Reach the Stars by Lily Seabrooke
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Kat and Emmy are both competing at a singing competition. Kat is cynical and mistrustful, while Emmy is joyful and caring to everyone. Initially annoyed by Emmy, Kat grows closer to her and the two begin developing a romance.
Genres
Queer, romance, contemporary
Description
Emmy Montford never thought she’d make it to this song contest stage, let alone run into the reigning champion Katarina Jackson—literally.
And Katarina—that’s Kat to everyone but the obnoxious girl who knocked her down in an elevator and thinks they can be friends now—never thought she’d have a bright-eyed sunshine girl doing her damnedest to attach to her. She doesn’t do friends. All that matters is winning, and nothing is going to get in her way.
But not only is this televised song contest putting Emmy on the same stage as Kat, they’re paired up in everything they do, and Emmy can make friends with anyone—even the woman who’s sworn off such frivolous things as fun and friendship.
Even as they compete for the title of champion—or, well, at least, Kat’s competing, Emmy doesn’t seem too invested—Emmy might just be able to chip away Kat’s walls and remind her what it’s like to care about something, and Kat might just be the meaning that Emmy’s been searching for.
And getting shipped by their fans under #kataremmy doesn’t help with their feelings.
Reach the Stars is a 30k-word novella featuring pop singers in a contest, a grumpy/sunshine romance, a rollercoaster ride that Kat totally doesn’t smile on, and only a little bit of angst. Content warnings for open-door sex scenes, people getting pushy with boundaries, mentions of abuse in the past, Emmy being entirely too sweet and Kat being entirely too grouchy, and hopeless lesbians trying to ignore their feelings for another while their fans are shipping them online and they’re each trying to pretend they don’t look at their shipping hashtag on Instagram while the other isn’t looking.
Review
What a sweet, wholesome story! This book is like receiving a warm hug. It’s very wholesome and entertaining, with lovable characters and an adorable romance. It’s one of those fluffy books designed to make you feel good. It does deal with more serious issues like abuse at times, but isn’t graphic about it and is overall lighthearted. The romance scenes are so cute and filled me with happiness.
I did wish for more of Kat’s backstory. We get hints of it but it’s never truly explored, and I was really interested in her character.
This is the kind of book that could be classified as “brain candy.” It’s not a heavy, intellectual story, but it’s delightful to read and leaves you with good feelings. And right now, we need all the good feelings we can get.