Carolina thought she had her life figured out—balancing work, raising her kids alone, and keeping her heart locked away from the string of men who come and go like the waves on her small Hawaiian island. But when Nicholas, a famous young actor running from his own demons, steps into her world, the walls she’s carefully built begin to crumble.
Nicholas is magnetic and intense, with a charm that’s hard to resist and scars that fame can’t heal. Drawn to him yet haunted by her own secrets, Carolina finds herself entangled in a passionate love story that challenges everything she believed she wanted.
As their worlds collide, their undeniable chemistry sparks a love that is both thrilling and terrifying. But with hidden wounds and painful pasts lurking beneath the surface, will they have the courage to open their hearts to a love that could change everything? Or will their fears and mistakes tear them apart forever? Are they brave enough to rewrite their stories?
“Beyond the Spotlight” is an unforgettable new contemporary romance about love, redemption, the power of second chances, and the courage needed to leave the past behind.
My Review
Carolina is a single mom; her youngest is leaving, and she has empty nest syndrome. Her story down memory lane is interesting but ends before we get too many details. The hook at the end of the first chapter leads you further. These items are intriguing at this point, but I need more character details for the hook to make me want to read the story.
Nicholas is the mysterious man at the place where she works. He is an actor, which explains his lack of manners and disguise. He is young and wild, arrogant and reckless. He had his sights set on the intriguing waitress.
This book gets steamy pretty fast. We barely know the characters. There is a lot of intimacy in their story. It is downright smutty. Their interaction helps tell the story, but the characters are still strangers to the reader.
Of course, the age gap comes up to break their happy island life bubble. I honestly expected it. That moves us into the next part and away from the small-town paradise.
Part two
Nick is back in his normal life in L.A. as an actor. This part of the story is mostly about his downward spiral in his career and life due to his heartbreak and attempt to find his joy again. It is a bit heart-wrenching to read; meanwhile, Carolina is very independent, and we see more of her life with her now adult children.
Part three
We time jump in the storyline by six months. Carolina has a scare and, of course, in her time of need, reconnects with Nicholas. Their chemistry is insane, but not a whole lot of conversation happens. They so on again, off again, with the constant back and forth and so much walking away then back together. I wish they would fight for the romance they have already. Again, most of the storyline is smutty.
I like that a decision is finally made, and Carolina embraces her happiness, even if the movie star complicates it.
The epilogue wraps it all up nicely, but it is a journey to get there. Most of their issues were internal, with two broken people finding their way through life, careers, and self-realizations with each other. This story has many sizzling hot scenes, and a lot of it is the same backstory told repeatedly, but eventually, we got to know the characters better. It is more smutty than I prefer to read, but overall, it was okay. Also, the age gap was a hot topic in the book.
If you want to read Beyond the Spotlight by D.G. Keene, you can find it on Amazon. As an Amazon Assocaite, I earn on qualifying purchases.
If you like this book, you may also enjoy books with these tags and categories: Smutty, Age Gap, and New Adult.
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