Love, Comment, Subscribe (Ponto Beach #1)
Summary:
Back in high school, Lily Wang wanted to be popular, but she considered herself lucky to be part of a tight group of oddballs and honors students called the Nerd Herd. Now, at twenty-eight, she feels like she’s finally on the cusp of succeeding as a beauty influencer—if she can hit five million subscribers, brands will take notice and she could get her own makeup line.
Fellow Nerd Herd alum Tobin Bui has had a lot of success as a YouTube gamer. But the road to online stardom has been rocky. First, he disappointed his parents by dropping out of college, and now, after years of pranks, skits, and playthroughs, he’s struggling to come up with new content to satisfy his ever-growing fan base. His agents say he needs cross-audience appeal, a new twist.
When Nerd Herd frenemy Lily approaches Tobin about teaming up to do a video to bolster her brand and reinvigorate his, he agrees. But when their first collab video goes viral, their relationship heats up too. With the whole internet watching, will these two former misfits finally realize they’re perfect together? (Summary and cover courtesy of goodreads.com)
Review:
This series packs a punch in the best way possible. I find myself revisiting and thinking about them in the oddest times. One element that stuck with me is Yardley’s weaving of the angst of unresolved insecurities from high school leading to how our characters grow into the new, more confident versions of themselves. We have true character development layered on an adorable romance and a realistic perspective to the challenges of being a creative.
Lily is a slightly controlling *ahem*, obsessive at times, content creator who is trying to get her channel just over the edge to being relevant to live her larger dreams. Meanwhile Tobin is in a similar world yet is struggling with burnout and how to stay relevant in a quick cycle world. As both Lily and Tobin try to solve their problems their slow burn organically develops into something more. No hesitations for anyone interested in a fun romance with a little bit of depth!
Warning: Contains sexual content.
Rating: 5 stars!
Who should read it? Anyone looking for a light fun read that has a little bit of a healthy insight without being heavy!
Want to read the whole series?
Gouda Friends (Ponto Beach #2)
Ex Appeal (Ponto Beach #3)