Book Review - Billy and Me

Billy and Me
Author: Giovanna Fletcher
Standalone
Genres: Contemporary | Adult
Release Date: 23rd May 2013
Publishers: Penguin
No. Pages: 402
Source: Gifted
Rating: 
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Sophie May has a secret. One that she’s successfully kept for years.

It's meant that she’s had to give up her dreams of going to university and travelling the world to stay in her little village, living with her mum and working in the local tea-shop. But then she meets the gorgeous Billy – an actor with ambitions to make it to the top. And when they fall in love, Sophie is whisked away from the comfort of her life into Billy’s glamorous, but ruthless, world.

Their relationship throws Sophie right into the spotlight after years of shying away from attention. Can she handle the constant scrutiny that comes with being with Billy? And most of all, is she ready for her secret heartbreak to be discovered and shared with the nation?

As a young adult (late teens, early 20's) who reads young adult novels, adult romance novels aren't something you would honestly expect me to pick up, however, after the absolute joy and perfection that was Face Time earlier in the year, I decided it was time to check out Billy and Me and compare it's love in the blogging community alongside Face Time. Thankfully, this book is just as wonderful, with a little less culture and diversity and a little more stardom, but no matter, is still pretty adorable.

The most difficult feature I usually have with adult books is that I feel either too young for the characters and the story, or they feel too old, but in Billy and Me, neither of these feelings crossed my path - both Sophie and Billy were created to be older and all be it, a little more mature than I, but they were easily relatable, with Sophie's background, grief over her Father and the problems at home with her Mother, to her working in possibly the most adorable, beautiful coffee shop I've ever imagined, while Billy was the full on star, Hollywood heart throb who really wasn't sure what he wanted his life to be like because he was used to others dictating it all - they really were so easy to take hold of and connect to that it made the reading experience fly by in a hurry. Yes, the book doesn't exactly scream plot at you, because lets face it, it's a romance, there's going to be up's and down's and arguments and adoration, but developed plot isn't something you should be expecting from this book, because if it is, you'll be sorely disappointed.

The main stars of this show therefore were that characters and I had never expected for these to be such a vast amount of characters that I would form attachments too. Each character in this village was developed and created with a completely different personality, each experience with these characters brought a new emotion to the table, and I honestly don't think I've laughed, nor cried in such close succession that I did with this book in a while. Sophie was a breath of fresh air; she's the naturally speak-before-you-think kind of girl who makes a fool of herself, believes that she should stand on her own two feet and cares dearly for those around her. She has big dreams, aspirations to be proud of and possibly loves a little too hard a little too quickly, but these were all the qualities I came to love about her because they reminded me so much of myself. Oh how I wish I could have worked in that coffee shop, oh how I wish I could have been a part of that village, but most of all, how I wish I could have learnt the art of being in the spotlight like she did and it was this development I liked most. Imagine going from a small village where everybody knows everybody knows everybody to the big city, with more people than lampposts, judgements around every corner and no choice but to be in the limelight - it's a big change, and I think Fletcher covered this extremely well. I could delve into Billy as a character, but if I'm bluntly honest, there honestly isn't a lot to him; he's a star but isn't sure he wants to shine in specific lights, he loves Sophie, literally, with all of his heart and makes the grand gestures and he is genuinely a wonderfully, humourous character with joy, confusion and honesty and while I found his character to be enjoyable, there just wasn't much substance to him after all.

There were moments in this book were I was crying more than my body could produce tears, there were moments were a smile stayed plastered on my face for so long I thought it'd stick like that, there were utter moments of pure joy in this novel and there was plenty of room for me to learn about being a star's partner, which I'm more than sure Fletcher used thanks to the experience's she's had being one of Mrs McFly's. Had I reviewed this book as soon as I'd read it, I would have without a doubt given this book the full show of stars, but having left it a short while and coming to terms with the fact that Billy did lack some personality and that I did skim reads areas, no matter how beautiful and enjoyable the book was, I cannot give it more than it deserves. This book is wonderful and trust me, if you're an emotionally reader like myself, you'll enjoy this without a doubt, but always remember that Billy and Me is and forever will be an adult chick-lit and nothing more than that.