Synopsis
Falling in love with your best friend isn’t always a great idea, especially when he’s Noah Lockton – the sexiest, most famous new talent on the planet. When 21-year-old small-town photographer Chloe Campbell is offered the chance of a lifetime – to join her celebrity childhood friend Noah on tour as an exclusive blogger for a New York magazine – she’s certain both have put what happened four years ago behind them. But his eyes still burn; his voice is still a jackhammer to her heartstrings; all his songs are about her. Is it possible that that night still haunts them both?
The music industry is a machine, spinning hype and rumors as much as his records. It’s not just Noah’s girlfriends who’ve got it in for Chloe (there’s no stopping the Twitter-obsessed, cat-loving pop-star Courtney Lentini for starters). Pretty soon, the jealousy and media frenzy surrounding these so-called-friends takes a life-changing turn and it seems making love means making enemies at every turn. When tragedy threatens to pull the final curtain on their relationship, both Chloe and Noah must make a choice. As much as this world leaves them starstruck, is living their dream really worth living without each other?
A story of lifelong friendships, love and hope, set in a world of celebrity, fame and social media gone very, very wrong.
My Review
Every one of us at some point in their life has dreamed of marrying someone famous. We sat and screamed at our televisions, wrote our married names on our notebooks, mine was “Mrs. Justin Timberlake,” and vowed we would find them someday and somehow convince them we were the one. But what if the person right beside you, you’re best friend, the one who you do everything with one day, BAM, becomes a superstar???!!!
“When we were kids, his dad said his eyes were so shiny in all my photos because of all the stars inside them.
Noah was always going to shine.
He was always going to be mine.
But sometimes even I fogey the way things were before he was famous.”
This is the story of Noah Lockton and Chloe Campbell. Two best friends who have grown up together. He is her Peter and she is his Pan., still continuing to use their nicknames for each from their early days of starring in a Peter Pan Production together. She was his shadow and it remained that way as they got older. They are always there for each other. No matter where life leads, they will always be forever friends.
Noah has so much talent. The world is going to know it. Noah turns up as a contestant on “Show Us What U’ve Got’ and makes it into the top 5. Think of American Idol or The X Factor. Yup. That’s his life. His journey. And he kicks ass!!!
“You hear his music, obviously. How could you not? It’s everywhere. His voice is everywhere. You know the stats. Noah Lockton. Twenty-three. Five foot eleven, messy brown hair and steel-gray eyes. Pisces. You think you know him, this superstar, guitar-playing rock star.”
His world changes when he is reined champion and he wants it more than he’s wanted anything in his life. But he also wants Chloe by his side—she’s his number one fan, his partner in crime. So she joins the tour and remains on the sidelines working for Glimmer magazine on a blog devoted to following Noah’s career.
Chloe having been in a previous relationship and Noah having endless women at his disposal—the timing for the two of them never seems to be right. They are the best of friends and so perfect for each other—if only Chloe could let go of her insecurities and go for it. Their attraction for each other grows and grows.
“I see her; the kid who held my hand when my dog died, who gave names to the snails in her yard, who tied strawberry laces thorugh my shoes, who organized a concert under the treehouse and got so many people to come see that we wound up in the newspaper… Fuck. She’s amazing. I love her… Why the hell did I not just tell her sooner?”
Noah’s fame just keeps rising and there are many outside influences get in the way of any chance they seem to have to connect. To love. Becky really throws you for a loop. You are sucked in with your emotions all over the place. The songs with secret messages, the intense glances, the childhood carefree memories. The angst and the thrill waiting for these two to finally admit what is right in front of their eyes will have you reading nonstop.
It’s just one incredible journey. It will twist your heart, give you butterflies, leave you breathless. The angst, the love, the hope, the beauty—all tucked away in this incredible story.
“You don’t know how his arms felt wrapped around me when my world came crashing down…”
Becky Wicks is just an amazing writer. The added humor and fantastic characters will have you glued to your kindle. I need more from her. I will read anything she writes. Do not miss this story. Before He Was Famous is so different from all the other rock star books.
“Love is just friendship with wings, isn’t that what they say?”
Excerpt
It feels like so long since I saw Chloe laughing and something lifts from my shoulders almost instantly. Aunt Mads told us she and her boyfriend danced and span in the rain on the deck of a ship once, just because she’d seen it in a movie and always wanted to do it. Then, when it rained, she dragged us to her yard in The Bronx and we all span around till we were soaked and hysterical, doing stupid high kicks on the grass.
I can’t take my eyes off her as she spins and spins and spins. And I feel it hit me. It smacks me hard; the thought that Chloe is the most beautiful creature I’ve ever seen, right here, right now, spinning like a figurine in a silver snow-globe.
She bounds up to me, giddy and still laughing. Raindrops are careening down her cheeks and her eyes are huge now. ‘Come fly with me, Peter,’ she breathes, reaching for the hand that isn’t clasped around the umbrella. ‘Or are you too grown up for that now?’
The wind picks up and clutches at her dress. I reach out instinctively to her face, run a thumb along her cheek, swiping at raindrops. ‘You’re drunk,’ I whisper, but even as she frowns and rolls her eyes at me I have to smile because I see her; the kid who held my hand when my dog died, who gave names to the snails in her yard, who made me jump about her bedroom carpet like it was an ocean full of islands.
I see the seventeen-year-old who clung to me when her dad died. The secrets we left in the branches; the way our desperate lips searched frantically for some modicum of sense as we let our minds go out the window and fucked with more passion, more heart than I’ve ever experienced with anyone else in my life; even if she was drunk, even if we were grieving. It doesn’t change what it meant to me.
Fuck. She’s amazing. I love her. Why the hell did I let her go back to Cooper? Why the hell did I not just tell her sooner? Would it even have made a difference?
She’s tugging on my arm and I realize I haven’t spoken yet. ‘Chloe…’ I start. But the flash strikes us like lightning. I’d know it anywhere and it has nothing to do with the weather.
‘Paparazzi,’ we say in sync, and I grab her hand, pull her with me as we both break into a run.
About Becky Wicks
Becky Wicks is a HarperCollins author going indie! Itchy feet has led her to live and work all over the world since leaving England at age 21, including NYC, Sydney, Bali, South America and Dubai. Right now she’s scribbling the second book in the HotFlush series in Vietnam, and will soon be in Vancouver if any hot Canadian men want to make her a cup of tea?
Becky has also written three funny travel books about her time in Dubai, Bali and South America (HarperCollins). Her first book, Burqalicious – The Dubai Diaries, her second book, Balilicious – The Bali Diaries and her third, Latinalicious -The South America Diaries are out now as ebooks.
Becky has also written a comedy romance with author Sarah Alderson under the name Lola Salt, called The Extraordinary Life of Lara Craft (not Croft) which should raise a giggle or two… think Bridget Jones if Jackie Collins had written it!
Follow her on twitter at bex_wicks and her blog www.beckywicks.com
Connect with Becky
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Giveaway
10 eCopies of Before He Was Famous
I’m totally biased as Becky is an author friend of mine and I got to read the very first draft but I loved it as much as you did. I think she’s going to become huge in the new adult world. Watch this space!