I have thoroughly enjoyed all of the prior CD Reiss novels I’ve read so I was excited to dive into Lead Me Back!  This hollywood romance had me hooked from the description alone!  I love how CD Reiss consistently writes such strong women you want to cheer on in her books!  I found the characters extremely relatable and well developed.  If you’re looking to add a little sweet, steam, and sass in your summer reading than this is the book for you!  As per usual, I am looking forward to reading more from CD Reiss in the near future!

I loved Lead Me Back! If you are a fan of CD Riss then you will love this. And if you’re not, this is a great introduction.

I was excited to get this book from NetGalley since I have heard so much about this author and also, her books generally seem well liked. I even bought a few of her books for my TBR! I have to say though, I was a bit disappointed in this book- I give it a 3.5 stars. The major reason why is that I feel like there is a lack of chemistry between the characters. 

It started off pretty well. Kayla changed her mobile number and as a result, she was getting calls meant for the prior owner of the number. Serendipitously, the number used to belong to Justin, a former boy band member and now actor, who, due to some bad press, now has to cut ties with his prior boy band members. (I wasn’t sure I actually understood the rationale- seemed forced.) they keep in touch because he needed her to help him keep in touch with his friends and she needed a job. In his mid 20s, Justin acted and was described in a way that made him he seem way younger. And while i liked the interaction between him and Kayla, it felt more friendly than anything.

There were a few twists as both were dealing with their pasts and had to overcome their feelings about the history to achieve happiness. I thought the story was good- I just felt a lack of romantic connection between the characters.

From the time that Kayla and Justin met until the very last page, Lead Me Back held me in its thrall. It was the best balance of Hollywood and not-Hollywood, of humor and pathos, of romance and plot. Justin was not at all what I expected or expected to like, at all, and Kayla was exactly the type of girl I love and so between the two of them, I was completely hooked. Their individual stories were interesting and the path to their HEA was dynamic and addicting and really hard to put down.

Add to that Reiss’s mix of pared down prose with these really romantic swoony moments that are almost immediately followed with these really punchy spare lines and it all just really worked for me. And I absolutely cannot leave out the fact that she always has secondary characters I would love to see more of—the friends, the attorney, the family—which would selfishly give me another glance at Kayla and Justin. 

As I frequently am with my favorite authors, I hated to see this one end and I’m eagerly awaiting what new thing she’s writing next.

I received an ARC of this story from NetGalley.

CD Reiss is a one-click author for me, and while this book was a bit lighter fare from her usual, it did not disappoint!

**I want to thank Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion** 

Lead Me Back by CD Reiss is a book that deals with the struggles of an young fashion designer named Kayla, who has to deal with the fallout of accusing her boss of sexual assault. She by chance gets the number of Justin, who is a singer and movie star. Justing convinced Kayla to take the calls that come and leave him messages if they’re for him. At the same time he gets her a job. They keep meeting and the sparks fly high. 

Both Justing and Kayla are characters that have so much depth to them. I loved their characters, because they are so human. Their feelings, the way they handle situations. It was all very real. The author writes about the fallout of the MeToo movement and the way that the victims are the ones that actually have to suffer. Making it harder for women to come out and tell their stories. I also loved how Justin supported his friends through everything while getting nothing in return. 

Lead Me Back is a very good romance, it’s a slowburn but the story is everything but dragging. I loved the characters and the way they dealt with their issues. I give this book four stars.

-C

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Loved reading the amazing and engaging romance story.  Kayla moves across the United States to Los Angelos to start over and meets the charismatic, handsome, famous Justin Beckett.  Read the highly recommended, wonderfully written, and riveting story line hooking the reader from the beginning of the story until the end of the story.
I reviewed a copy of the story through Goodreads.

I actually really enjoyed this book. I read it from start to finish in ONE DAY - so that is saying something!

Normally I'm pretty meh about Hollywood/Rockstar romances and out of the hundred or so I've read, I've <I>loved</i> maybe a handful of them. Lead Me Back can for sure be added to the list!

Justin and Kayla had a lot of chemistry and their story just sucked me in from the very first page. I loved how their personalities just meshed so well together too. The pacing was spot on and the storyline was perfectly executed, definitely 5-star worthy to me.

I thought that this story was a well-developed and strong story.

It was a really enjoyable bad boy turned good romance and even though the plot was a little sketchy in places I thought overall it was a still a great story and this was one that I kept on reading to find out how it would all end.

Lead me Back by CD Reiss a five-star dream of a read. This was so much more than I expected, I am not always a huge fan of Hollywood reads, as they are just so predictable and fake glamour, but this one had more bite to it, there were proper stories and all of the characters belonged, you didn’t feel like they were just there for filler. I adored Kayla and the famous bad boy that is Justin Beckett they just sparked off each other, but I also must mention Weeze as what a woman, she added a great levity to the story and just made me smile every time she popped up. This was a great story and just makes me desperate for more stories from this author, I will be going back to find more of this authors work. Most of all I must say this one did exactly as the author wanted, as my life is confusing and a little bleak at present but this did give me several hours of peace.

