Hollywood called, they want their books with celebrity romance back!
If you’ve been on the hunt for a new romance trope to fall for, celebrity romances are having their moment. These stories feature famous characters—from actors to musicians—falling for regular people outside the limelight, giving readers a mix of glitz, drama, and heartwarming connection. Think The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid but with more modern takes on love in the public eye. Our romance editors at little infinite have read and reviewed each of these books, so you can count on us for recommendations on books with celebrity romance!
Our highest recommended and reviewed books for the latest trending trope “Books with Celebrity Romance”!
This is for sure one of my top three favorite tropes! It’s always seemed so intriguing, the pains the characters have to go through to keep any part of their lives private or to avoid the rabid paparazzi lurking in every shadow. I love it when someone doesn’t realize that their new partner is famous, I love it when a superstar falls in love with a normie who can’t deal with the limelight. I love it when a big city star gets humbled by nature. But MOST OF ALL, I love it when a public shaming causes a disgraced star to return to their tiny, adorable hometown and the wholesome relationship that was destroyed by Hollywood dreams but just might be salvageable.
When I was tasked with listing my recent favorites in this category, it didn’t take more than a minute to create a mental list of the titles I HAD to include.
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
This is the story of one actress who out-glamoured Hollywood at its most glamorous.
Evelyn Hugo wants to tell her story. She is a throwback to the Golden Age of Hollywood, when stars were larger than life and we didn’t have 24-hour access to Google. But no one is more astounded than Monique Grant when Hugo chooses HER to tell the story of her life.
Monique has some questions. She has never met Evelyn Hugo. How did the star even know Monique’s name? And why is now the right time to tell her story to the world? No matter the answers, Monique is determined to use this incredible opportunity to advance her career, which is in definite need of a jumpstart.
Not only has her career stagnated, Monique is also suffering in other areas of her life. Her husband David has left her. She is in desperate need of a defeatable challenge in her life. Evelyn tells her story in her gorgeous Upper East Side apartment. Monique dutifully records the interviews, which describe Evelyn’s arrival in LA in the 1950s, her epic career, and the seven husbands along the way. As the story is revealed, Monique begins to feel a cosmic connection to Evelyn. But eventually, the past in the story catches up to the present, and Monique is floored when Evelyn reveals a secret that directly affects the present in irreversible ways. Another masterpiece from Taylor Jenkins Reid!
Note: This makes an EXCELLENT audiobook choice, whether you are driving, cleaning, or folding laundry! It was a finalist for the 2018 Audie Award for Multi-Voiced Performance! And remember: audiobooks absolutely count as reading!
WHAT THE MEDIA IS SAYING:
“A spellbinding novel about love, glamour and the price of fame.” — Emily Giffin, New York Times bestselling author of First Comes Love
“Anyone who appreciates old Hollywood glamour will want to check this one out.” ― Today.com
Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
A REESE’S BOOK CLUB PICK
Few book announcements make me as happy as a new Ann Patchett! Every time, I think, “It cannot get any better than this!,” and then she outdoes herself with the next one. Every time!
In Tom Lake, Patchett tells the story of a family in Northern Michigan. While the group picks cherries in the family orchard, Lara’s three daughters beg her to tell them the whole story of an affair that she had years ago with Peter Duke, a mega-famous actor with whom Lara had shared both the stage and her bed when she was just starting out. As she spins the epic and romantic tale, each of her daughters are forced to reexamine their own relationships through the lens of Lara’s life.
This was a book that I would have processed totally differently 10, 15, or 20 years ago. Every woman will experience this read in a different way depending on where she is in her life journey. This is also a lovely reminder that our parents had lives before we came along, just like we had lives before our children were born. Will you tell your kids the unvarnished truth about younger you?!
TIP: Yes, another audiobook plug: this one is narrated by Meryl Streep. Don’t miss it!
