By iamsandykay on May 3, 2026 ( Leave a comment )

Book Review – Second Act

Second Act
by Artemis Price

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Book Description:

Once the darlings of a beloved family sitcom, Aimee Laporte and Liam McAllister have spent their adult careers struggling to make a name for themselves.

Free of her parent’s micromanagement, Aimee walked away from Hollywood and completely and crashed and burned in the process. When she gets the opportunity to be a guest at a fan convention, she thinks of her debt and nothing else.

Liam’s been in fifteen movies since the show wrapped up, but he’s been the same character in essentially all of them. Terrified that he’s been type-cast, he heads to the convention to network with his former co-stars.

As Aimee and Liam reunite, they realize they need to be relevant to get cast again. They hatch a plan: fake a high-profile romance and ride the wave of nostalgia straight back into the spotlight.

The rules are simple. Public appearances, a few strategically timed “candid” moments, and absolutely no real feelings. But as they navigate red carpets, podcast interviews, and late-night rehearsals for their biggest roles in years, their carefully scripted love story starts feeling dangerously real.

Faking a relationship was supposed to be easy. Falling for each other? That was never in the script.

My Take:

SK Book Review - For Whom the Belle Tolls graphic

This story was very fun, and showed real human characters with real (and messy) emotions.

This is the second of Artemis Price’s books I’ve read and I’ve loved them both. The characters feel real and have real emotions and real human flaws. They are so well-formed that I love them, root for them, feel disappointed in their choices (as a parent would), and come back to love them even more. The story is well written and the plot is believable.

This was an adorable story of second chances and friends-to-lovers. Had great, believable scenes between the main characters and their cast of friends.

While I usually prefer enemies-to-lovers, this was a nice change. I am often accidentally drawn to the fake dating trope, which I try to say I don’t like. The reality is that in any fake dating trope, there’s always the time where one party is more (or actually) in love with the other and someone has to get their heart broken to advance the plot. There IS a happy ending, so it all works out in the end.

The Final Verdict

My rating: 5 stars

Would I recommend? Yes

This was a great, cozy read that I will come back to. Definitely recommend.