Yeah, I know.” Willa snorted, then caught herself. Her eyes widened as Sage turned to slowly look at her. Cool, now she was about to come off as a stalker. But could Sage honestly believe that people from her high school hadn’t watched her win gold in the Olympics? Honestly? Billie, an indie singer/songwriter really wanted to write and perform pop rather than the same old kind of tunes that launched her group, the Shrikes, with her sister and two band mates. Vero, a pop star who left her group, finished her stint in rehab and is trying to launch her solo career has only one problem. She hasn't been able to write any songs! Now that's a problem. And it was awesome seeing them develop an understanding that extended into their songwriting and let them create beautiful music together (sorry, I couldn't resist a dip in the trite). Oakley is at her best depicting the collaboration and music and I liked how she showed the intent and message of the lyrics but only gave enough detail to see refining and honing without giving so much that you get bogged down in trying to see it as an actual song. It was a good choice not trying to replicate actual lyrics so it worked exceptionally well. Fifteen years ago, Willa and Sage roamed the same halls of Edgelake High School. When their paths cross again, they decide to team up to solve both their problems - a stable, albeit fake, relationship to snag the endorsement deal and a hot soccer star to make the couples getaway sting a little less.... But when the lines between real and fake start to blur, will they be able to keep the growing heat between them just a game, or will they start playing to win?

Undone (The Kaleidoscope Album Book 1) by Bryce Oakley Undone (The Kaleidoscope Album Book 1) by Bryce Oakley

That said, I'm going with a bit of a wobbly four stars. Yeah, the rush at the end was bad but at least the parts of the relationship I had attached to played out well-enough. On the bird feed I saw that some self published authors were getting some grief for self publishing. I don’t care how an authors get their work out there, but in my opinion self publishing is brave and if you make it look as good as Bryce Oakley does, why would you do it any other way? Having full creative control makes for great books by Oakley and I applaud her for doing it al herself. Their connection was always there and they are so cute together. Sage makes Willa stand up for herself and Willa makes Sage think about what she is doing and what comes next. When the fauxmance contract runs out they don’t part but remain (professional) friends. Sage is pretty clear in what she wants but goes about it all wrong, and sweet Willa just doesn’t know how to get what she really wants.Well, as I was attempting to get to: Billie is still writing but she always edged more in a different direction than the band has positioned itself - her sister 'helped' hmms, smoothing things out. Billie tends to write sappy happy love songs. So they 'can't ' just make the second album be filled with only Billie's songs because that's ...something or other.

Never Mine by Bryce Oakley | Waterstones

I agree with Sheena’s answer, and that’s because of both the characters and the plot. The story leads the reader through a textbook (in the best possible way) setup, confusion, angst, romance, and ultimately, the gratifying “big moment” that isn’t always done well in books. Spoiler: it is in this one. Cons And Heads Up If you’re looking for a light sweet read with fake dating and a strangers to friends to lovers romance then this might be for you. Right. Totally,” Willa said, making a show of looking at Sage’s own name tag. “Oh, Sage Carson. I remember you played…” Play it cool. “Sports?” Of course she’d followed Sage’s career–it felt illegal to be a lesbian and not keep tabs on national team soccer stars, after all.

Reviews

Their friendship is great, how they grow as individual characters, but also as a couple, even when they really aren’t a couple is very well done. The story has a nice flow and the characters, in true Oakley fashion, are very likeable. The book is written from alternating third person POV for both Willa and Sage and that is something I always like as well.

Never Mine: A Lesbian Romance (Audio Download): Bryce Oakley

Monica: The easy answer is the puns and pop culture references that Oakley expertly infuses into her writing. You aren’t going to convince me that “No, but you’re a fancy person, so the possibility of escargot has escar-lated” is anything other than permanent literary canon dialogue at this point. Her manager approaches her with a big opportunity for an endorsement deal but there is a catch, Sage has a reputation for being rebellious and needs to come across as more stable. Her manager asks Sage to find a fake girlfriend to prove long term stability. What about you?” Sage asked. She glanced around the room, and Willa wondered if she was trying to find an out to their conversation. Or if she was even listening. Women like Sage Carson had never spoken to her, not in high school, not at bars, and definitely not at high school reunions in an old man’s club.I thought that the banter between the two main characters was really funny and I liked the chemistry that slowly built between the two of them. Their relationship progressed in a believable way. I thought that them writing songs together was an organic way to have them grow closer. This was a pretty short book so it never got too deep, but I did enjoy some of the commentary it had on the music industry and fame as a whole. The communication of real feelings is a bit of an issue though and I know it is to keep the drama and angst going in the book, but also for the life of me I just want to yell "talk to each other and don't assume!" to these characters. Willa has her own problems. She is chronically single. That’s fine for her 15 year reunion but it’s a little awkward for her ex girlfriend’s bachelorette party which encourages people to come as couples. The last thing Willa wants is to be the lone single in the beautiful Belize . Now I love a typical faux romance story, especially when it’s F/F. You always know how it’s going to end and this one was no exception but I went into it, knowing exactly what I was getting myself into. Oakley wrote a compelling romance with two likeable characters and off the charts chemistry. If you love contemporary romances with great characters and a compelling story then you need this one in your life.

Bryce Oakley – Audio Books, Best Sellers, Author Bio Bryce Oakley – Audio Books, Best Sellers, Author Bio

However, one thing I did enjoy was the way the characters bounced off each other. You could tell from the get go that Sage and Willa really connected as friends and the sexual chemistry between them definitely wasn’t missed either, which then brings me onto the explicit content. I’ve read a few of these books where they start off cute and then bam! They throw in explicit content and I have to say, it does surprise me sometimes but I’d honestly be lying if I said it wasn’t a welcome surprise. Let’s be honest, there’s nothing wrong with a bit of R Rated content every now and then and I definitely wasn’t complaining with this one. This book was a nice read after finishing a longer one, this was supposed to be short and fun, but it was a bit more because it turned out to be a bit emotional and charged with real issues like alcohol abuse and in this genre (f/f) that's not common.Why in the world was Sage still talking to her? She turned slightly, giving Sage an out if she wanted to leave instead of chat. An awkward silence stretched between them as Willa pressed her lips together, shifting her weight between her heels.