Relatively Famous (Famous Series Book 1)

*Spoilers*Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book, so much so that I messaged the author and pestered her about the sequel. LOL.The writing is solid. There are some editing mistakes, but they don't detract from the story. Leigh has a strong sense of where she wants the story to go, and it gets there. Her characters seem genuine, and you want to like them. Sure, Sydney does come off as a whiner and a borderline recluse at times, but she calls herself out on it all the time. Sydney knows that her "Oh, poor me and my rich person problems" come off as ridiculous, and she spends most of the book trying to work through her issues with trust and attention.I have two basic problems with the text. They are probably nit-picky, but they bothered me.1) Leah's hiding Drew's real identity. When Leah meets "Drew" in the coffee shop, she almost immediately recognizes him as the uber famous "Andrew Forrester." Instead of giving her celebrity dodging, fame fearing, traumatized by her childhood friend a heads up, Leah lets the relationship play out, knowing that Sydney, no matter how she feels about Drew, is going to completely lose her s*** when she finds out. The reader actually knows Leah's reason for doing this because it is the same reason she hid Adam's identity: Leah wanted Sydney to get the know the real person before she judged or avoided Adam because of his celebrity status.Leah has her BFF's best interest at heart, but it seems unlikely that knowing Sydney like she supposedly does, Leah would intentionally expose her to the all the craziness Sydney has been avoiding for 12 years. I get that she is trying to encourage Sydney to engage with the rest of the world, but couldn't she have done that by introducing her to a nice plumber or stockbroker or something? Is the best option really throwing her back to the wolves? Leah has to know that if the media found out about Sydney and Drew, even if they didn't make the connection back to her famous parents, they would swarm her, again making her life hell.The entire setup just comes off as a little insensitive, but again I'm kinda nit-picking.2) The sub-plot with Sydney's Dad.For most of the book, the reader is led to believe that Sydney's father abandoned his family when he got caught cheating on his wife. Because of this, Sydney has a love-hate relationship with the memory/idea of him: she loves the man he used to be but hates that he just left her. We are supposed to see him as a selfish prick. Sadly, this is a storyline that is very realistic because it happens all the time. However, based on Sydney's flashbacks, Reid Tannen does not seem like the type of man who would just abandon his only child. First, he's insanely protective of her, and he tattooed her nickname, "Heartbreaker," on his wrist. These two things show how much he loves his daughter. Lastly, Sydney was 12 when he left. I could see him abandoning her if she was really young because the bond between the two wouldn't be so strong, and there would be a chance that Sydney would be able to overcome her father leaving. At 12, there is little chance that she would just be able to forget about him. Didn't Sydney ever ask to call him? Go see him? Anything?Later, we learn that he opened up about Sydney in a Barbara Walters interview and reveals that he only abandoned his daughter to keep her safe. He let his wife take his child across the country and NEVER contacted her again to keep the media away from her so that she could have a normal childhood. He even nonchalantly commented that as long as she's happy, losing her was worth it. Really?!? Never having contact with your daughter and having her think you didn't/don't love her is fine as long as she's happy? In 12 years, he NEVER regretted his decision? He never thought that abandoning her would have repercussions? It was almost like he was shrugging off the entire experience of being a parent.Furthermore, after finding out the truth, Sydney is not super pissed about what her parents did. She merely tells her mother that she understands and is grateful for their sacrifice. The two cry it out, and everything is fine. This came across as disingenuous because Sydney should have at least been upset with her mother for keeping her father away, for making her think that she wasn't loved.Again, I am just picking at a sub-plot issue that bothered me. In no way did either of these two things take away from the rest of the story.Relatively Famous is a very good read, and I can't wait to read the rest of the series. Leigh has done an excellent job creating a world the reader wants to be in from start to finish.

I picked up this book because it was free and 3am and the synopsis worked for whatever mood I was in that early in the morning. I'm glad I picked up the book though, because I ended up reading the first three books in the series very quickly, and I enjoyed all three books.Most girls like the idea of a famous or rich guy coming into their lives and sweeping them off their feet. Sydney did not feel that way. Not one bit. I think that is part of what made her so interesting. Sydney is the daughter of two very popular a-list movie actors, and to say her childhood was scary would be an understatement. She literally carries scars on her body from where paparazzi got out of control, and don't even get me started on the creepy people who hang stalked this poor little girl because of who her parents were. Needless to say Sydney has severe anxiety issues, and basically avoids people knowing who she is at all costs. This basically means she is living in a self-imposed prison, she doesn't like to leave her apartment and works as an interior designer from home. I liked Sydney, she was interesting for sure, but she also in some ways so sheltered. She has no idea who is famous, doesn't listen to the radio (hello music only before the 80s) and just in general keeps off the internet, so news of the world is not her thing. I can't imagine being that cut off from the world. This has kind of resulted in her being more innocent than most in my opinion, which again just made her more interesting.Now for our leading man, Drew. I liked Drew a lot, but he was definitely hiding something from Sydney early on. I think Drew finds Sydney interesting for the same reason why I found her interesting. He's a pretty nice guy too, he's sweet, and thoughtful, and goes all out for the girl he likes. Plus I really liked the whole Boston thing, I mean I have a soft spot in my heart for Boston, so he already has a step up when the book started.The two of them together just worked for me. They had some serious obstacles to overcome, but they had great chemistry from the start and once they got to know each other on a deeper level they just kind of fit together. Drew does have jealousy issues, and Sydney has issues of her own to get over, but watching them come together as a couple was great. There were some suspenseful and scary moments in the book, but it just made the storyline even better. There are some good villains in this series that I really enjoyed readying. I have no problem recommending this book and this series to anyone who likes new adult book.

