REVIEW: Hott Take by Serena Bell

Hott Take by Serena Bell: There isn’t much that Shane Hott wouldn’t do for his family, especially his sister Hanna, so when their grandfather’s will stipulates that if they are to keep their family land safe, then hot shot movie star Shane needs to secure a Hollywood wedding to be held on their family’s ranch. Finding a couple in Hollywood to get married shouldn’t be this hard but it would seem that every turn Shane takes has a roadblock, that is until former TV celeb Ivy walks into the barn. Ivy has been hiding out in Rush Creek ever since her great departure form the spotlight, now her days are spent running the community theatre for troubled kids. Now if she wants to continue running her theatre then she is going to need a bit of help from the Hotts in the form of using their barn. Seeing an opportunity to out smart the will Shane proposes a deal, she can use the barn if she agrees to fake marry him. With both of them being actors this should be a cake walk, right? But somewhere between learning each others quirks and planning the wedding the two begin to find that their situation is starting to feel less like a fake relationship and more like the real deal…

LOVED!!! I freaking love Crush Creek and all the goodness that comes from visiting this cute little wedding centric town. I have been a fan of this place right from the Wilder’s series and now that we are well into the Hott family series I can safely say that I never want this series to end! I just loved that all these books can be read as standalone but really do yourself a favor and read the entire series! Bell has done a brilliant job in blending together humour, heart, spice and some really beautiful heartwarming moments to create HOTT TAKE.

Ivy was such a delight, she was sweet and kind and genuinely not some kind of diva actress. It was super easy to root her on as she tried to open her heart up to love again. My heart did break a bit for Ivy and all that she has gone through with the men in her life and in turn causing her to close herself of to most people. This only made me love seeing her interact with the other Hott siblings and their friends as Ivy and Shane faked their way through. Now for our hero Shane, well I kind of liked him more than I had been expecting. After learning a bit about Shane in the previous books I couldn’t help but expect an arrogant hero but our guy was far from this. Shane was actually a really great guy just trying to figure out his place in the world. I loved how determined he was to help Hanna keep the family land and intern her business.

The chemistry between Shane and Ivy was just perfection. I just loved the fact that Shane was the first to fall and how invested he was in Ivy. I loved getting to see them work together to prove to the lawyer and their fans that they were an actual couple, they had some really cute moments with loads of sexual tension building up. The steam in this book was next level hot, that reenactment scene when Shane caught Ivy watching his show was just next level! As hot as their physical connection was I really enjoyed seeing their emotional bond growing, both of them had been hurt in the past so it was nice to see them open up to each other and trust again.

One of the things that I loved about this book was the supporting characters, we got to see the whole gang in this book and I just loved how welcoming they all were to Ivy. I can not wait for the next book in this series, seriously I am addicted! Hott Take is a total must read, I loved every single moment of reading this cute small town, fake turned real, sunshine meets grump romcom!

Book Info:

Publication: April 16, 2024 | Jelsba Media Group | Hott Springs Eternal #2

The hard part isn’t acting like we’re falling for each other. It’s pretending we’re not.

Shane: My grandfather’s will has me between a rock and a Hott place. If I don’t score a celebrity wedding, my sister will lose her wedding planning business—and our family’s land. As a playboy movie star, I know Hollywood’s ins and outs. But finding two celebrities in love is tougher than it looks.

Enter Ivy Scofield—the beautiful star of one of TV’s most beloved failures. She’s hiding from her past in Rush Creek, running a community theater for troubled kids. She needs my family’s wedding barn to save her program. So we make a deal: I give her the barn—she gives me her hand in fake marriage. Lights, camera, action—and cut—right?

Not so fast. Planning our fake wedding is way more personal than I was expecting. I’m learning Ivy’s quirks, preferences, and pet peeves—and that’s before I walk in on her enjoying my most infamous on-camera scene. Plus she’s slowly peeling back my layers—the ones I’ve built up to protect myself. If someone doesn’t do something soon, we might discover that the only thing fake about this wedding is the way we keep pushing each other away.