Book Review: Elaborate Lives

 

Elaborate Lives is a Contemporary Romance in the vein of Christina Lauren and Ali Hazelwood where a film director forced into therapy to manage his ‘people problems’ proposes a fake relationship with his therapist so they can both have the lives they want.

Larisa de France-Kahn is the daughter of a model and a famous film producer born to host formal dinners an adorn the arm of a powerful man, but she’s determined to thwart her fate by graduating from her psychiatry residency and practicing emergency medicine as an anonymous citizen if only her mother will stop sending her on blind dates with billionaires who would like to make Larisa their trophy wife. The separation between Larisa's celebrity and professional lives is threatened when a producer friend of her father sends one of his directors to Larisa for counseling. 

Quinn VanderVeer might be the greatest filmmaker of his generation, but he’s so insecure he’s turned everyone against him. He comes to Larisa in the middle of a nasty breakup, questions about his sexuality, and mounting pressure on the set of his first big budget production. She could help him if only he would see her as an ally instead of the woman who could reveal him as the imposter he feels he is.

 

As Larisa works to tear down Quinn’s walls, she also must work against walls of her own, holding them up against her belief that her education has made her unlovable, and her psychiatry skills make her intimidating to men who want to be in control. Together they might become an industry power couple, but first they’ll have to trust each other with their deepest fears and secret desires. 

My Review

I enjoyed reading this book. It is more than just a romance. It does touch on mental health. Which I have read several books now that feature this in books. I think it is appreciated and shows that this subject matter is not taboo anymore. 

Both Larisa and Quinn were complex characters. Which I really appreciated as it showed them both as more relatable. While, both come from wealthy lifestyles, it just shows that wealth is not everything. It can be a lonely place. Larisa and Quinn were trying to find their own voices. 

Having said all this, I still myself found that I struggled to fully connect with Larisa and Quinn on emotional levels. Because of this, I would find myself not engaging all the time with the story and would have to go back and reread sections. Although, I would give try another book by this author.