Competing with the Star (Star Series Book 2) by Krysten Lindsay Hager – Review by Wendy Wary

Competing with the Star by Krysten Lindsay Hager
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this second book in the series. Where I had trouble relating to the obsession about celebrities and trying to fit in to the popular group in the first book, it really built a foundation for book two of the series, where Hadley’s character shined a lot brighter. Establishing a solid group of friends to rely on really helped Hadley shine through with more confidence and allowed the author to really show her kind and thoughtful nature, and she seemed to naturally help her newfound friends find their own footing to be themselves in the process, too. Where I felt like Hadley had come off kind of whiny in the first book, her portrayal in Competing With the Star was more relatable and showed her blossoming maturity. The second book almost makes me feel like I wasn’t giving her enough credit in the first book, as I really started to love Hadley by the end of the second one. The romance that develops between Hadley and Nick in Competing With the Star is sweet and tender, wrapped in honesty and vulnerability that stands in contrast to the fakeness and passive-agressive rude behavior of some of the others in their larger friends group. I also loved seeing more development of the stories surrounding the main characters’ relationships with their elderly family members, especially since that was one of my favorite things about the first novel. Although book two could certainly be read as a standalone, I kind of appreciated all the backstory that book one created for this book to really get the full picture of the characters.

Reviewed by @wendywary

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