Title: Before He Was Gone
Author: Becky Wicks
Series: Starstruck #2
Published: August 25, 2014
Synopsis:
Standalone sequel to Before He Was Famous
Sometimes, you have to get lost to find yourself...
When her rock star boyfriend breaks things off out of the blue, Alyssa applies to hit reality TV show Deserted and to her shock she gets through. Abandoned on a remote island with a bunch of strangers and none of the luxuries she’s become accustomed to, it’s not long before an undeniable attraction to the mysterious Joshua starts complicating things even further.
Joshua's different to everyone she's ever known - a traveller, a man with no plan, a world away from the celebrity life she's left behind. As a series of challenges test their wits and weaknesses, things start heating up in paradise, but in a game designed to break people down, it soon becomes clear that Joshua is hiding a painful secret - one he won’t risk anyone finding out.
Struggling to know where she belongs, Alyssa will have to choose - a life she once loved that wants her back, or a brand new reality that heartbreakingly may just have its limits.
***Warning: this book contains graphic language, sex, and mature situations. Not intended for young adult readers.***
Struggling to know where she belongs, Alyssa will have to choose - a life she once loved that wants her back, or a brand new reality that heartbreakingly may just have its limits.
***Warning: this book contains graphic language, sex, and mature situations. Not intended for young adult readers.***
Four Stars
Going into this book I wasn't sure how much I was really going to like it since it has a Survivor feel to it and personally I can't stand that show. I should totally know better, this was a wonderful story, and fun too. :)
I really enjoyed the first book in this series so I was definitely going to give this one a chance, even with my preconceived notions and all, as wrong as they might have been.
You don't need to read book one to read this one, but if you do you will meet Alyssa already and know her a little bit before you begin. If not, no worries, because you will have no problem loving her from the very start.
When Alyssa is dumped by her rock star boyfriend she decides she needs a change of scenery, something to totally take her out of the tabloids as the girl who got dumped by the hot rock star. What better way than to audition for a reality TV show on a desert island, right? When Alyssa wins a spot, her only goal is to win the million dollar prize to go to culinary school and start her own restaurant. Soooo....let the games begin, right?
Next we meet Joshua, who has a whole other reason for heading off to the island to compete for the prize money. We don't get to know what Joshua wants or needs the money for just that he does, so yeah, a little mystery in there as well! Of course this island has the most delicious cast of characters - the celebrity, the jock, the nerd, the hippie and the hilariously great gay man to name just a few.
As you can imagine, Joshua and Alyssa have an immediate connection, but they are also both really amazing at the survival portion of the game they have to play for the show. We spend pretty much the whole book on the island as one by one the players are eliminated. What fun that was. But as time goes on, with the manipulation of the characters by the shows creators, things get kind of serious and it was incredibly entertaining to watch this story play out!
Really nothing like book one in the series at all, Before He Was Gone was just as good and I highly recommend both books to anyone who enjoys a really good, entertaining story with a HEA.
I really enjoyed the first book in this series so I was definitely going to give this one a chance, even with my preconceived notions and all, as wrong as they might have been.
You don't need to read book one to read this one, but if you do you will meet Alyssa already and know her a little bit before you begin. If not, no worries, because you will have no problem loving her from the very start.
When Alyssa is dumped by her rock star boyfriend she decides she needs a change of scenery, something to totally take her out of the tabloids as the girl who got dumped by the hot rock star. What better way than to audition for a reality TV show on a desert island, right? When Alyssa wins a spot, her only goal is to win the million dollar prize to go to culinary school and start her own restaurant. Soooo....let the games begin, right?
Next we meet Joshua, who has a whole other reason for heading off to the island to compete for the prize money. We don't get to know what Joshua wants or needs the money for just that he does, so yeah, a little mystery in there as well! Of course this island has the most delicious cast of characters - the celebrity, the jock, the nerd, the hippie and the hilariously great gay man to name just a few.
As you can imagine, Joshua and Alyssa have an immediate connection, but they are also both really amazing at the survival portion of the game they have to play for the show. We spend pretty much the whole book on the island as one by one the players are eliminated. What fun that was. But as time goes on, with the manipulation of the characters by the shows creators, things get kind of serious and it was incredibly entertaining to watch this story play out!
Really nothing like book one in the series at all, Before He Was Gone was just as good and I highly recommend both books to anyone who enjoys a really good, entertaining story with a HEA.
Book Links:
About the Author:
Becky Wicks lives in Bali and scribbles books, and she's mostly powered by coffee. She had three travel memoirs published by HarperCollins before going the indie route. Her first book in the Starstruck Series, Before He Was Famous recently reached #1 in Amazon's Coming of Age and New Adult & College categories. Before He Was Gone takes another look behind the scenes of fame and celebrity, and she's currently working on the third book in the series. She blogs most days at beckywicks.com and always welcomes distractions on Twitter: @bex_wicks
