Beyond the Stars by Stacy Wise

The Basics:
Beyond the Stars by Stacy Wise
Entangled: Embrace
Historical Romance
Published February 8, 2016
Source: Received Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
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Why I picked up this book:

From my Stacking the Shelf post: "Another cute cover, another publishing house I trust. I thought the concept here was cute too, and I like the combination of prickly and competent forced together."

Blurb:

Falling for him wasn't in the plans...

Most girls would kill for the opportunity to work for Jack McAlister, Hollywood's hottest actor, but twenty-one-year-old Jessica Beckett is ready to kick him out of her red Ford Fiesta and never look back. She should be spending her junior year in France, eating pastries and sharpening her foreign language skills. Instead she's reluctantly working as Jack's personal assistant, thanks to her powerhouse talent agent aunt.

Jack is private, prickly, and downright condescending. Jessica pushes his buttons—she's not the type of girl to swoon over celebrity heartthrobs, precisely why her aunt thought she'd be perfect for the job—and Jack pushes right back.

But as she begins to peel away his layers, Jessica is shocked to find she craves her boss's easy smile and sexy blue eyes. The problem is, so does the entire female population. And what started out as the job from hell soon has Jess wondering if a guy like Jack could ever find love with a regular girl like her.

My Thoughts:

I don't have a whole lot to say about Beyond the Stars. New adult, but without the usual angst, I quite enjoyed it. 

Jessica's a great character. She's so capable of holding her own, which was critical in her position. She's sassy, she can be sweet, and she quite believably was able to suck it up with her job called for it. Being the personal assistant of a famous person is definitely stereotyped as being a really crappy job, with some incredible benefits, and I think Beyond the Stars was able to play on that, but also suggest that in some cases, it's what you make of it. I found some of the moments that could have made for some serious angst were the ones where Jessica's positive attitude and approach made them into mere bumps in the road.

I loved the portions of the story that revealed the day-to-day interaction between Jack and Jessica. There's a significant section of the book given over to Jessica slowly winning Jack's trust as an employee, and these were probably my favourite parts. 

Unlike most New Adult novels, Beyond the Stars does not flip POVs. With the exception of the epilogue, the novel is written from Jessica's perspective, which was interesting as it forced the reader to interpret Jack's behaviour. There was an extended 'will they, won't they' period, one that perhaps felt longer because we didn't get Jack's side of the story.  

I did find Jack's voice (in dialogue) was a little off at times, particularly once Jessica and Jack began to get close. I'm not sure what it was exactly, but he didn't sound 'right' some of the time. 

Regardless, I thought the story was funny in parts, sweet, and pretty solid overall. I'll look for more from Stacy Wise in the future, as a reliable author of contemporary fluff-with-a-snarky-edge would be really welcome.

Bottom line:

For people who are feeling a little done with angsty New Adult stories, Beyond the Stars is the New Adult novel you've been waiting for. An amusing tale of a reluctant personal assistant and her even more reluctant celebrity-employer, I'd recommend this one as a fun story for a rainy day.

4 stars
For fans of contemporary romance, Hollywood, angst-free New Adult

Don't just take my word for it though! I've gathered up a couple of other blog reviews, so check them out for some other opinions!

Three Little Birds Book Blog 

Harlequin Junkie

Little Miss Bookmark