WHAT THE MEDIA IS SAYING:
“Patchett leads us to a truth that feels like life rather than literature.” —The Guardian
“A swoony, luminous reminder about the endurance of love and happiness in a broken world.” — Oprah Daily
“Patchett is at the top of her game.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
You Belong with Me by Mhairi McFarlane
This is the second Mhairi McFarlane book I’ve read, which just happens to be the follow up to the FIRST Mhairi McFarlane book I’ve read! I loved Who’s That Girl?, so I was pumped to see You Belong to Me pop up.
Edie has finally found The One. But Elliott Owen is a high-profile actor, and the harsh spotlight is hard to take. What chance does Edie possibly have to hold on to a man that the whole world wants? There is an ocean between them, Elliott is surrounded by gorgeous co-stars, and Edie has a very charismatic new colleague who is trying to get closer.
In addition to the damage that the international press is doing to their fledgling relationship, Edie is shocked to discover that some of the people that she considered friends and family are raking up her past to destroy her present. Can Edie trust anyone at all? Are she and Elliott a fairytale romance? Or a cautionary tale?
I do recommend reading the first book before tackling this one, just so you are caught up on all of the backstory and characters.
WHAT THE MEDIA IS SAYING:
“McFarlane is one of my all-time favorite writers now.” — Emily Henry
“Bridget Jones, you’ve got some competition.” — Marie Claire
“Mhairi McFarlane’s voice is as clear as a bell—she makes you laugh, but she also makes you feel. I adore her!” — Sally Thorne, USA Today bestselling author of The Hating Game
Roland Rogers Isn’t Dead Yet by Samantha Allen
Now let’s talk about a book with a celebrity romance that was one of the best LGBTQIA romances that I’ve read in ages!
Adam Gallagher is an ex-Mormon and a relatively well-known memoirist and ghostwriter. He’s knocked on literally thousands of doors, and he’s perfectly comfortable sharing with and opening up to strangers. Everyone who knows the name “Adam Gallagher” wants him to be the author of their “autobiographies.” He thinks he’s seen and heard everything at this point! And then he meets Roland Rogers, the Hollywood Hunk.
Roland has a classic Hollywood secret to share. He’s been holding on to it for decades, and Roland decides that it is time to tell his story. And Adam Gallagher is just the ghostwriter to help him do it!
There is a small snag – Roland Rogers is dead. His body is, at least, but metaphysically? That’s a different story. If he concentrates and focuses, Roland can summon just enough energy to communicate with Adam through an intercom system in the kitchen. Physically? Dead. Body buried underneath tons and tons of snow that was dislodged during the avalanche that killed him.
Due to that whole “dead body” thing, Roland has a limited time to tell his story before his corpse is recovered. Adam has done a lot of ghost writing but not much ghost communication, so things are bumpy at first. The two soon find themselves at an impasse as their visions for the book refuse to align. Adam has a much longer view than Roland does, and he is convinced that this book could turn out to be MORE. Roland doesn’t want MORE; he wants to tell his story before the ice melts and his boot tips are poking out of the snow.
As Roland and Adam spend more time together, the two of them become closer and closer. And closer. For them, this whole bizarre situation is less of a coming out than a coming home. How can this possibly work out? This is a must-read romance!
Side note: if you love Roland Rogers isn’t dead yet, don’t miss We Could Be Heroes by Philip Ellis!
WHAT THE MEDIA IS SAYING:
“Funny, gripping, and uniquely devastating, Roland Rogers Isn’t Dead Yet serves as a culturally poignant and romantic reminder that truth is powerful, love is timeless, and life is a boundless story just waiting to be written.” ―Emery Lee, award-winning author of Meet Cute Diary
“Surprising, funny, and downright weird in the absolute best way, I don’t think I’ve ever read a book like this one.” ―Camryn Garrett, NAACP Image Award Nominated–author of Friday I’m in Love
“Samantha Allen has done it again. Charming, funny, and endlessly inventive, it’s everything I want in a queer romance: witty, vulnerable, and horny as hell. Long live Roland Rogers.” ―Marisa Crane, author of I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself
Not How I Pictured It by Robin Lefler
Twenty years after the hit TV series went off the air, Ocean Views (think Beverly Hills, 90210 or Riverdale) is back with a reboot. No one is more surprised than former star Ness Larkin, who has been avoiding the spotlight all together since her father/manager disappeared with all of her money. She’s not thrilled per se, but maybe it is time to face her former castmates as a mature, well-adjusted, normal adult.
