i've read this two years ago and really liked it. now i was desperately in need for a comfort read, and for me, my comfort genre is always ya contemporary. and it worked! the story pulled me in, made me smile and cross my fingers for the characters, and forget my own world. what i enjoyed the most was how passionate emi is about her job; reading about set designing and the whole behind the scenes of a movie was just amazing. the love story was really cute as well, as was emi's friendship with charlotte- and it worked completely without a fight or misunderstanding. i'd recommend this for everyone who is looking for a lgbt+ ya book without a major focus on romance!

So this was a very nice book. It surprised me. I wasn't quite sure if I'd like the overall theme, it being set in Hollywood and stuff. But the story felt very genuine. There were a few situation where I thought the Hollywood shone through a bit too much but it didn't dictate the overall story. So yes, it's a very sweet book with a genuine and well developed love story.

We love films because they make us feel something. They speak to our desires, which are never small. They allow us to escape and to dream and to gaze into eyes that are impossibly beautiful and huge. They fill us with longing. *1.5 stars Another book that has been on my TBR for literal YEARS. However, it left me disappointed. I couldn’t connect with the characters, nor was I able to lose myself in the story. I nearly lost my mind because I was so bored. The writing style was really simple and I knew I shouldn’t have picked this up because I’ve read [b: We Are Okay|28243032|We Are Okay|Nina LaCour|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1471899036l/28243032._SY75_.jpg|48277368] and [b: You Know Me Well|27158835|You Know Me Well|Nina LaCour|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1448074907l/27158835._SY75_.jpg|47110620] some time ago and I wasn’t able to connect with her writing before. Emi, the main character, is an aspiring set designer in Hollywood. She’s allowed to design a room for a film and she’s determined to find the perfect sofa. This seems to be the main plot for the first 100 pages, at least that’s what this book felt like. There wasn’t a lot of action but the author sure as hell described the locations in (too much!) detail. The characters were just so bland and boring! Adding to that, it seemed really unrealistic. Which high school graduate gets an internship for a big Hollywood production? The romance was barely there and there was a weird subplot about Emi’s best friend being in love with Emi’s brother. I’m glad I only bought a used copy for 2€. It took me quite long to get through this book because I didn’t really want to pick it up.

This was so, so beautiful. The romance is believable and the mystery around Ava's family well-crafted. I've also never read a book about set design in films before and I feel like I'll watch those through a different lens (pun entirely intended) now. I think they could have done a better job with the cover though, it doesn't really fit the story in my opinion.