Birds of California: A Novel

🎬Fiona & Sam ⁣🎬Second Chances ⁣🎬Friends to Lovers⁣🎬Former child star and struggling actor ⁣🎬Hollywood post #Metoo ⁣⁣CW - past trauma (don't want to spoil anything), PTSD, cancer, depression⁣.⁣This was my first book from Katie Cotugno and I read it in one sitting. I was completely swept up in this story and these characters but I was left a liiiiil bit wanting.There is so much here with Fiona and Sam, together and as individuals and I just wish we could have gotten more of their stories.⁣⁣Synopsis⁣⁣Former child actor Fiona St. James crashed and burned in front of everyone. The tabloids said she'd lost her mind. Years later Fiona believes her past is behind her, she’s working at her family’s print shop and hanging out with her younger sister and elderly neighbor. She is extremely private at this point in her life and has no desire to act again.⁣⁣Sam Fox played her older brother on the television show Birds of California. He loves all the celebrity perks. His current show gets canceled and there is a call to revive Birds of California but the powers that be wont do it without Fiona. ⁣⁣Sam tracks her down and Fiona agrees to lunch together. What happens next takes them both by surprise. Long drives to the beach, late nights at dive bars . . . But then the other shoe drops, the shit hits the fan, and Fiona has to confront some stuff from her past that might end her and Sam. ⁣⁣Thank you to @katiecotugno and @Netgalley for providing me with a copy!

I had originally checked this out from the library. I wasn’t able to finish it in time when I had to return it. Needless to say I had enjoyed it enough to order myself a copy! A nice easy read that was entertaining and enjoyable. Perfect for vacation!

I have read most of Katie Cotugno's YA novels as they are easy and fun summer reads. Also the characters always seem very real to me as they are rarely "only good" or "only bad". They are often people who sometimes make mistakes and bad choices, which makes for interesting stories. Overall, I liked the writing style and the story of this novel and while these characters weren't my favourite necessarily, they were still interesting enough. What I didn't like about this book was that I feel like it tried very hard to be more mature than Cotugno's YA novels. This doesn't reflect on the characters' behaviour though, but is simply portrayed by way too many and not particularly well written sex scenes. They do not appear "naturally" in the story, but seem very forced and often out of context and unnecessary. Personally, I found them very cringy and they rather spoilt the book for me. Would recommend Cotugno's other books and skipping this one.

So much potential…It’s on the edge of being a really, really, good book…but it just didn’t get there for me and I hate that. I may have actually liked it more than I’m letting myself believe, but it was just missing something.

Super light and easy beach read. Kind of like an episode of the Hills