Ness truly thought that her former costar and boyfriend, Hayes Beaumont, would be too busy doing Important Hollywood Stuff to join the reboot of their silly teen drama, but to her surprise, he attends the first table read. And it is difficult to concentrate with him beside her, oozing sexy pheromones and personal success.
The producers are hoping for drama, and they get it. The cast gets stranded by a storm en route to the filming location in the Bahamas, and they wind up on a tiny island with very little food and even fewer survival skills among them. Ness marvels at the path her life has taken, and when things start heating up between her and Hayes, she isn’t sure if she can trust her feelings. After all, she’s been down this road before. What will she be left with when the spotlight goes out?
WHAT THE MEDIA IS SAYING:
“Not How I Pictured It was full of suspense, adventure, backstabbing old friends, middling survival skills, and best of all, a swoony second chance romance with a sexy movie star. What an incredibly fun book!” —Farah Heron, author of Jana Goes Wild and Accidentally Engaged
“What if the cast of 90210 unwittingly reunited for a season of Survivor? Not How I Pictured It is fun, funny and full of drama. The perfect beach read from one of my must-read authors!” —Chantel Guertin, bestselling author of Two for the Road
“Written with humor, passion, and oh-so-much romance, this book is spellbinding. I couldn’t put it down. Robin Lefler has built a world that rivals the like of all the great rom-coms onscreen and off.” —Ava Bellows, author of All I Stole From You
How to Fake It in Hollywood by Ava Wilder
ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Cosmopolitan
The pre-publication description for this first-time was sooooo “me” that I pre-ordered this one. And it didn’t disappoint. In addition to the tropes I mentioned above, I also love Fake Relationship.
Ethan Atkins is struggling with drinking, struggling with the recent death of a close friend, and struggling with just wanting to be left the hell alone. Grey Brooks is a fading TV starlet whose long-running teen drama has ended. She’s out pounding the pavement again, and honestly, it isn’t going well.
When her publicist suggests a fake affair with a disgraced heartthrob, Grey is originally horrified. But as time goes on, and roles don’t materialize, she agrees to the scheme. After all, Ethan Atkins also needs the publicity boost!
If he ever wants the movie that he and his late partner made to see the light of day, Ethan needs to clean up his reputation in a big way. He needs a high-profile affair that will boost his goodwill within the Hollywood community.
They aren’t besties at first, but as their public relationship heats up big time. And after spending so much time together, Grey and Ethan can’t ignore the smoking chemistry between them. Suddenly, it feels like more than just an act for their public images. After working for decades in an industry that focuses solely on appearances, Grey and Ethan aren’t sure if their feelings are bullet proof enough to stand up to public scrutiny. It started out as a lark, but are both of them so used to faking it that they can no longer recognize the real thing when it is right in front of them? We could not BELIEVE that this was a debut novel!
WHAT THE MEDIA IS SAYING:
“With this witty, seductive romance, debut author Wilder transports readers to the flashy world of Hollywood. . . . Wilder’s cinematic prose brings Grey and Ethan to life. She sets their raw, sensitive love story against an alluring portrait of Hollywood glamour. Readers won’t be able to turn the pages fast enough.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“In her debut, Wilder creates an angsty and compelling love story that feels realistically Hollywood. Grey and Ethan’s chemistry burns through the pages. . . . Full of drama, fun, and scorching love scenes, this love story is worthy of the silver screen.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“Readers won’t be able to stop reading Wilder’s debut novel.”—USA Today
More recommendations:
Take Two, Birdie Maxwell by Allison Winn Scotch
A USA TODAY BESTSELLER!
&
We Could Be Heroes by Philip Ellis
Not all heroes wear capes. Some wear high heels and a wig.
There are so many great reads in this books with celebrity romance category, it really was hard to narrow it down. Beach reading season may be over, but it is time for cozy, snuggly reading. Any of these titles is a great choice for a fun, fall book!
Read more tropes like books with celebrity romance here!
