Say you’re still going with me.”



Jess Leighton is independent, sassy, sarcastic, and has a strong need to always be in control. To pay for med school, she is also a celebrity photo stalker. She tries to avoid the distractions of men since she needs to keep her focus. But she knows she can be easily be dazzled by hot boys and the sweet things in life. So she tries to put up walls of resistance to keep her out of trouble. 

William Harrigan is a transplanted Brit, also in college, who just wants to find a way to stay in L.A. But in order to do that he needs to find someone to sponsor a work visa and that is easier said than done since his skill set is pretty specific. In one of his attempts, he makes the acquaintance of the the feisty Jess, but it also pits them in direct competition.  Jess is determined to stay away from him., but William has other ideas.

Hot. British. Rides a motorcycle. If he turned out to be a smart one, he'd be all my weaknesses. Good bye to him then, because I had no time for weaknesses in my life.

She was lovely. And hot. And feisty. Translation-everything I liked best.

There is sexual tension, resistance, rivalry, and hidden agendas. William is a bit of a mystery and his motivations are unclear. But eventually something comes up that they need each other for and have to work as a team. Soon they are knee deep in impossible attraction, intriguing situations, investigations and espionage.

In a world where no one is who they seem, are they both giving full disclosure? And are they together for more than just what they can do for the other?

Oh my...I loved William. First off I am a sucker for a British accent. I loved his older brother, Matthew in Far Too Tempting, but William is charismatic, funny, and sexy like him, but is a bit more rugged and unpolished. He a good guy with a bad boy edge. I was intrigued from the beginning about what he was hiding. I enjoyed his witty rapport and flirtation with Jess.

She had it all-brains, beauty, and a  prickly take-no-prisoners attitude that drove me crazy. Crazy for her. 


Jess took a little bit longer to warm up to. She is all about control, but she has her reasons. Her past has shown her it is a slippery slope to completely losing control and losing focus.Men and good food are her vices that she tries to avoid. But the charming Brit just might be too tempting to avoid. And when she lets go a little, she is fun, sassy, and likable. 

He knocked down all the walls inside me, all my control, all my precision-balanced need to have my world spinning at a perfect pace I set and controlled like an engineer. Letting go scared the hell out of me; it stomped on all that I held dear. 

But together they are flirty, fun, compatible, passionate, and can even be supportive. They actually make a good team. But there is so much going on under the surface, so many things changing quickly, situations that are ambiguous, and it is difficult to figure out who is friend or foe. They are two people with their own motivations who came together, but are also facing challenges under a rigid timeline.

He was always the dreamer; I was always more practical. I was science; he was words. The statistical probability of us working out was slim to none.

Can these two put all of the pieces together and help themselves and others? Or will the hidden agendas and secrets ultimately ruin it all? 

It made me tense, kept me guessing and wondering how it all going to come together and if it would work out. It was humorous, sweet, frustrating, mysterious, intriguing, passionate, and romantic. It was told in both Jess and William's point of views allowing us to feel their emotions and understand their fears and motivations. However, Lauren did allow William to keep a veil of mystery by not allowing us to know all of his secrets until they were fully revealed. So I kept coming up with my own various theories as I was reading.

I loved the background of the L.A. scene and famous people as well as the underlying theme of life imitating the movies. It was fun and interesting how the author bought in pop culture references and also built connections between the players. And I completely enjoyed the cameos from other Lauren Blakely books. Jess is Bryan's sister (Caught Up In Us) and William in Matthew's brother (Far Too Tempting) so of course they were involved along with their significant others, but there were other fun surprises as well. That is one of the things that always  makes me smile when I read a book by Lauren Blakely since I know I might catch a glimpse  of old friends. However this book can easily be read as a stand-alone.  I would consider it more of a NA book, but it fits with the fun, romantic vibe of the rest of the series while also pulling in more of entertainment elements we have seen a bit of in the others but this focuses more on L.A. movie stars rather than New York, 
music, theater, or fashion.

