America's Next Reality Star

Hi folks, it's Heather here, hope your summer is going swell. Many thanks to the author for letting me review it in exchange for an honest review. There's a sequel to this coming out soon so expect another review in September! 

Information

Author: Laura Heffernan
Published: March 2017
Publisher: Lyrical Shine
Length: 256 pages

Brief description (from Amazon)

Twenty-four-year-old Jen Reid had her life in good shape: an okay job, a tiny-cute Seattle apartment, and a great boyfriend almost ready to get serious. In a flash it all came apart. Single, unemployed, and holding an eviction notice, who has time to remember trying out for a reality show? Then the call comes, and Jen sees her chance to start over—by spending her summer on national TV.

Luckily The Fishbowl is all about puzzles and games, the kind of thing Jen would love even if she wasn’t desperate. The cast checks all the boxes: cheerful, quirky Birdie speaks in hashtags; vicious Ariana knows just how to pout for the cameras; and corn-fed “J-dawg” plays the cartoon villain of the house. Then there’s Justin, the green-eyed law student who always seems a breath away from kissing her. Is their attraction real, or a trick to get him closer to the $250,000 grand prize? Romance or showmance, suddenly Jen has a lot more to lose than a summer . . . (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Americas-Next-Reality-Laura-Heffernan-ebook/dp/B01HA426MI/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1499862709&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=laura+hefferman)

Review

Poor Jen! Having just lost her job, home and boyfriend after it’s unraveled that there’s a very interesting reason why he hasn’t proposed, she’s definitely going through a rough spot. The chance to win a quarter of a million by becoming a reality television star certainly appeals to her at this time. The show in question is an intriguing concept called The Fishbowl, in which a selection of people (the fish) are put in a glass house that resembles (you guessed it) a fish bowl. Like most reality shows, there’s a confessional booth, challenges and lots of snarky attitudes.

The pacing of the book is good, with healthy doses of comedy to reflect Jen’s personality, meaning that the story is pretty much optimum for entertainment. Despite all the little details, I still felt like I was yearning for more – like how exactly the personality test and psychiatric assessment were done in the application process. The ending was especially rushed and left me feeling a little dissatisfied if I’m totally honest, but considering there’s a sequel out I’m hoping that that will answer my many questions about how Jen will proceed after the Fishbowl. As I said earlier, the plot is intriguing (even for someone that’s never watched reality television) and I caught myself up till the early hours of the morning when I decided I’d read just thirty more pages, which transpired into a hundred and fifty.

The characters were a bit over the top, like Birdie speaking in hashtags, but given that this is a comedy book, it only added to the amusement factor. I really enjoyed watching as different characters were developed, particularly Rachel and Justin, who Jen’s feelings on changed drastically as the story progressed. Joshua was perhaps the most infuriating individual I’ve ever read about; I completely shared Jen’s dislike of him. Ariana, though very attention seeking and dramatic, I thought was treated a bit too harshly by the others, Jen reacting to the majority of her antics. I’d have enjoyed to have read more about her journey in The Fishbowl and seen her attitude alter. The platonic relationships in the novel were excellent, really well written; many authors can get overly distracted by romance and leave out friendships entirely.

The challenges themselves were inventive, it’s clear that the author had a lot of fun coming up with them and putting Jen in uncomfortable situations, especially those involving her sexual tension with Justin. Again, I’d have liked to have seen more of them though! I was particularly fond of the reference to the Triwizard Tournament from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Nominations were again well written, with Jen’s stress blatant from her prying to find out who the other contestants would vote her.

Teens and adults alike would probably enjoy this the most, there’s a sprinkling of adult language but nothing offensive. If you’ve read or are planning to read this, leave me a comment below! I’m going to end this post with my favourite quote, which surmises Jen perfectly;

“I wouldn’t let this b*tch get the best of me. Kill ‘em with kindness, like Mom always said.”