I really enjoyed this author and found the book to be a breath of fresh air.  I loved the story line, because it was not the typical bad boy meets good girl. 
Kayla has moved from NY to LA to start over from a troubled past. When she ends up acquiring a new cell phone number that belongs to a famous boy band player, Justin. 
On accident they meet, and for reasons to be known he cannot have access to the old number. He has “requested” she take all his messages for him. They are both strong characters and keep you wanting more!!

I'm generally a fan of CD Reiss, I've read several of her books and enjoyed them, this one was a little bit of a miss for me. I really wanted to love it and I just didn't. It could be my current mental state because of life, or the fact that the previous book I read was so happy, I felt a little disconnected from the story. BUT, I did love the characters, Louise is the grandmother we all wish we had, I wanted to hate Justin and I just couldn't, deep down he was a good guy. I found Kayla to be really relatable in her struggles and baggage. It has great banter and did make me laugh out loud a few times.

Kayla, the heroine in Lead Me Back, is strong, down to earth, and so in touch with who she is that she feels like a real person, one you'd like to become friends with. Justin felt at times like one of the famous Justins, not great in my book, and Kayla had her doubts as well. But, as CD Reiss peeled back the layers of his character, it became more and more evident that he was deserving of Kayla. Extra points for a wonderful cast of characters, Justin's grandmother was something else. To top it all off, the author's dry, witty humor made this book really come together for me. Great, fun read a time when a distraction was much needed.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 Stars!

The one thing I really like about this author is that even though I'm not a particular fan of Hollywood stories, I've learned that her writing always manages to capture my attention and I find myself sucked into the book.  I'm not even a big fan of the type of hero she has in this one and I still ended up loving him by the end of the book.  

Nothing against Justin, just that he was young and arrogant and I tend to relate to the more mature characters.  However, you do see real depth in him as the story unfolds. Behind the arrogance is a really good guy and he completely won me over by the end.

Kayla is a heroine that I adore.  She's tough, but not too tough.  She didn't fawn all over Justin even though there was that instant attraction.  I respected her. I can't say that about many heroines so when I find one it's pure gold for me. 

You won't be too surprised by the storyline but I'm going to mention again the fantastic writing this author always delivers and that's what really had me loving this book.  In fact, I would love to see some spinoffs.  There is some side characters that were pretty interesting.

This book hooked me and didn’t let me go. It’s the best book I’ve read in a while. Many books right now are just not holding my attention. It has a kicka$& heroine and a swoon worthy hero. I want to read more books like this one. 


I voluntarily read an early copy.

Complementary copy given for honest review and opinion. 
Hot singer and rebellious woman keeps this book hot and intriguing.

Quick read about Kayla Montgomery who is a sewing designer wiz who is escaping from NY to LA to run from a inappropriate boss situation.
Through some unique circumstances she meets Justin Beckett who is also trying to erase shadows in his own past.
Lots of action with some interesting secondary characters that could make for a series.  
"A copy of this book was provided by Montlake Romance via NetGalley with no requirements for a review.  Comments here are my honest opinion."

What a great book! I love Kayla's take no shit attitude. Justin a man who everyone had a wrong opinion of him.. Louise OMG... She is too funny and made me laugh because of her great attitude and bluntness and not caring who she told it to...i absolutely love this book

Finding a book that I can escape into and forget about the rest of the world has been incredibly difficult lately so the fact that I was able to open this one up and lose myself within its pages for a few hours was a huge gift. Kayla moves to LA to start over and ends up meeting former former boy bander Justin her first day in the city because of course. They both had difficult recent pasts and a lot on their shoulders if they want to reinvent their careers. Justin is not always written especially well. He is given a lot of great traits but if he said, “or nah,” one more time I might have exploded. I was a lot more interested in Kayla’s family dynamics than the boy band drama but I still really loved the fantasy aspect of it all. A fun diversion when I really needed one. 

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Books about famous people are always a draw for an easy read and this book doesn't disappoint.
Girl gets a job as an assistant to a boy band member, who is cocky and appears to need a serious attitude adjustment. 
Said boy bander needs to clean up his act as he's just landed a new role in a movie, enter the assistant who has her own secrets, sparks fly.....
Is this a massively overly done plot that's been used many many many times before? Hell yes. But does it stop this novel from being a deliciously addictive and engrossing read? No, it certainly does not. The characters are well written and it's them that make you want to keep turning the page. 
It's a book that's great to pass a few hours and escape the world with.