The Love Script

May 8, 2023
An inopportune paparazzi photo sparks a romance between an ambitious hair stylist and an A-list actor in this spunky outing from Shiloh (Winning His Trust). Nevaeh Richards is working as a freelance personal stylist in Los Angeles, but dreams of styling hair on a movie set. When she shows up for a hair appointment at her client Rosie Booker’s house, Nevaeh finds the woman sick in bed and decides to make her soup. While cooking, Nevaeh is startled by the arrival of Rosie’s son, actor and People’s Sexiest Man Alive Lamont Booker. As he’s walking her out, Nevaeh slips on the front step and Lamont catches her. The next morning, an incriminating photo of the moment—captured by hidden paparazzi—is plastered across Hollywood tabloids, casting doubt on Lamont’s publicly professed celibacy due to his faith. To protect Lamont’s reputation, the two start to date, and soon real feelings emerge. Just as Lamont starts to regain his fans’ goodwill, however, Nevaeh’s life falls apart due to the continued limelight, which damages her career prospects and jeopardizes the relationship as a result. Shiloh’s sympathetic characters will easily win readers over as they battle through delightfully awkward moments and emotional quagmires toward a feel-good, faith-filled conclusion. Fans of clean Christian romance will be hooked.

Starred review from July 1, 2023

Neveah Richards dreams of being a stylist to the stars. But the closest she gets is helping the cancer-surviving mom of the tabloid-proclaimed "Sexiest Man Alive," Lamont Booker. After an accidental encounter with Lamont himself and a photo of them that goes viral, Neveah finds herself agreeing to a fake relationship to salvage their reputations. Despite their best intentions, and friends and family urging caution from the sidelines, sparks fly. The paparazzi are everywhere, and cancel culture waits eagerly for the seemingly mismatched couple to fall. As Neveah and Lamont grow closer, both wonder how to identify the genuine behind the silver sheen of Hollywood. This novel satisfies a demand for mild heat in contemporary romance/Christian fiction while neither sermonizing nor ignoring the modern-day challenges of body image and celebrity culture. VERDICT With faith and pop culture references from page one, Shiloh (To Win a Prince) excels at growing multidimensional characters into friends, with a little help from family and God. Recommend for readers of chaste romantic comedies in the style of Betsy St. Amant or Sandra D. Bricker.

Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2023
All Nevaeh Richards has ever wanted in her hairdressing career in Studio City is to finally achieve the status of key stylist on a movie set, not the title of celebrity girlfriend to America's Sexiest Man Alive. But when Hollywood's latest leading man, Lamont Booker, unintentionally knocks her off her feet, his attempt to save her from falling creates a media storm that threatens their careers. After reluctantly agreeing to stage a fake relationship to tamper the backlash, Nevaeh and Lamar find connection through their faith and discover that their scripted romance has unexpectedly deepened into something more sincere than they planned. Shiloh opens her new Love in the Spotlight series with a story of conservative values within the arena of celebrity, pop culture, and media influence. It features strong family relationships and faith-based friendships in which characters openly discuss accountability. Thematic focus on the importance of community in spiritual life enhances the novel's exploration of why people choose to stand by their morals in word and action, especially when worldly gain is at stake.

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