Book Review – Love Unscripted by Tina Reber (Plus a Book Giveaway!)

Love Unscripted
I’m “wow’ing” again!! I loved this book. It even took me a day or two to get over it. And again, I ummm… may have overreacted a little. Tee hee. I was reeling, but I’m thrilled that I had yet another *reading freak-out* moment, that had me on the edge of my seat. I LOVE when that happens. It means I was right there, with the characters. It means I’m invested in their story, their well being, their lives.

I already had this book in my TBR list, when I saw how many great reviews it was getting. I was also encouraged directly when I started receiving emails by those knowing I love the whole “rock star” type story, recommending this one.

It looked like it was going to be right up my alley (famous heartthrob actor and “regular” girl meet, and feel that spark). Have I ever told you guys that Notting Hill is one of my all time favorite movies? So you see where I’m going with this. “Ryan” might not be an actual rock star, but he is certainly a rock star in his own Hollywood life, and who wouldn’t love this kind of fairytale? And then to my delight, the author contacted me, and sent me a review copy. There was no question as to which book I was going to start next. I was so excited. And as I read it, I was truly enjoying myself!

At one point (probably while I had a silly smile on my face), my husband asked me his routine “So are you liking it?”. I told him, “Very much!! But it’s not earth shattering. You can tell the author really loves her characters and might be coddling them a bit. Little misunderstandings, or “jump to conclusion” situations are quickly resolved and everyone is happy.”

I resigned myself to the fact that the author really wasn’t going to let them get into any real trouble. Oh sure, people kept poking and prodding at them, situations arose that could have spelled disaster for them, but these two were solid, unbreakable, pure together.

*shrug* I was just going to enjoy a nice light read about an unconventional couple falling in love and trying to make their two worlds mesh.

Well… I ATE MY WORDS.

But this time, I had a little fun with it. You know those crazy emails I send Lily, when I’m reading a book I’m obsessed with? Well, this time, the author got the brunt of it. Tee hee!! Yup. Poooor her. We had a good time with it, but at one point, I was so LIVID, I told her (forgetting who she was in my moment of wrath). Woops  LOL! After re-reading my emails to her, I chuckled.

“Oooooh he’s making me SOOOO mad.

I love it, though, cause I’m super tense on the verge of HER tears. WOW. I love reading books that make me feel this way.

All the things I would have said to him by now…

“Okay, say hi to Lauren for me tonight, I’ll tell Kyle you said hi too. Buh bye.” and then, I would have changed my phone number. Yup. Oh yes. I would have.”

See what I mean? It gets worse, but that would divulge some spoilers, so I’ll refrain. I was able to capture my very emotions, every step of the way. Sorry Tina But like I once told Lily, what’s a little late night delirium between friends, right?

Oh and… my Facebook friends had to talk me down a bit too… Yup. I spread my emotions out all over the place with this book!

A snippet of my public “Facebook freak-out” (oh and… it was past 2am during this conversation). Definitely a “stay up all night and read” kind of story):

Maryse’s Book Blog: OMG what is this?? I’m reading Love Unscripted, and I’m as distraught as I was in How to Kill a Rock Star? I’m speechless… it was soooo easy going. So sweet once. Now I am literally shaking. Distraught.

Sherry: put the book down…back away real slow…….walk a.w.a.y from the book……get a glass of wine…and call me in the morning

Maryse’s Book Blog: hehe… I swear I think I’ve taken on the imaginary role of the “heroine”, and a bit too seriously, at that. *redfaced*

Ivie: S*&t. I just bought that!!! Maybe I’ll read another….(backing up slowly….)

Maryse’s Book Blog: No no…. It is SOOO good…. Made me swoon, giggle in the newness, made me cry a teensy bit, made me mad… LOVED it. MUST read.

Maryse’s Book Blog : I’m a big ball of emotions right now…

Jackie: sounds like one not to miss!

Sara: Yup. I hear ya!

What? You think you already know what happens? *shakes head* Nope. The surprises just keep coming. So emotionally overwhelming…

So lemme tell you guys about it!!

Taryn owns a pub (family owned and operated), and is scoffing at her friends’ reaction towards Ryan Christensen, the actor that has just arrived in their small town, to film his latest movie. Their town is in an uproar. Fans screaming, paparazzi paparazzi’ing (what pains!), rumors a-flying. Sure he’s gorgeous, but come on people. He’s a mere human like all of us, and no better than anyone (even though, she relented, that he probably *thinks* he’s all that). Leave the guy alone, and get over yourselves. She couldn’t understand why women would demean themselves for just a fraction of his attention. But no matter how adamantly she insisted that they were all behaving like lunatics around him, they persisted.

It’s like mob mentality. It gets so bad one morning, that they *squee’d* the poor guy right into her “closed” pub. Chasing him down the street, tearing at his clothes, his hair, scratching at him to get his attention, he ran right into Taryn’s empty pub and she locked the world out behind him, while he tried to catch his breath.

That’s when she realized just how right (and wrong) she was. To her surprise, this guy was no arrogant actor type. Cowering by himself in her stairwell, trying to stave off the panic attack his overzealous fans caused him, she grasped just how scared he really was.  He WAS just a normal guy, and obviously anguishing over his situation. He could never have a normal life again, at least, not as long as he continued living his dream. Except that, his dream was becoming a nightmare.

