What I Did For Loveby Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Pub. Date: January 2009
ISBN-13: 9780061351501
416pp












Back Book's Blurb:

How did this happen? Georgie York, once the costar of American's favorite television sitcom, has been publicly abandoned by her famous husband, her film career has tanked, her father is driving her crazy, and her public image as a spunky heroine is taking a serious beating.

What should a down-on-her-luck actress do? Not go to Vegas...not run into her detestable former costar, dreamboat-from-hell Bramwell Shepard...and not get caught up in a ugly incident that leads to a calamitous elopement. Before she know it, Georgie has a fake marriage, a fak husband, and maybe (or not) a fake sex life.

It's paparazzi free-for-all, and Georgie's non-supporting cast doesn't help. There's Bram's punk-nightmare housekeeper, Georgie's own pushy parent, a suck-up-agent, an icy studio head with a private agenda, and her ex-husband's new wife, who can't get enough of doing good deed and saving the world --- the b**ch. As for Georgie's leading man, Bram's giving the performance of his life, but he's never cared about anyone except himself, and it's not exactly clear why.

Two enemies find themselves working without script in a town where the spotlight shines bright...and where the strongest emotions can wear startling disguises.

End Back Book's Blurb

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I know that Susan have said that when she wrote Bram and Georgie that there no similar of the two characters with Angela and Brad, the famous celebrity marriage couple. But I can’t help but thought it was too coincident. I also thought that Bran and Georgia was also similar to “Ross and Rachel” from the TV sitcom comedy “FRIENDS”, because of the relationship between the two of being best friend than becoming lover.

The story began when we see Georgie York escaping from the jackals (paparazzi) and end up at her old and dearest friend, Trevor Elliott’s beach house in Malibu. After eight years from the popular TV sitcoms of Skip and Scooter and canceling of the show, the public still hadn’t forgotten their America’s favorite good girl, “Scooter Brown”. And than her husband Lance left her for another woman, and now her life have become disaster. She always hide in Malibu, when she want to get away and lick her wound. She than got an idea of asking Trev to marry her. This way, her messy life won’t be on spotlight for jackals top priority magazines and news anymore. And everything will go away. Plus, Trev gay rumor can lay to rest to public eyes. But an unexpected plan changed the idea, and Georgie have to face the realty that it happen and that she have to dealt with her long time co-stars, Bramwell Shepard. The guy she had crush on when he play his role as “Skip”. But they hate each other off screen, and everyone close to them know it.

At first, it took me a little longer to get me to warm up to Bram and his bad behavior. His attitude toward everything made me think he just don't care about anything. But than once we get deeper to the problem and understanding why he acted the way he does, it become clear to me than. People just assumed the worth of him, and he never corrected them. He let people think whatever they want. He is used to keep so much things to himself, that he just never knew how to say what he thinks. And than it occurs to me that his action show a lot more than words can speak. That when I grew to like him more.

Although there are some romances, it was lacking the intimacy level IMO. For the most part, most of the scenes were short and a little steamy. The only favorite scenes, where the romance took to another level was when they end up at the small shop in PROVOCATIVE. It was funny but hot and steamy! You’ll just have to read it for yourself to see what happen in there *grin*. I think my favorite moment was a couple pages, half way toward the ending. The ending made up for it and you just have to root for both of them. And Bram redeemable self took a different direction than I would have thought he would do. But than I think what he did was the next best thing because otherwise Georgie would have felt guilty. I love how they used their TV show names "Skip" and "Scooter", when they want to express or explain their feeling to each other. And I love how they both didn't know what loves is or even understand love, until they had each other.

I love all the other characters, and their romance. I also love re-visiting old characters from previous books too. It surely was nice to see them again. This is one of the reason why I LOVE series/trilogies books. But WHAT I DID FOR LOVE, is a stand alone. You only see previous characters make appearance in some of the stand alone books.

There were a lot of great dialogues and scenes. Some were funny, that made me laugh. I think that Susan Elizabeth Phillips (or SEP if you prefer to shorten it) is great with humors in dialogues and scenes. One of the things I love about reading her books. She also great with showing and have us feel the emotions that her characters go through in her books as well. She tend to put two odd people together and make them work so well.

What I Did For Love was a enjoyable read and engaging story that wrap around your heart. Funny and lovable characters that you will remember and stay with you. And its steamy the pages and emotionally heartfelt.

I almost gave this book a 4 grade, but changed it because half way -- a couple of pages -- to the ending made up for it. I think you will enjoy reading the book. Give it a chance! I like some of Susan's book but love her Chicago Star series books!

Susan have said that she is working on a book about Teddy Beaudine. The character who appears as a child in FANCY PANTS and he also was the hunky young man in LADY BE GOOD. She said, we will see more of Meg from WHAT I DID FOR LOVE too! I haven't yet read FANCY PANTS or LADY BE GOOD. But I think I should before I can read Ted story :)

Grade: 4 1/2 stars