I devoured this fast-paced story and was completely engaged by the characters and the twists and turns. It kept me guessing, plotting, and wondering throughout. It made me smile and even swoon a bit. I really loved the characters and their interactions. Not only with the main couple but with all of the side characters and cameos that intermingled throughout the story adding depth and interest. And William Harrigan has earned a spot on my list of sweet, sexy, adorable book boyfriends. 

I was gifted a copy in exchange for an honest review.
Trying to finance her medical school dreams without resorting to student loans, Jess Leighton has channelled her abilities to recognize celebrity faces and take quality photos quickly as a paparazzo to help her reach her dream. All her energy is focused on keeping her grades up and funding that next step in her life; she keeps her vices, guys and dessert, at a distance to maintain the control necessary to reach her goals. 

William Harrigan is in the United States on a student visa, struggling to find a way to remain in the States following his graduation. When he shows up at several of the same shoots as Jess, she feels both a competitive threat and a dangerous attraction.

I loved each of these character individually and together. I'm pretty sure I spent much of my time reading these with a grin plastered to my face. 

A Starstruck Kiss is the introduction to Stars in Their Eyes. It is sweet, short and raises many of the questions which are answered in the second book. Stars in Their Eyes takes the story and expands it, twists it, and carries it beyond the basic lines it appears to have. 

Together they made for a fun, flirty, read with a twist. Through the ups and downs I found myself making predictions about who was behind various activities and how things would shake out in the end. Because for a while things looked like smooth sailing, like they weren’t going to have a tough time finding their happy ending. And then that smooth road shatters to pieces spectacularly.

This is the first of a spin-off from Lauren’s Caught Up in Love series. The characters that are new should make for interesting stories down the line. And the ties ins to Caught Up in Us and Far Too Tempting, in particular, were fun little pieces. Brian and Matthew, as each character’s siblings pop in and out of the story more than their significant others, but even the little glimpse of Clay and Julia make for fun connections. I think I say this every time I review one of Lauren’s books but I love how she is able to bring back the characters that we love without taking the attention of the main story. These really do standalone, though the characters are woven through other books.
The Wrapped Up In Love Series is a new adult spin off from the Caught Up In Love Series. They are about different couples and can be read as stand alones, but some of the fun is that the characters do cross over at times.

THE CAUGHT UP IN LOVE SERIES:


Pre-quel .5: CAUGHT UP IN HER (Bryan & Kat’s story begins)
FREE pre-quel novella: 
Amazon/B&N/iTunes

BOOK 1: CAUGHT UP IN US (Bryan & Kat’s story continues)
BOOK 2: PRETENDING HE'S MINE (Reeve & Sutton's story)
BOOK 3: TROPHY HUSBAND (Chris & McKenna's story)
BOOK 4: PLAYING WITH HER HEART (Davis & Jill's story)

**TANGLED UP IN LOVE (Box Set of Books 1-4)
Amazon/B&N/iTunes
FAR TOO TEMPTING: spin-off: (Jane Black and Matthew Harrigan)

WRAPPED UP IN LOVE: spin-off series
A STARSTRUCK KISS (William & Jess' FREE pre-quel novella:
Amazon US /iBooks /Kobo /B&N
STARS IN THEIR EYES (William & Jess’ story - October 9, 2014 release)
Author PhotoLauren Blakely
Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Lauren Blakely Goodreads
Lauren Blakely writes sexy contemporary romance novels with heat, heart, and humor, and her books have appeared on the New York Times, USA Today, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iBooks bestseller lists. Like the heroine in FAR TOO TEMPTING, she thinks life should be filled with family, laughter, and the kind of love that love songs promise. Lauren lives in California with her husband, children, and dogs. Her novels include Caught Up In Us, Pretending He’s Mine, Playing With Her Heart, and Trophy Husband. She also writes for young adults under the name Daisy Whitney.

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