A Dream Within A Dream: Not in the Script Blog Tour: Dream Cast, Review, + Giveaway

http://www.jeanbooknerd.com/2014/08/not-in-script-by-amy-finnegan.html

Welcome to my stop on the official blog tour for Not in the Script! Today I'll be sharing my review of the book along with the author's dream cast. Don't forget to enter the giveaway! To follow the rest of the tour, click on the banner above.

Not in the Script (If Only... #3)

Author: Amy Finnegan

Genre: YA Contemporary Romance

Release Date: October 7, 2014

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA

Description:

Millions of people witnessed Emma Taylor’s first kiss—a kiss that needed twelve takes and four camera angles to get right. After spending nearly all of her teen years performing on cue, Emma wonders if any part of her life is real anymore . . . particularly her relationships.

Jake Elliott’s face is on magazine ads around the world, but his lucrative modeling deals were a poor substitute for what he had to leave behind. Now acting is offering Jake everything he wants: close proximity to home; an opportunity to finally start school; and plenty of time with the smart and irresistible Emma Taylor . . . if she would just give him a chance.

When Jake takes Emma behind the scenes of his real life, she begins to see how genuine he is, but on-set relationships always end badly. Don’t they? Toss in Hollywood’s most notorious heartthrob and a resident diva who may or may not be as evil as she seems, and the production of Coyote Hills heats up in unexpected—and romantic—ways.

This novel in the deliciously fun If Only romance line proves that the best kinds of love stories don’t follow a script.

Dream Cast for NOT IN THE SCRIPT

I can only imagine what it must feel like for an author to have his or her novel made into a movie. This just happened to my good friend James Dashner with his book, THE MAZE RUNNER, and it was a very exciting journey for him.

It was a thrill to watch his enthusiasm increase with each step in the process: a finished script, the choice of director, the casting, and especially the actual filming of the movie. And James handled it all better than I ever could.

I do have certain celebrity faces to share with you that have somewhat inspired my characters, but if it came to choosing an actual cast . . . I would be in knots (good thing an author has very little to do with casting anyway).

I was nervous enough just waiting to see what my book cover would look like. I’m the type of reader who wants to imagine characters for herself. I don’t typically like seeing the face of a model on a cover, so I was worried when I heard that my publisher’s art department would be doing this very thing. Lucky for me, they ultimately chose models who look very close to how I imagine my characters (especially Emma). For Jake, my one request was that his face wasn’t toward the camera, because I was convinced that it was impossible for them to find a guy who even came close to how Jake looks in my mind.

Unless . . . unless they could’ve used photos from the early modeling years of the model-turned-actor I happen to have a major celebrity crush on (which they wouldn’t have been able to do). But I can’t blame the art department or even the nice-looking model on my cover for coming up short. I can only blame this on Tom Welling. It’s most definitely his fault that no other real person could successfully match my vision of Jake Elliott. Even though Jake has evolved into his own gorgeous self in my imagination, Tom’s early modeling photos were an easy inspiration for him:

Yeah, I know. (You’ll get that joke if you read my book.)

Now you’ll understand why Rachel calls Jake “The Bod.”

I honestly like the model on my cover for Emma as much as I’ve liked the idea of any other actual face representing her. Like Jake, she has become her very own “real person” in my mind. But because I was a big fan of Smallville when I began writing NOT IN THE SCRIPT, the only actress whom I could picture playing opposite Tom Welling was Kristin Kreuk. In fact all of the actors that I’m casting here have been on Smallville at some point—a natural inclination because I’m still more familiar with the cast of that show than I am with the cast of any others. Here’s Kristin Kreuk:

I stopped watching Smallville once KK left. Just couldn’t deal :) #Clana

And then there’s Brett Crawford. His character was only difficult to create because he really wanted to be the star of the novel, and I didn’t want this story to be a traditional love triangle with equal screen time for the two males leads. Still, Brett has kept me entertained
for years and will forever live on in my head as my favorite bad-boy-trying-to-behave-himself. I picture him as the totally underrated, and deliciously-talented, Justin Hartley:

To round out my hypothetical principal cast, even though Rachel will be seriously ticked off that I’m not including her, here is Beatrice Rosen as Kimmi Weston, the reigning diva of Coyote Hills:

Cut! Print! That’s a wrap!

Not in the Script is the fun and flirty third book in a young adult contemporary romance series that continues to follow teenage actress Emma Taylor as she takes on a role in a new TV show. Emma's been acting for years and she's beginning to wonder if anything in her life is real. She's had her heart broken by co-stars and been bashed by the press so many times that she's sworn off on-set relationships. In her mind, they only end badly and cause problems. Emma's decision begins to waver when she meets and gets to know her gorgeous new co-star on the show - Jake Elliott. He's hot, smart, and seems to sincerely care about Emma and her charity. Will Emma stick to her rule of no on-set romance? Or will Jake turn out to be the exception to the rule?

This was a lighthearted and fun book that turned out to be a really quick read. Emma was a great main character. She's a typical teenage girl who just happens to be a famous actress. Even despite her star status, she has real problems like normal girls her age do. Emma was realistic because she had a distinct personality complete with flaws, hopes, fears, and strengths. Jake was the love interest in the book, and I found his character to be well written too. He had quirks and great traits that would make any girl swoon - but he's not perfect either. I really enjoyed watching the relationship between Emma and Jake develop - from them just meeting until the adorable ending to the book. I loved that the author wrote the story in alternating points of view - between that of Emma and Jake. The reader gets to know both characters on such a more personal level this way because we get to hear their private thoughts, their emotions, and to see each situation from their perspective. We basically get both sides of the same story - only told through the first person view of the two main characters. Like I mentioned, I think this kind of writing style allows the reader to get to know the characters on a deeper level than normal and it's really easy to slip inside the story yourself. The plot wasn't anything original, but I believe that the things I described earlier (writing style in particular) plays a large part in helping it stand out from others in the genre. It's also fun to read about famous actors and realize that they are people just like us, with problems to deal with as well as hopes and dreams for their lives. I definitely recommend this book to readers who enjoy YA contemporary fiction. It's a light and fast read that will leave every reader smiling.

Amy Finnegan writes her own stories because she enjoys falling in love over and over again, and thinks everyone deserves a happy ending. She likes to travel the world—usually to locations where her favorite books take place—and owes her unquenchable thirst for reading to Jane Austen and J.K. Rowling. Her debut novel, NOT IN THE SCRIPT (Bloomsbury, Oct 2014), came about after hearing several years of behind-the-scenes stories from her industry veteran brother. She’s also been lucky enough to visit dozens of film sets and sit in on major productions such as Parks and Recreation, and Parenthood.

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