Review: Great Story, But the Romance Doesn`t Work
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 09 14, 2013
India Lee is a great writer of YA fiction.  I enjoyed HDU (aka ONTD) about Amanda`s journey from writing hateful stories about Liam Brody on a fan site to moving to New York.  Mocking the bad boy actor whose notorious love life is more note worthy than his movies was something that made Amanda escape from the reality of her own problems.  Desperate to take his career in a more serious direction, Liam contacts Amanda to ask her to tone down the negative rhetoric.  Enter Ian Marsh, Amanda`s blogging friend, who comes up with the idea to have Amanda pretend to be Liam`s non-model girlfriend.  A "dating" contract is signed and kinds of interesting trouble ensues for Liam, Amanda, and Ian.HDU, the first book, works because there is less focus on a romantic relationship between Amanda and Liam.  The main story is the craziness of the paparazzi and Amanda`s life-changing move to New York.  In Dirt (HDU 2), the story is based on the romance between the two main characters and all the difficulties that ensue.  There are two problems.  Liam`s 180 degree shift from being the biggest cad in the world (ditching a girlfriend for her younger sister, going on holidays with one girlfriend and hooking up with someone else) is too sudden.  The non-stop womanizer suddenly becomes enamored with a woman who refuses to sleep with him for many months.  Even Amanda often asks  herself why she won`t have sex with Liam.In addition to Liam`s huge change in behavior, is the fact that the reader is never sure about why he is so much in love with Amanda.  For most of both books, Liam is actually a better person than Amanda is, not to mention the negative impact she has on his career.  Liam is much more honest about his feelings than Amanda is and forgives multiple incidents in this book where she breaks promises or ignores her advice.  Connor, Liam`s best friend, tells Amanda "You`re a cancer to other people.  You suck the life out of them to feed your own."  While perhaps overstated, it is true that Amanda abuses just about everyone she comes in contact with.  Given where she was less than a year ago, Amanda is extremely blasé about the incredible way Liam romances her.There is much to like about this book, including strong secondary characters, such as the villainous, Casey.  Elements of the movie and television industry make for good reading and we learn how Liam`s background relates to his motivation to be a movie star.If you liked HDU, you should definitely get this book.  I just wish that Liam`s love for Amanda was better explained.