Lipstick & Camera Clicks: The Starlit Affections, Book 1

The Feels With Reality Show Drama
*****Spoilers*****River and his older sister Ryan end up gaining a playmate when they’re small children because Indigo and her mother move in. The two mothers became fast friends and so did the three children. Indigo made a play for River when they were teenagers but he turned her down because he had a girlfriend and because Ryan made him promise that he wouldn’t get involved with Indigo and put the friendship in jeopardy. Fast forward and all three are now adults. Indigo finds out her boyfriend is cheating on her and she reaches out to Ryan but is unsure of her reception because she kind of cut both Ryan and River out of her life for the relationship with Javi. Moving back in with Ryan and River is just what Indigo needs and after some strong arming by Ryan, leads to Indigo landing a spot on a reality dating show that River is working on as well.Kade is the prize bachelor and star of the show, his outward persona marking him as a bad boy. But the more Indigo is around Kade, the more she realizes she just might like him and that his public persona isn’t who he really is. Indigo is adrift in her feelings for River and Kade, despite the fact she was firm in her convictions to NOT fall or feel anything for Kade. Indigo is really there for the free publicity she’ll get after the show has aired and the show’s viewers have seen her makeup skills. River is spurred into finally declaring his feelings for her, but Indigo is skeptical about the timing since they’ve been friends so long and River never showed his interest in the past. Once Indigo lets go of the fear of failing with River, she’s able to realize that’s who her deeper feelings point her toward and decides to break whatever has just begun between her and Kade before things go beyond a few kisses. Their timing is terrible to start something since Indigo is on a dating show and River’s future career could be snatched away so I cringed at the inopportune times they get away and wait anxiously for them to be busted. They do get caught but not in the way I expected. Throw in some blackmail, fights, and revelations with a heaping side of drama and this one is a page turner.I really liked the characters and how genuine they’re written. Their varied personalities and appearances were an appreciated inclusion. I also enjoyed the humor and Indigo was witty. The author did a good job I thought of not burying us too much in Indigo’s makeup expertise but giving enough to appreciate the art. We got an inside look but weren’t drowned in excruciating makeup tutorials and explanations all the time even though that was Indigo’s angle going on the show. While there some consistency issues and jumping between scenes with no transition, the story was still good.

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This book was so cute! The main characters were fleshed out and the side characters actually had their own personalities. I love books like this, the plot line was amazing and I’m so mad at myself I waited so long to actually dig into this amazing book.9/10🎄(318pgs)

ten out of freaking ten wow.
while i give nearly every book i read a 5 star rating for fear of hurting the author’s feelings, you don’t have to take this one with a grain of salt. Indie was incredibly relatable! She’s funny, smart, driven, and independent. Being caught between a rock and a hard place is going to be challenging for anyone at any time, but I loved each time she stood up for herself after being hurt by Javi. I myself have never been on a dating reality show but watching my fair share of love island (lol) I feel like this was such a good depiction of how twisted and selfish networks can be to real people who hand their privacy away to be televised. A happy ending is all you can really ask for with romance novels and this was as happy as happy gets!p.s. I lied, I could ask for a couple more in the series. *cough cough wink wink* sabrina & hanna, kade and his new agent 😏, ryan and ??p.p.s. finally thank you to the author for my most favorite book i’ve read this year 🩷

This book is MESSY. And I liked it!If you’re into reality tv drama, I’m quite sure you’ll like this, too. Just cute, messy vibes, not that deep, and laughing at the shenanigans.

This was just a really cute read, Indigo was one of the best written fmc I have read in a while. I understood where it was going to end and who she was going to end up with (I read the last page after reading the sample 😭). But the way D.J Murphy writes that pen game is no joke she is going to be a definate read for me now 🥰