What Are We Reading Now? - Hide in Plain Sight by @FangMom

Hide in Plain Sight By @FangMom
Review by SwedenSara
 

Have any of you ever crushed on an actor when you were a teen, dreaming about meeting him and having him fall in love with you? Yeah, I guessed so. Next question: how many of you has done that as a grown up? Yeah, I guessed I’m not alone in doing that… I’m well over 30, and have this silly infatuation with an actor who’s about 10 years younger than me, maybe even more. I think you can all guess his name, right?

Hide in Plain Sight allows me to indulge in those fantasies without making me feel like a creep. This is a story where a middle-aged Bella, only a couple of years older than me, meets the young, hot actor Edward, known from the Zombie Killers movies.

Edward Cullen has been thrown into the life of a huge celebrity without really being prepared for it. In the beginning of the story we meet him as a tired, overworked and confused young man with an increasing addiction to pills. Edward can’t sleep, he misses his family and friends in England, and he’s constantly hounded by fans and paparazzi. He’s stuck in a relationship of convenience with Jane, his co-star in Zombie Killers, and he doesn’t have much of a social life. He spends his days working, and rarely meets people other than his body guards, Emmett and Jasper, his personal assistant, Alice, and Jane and her personal assistant, Rosalie.

“Deodorant, hair spray, hair gel, hair wax, toothpaste, mouthwash, dental floss, blemish cream (how did I still manage to get zits at 27?), five bottles of cologne, eight bottles of perfume, moisturizer – why the hell did we need all this crap anyway? Life was so much simpler before Hollywood – a bar of soap and a stick of deodorant was all I had needed.” (Edward Cullen)

Bella is living her life as a house wife and stay-at-home mom. She is married to her high school sweetheart, Jacob Black, and the mother of their seventeen year old daughter, Claire. She is expected to play the part of a corporate wife, a well groomed and perfect hostess, tending to her husband’s and daughter’s needs. Over the years she has adapted to her role, suppressing her own self and moulding into a shape that pleases her husband.

“I glanced down at the tank-top and cut-off denim shorts I was wearing. No, Jake definitely would not approve of this outfit. I kept it, and a couple of others like it, stuffed in the back of a drawer and only wore it when he was away.” (Bella Black)

Jacob, on the other hand, is rarely home. He is busy with very successful career as a financial advisor, and has a helpful hand in his personal assistant Leah who follows him everywhere. Jacob has a habit of inviting his clients to barbecues and dinner parties, which he expects Bella to organize. When Jacob manages to seal the deal as Edward Cullen’s financial advisor, he gives him a standing invitation to stay with his family whenever he needs time away from his hectic life. Edward takes the offer, and joins the Black’s for a weekend.

“When we had eaten our fill, Jake rose from the table and suggested that he and I adjourn to the living room.

"Let's leave the ladies to their cleaning up, eh?" he said, winking at me.” (Edward Cullen)

When Bella and Edward meet, they have an instant connection, and a friendship starts to grow between them. They are both stuck in a life they don’t particularly want, and the relief of having someone to confide in brings them closer. As time goes by it gets harder for them to ignore the depth of their feelings, but with Bella being married, and Edward busy with filming, will they ever be able to admit their emotions and give full expression to their passion?

FangMom does an amazing job in portraying both the life of a hunted celebrity, and that of an isolated house-wife. She manages to spice it up with well thought out snippets of reality: events and things we recognize from Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart. The famous Stoli tee makes a very welcome appearance. Her writing is impeccable with an easy flow and lovely details.

FangMom manages to make the fantasy of an actor falling in love with a slightly older woman plausible. She allows us to dream a little more, and imagine that maybe; just maybe, it can happen to us, as well.