Review: Under the Lights by Dahlia Adler

312 pages

Published: June 30th 2015 

Published by: Spencer Hill Contemporary

Source: NetGalley

Rating: 4/5

Josh Chester loves being a Hollywood bad boy, coasting on his good looks, his parties, his parents' wealth, and the occasional modeling gig. But his laid-back lifestyle is about to change. To help out his best friend, Liam, he joins his hit teen TV show, Daylight Falls ... opposite Vanessa Park, the one actor immune to his charms. (Not that he's trying to charm her, of course.) Meanwhile, his drama-queen mother blackmails him into a new family reality TV show, with Josh in the starring role. Now that he's in the spotlight—on everyone's terms but his own—Josh has to decide whether a life as a superstar is the one he really wants.

Vanessa Park has always been certain about her path as an actor, despite her parents' disapproval. But with all her relationships currently in upheaval, she's painfully uncertain about everything else. When she meets her new career handler, Brianna, Van is relieved to have found someone she can rely on, now that her BFF, Ally, is at college across the country. But as feelings unexpectedly evolve beyond friendship, Van's life reaches a whole new level of confusing. And she'll have to choose between the one thing she's always loved ... and the person she never imagined she could. 

Drama! F/F romance! A lovable dirtbag! Diverse characters!

Can you tell I loved this book? 

Vanessa Park is a Korean-American actress starring in a primetime network show. Brianna is the daughter of her publicist. When Vanessa starts questioning her sexuality, she has a choice to make: should she try to understand her feelings for Brianna or should she keep up her safe public persona? 

Cue rainbows, unicorns, and kitties. 

I really loved that this novel captures the turmoil of coming out. The way Vanessa questions her sexuality is very realistic. Her support system is great and the ups-and-downs are perfectly written. Basically, Under the Lights is one of the best F/F romances I've ever read. 

To complement Vanessa's story, we get Josh's point of view. Josh is Hollywood's bad boy. He's that character that you love to hate. I'm assuming he's part of the story as a way to set up a third book. I enjoyed his point of view as well (even though I really wanted to get back to Vanessa/Brianna). His character develops just enough to make him likable. I would love to read the rest of his story! 

I love that these kind of love stories are out there to give someone in Vanessa's situation a little bit of hope.  If you have any f/f romance recommendations, let me know! I want to read a couple so I can write a discussion post :)