Veronica Ticker's Reviews > Unscripted

There were a lot of really interesting elements in this book, but the editing often took me out of the story.

I loved that Quell and Hale were good friends before they became a couple. And when I say good friends, I mean they helped each other through tough times, they supported each other. They even were bad boys together. It was cute. This book is a slow burn though, be prepared to see them do the deed in the very last part of the book. But since they’re actors filming sex scenes together, you’ll get a lot of teasing before it happens. I kind of liked it, seeing them fighting against their obvious attraction.

Quell was the one fighting the hardest, because he identified as straight before he met Hale. The way he’s struggling with his new feelings is described at length, and his coming out is actually an important part of the plot.

And with straight Quell comes the evil ex that you’ll hate thoroughly. At first I thought the author wouldn’t take the easy road of vilifying the woman to make the gay relationship shine brighter. I was disappointed.

Depression and mental illness are a strong topic in the story, and the author gets some things right. Especially the thoughts of someone depressed, and the fear of the people around them about their well being, or even the fact that they’ll never be really cured. The healing process, though, is almost forgotten–Quell is seen talking with his therapist once, and there’s one mention of medication.

And so, the editing. It isn’t a matter of typos or grammar here. A couple of times, the point of view changes without warning–I got confused each time about who was talking. Conversations that have happened are forgotten a few chapters afterwards. Quell keeps moving forward then backward with his feelings for Hale. Timeline is wobbly. It impeded my reading.

I’ll probably give a chance to the next book though, because I’m curious whether the writing improves, and I want to read more of Quell and Hale.

Quickie

- Series: Unscripted #1 (not really a standalone, but you can stop here, there’s no cliffhanger though Hale and Quell’s story isn’t finished yet)
- Hashtags: #MM romance #Hollywood romance #friends to lovers #bisexual #in the closet #evil ex #gay sidekicks
- Triggers: heavy mention of depression, substance use, alcohol abuse, emotional abuse
- Main couple: Hale & Quellcrist King
- Hotness: 3/5
- Romance: 3/5
- + the hero’s name SERIOUSLY
- – it needs a deep editing