This is a very mixed book. It started well enough, witht he writing style being easy to read, although the present tense took a little getting used to. The heroine is likeable and even the unbelievable scenarios are done in such a way as to be believable.One such unbelievable thing is Sydney’s utter disgust for celebrity, to the point she doesn’t own a TV, watch movies, or read magazines. It could almost be called a phobia, her dislike is so great. This is believable only because as the child of famous parents she had multiple kidnap attempts, someone else break into her bedroom and wait for her, then return another time with a knife, then there’s the paparazzi who caused a car crash that left her seriously injured, and she was badly bullied as a teenager because of her parents fame. She even changed her name so no one would associate her with her famous dad and refuses all contact with him (including reading his interviews).Yeah, you know, after all that, I might react the same to celebrity and publicity too.Which is why when she (unknowingly) dates Hollywood’s highest earning star and eventually discovers how famous he is, her friend calling her paranoid (among other things) reads as incredibly cruel. It’s only paranoia if they’re not out to get you, and the author went to great lengths to show that they, in fact, were out to get Sydney.The next misstep is that this intense fear and disgust of publicity is overcome just like that. She runs away to see her Mum for a few days and she learns that her parents shielded her from their fame from age 12, but because Sydney is grown now her mum wants to act again… and Sydney is totally fine with this. With no therapy, no self-help books, no sedatives or antidepressants, just *poof* and suddenly it’s okay to go on national TV and talk about the reason she ran away from Hollywood AND she decided to change her name back to her father’s.I get not giving up the person you love just because he’s famous, but you don’t jump in the deep end if you haven’t learned to swim (and she hid from fame, she never learned to navigate it).Now for the hero, Drew. He does lie about his fame (actual lies, not “I’ll tell you that I do later”), but he does understand why fame upsets her. He doesn’t label her paranoid or get angry with her like her “friend”. However, considering he had a girlfriend who fears publicity, especially bad publicity, he is exceptionally short tempered and likes to get into very public fights. This is a huge character flaw in anyone, but especially when it would be harmful to your girlfriend, who you profess to love more than life itself. Her father was the same, leaving his daughter in the car with a broken arm and fractured skull so he could beat up a photographer, so you could argue she’s repeating the cycle but it’s an ugly and massive character flaw in both men.When he’s “upset” he snaps at everything and everyone, including police officers and, oh yeah, the woman he’s supposed to love. Even when she’s injured, his pain trumps hers, apparently and prevents him from being a decent human being. Yeah, he’s a great “hero”.Sydney also had an eating disorder, eating so little and exercising so much that her periods sometimes stop. Maybe the author thinks this is no big deal but it IS! Then when she falls pregnant, no one, not even her thinks “maybe I should eat a bit more and run a bit less.” She supposedly wants the baby and thinks pregnancy vitamins is all she needs to do. And talking of the pregnancy, she apparently had never heard of Plan B. She doesn’t want a baby but she’d rather leave it to fate than visit a pharmacy. Like, what? Mind you, she doesn’t know it takes 2 weeks for a pregnancy test to work, so maybe she's just that ignorant and doesn’t know the morning after pill exists. Then again, Mr “I’m so sorry, I can’t believe I didn’t wear protection and put you at risk” doesn’t think to suggest it either.All in all, a very mediocre read.It is part of a series but thankfully, it doesn’t end on a cliffhanger. I won’t be buying book two though.

Reading this made me realise the downside of fame, the obsessive fans, the lack of privacy etc. The steamy scenes didn't add anything to the story for me,although to be fair they didn't detract too much.I am interested in following up on their story in the next book, although the story could be considered complete in itself.

I found this book a bit overlong. Syd is a girl with a real problem, dating back to her childhood. Despite thinking her Dad was the best thing since sliced bread, she didn't consider speaking to her Mum and sorting the problems out. The ending is just terrible, I didn't realise there was a cliffhanger, but I don't think I will be getting the next instalment.

I love this book the characters are great and the storyline is excellent if I do say so myself. I read this book my sun up to sun down.

absolutely loved this book, the story was good and the characters were a real mix, i am determined to read more of the series