Review: Love Unrehearsed – Tina Reber

There is no rehearsal for true love.
When A-list film actor Ryan Christensen ducked into her pub to escape his screaming fans, never in a million years did Taryn Mitchell think her life was about to change forever. But now, eight months later, after a whirlwind romance, Taryn wakes up in Ryan’s Hollywood hotel room to find a diamond to die for on her left ring finger—and her face splashed across the cover of every gossip magazine.
Ryan’s very public proposal is catnip to the tabloids, his management team is worried, and Taryn must figure out how a small town girl like her fits into his glittering world. What does it take to make a relationship work amidst telephoto lenses, daily on-set temptations, and jealous fans who will stop at nothing to keep you from walking down the aisle with the man of your dreams?
With no script to follow and no chance for a dress rehearsal, Taryn and Ryan will be forced to take the plunge and risk everything to make their love last.

Series:  Love #2
Release Date:  September 14, 2012
Publisher:  Atria Books
Source:  Edelweiss
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Reviewer’s Thoughts:

Ryan and Taryn haven’t had the easiest road to their happily ever after.  Now that they’re engaged, one would think things would be easier for them.  But we find out that all the pitfalls that dogged them before, become much more apparent when their relationship becomes ‘official’.

Ryan and Taryn must navigate through the publicity and film-making waters while they try to keep their relationship on even ground.  That’s hard to do when the people Ryan trusts with his career take an instant dislike to Taryn and try just about anything to get rid of her.  That’s hard on Ryan, but he’s turned into this very Alpha male and stands his ground when it comes to Taryn.  I loved that.  In Love Unscripted, Ryan was in emotional crisis mode and needed Taryn to be the one to ground him.  He would show some of that Alpha-maleness, but most of the time it was Taryn who was the strong one.  In Love Unrehearsed he’s totally Alpha male.  When it comes to Taryn, he pulls no punches and demands that she be treated with the respect the woman he loves deserves.  It was great to see the change in him.

Taryn was trying to find her place in Ryan’s world.  She lost the freedom she took for granted and learned that living your life under the microscope isn’t all that fun.  It was a hard adjustment for Taryn and often made her question whether she was what Ryan needed, especially when something she did resulted in a big ordeal, but she had to learn to have faith in herself and know that she was Ryan’s choice.  That’s hard for her, especially when she has to deal with her best friend’s marriage breaking up, her ex-fiance Thomas showing up declaring he wanted to win her back, the secrecy behind her father’s safe deposit box and the ever present tabloid gossip spewing who Ryan’s latest conquest was.  She didn’t always handle everything well, but she finally figured out how to balance who she is, what she wants to do with how to be there for Ryan.

I enjoyed this story, but not as much as Love Unscripted.  The emotional connection wasn’t the same with this one and that made me feel slightly disconnected from the characters.  But despite that, it’s still a solid read in a series that will go on my list of favorites for 2012.