Will They or Won’t They by Ava Wilder | Book Review

Will They or Won’t They by Ava Wilder
Release Date: 27th June 2023
Genre: Adult, Romance
Source: Publisher, NetGalley
Rating: ★★★★

Lilah Hunter and Shane McCarthy are madly in love— at least, their characters are. As the stars of the hit paranormal TV show Intangible, they spent years pining for each other on-screen… until Lilah ditched the show at the end of season five in hopes of becoming a film star. With no such luck, she’s back to film the much-hyped ninth and final season, in which their characters will get together at last.

But coming back means facing one of the biggest reasons she left: Shane. Ever since their secret behind-the-scenes fling imploded at the end of the first season, the two of them have despised each other.

Now back on set together for the first time in years, with the world’s eyes on them and their post-show careers on the line, they’ll have to grit their teeth and play nice. But under pressure to give Intangible’s fans the happy ending they’ve been waiting for, Lilah and Shane are forced to get closer than ever. And if they’re not careful, they just might get blindsided by one final twist: a real-life happy ending of their own.

I hadn’t read anything by Ava Wilder before, but I had to pick Will They or Won’t They up when I read the description and realised it’s basically Nian fanfiction. I won’t be elaborating on that particular interest of mine any further, but if you know you know.

I had such a blast with this though! The pacing of the romance was absolutely perfect for me. Shane and Lilah start off meeting in the prologue, and then by the time chapter one rolls around you’re alreayd rooting for them. Unfortunately, their relationship had already crashed and burned by then. I was so invested in the two of them getting back together immediately!

Thankfully, none of it was rushed. I loved that the pair had to go to couple’s therapy despite not being a couple. Wilder touched upon how helpful therapy can be here in a subtle way. I really enjoyed being in both Lilah and Shane’s heads and figuring out what was going on with them.

I always love stories about famous actors in Hollywood, so that combined with a little bit of fandom history (unofficially, because I don’t think anything has been confirmed or even mentioned) made this a complete hit for me. I’m going to have to pick up Wilder’s first book now!