Star Crossed (Stargazer, #1) by Jennifer Echols

Star Crossed (Stargazer, #1) by Jennifer Echols
Published: February 26, 2013 by Pocket Books
Received: ARC for review on loan from a friend

Wendy Mann loves her job rescuing celebrities from public relations scrapes. She grew up with nothing, and now she’s drawn to glitz, glamour, and a lighthearted lifestyle. She speaks her mind, so she’s just the tough cookie to tell stars the truth about how other people see them, even when they don’t want to hear it. But after six years at the top of her game, Wendy crosses the line. A star she was sent to save rebels against her and nearly gets her fired. To salvage her job, she must rehabilitate the career of a singing starlet with a penchant for posting inappropriate photos of herself and arguing online with her famous ex. Problem is, the ex is represented by Wendy’s arch nemesis from college, the hot and haughty Daniel Blackstone. And both stars are scheduled for a collision course on national television, broadcast live from Las Vegas.

Daniel’s uneasy when he hears Wendy Mann from his firm’s most hated competitor has been brought in to revive the career of his client’s ex-girlfriend. Daniel must win at any cost. And if he has to seduce Wendy to smooth the way to their partnership, he’s willing to sacrifice himself for the cause. But Daniel doesn’t count on the scorching heat between them—and when they get to Vegas, all bets are off. [goodreads]

You know that moment when you're inching your way to the last few pages of a book and you're so anxious to find out how it all ends, but so sad because it means the story WILL end?!  Well, I have definitely gone through those emotions with this novel.  Jennifer Echols is in my top list of favorite authors.  Her writing has always captured my interest, and has even inspired me to write my own stories.  I adore all her young adult fiction novels, so when I found out she was venturing into adult contemporary territory, I about died.  This was something I had always longed for from her, but never quite knew it.  Her ability to tell a story with humor, wit, passion, and oh so much tension surpassed all my expectations.  Star Crossed is the type of story you want relive again and again.

Wendy Mann is a very successful PR specialist who digs celebrities out of tough (even life threatening) situations and turns their careers around.  She can put a spin on any story, to make anyone look good.  But with her job on the line, she is faced with the biggest challenge of her career.  She's got a week in Vegas to turn around one young Hollywood celebrity's life and make her the shining star the public expects her to be.  The only problem?  Her rival and true enemy in the business, Daniel Blackstone, is representing her client's ex boyfriend, in Vegas, attempting to turn his career around as well.  The scene is set up for disaster, but when it comes to business all is fair in love and war.

The premise for this novel definitely had a fun spin to it.  I loved the crazy nightlife of Vegas and how that interacted with all the characters.  But the main focus stayed true to Echols form and centered around the relationship between Wendy and Daniel.  These two characters share a past, though it may have sizzled out before things ever had a chance of igniting, now's their chance to really make sparks fly.  But since their jobs come first, and after all it is their careers that brought them to Vegas, the tension between these two was the best aspect of the story.  The playful banter had me laughing so much.  The intimate moments, when one thought the other wasn't looking, stole my heart.  This story embodies everything I love about adult contemporaries.

With this being my first glimpse of Echols writing adult fiction, it's safe to say that I am definitely impressed and will be coming back for more.  While reading this particular story, I could see these scenes played out on the big screen.  The story has a quick pace, centered around a challenge at hand, but constant obstacles are thrown in the way, causing the characters to falter a bit.  The build up of sexual tension definitely delivered in the end and Echols did not disappoint.  She's already a favorite young adult author, and quite possibly a new favorite adult author.  Give me more Echols!