Starstruck by Amy Clipston Review

Good Morning Friends :)

I pray today finds you all doing well, and I'm so thankful you chose to stop on by 

The Preppy Book Princess today for another book review.

I'm Kirby, and I'm thrilled to welcome you to my little corner of the internet this morning.

I haven't actually had as much time for reading lately, and I'm hopeful with the colder weather moving in that this will change soon. I'm looking forward to hopefully having more time to curl up with a great book and a warm blanket, and so I'll hopefully have more reviews coming your way soon.

Today's review is going to be for an upcoming title from one of my all time favorite authors, and I can't wait to tell you all about it.

Let's go ahead and dive right into today's review.

Starstruck by Amy Clipston:

Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Publication Date: November 14th, 2023

Genre: Contemporary/Clean Contemporary

Synopsis:

Can a small-town waitress capture the heart of a world-famous heartthrob? For Heather Gordon, life in her small North Carolina town has always been simple and uneventful. Until one night when a rowdy food fight breaks out in her family’s restaurant where she’s a waitress. The culprits? The internationally famous rock band, Kirwan. And when Alex Kirwan, the charming and enigmatic lead singer, wants to make amends for his brothers’ (and bandmates’) behavior and invites her to attend one of their concerts as a guest of the band, Heather’s world is turned upside down . . . and sparks fly. Alex has always loved music, but his rock star life isn’t all glamorous people and parties. It’s also paparazzi and online tabloids, a new city every week, and the loneliness of touring—even if he has his brothers with him. But with Heather things are different, and he’s instantly smitten and determined to get to know the sweet, pretty woman who has absolutely no interest in his fame. If only he can convince her to take a chance on his crazy life. Once Alex leaves for tour, he and Heather begin exchanging messages and calls. Despite the distance between them, they find themselves learning they have more in common than they ever could have imagined. But even while Heather and Alex’s relationship deepens, they must face the harsh realities of fame and the pressures it puts on their personal lives. Will their love be enough to overcome the challenges that come with celebrity, or will the rigors of distance and Alex’s life on the road tear them apart? Filled with heart and the intoxicating allure of possibility, Starstruck is a must-read for anyone who has ever dreamed of finding love in surprising places.

(synopsis from goodreads)

My Review:

Taking into consideration the fact that Amy Clipston is one of my favorite authors, and the "famous person falling for the regular person" is one of my favorite tropes, I fully expected to end up loving Starstruck. However, while there ended up being quite a few likeable things about it, I didn't end up enjoying it as much as I had expected to, and I wouldn't consider it a new favorite.

The initial set up was kind of all sorts of adorable, and I especially enjoyed the meet cute. Heather Gordon is a small town gal working in her parent's restaurant one night when the famous rock band Kirwan ends up coming in for a meal. It's definitely not love at first sight for Heather when the younger two brothers of the band start a food fight and she ends up having to clean it up. However, the older brother Alex is apologetic for his brothers' shenanigans, and the two strike up an unlikely friendship that soon grows into something much more. Only how can they ever make a true relationship work when their lives exist in such drastically different ways?

While I think this story had great potential, unfortunately the characters, the plot and the romance ended up falling short for me. The romance felt extremely insta lovey and lusty, and there were far too many passages about Heather and Alex being obsessed with each other soon after meeting for it to truly seem believable to the reader. It also ended up feeling like there wasn't a lot that truly happened throughout the plot, and it ended up taking me quite awhile to finish this one which isn't usual for me.

While I did enjoy the small town setting, the lovely relationship both main characters have with their families, and the fact that this one invokes one of my all time favorite tropes, it ended up not being what I was expecting, and unfortunately I probably wouldn't reread it or recommend it to anyone else as a must read.

I'd recommend Amy Clipston's other contemporaries over this one, but I'm thankful I took the chance on trying another of her stories.

Final Rating: 3/5.

Thanks so much to Thomas Nelson for allowing me to advance read and review this one!

I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary advance reader copy of this novel from the publisher (Thomas Nelson) via NetGalley. I was not required to give a positive review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

Thanks so much for reading guys! Have a great rest of your weekend :)