Acting Out by Tibby Armstrong
The Hollywood Series
- No Apologies (book #1)
- Acting Out (book #2)
- Full Disclosure (book #3)
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
The Blurb…
Jeremy Ash, an aspiring actor, is single, gorgeous…and openly, quietly gay. When he lands a starring role opposite America’s favorite former child star, 21-year old Kit Harris, he’s ecstatic and more than a little attracted to the enigmatic star.
Kit Harris’s career has been flagging and his agent promises this new film, an edgy coming out story with a famed director, is just the thing to get it back on track. The problem is that the film is relatively intimate in nature, and Kit’s definitely not gay. He’s not even slightly bent.
When the two men collide in a crushing first kiss that leaves both gasping for air, Kit’s left reeling and Jeremy’s left wanting. And that was just the audition. When filming starts and the two men are brought into close proximity every day, passions ignite and souls collide–both on screen and off. The two men find that the only way to assuage their mutual lust is to give in to it. Kit’s sure this strange new attraction will run its course; Jeremy’s hoping it never has to end.
But when a manipulative model obtains salacious film footage of the two men in bed, Kit’s prepared to do whatever it takes to save his career. But how far is too far to push the boundaries of love and how long can one man hide from himself?
So what did I think?
This is the second book in the Hollywood series and was just as good, if not better, than the first. One of those books I couldn’t put down.
The story is really well written, with great characters and engaging plot.
The first book No Apologies told the story of Greg and Aaron. Greg and Aaron had been together for many years but Greg had not come out. He and Aaron were on the verge of breaking up. Greg wrote and produced a movie based on their life and during the premiere declared his love for Aaron.
No Apologies starting scene was at the movie premiere then travelled back in time to tell the story of how Greg and Aaron’s relationship. It then concluded back at the premiere. Cleverly, this book does the same thing.
The story starts with Jeremy and Kit arriving at the movie premiere. They are the stars of Greg’s movie No Apologies. Kit rejects rejects Jeremy on the red carpet and breaks his heart. The story then travels back to the their first meeting and takes us on the journey of the making of the movie, before concluding back at the movies premiere. I loved the way the same beginning scene was repeated. Initially we saw the rejection from Jeremy’s point of view but at the end of the book we see it from Kit’s point of view – really well done.
Jeremy is gay and new at the acting game, Kit is an experienced actor who thinks he is straight. As they are playing the gay characters of Greg and Aaron, they have to kiss and this first kiss ignites a passionate affair.
The story focuses on both men as they deal with issues. Jeremy needs to act in some traumatic scenes about abuse which strongly echoes his own past. Kit is struggling with coming to terms with his feelings for Jeremy, acknowledging his physical reaction but denying anything else. He is worried about the impact on his career if their secret is discovered.
I loved the relationship between the two men. The protectiveness that Kit feels towards Jeremy – his actions show what his heart is feeling, even if he can’t acknowledge it himself. And Jeremy’s worry about Kit self-destructing and wanting him to be true to his heart and really live his life. The sex between the two men was also well done, some hard and passionate encounters and others beautifully emotional.
I actually didn’t read the blurb of this book before starting – as I loved the first book so definitely wanted to read this one – and I am glad I didn’t. I read the blurb before writing this review and think the last paragraph is quite a spoiler to the story. I liked the fact that I didn’t know what was driving Kit’s behaviour towards Jeremy and why he was pushing him away.
A great book and I am looking forward to the next one!
See my review of No Apologies, book 1 in the series.
To find out more about Tibby Armstrong and her books visit her website.
Buy the Hollywood series on Amazon.
Related articles
- No Apologies by Tibby Armstrong (someonehastosetabadexample.wordpress.com)