Reviewed by Valerie
TITLE: Not Until Noah
SERIES: Star Crossed #1
AUTHOR: Lisa Henry
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 289 pages
RELEASE DATE: November 5, 2021
BLURB:
Carter Westlake is on the brink of being Hollywood gold. Cast as the lead in a highly-anticipated sci-fi trilogy filming in Australia, he’s primed to be the next A-list action hero: all-American, hot as hell, and straight. The problem is, Carter can only check off two of those boxes. But that’s okay—his bisexuality can remain a secret until these movies are behind him.
Childhood educator Noah Jones has a plan. Work as a nanny for six months, make some extra cash, and move to the UK to teach. He doesn’t expect his new boss to be a Hollywood star. And he certainly isn’t prepared to fall for the guy.
One kiss sends them tumbling into a secret relationship, even though they both agree it can be nothing more than a fling. Carter needs to stay in the closet for the sake of his career, and Noah’s leaving. But when their feelings continue to grow into something deeper, Carter has a decision to make. Knowing that exposing his sexuality could cost him his career, would he rather carry on living a lie, or risk it all to stand tall in his truth?
Not Until Noah is the first book in the Star Crossed series, where regular guys meet famous ones, and sparks fly.
REVIEW:
Not Until Noah is a romance that challenges the old adage, “Better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.”
Carter Westlake is a closeted American movie star on location in Australia for five months. He’s the divorced dad of eight-year-old Emerson and needs to bring her with him. Thus, he needs a full-time nanny/teacher, so his sister/PA, Olivia, hires Noah to be Emerson’s live-in manny. Noah is a teacher for young children who’s in search of a short-term assignment before he leaves Australia for a teaching job in England.
Carter’s acting career is painted in a negative light. He’s miserable working long days for a nasty, demanding producer, with a co-star who can’t keep her hands off him, and avoiding the unwanted attention of the paparazzi intruding on his personal time with Emerson. But most of all, Carter is hurting from maintaining the façade of a straight movie star; he can’t be his true self as a bisexual man and he yearns for something real beyond the superficiality of Hollywood.
Noah represents something real. He’s a genuine person who sees Carter as a human being, not as an opportunity to gain fame and fortune for himself.
Both men are soon crushing on the other but know their attraction can’t go any further. After several starts and stops and failed attempts at just friendship, Carter and Noah kiss. They decide to give a casual, no strings attached arrangement a try. They’re over their heads and it fails, too. With Carter in the country for only a few months, there’s an obvious end date on any relationship he embarks on in Australia. The question arises, is it better to not start something with Noah and suffer the pain of longing now, or to let himself have Noah for a limited amount of time knowing there will be pain upon his departure?
This book is slow paced at times, some of which I liked, others I didn’t. I enjoyed the everyday life scenes – Noah teaching Emerson, their outings, hanging around the house, and Noah’s time spent with his brother, Dylan. What didn’t work for me, and dragged down the narrative, was Carter’s repetitive lamenting about the realities of celebrity, the need to stay closeted, how he can’t be himself, and that there’s no future for him and Noah. They’re all important points but I heard them a few too many times. The message lost its value with the repeated mentions and distracted from the story.
The story benefits from the supporting characters, including the always amusing Dylan, Olivia, and most of all, darling Emerson whose emotions surrounding her time in Australia, turmoil with Carter, and her love of Noah are all well portrayed.
Not Until Noah is a sweet book with endearing characters and an interesting storyline. Recommended.
RATING: 
BUY LINKS: