#BookReview :: Hollywood Holiday (Red Carpet #2) by Sasha Summers

All she wants for Christmas is for Hollywood to love her again. But once she meets him, her Christmas list changes.

Jen’s only Christmas wish: Hollywood falling back in love with her. Meeting ex-Marine Gunner was a bonus. She likes that he isn’t impressed by celebrities or the movie biz. She likes that he’s funny and sweet … and drop-dead gorgeous. And she loves that he has no idea who her alter-ego is: Jen Fleming, Hollywood bad-girl and paparazzi target number one. Why ruin an amazing affair when he’s leaving after the new year? 

But the closer they get, the harder she falls, and the more she wants to tell Gunner everything. Especially once he shares his secret with her. 

Her new Christmas wish: Gunner accepts and loves her for who she really is.

I have to admit it at the very beginning that I haven’t read the first book in the series. But with romance novel series I had usually seen that though the characters often overlap, each book can stand on their own. And it is with this belief that I picked up this book. I was right and though reading the first book in the series will definitely be an advantage, you can read this as a standalone too.

So, Jen is famous for all the right and the wrong reasons. As she is on her way back from a rehab, she meets an ex-marine on the plane. Gunner is a gorgeous guy, who lets you hold his hand and holds you when you are freaked about flying.  There’s an instant connection between them and they decide to see more of each other once they land up at their destination. But there’s a catch, Gunner isn’t aware of Jen’s real identity and Jen doesn’t know Gunner’s secret from his marine days. They each have a lot to learn and face before they can have their happy endings.

As characters that shape up this novel, both Jen and Gunner are very lovable and true to life. On one hand Jen lives this glamorous life of Hollywood star, but she has made her fair share of mistakes. What makes a reader like me like her is that she is truly trying to atone for it. It was also a change to see the life of a star from her point of view, while reporters & paparazzi invade your private space like you don’t deserve it at all. Gunner on the other hand is handsome, sexy, caring and funny – all wrapped up in one! A perfect fictional character [:P Yep! They just don’t make ‘em like that in real life.] They somehow do complete each other.

The plot was simple and predictable like most romance novels. The relationship in this one too moved a bit too fast for my liking. Call me old fashioned, but I prefer the wooing-dating-getting to know each other period to be a bit more spaced out. The author’s style of writing is easy to get into and as result it turned out to be a pretty fast read. And, to round it up – it was a pretty enjoyable read.