Review: Fame, Fate, and the First Kiss (Kasie West)

Title: Fame, Fate, and the First Kiss
Series: companion to Love, Life, and the List
Author: Kasie West
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: February 5, 2019
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary Romance
Told: First Person (Lacey), Past Tense
Content Rating: Teen (kissing, zombies)
Format Read: ARC (trade)
Find On: Goodreads
Purchase On: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository
Summary:

Fan favorite author Kasie West delivers an effervescent story about chasing your dreams and following your heart, perfect for fans of Jenny Han and Huntley Fitzpatrick. 

Lacey Barnes has dreamed of being an actress for as long as she can remember. So when she gets the opportunity to star in a movie alongside one of Hollywood’s hottest actors, she doesn’t hesitate to accept the part.

But Lacey quickly learns that life in the spotlight isn’t as picture perfect as she imagined. She’s having trouble bonding with her costars, her father has hired the definition of a choir boy, Donavan Lake, to tutor her, and somewhere along the way she’s lost her acting mojo. And just when it seems like things couldn’t get any worse, it looks like someone on set is deliberately trying to sabotage her.

As Lacey’s world spins out of control, it feels like the only person she can count on—whether it’s helping her try to unravel the mystery of who is out to get her or snap her out of her acting funk—is Donavan. But what she doesn’t count on is this straight-laced boy becoming another distraction.

With her entire future riding on this movie, Lacey knows she can’t afford to get sidetracked by a crush. But for the first time in her life Lacey wonders if it’s true that the best stories really do happen when you go off script.

*          *          *

As I say like a broken record in every Kasie West review, Kasie is one of my favorite authors and I will read anything she writes. That said, Fame, Fate, and the First Kiss was probably my least favorite Kasie book to date.

I really enjoyed Lacey's small part in companion novel Love, Life, and the List and was excited for her to have her own story, but despite being an actress in the middle of shooting a zombie movie I found her surprisingly rather bland. Also, while the book mainly took place on a movie set - one of my favorite settings - there was little to it and we only got a few interesting tidbits offhand. I think both of these problems were due to a serious lack of description: the story all but took place on a minimalist low-budget stage in my mind, or just plain white space - so any location description or character movement stood out awkwardly because there was so little of it.

The biggest disappointment though was a distinct lack of Kasie's signature wit. What little banter there was to speak of mainly happened between Lacey and the love interest, and even then it just didn't click like it usually does. This left Lacey to be little more than a somewhat awkward newbie teen on a film set of much more experienced adults, and sadly that didn't make for a very interesting main character for me.

All that said, Fame, Fate, and the First Kiss was still a signature easy and breezy Kasie West read that I devoured over a weekend. And then there was Donavan, the story's saving grace: he was quiet and serious and I adored his strength and gentle smolder. I also enjoyed the slow build and soft nature of the romance, both Lacey and Donavan focused on their careers but also excited to find happiness in being together.

While I will continue to read Kasie's new books and re-re-read old favorites, I must admit I'm losing the thrill I used to feel about her stories. Hopefully the next one will renew my love.

Scribble Rating: 

3 of 5 Scribbles