Kasie West is definitely one of my favorite authors, and her books are always super feel-good, soft, and fluffy. As much as I love her books, this one wasn’t up to par to her other releases like The Fill-In Boyfriend or P.S. I Like You. It was definitely still an enjoyable read, and I really grew to love the main characters. 💖 However, the writing and development of the story felt a bit muddled and messy. I wouldn’t say that this is her best book, but it does satisfy my need for a cutesy contemporary.
FAME, FATE, AND THE FIRST KISS by Kasie West
PUBLISHED BY HaperTeen (HarperCollins) on Feb 5th, 2018
GENRES: Contemporary
PAGES: 384
ADD TO GOODREADS // BOOK DEPOSITORY
Lacey Barnes has dreamt of being in a movie for as long as she can remember. However, while her dream did include working alongside the hottest actor in Hollywood, it didn’t involve having to finish up her senior year of high school at the same time she was getting her big break. Although that is nothing compared to Donavan, the straight-laced student her father hires to tutor her, who is a full-on nightmare.
As Lacey struggles to juggle her burgeoning career, some on-set sabotage, and an off-screen romance with the unlikeliest of leading men, she quickly learns that sometimes the best stories happen when you go off script.
Fame, Fate, and the First Kiss follows Lacey Barnes, a 17-year-old actress and high school student, who has been cast for her first big-screen movie alongside Hollywood big shot, Grant James. 🎬 Lacey’s determined to prove herself as an actress, but her plans start to fall short when the director thinks Lacey and Grant have no chemistry on screen, which really can’t be helped considering Lacey is playing a zombie and monster make-up doesn’t really inspire butterflies. 
Not only that, Lacey’s helicopter father is requiring her to improve her math grade and has hired a tutor, Donovan, to make sure of it. With all that’s going on, Lacey doesn’t need another tutor let alone another boy added to the mix, but maybe, there’s more for Donovan to help with other than just math homework. 😉
Although this book followed the classic Kasie West rom-com formula, the writing of this story felt underdeveloped which flowed into other aspects of the book. Lacey was an easy character to love—she was ambitious, sympathetic, and a fun POV to read from. On the other hand, the other side characters felt more one-dimensional and could have been explored a bit further. There were also a couple scenes that felt like filler and didn’t help move the story along. 
The climax of the book involves a mystery which added more suspense and excitement; however, the end result was underwhelming. We’re left clues throughout the story about who the potential suspect could be, but I was disappointed when the real suspect was revealed because it just opened more plot holes and left me more confused.
Still, the romance was a fun slow-burn to watch unfold, and I loved every interaction the two had together because my heart skipped a beat in classic Kasie West contemporary fashion. 😍 Another aspect of the story that I think was done very well was the development of Lacey and her father’s relationship. He plays a major part in the story, and I enjoyed seeing him slowly becoming more supportive of her career. 
Overall, this book was an enjoyable read, but I expected more from one of my favorite contemporary-writing queens. Hopefully, her next book will be more reminiscent of her classic love stories, so I’m excited to see what she writes next!
Read By Tiffany 
OMG!! I want to read it as well!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes!! I hope you do when it’s released ❤
LikeLike
I didn’t even know she had written this so I’m definitely going to find a way to read it, just because I need a fluffy contemp read soon!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s going to be released sometime in February I believe, but I definitely would still recommend her books ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
Aww, sorry to see that this one fell a little flat. But I’m a SUCKER for slow burn romances and good father-daughter relationships. And I have such a soft spot for Kasie West, so I’ll probably still check this one out when it releases! Haha. 😂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I would actually still recommend checking it out!! Just with the expectation that it won’t be as good as PS I Like You 😛 I definitely still enjoyed reading it because I needed more of Kasie West’s fluffiness IN MY LIFE RIGHT NOWWWWW
LikeLiked by 1 person
No,I haven’t but I’ll probably check it out
LikeLiked by 1 person
You should! Kasie West’s books are some of my all time favorites ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
Lovely review, Tiffany! ❤ I'm so sorry to hear this one fell a little short, though. I only read the distance between us by this author so far, but I want, I need to read more from her, because you know me, I'm a contemporary marshmallow haha. I can't wait to discover more of her books 🙂
Thank you for sharing! ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes!!! Kasie West’s book are always the perfect marshmallowy fluff ❤ I just didn't think this one was as wonderful as her others. I highly recommend PS I Like You though!! It's one of my favorites 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ll have to read that one then 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
Aww, I’m sorry to hear this one was a little disappointing! Wonderful review, and I’m sure I’ll still end up reading it because I love a good rom-com every now and then. 😉 The father-daughter relationship sounds really good, though!
Also, funny story, when I was looking at my Reader and saw the title of this post, at first I thought it said “by Kanye West” and I was momentarily very confused…then I realized it said Kasie West😂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I haven’t read this one! And tbh, I didn’t really enjoy P.S. I Like You even though I feel like that’s EVERYONE’s favorites of her novels? But I enjoyed “By Your Side”??? IDK M8
LikeLiked by 1 person
I LOVED PS I Like You (whoops), but I also really enjoyed By Your Side 😉 This one isn’t as good as those two, but I still think it hits the fluffy contemporary spot if you’re craving something cutesy ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think I’m just too picky with contemporaries sometimes! But yes, I think I may try this one out!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I am terrified of not liking a Kasie West novel. I love her contemporary novels and when you mentioned it fell flat, I was worried I might not enjoyed it. I’m still giving this a shot and I do need to keep up with her books. Btw, I love your review, Tiffany! ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think it’s still an enjoyable read, just not as spectacular as her other novels 🙂 It’s still great if you miss her writing and romance, but just as a caution, I didn’t find it as captivating or as well developed as the others 😛 Thank you so much Beatrice!! ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’re welcome and thank you for the heads up!! ❤ 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great review
LikeLike