And that’s how “they” start. He spends the day with her, hiding out, playing pool, chatting like two normal people would and eventually devises his escape plan (through a few back alleys and an awaiting car).

“…it’s also nice to be able to talk to a woman who isn’t screaming at me,” he said,  looking a bit more relaxed. “You’re not going to scream at me, are you?”

For the first time in ages, he can be himself (since shes not fawning all over him – although she certainly was a bit nervous in his presence, but let’s blame it on his swoon-worthy looks ). They have a good time, say goodbye, and she sees him in a whole new light. *crush*

The rest of the night my mind lingered over the memories of the day. Ryan had been so charming, so kind and funny. I felt such remorse for saying out loud that he was full of himself. I could not have been more wrong about a person.

But he’s not through with her yet. While he’s in town (it will be a quite a few weeks still), he wants to pursue that feeling of “normal” with the pretty girl who rescued him. After a few attempts to contact her via “notes” sent to her bar (she turns him down each time)…

He was a super-celebrity and I wasn’t – and as much as I wanted to see him again, I’m intelligent enough to know that nothing lasting could come of it.

… he finally just shows up at her pub again (with his entourage in tow). What an uproar that causes! Now her pub is the most popular place in town, but if that’s the only way he can see her again, he’ll take it. And slowly, so VERY slowly, they become friends. I loved every moment of it. Every little shy nudge and how he twined his leg with hers secretly under the table, while they all played poker together with her friends. Every little rib poke. Even though it was so obvious they were into each other, this was not an immediate thing, but we sure got to enjoy the progression.

His face lit up when I walked into the room; his reaction caught me off guard. Why is he so happy to see me? Me?

This story is long (668 pages – it actually took me a few days to read it), but overall, I was so very happy for it. It made my time with these characters that I enjoyed so much, last longer.

The author offers us a nice slow build up. We get to indulge in every moment, every experience (even some of the mundane daily stuff). Sometimes I wondered if it was too much detail. Some small stuff. Some unimportant stuff. Stuff that didn’t really matter in the grand scheme of their development. But I eventually changed my mind, and shrugged off my concern for the “extra”. After all, I’m super “wordy” so who am I to talk? And I realized the luxury of the extra time and detail she put in, also meant that eventually, I felt like I knew them myself. I believe the author was living every moment with them, which in turn, allows the reader this luxury too.

We experience real life with these people for weeks: as friends (just hanging out, watching movies, outings, making a present together for his mom – SO sweet, sleeping cuddled together, platonically – LOVED that)…

I nodded my head and took a sip of ginger ale. “I’m starting to feel better, thanks.”

“Good,” he said as he playfully tossed a pillow at me.

I faked like I was going to toss the pillow back at him, but instead I just set it down next to my leg.

His eyes flickered between looking at the pillow and looking at me. With a quick lunge, he curled his body down on the couch. It seemed like he purposely fiddled with the pillow until it was in the perfect position under his head but mostly on my thigh. His feet hung out over the edge.

Our eyes met and I instantly felt his pull. I couldn’t resist it any longer. Without even thinking, I softly ran my fingers through his hair. His eyes closed and he sighed as I touched him.

He took my other hand off his shoulder and laid it across his heart.

… and as potential lovers (the closeness, the cuddling, connecting emotionally).

“I really like my new ringtone!” I smiled. Despite his motives, he managed to somehow find my favorite song.

“Good! I’m glad,” he sighed, sounding relieved.

“Pretty deep though, don’t you think?” I asked, prompting him to explain the reason why he chose that song.

“Maybe that was the intention,” he retorted. “I wanted to get a message across so there’s no confusion.”

and then … WOW.

WOW? Oh yes.  After all that closeness, that tension, that time together as friends only…dare I say, this book had one of the best *ahem* love scenes that I have ever read. The romance was off the charts!!!

And this is when I truly appreciated the author’s penchant for extra detail, for telling us every moment of everything, because, ALWAYS, when it counted, her storytelling became pure magic. When the butterflies *should* have been there, I had them. When the drama *should* have made me upset, I was shaking. Cold.

All I can add to this is… Her world. His world. I’m letting you figure out where it goes from here. Happily ever after? Maybe. Maybe not. But there will be a book #2 (Love Unrehearsed), and it’s still ALL about them. Maybe they need a bit longer to figure it out?

Tee hee. Have fun! I sure did

Now for the book giveaway! One copy of “Love Unscripted” is waiting to go home to a lucky LUCKY winner! Leave a comment here, and I will have the randomizer thingie draw one winner on Friday August 26th 2011 at 9pm EST. The winner will be contacted by email and will have 48hrs to respond with a mailing address (must respond by Sunday August 28th 2011 – 9pm EST). If you are picked, do not delay or you will lose your chance.

Here’s a suggestion. If you want to enter to win the book, leave your comment, and you may also pre-send me your mailing address, by email, in case you do win (please don’t post it in your comment). In a couple of my past giveaways, there were some issues with getting  response from the winner for a mailing address and I had to move on to a different winner. So to avoid this, if I pick your name, and I already have your address, then all is good. Contest open to U.S. mailing addresses only (although all are welcome to comment).

Related posts:

1. Book Review – Sheet Music: A Rock ‘N’ Roll Love Story by Ann Lister
2. Book Review – Where She Went by Gayle Forman
3. Book Review – Crow’s Row by Julie Hockley

Tagged as: 4.5 stars, actor, contemporary romance