Reviewed by Ro
TITLE: Home Grown Talent
SERIES: Creative Types, #2
AUTHOR: Joanna Chambers and Sally Malcolm
NARRATOR: Simon Goldhill
PUBLISHER: Joanna Chambers
LENGTH: 10 hours, 23 minutes
RELEASE DATE: March 20, 2024
BLURB:
Are you for real?
From the outside, it looks like model and influencer Mason Nash has it all—beauty, fame, and fortune. With his star rapidly rising, and a big contract up for grabs, Mason’s on the verge of hitting the big time.
When an opportunity arises to co-host a gardening slot on daytime TV with his ex’s brother, Owen Hunter, Mason is definitely on-board. And he intends to use every trick in the book to make the show a hit—including agreeing to his ruthless producer’s demand to fake a ‘will-they/won’t-they’ romance with his co-host…
Owen Hunter is a gardener with a huge heart and both feet planted firmly on the well-tilled ground. He’s proud of the life he’s built and has absolutely no desire to be on TV—yet somehow, he finds himself agreeing to do the show.
It’s definitely not because he’s interested in Mason Nash. The guy might be beautiful—and yeah, his spoiled brat routine presses all Owen’s buttons in the bedroom—but Owen has no interest in a short-term fling with a fame-hungry model.
As the two men get closer, though, Owen starts to believe there’s more to Mason than his beautiful appearance and carefully curated online persona—that beneath the glitz and glamour is a sweet, sensitive man longing to be loved.
A man Owen might be falling for. A man who might even feel the same.
But in a world of media spin and half-truths, Owen is dangerously out of his depth. And when a ridiculous scandal explodes online, with Owen at its heart, it starts to look as though everything he thought was real is built on lies—including his budding romance with Mason…
REVIEW:
This is the second in the Creative Types series and centers on Mason and Owen.
Lewis and Aaron from book 1, Total Creative Control, appear at Lewis’ brother, Owen’s, house. They are watching a TV show called Weekend Wellness when they see Mason Nash, Lewis’s ex-boyfriend. Mason is an influencer who is all about being Instagram-famous and wants to be on TV. When he was with Lewis, it seemed he was more focused on seeing and being seen than actually paying attention to the people he was with. At least, that is how it seemed to Owen, who crushed on Mason anyway.
Owen is a gardener who loves his job. He had also entertained the idea of asking Mason out for coffee, but the social media pictures of Mason continually gracing the arm of minor celebrities put paid to that idea. But when Lewis, Aaron and Owen watch the show, Lewis notices that Owen has “love hearts” shooting from his eyes and makes sure to mention that he would be okay with Owen asking Mason out. Lewis is actually astonished that Owen thought Lewis would mind. But Owen knows Mason is too beautiful, absorbed, and out of his league even to consider it. But as Lewis says, “He is obsessed with celebrity culture. He’d go to the opening of an envelope…”
Mason is there when Owen goes to an awards dinner with Lewis and Aaron. Mason wants to be the host of the Weekend Wellness show, and this might be his in. However, Mason misconstrues why Owen keeps his distance from him and is pretty rude. Except Owen steps in to save Mason, which makes him reconsider. Then, meeting Misty, the producer of Weekend Wellness throws a curveball. He has been offered a spot, but only if Owen participates as a gardening expert.
I liked seeing these two be who they are, particularly Mason. He comes across as a shallow fame seeker but is so much more than that. Owen is kind, consistent, and a good person. From a young age, he’s had to be very responsible, not just for himself, and that’s how he is as an adult.
The big focus here is on the show they are doing together and how things come together there. A few spots dragged a bit for me, as I am definitely not a TV watcher, let alone reality shows. However, the two begin to build a friendship and maybe a foundation for more as Owen puts his gardening expertise into the show segment and Mason works his host magic. When they are away from the show, I like them both together so much.
Side character-wise, we get to Aaron and Lewis, of course, and they are still lovely. As it tends to happen, the women in MM stories are often witches, and at least two of them here fit the bill.
This was the first time I listened to Simon Goldhill as a narrator, and I was happy that I liked his voice, inflection, and ability to make the characters sound different. I tend to listen to audiobooks in my car, so it is difficult to rewind when I can’t figure out who’s talking.
There is a portion of this that showcases the unreality of reality shows and highlights why I can’t stand them. It caused some drama essential to the story and fit right in. And reinforced that I won’t ever watch reality shows!
RATING: 
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