Book ~ "Love Unscripted" (2010) Tina Reber

From Goodreads ~ Ryan Christensen just wanted to be an actor. Never in his wildest dreams did he ever think that accepting a role in an unknown film would toss his career into overdrive. His new fame has cost him dearly; anonymity is no longer an option. His fans stalk him, the paparazzi hound him, and Hollywood studios all want a piece of him. Despite all of that, Ryan Christensen craves the most basic of human needs - to have love in his heart and privacy in his life.

Taryn Mitchell, the story's protagonist, is a realist. She's been feigning contentment, running the family pub in Seaport, Rhode Island, while quietly nursing her own internal heartaches. Her feet are fairly glued to the ground and she doesn't buy into all the hype that has descended on her tiny, coastal town. In her world, men are safe if they're kept at a distance.

Fate has other plans for these two when their paths cross one sunny afternoon. A group of female fans has attacked him, leaving his shirt torn, his face cut, and Ryan in obvious distress. Bonds between them form from the most dramatic of circumstances while jealousy, insecurity, and the stress of his celebrity life try to tear them apart.

Through all the tabloid lies, secrecy, and pressure, can Taryn's peace and Ryan's high-profile insanity live together in harmony?

Taryn owns a pub in Seaport, RI.  It's been in her family for a couple generations.  She has a few close friends.  Ryan is an actor filming a big budget film in Seaport.  Taryn has no idea who he is nor has she seen any of his movies.

Ryan was always chased and harassed by fans and that's how Ryan and Taryn meet ... he was running away from a mob when he ducked into her pub as she is opening it one afternoon.  She hid him for a couple hours while they talked, drank and played pool.  There is an attraction and the next thing you know, they are in love and living together.  But there is conflict as the famous movie star (who wants a normal life) and the small town pub owner (who wants to keep her normal life) try to make a life together.

I thought the story sounded interesting because I like celebrity gossip, pubs and chick lit.  I really wanted to like this book but I didn't ... it could have been much better:

•  Ryan and Taryn whispered a lot.  Even when they were the only two people in her apartment or the pub, for example, they whispered.  Why?
• When Ryan and Taryn would sit together at a table (for supper or playing poker, for example), they kicked each other or would lift each other's foot with their foot or they would pinch each other.  I thought it was childish.
• Ryan called her on her cell phone often.  Whether he was filming in Seaport or was in another part of the country, he was forever calling her.
• I enjoy dialog in a book because I like the interaction between characters.  There was a lot of dialog in this book but it seemed to be rambling and repetitive.
• At times there was too much information that didn't seem necessary.  For example, did we really need to know about how regular Ryan's bowel movements were?  Also, why did we have to read about Ryan and Taryn hearing his parents having sex?
• There were pages and pages of them discussing their relationship ... over and over and over.  Ryan would assure Taryn that she had nothing to worry about, that he loved her (he told her this about a thousand times), she should trust him and that she shouldn't believe what she read in the tabloids.  She'd be fine for a while and then she would see a picture or see something on the news and the cycle would start all over again.  I started skipping pages after awhile because it was just more of the same.  The story is written in Taryn's voice and it was tiresome hearing her go on and on.
• This ebook is really long (576 pages).  It could have been a lot tighter with less dialog and repetition.

I received a copy of this ebook at no charge in exchange for my honest review.