Famous for a Living - Melissa Ferguson
Genre: Contemporary Romance

The notion of fame in our digital age is fascinating to this 50 something. I recently had supper with some ladies that date the whole way back to elementary school for me and while talking about an influencer (I don’t remember who - doesn’t matter) one of them said - she needs to stop blogging and work for a living. And while I had some understanding of the work involved, this book by Ferguson absolutely put the tremendous amount of work into perspective as well as the mental toll that such work takes.

Cat’s life undergoes an abrupt change when her influencer life is canceled because of a business partner’s financial crimes. Her uncle - a national park ranger- offers her a job, a place to stay, and a soft place to land. Naturally life in the forest is much different from the life she knows in the city. She has reduced resources for her social media “job” and has to share a rustic cabin with a roommate - a young and eager park ranger. And, of course, a man intrudes into her world in a lovely and romantic way.

Ferguson transforms Cat gently and believably. Through the transformation she illustrates the importance of being true to ourselves and knowing ourselves. She doesn’t denigrate influencer culture, but rather focuses on influencing in a way that brings joy and not just stress and strain. I appreciate that message very much for readers. The relationship evolves naturally as well. I love that neither character had to be a completely different person in order to be a couple. I love that message as well. The supporting cast of characters are fully developed and contribute to the development of our romantic leads. The national park and surrounding area serve almost as a character themselves. I love to visit such parks and value their importance; Ferguson does an excellent job of illustrating their worth. I’ve been thinking a great deal of what matters - what we keep and what we don’t. Keeping our parks matter. I love that Cat retains her love of fashion and makeup but learns to value experience and travel even more. Well done!

A side note I just reviewed Do Tell over on the new books page. As I was reading this, I was surprised that two such different eras, 1940s to 2020s, could have such similar looks at how we treat famous people as a culture. Even though we have much more information about our “stars” now than we were allowed in the 40s, we still seem to want to elevate them, give them a pass based on their popularity as entertainers or influencers. Seems we simultaneously question the value of their work and want to give them a free pass for bad behavior as a culture. We sure can learn from what we read.