Review: The Cost of Fame by Shay Stone

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☆☆➹⁀☆ 3.5 – 4 stars ☆➹⁀☆☆

What it’s About:

What if getting everything you ever wanted cost you the only one you ever loved?

One night. One stupid night. That’s all it took to tear Alex’s world apart and rip her heart in two. Thanks to Richard’s plan she believes Colin committed the ultimate betrayal and she can’t imagine ever forgiving him.

With Colin out of the way, Richard thinks his path to Alexandra is clear. But when he discovers another man vying for her affection, Richard is forced to up his game. With his obsession out of control, he takes drastic measures leaving Alex no choice. The only way to protect the people she loves is to agree to Richard’s terms and let Colin go forever.

After reluctantly giving her the space she requested, Colin returns home from a movie shoot determined to win Alex back. He won’t stop until she is back in his arms where she belongs. But she isn’t making it easy. Despite her continued attempts to push him away, it’s obvious she still loves him. Something isn’t right. If Colin doesn’t figure it out soon, one of them will pay the ultimate price.

Not all stories have a happy ending. Will Colin and Alex get theirs or will their love be The Cost of Fame?

My Thoughts:

The Cost of Fame is the dramatic conclusion to Shay Stone’s Fame duet. The book cannot be read as a standalone as the story picks up where book one, The Rise to Fame, left off. The duet tells the tale of a seedy, sordid Hollywood that goes far beyond the “casting couch”.

The story is written in a third-person narrative. It is well paced, and the plot has ample tension and action to keep readers’ interest. However, some of the action might be difficult to read, and the books are definitely for a mature audience.

At times The Cost of Fame felt like a melodramatic soap opera with all the Hollywood drama, collusion (in hopes of a career break), drugging, and blackmail. When the villain, Richard, shows his disturbing socio-path side, things get dark and ugly.

Alex and Colin come from vastly different backgrounds, but that does not stand in the way of their deep love for one another. Sadly, these soul mates are torn apart time and time again by the powerful agent and the minions he manipulates. In The Cost of Fame, Alex makes the ultimate sacrifice in order to protect all the people she loves–Colin, Donovan, and her parents–from the Richard’s threats. The tension rises steadying to the story climax, and Ms. Stone provides her readers with a deserving resolution and a highly satisfying conclusion.

About the Author: Shay Stone started her writing career after a car accident left her unable to read or look at a computer. Ironic, right? Many years, and hours of vision therapy later, and voila! she wrote her first book. She lives in Georgia with her four dogs and one cat that thinks he is a dog. If you happen to be driving around Atlanta, there is a good chance you will see her dancing in her car and singing (poorly) to some ‘80s tune. She has no shame. Her passions include writing and traveling.

She writes strong women with a bit of attitude, and flawed men that you can’t help but fall in love with to create that once in a lifetime love one page at a time. She has two published self-help books. The Rise to Fame is her first contemporary romance.

Her contemporary romances are sexy, steamy, and filled with drama. Her ultimate goal is to make you sleep deprived by writing books you can’t put down.