Book Description:
![Pageflex Persona [document: PRS0000037_00030]](http://www.inkslingerpr.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Collateral-Damage_ebooklg.jpg)
Now trendingHollywood It Girl, Francesca Leon, has just landed the biggest role of her career…one that could clinch an Oscar nomination and open doors. If she’s going to move her career to the next level and work with top directors, she has to nail this part — and keep her sexy, but unreliable leading man from screwing everything up.
Team Calder
Bad boy Calder Fox is the son of Hollywood royalty and fresh out of rehab after his best friend’s death sent him on a downward spiral of drugs and alcohol. While his fans still love him and the paparazzi stalk him, he’s never taken life, or anything about his career, seriously. He may be charming and drop-dead gorgeous, but if he doesn’t stay sober, he could ruin Frankie’s future and expose her long-hidden family secret to the voracious media.
Behind the scenes
Things heat up during filming and have the potential to become hotter, deeper, and much more real. But can Frankie trust Calder with her secret? Or is he doomed to sabotage his own happiness yet again?
Find it on Goodreads here: http://bit.ly/1wzFJPv
Excerpt:
Handing the paper back to Brock, I said, “Got it,” and rose from the couch, smoothing my skirt over my thighs when I was upright.
He led me down the hallway until we stood at the side of the stage to wait for my turn. We didn’t have long to wait. Calder came sauntering off stage, appearing completely relaxed and not at all like he’d just been forced to discuss what was supposedly one of the hardest times of his life.
His gaze inched slowly up the length of my body before he met my eyes, a small smirk forming on his lips. My traitorous nipples pebbled underneath my silk shirt, and I was sure he could tell given the fact that I wasn’t wearing a bra. Note to self—avoid backless shirts around attractive men. I pressed my teeth together, more irritated than ever that I found him so physically appealing.
“Have we met?” Calder asked me with that stupid grin still on his face.
I’m sure I looked like I was trying to catch flies with my mouth. Was he shitting me?
Our review:
**ARC recieved for honest review**
Reviewed by Donna ~ 4 Stars
“She had been the one to believe in me when I was close to not believing in myself.”
Although Collateral Damage is part of a series these can be read as standalones. In this book we are treated to the story of Calder Fox and Francesca Leon. Both were childhood stars and both came from different upbringings. They worked together in their teens and now as adults their paths would cross again. Trouble was, one had gone off the rails, and the other was still waiting for their big break. Their big break was dependent on this film, so why would they cast a washed up alcoholic, drug addict?
Calder Fox was the child of a Hollywood “it” couple. He was born into wealth and the business and great things were expected of him. With the trappings of wealth and famous parents comes a multitude of temptation and Calder had tried them all. On a downward spiral his life as he knew it comes to an abrupt end when he is involved in a car accident (as a passenger) and his best friend is killed. With this comes the added complication of guilt. He was destroyed. After a stint in rehab, Calder is on the mend but the trouble is he has alienated the business against him, through drink and drugs he is black listed but now is the time to start the climb once again.
Calder was a complex character, his problems started from his family life. His parents got divorced and he stayed with his father as he wanted to become an actor and his mother was moving to Europe. His father was a busy director and so Calder was left to his own devices most of the time. If his father saw a problem, he just threw money at it, when really all Calder wanted was love. He had never felt part of a family and this is what first led him into the cesspit of alcohol and substance abuse.
Francesca (Frankie) took her acting seriously, after a run of indie films her name was finally getting out there and she finally had landed a part in a film that was already being touted as Oscar worthy. When the actor originally scheduled to play the leading man has to pull out and Calder is named as the replacement, she is incredibly upset, this was her chance and she knew that Calder Fox would destroy what she had worked so hard to build. Frankie also has her own problems too and this is one distraction that she really didn’t need.
I have to say, I loved Calder and Frankie, this movie was the making of both of them in a way. Although their start together was anything but civil it soon becomes apparent that these two have an intense chemistry and not just for the silver screen. These two complemented each other and could both relate to each other’s issues. They were the shoulder that each other needed; it was just up to them to take that leap of faith. I loved the way that Frankie helped Calder, although he thought she was just doing the “tea and sympathy” thing I am glad that he could see the wood for the trees. He needed to feel loved, he needed that connection and finally he had something and someone to look forward too. He had someone there for him, to finally help him fight his demons.
“Remember, we’re in this together. We sink or swim as a team.”
The relationship was not one sided at all, Frankie had her own demons and when she finally opened up to Calder and admitted her one secret that she had managed to keep away from the press, I could feel the pressure release off her shoulders. The way that Calder dealt with Frankie’s said issue bought tears to my ears. He could empathise, he knew what to do automatically and it was beautiful to read.
The way that addiction was dealt with in this book was sensitive and was true to life, it was not glamorised at all and the repercussions were at the forefront. I love how real the relationship between Calder and Frankie was, it was honest, and it was all about learning about each other, putting aside preconceived ideas and misconceptions. It was a voyage of discovery and seeing the person for who they were underneath, not what the paparazzi led you to believe. It was about giving people a chance, a chance to be genuine and a chance to fall in love.
“I beamed with pride at the man who had started out as an annoyance, turned out to be an anomaly, and ended up becoming my entire life.”
This book had me running a gamut of emotions, survivor’s guilt is evil and Calder had a bad case. This is a book about forgiving yourself, leaving the past in the past and trying to be the best person you can be going forward. This book was poignant; with many underlying messages and the over sensationalised Hollywood glamor was nowhere to be seen. I loved it.
“You have to forgive yourself.”
“I don’t know how.”
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