Billy and Me by Giovanna Fletcher

Billy and Me is a sweet bestselling novel by the author Giovanna Fletcher, and it follows the story of a everyday woman called Sophie May who is thrust into the spotlight after she meets and falls in love with an actor called Billy Buskin who has ambitions to make it to the top of the acting world.

I have read nearly every Giovanna Fletcher book. This book was part of Zoella’s book club. I don’t really watch Zoella’s videos but I wanted to give this book a read. Giovanna Fletcher’s books are good if you just want to unwind pretty much anywhere. I am forever grateful for her type of books, where there are no confusing plot lines and she doesn’t have a dodgy narrative structure. She brings life to every character, even the secondary ones in her books. You could be anywhere and you could be absorbed in her quirky stories. She isn’t just a popstar’s wife, she genuinely lives off another career away from her husband’s life.

I can’t imagine having to date someone who is in the spotlight, although I know a few young local male actors where I live who are nothing more than friends to me. It makes you realize how judgemental the media/ press are towards an actor’s private life, something that they should know nothing about, and how tough the acting world is if you want to break free from the clean cut teenybopper movies. An example of a real life Billy Buskin would be either Robert Pattinson- who had to prove himself as a serious actor post Twilight by appearing in mature movies such as Map To the Stars and small indie movies such as The Rover. The characters in Billy and Me felt real, not like cardboard cutouts, and I thought that the ending was so emotional. I also thought that Billy Buskin was a real person because Giovanna Fletcher makes him seem real. I think there are a few spin offs and sequels to this book, but I haven’t read them yet. I intend to in the future.

Overall, a poignant bestseller with fantastic characters. I personally liked the character of Sophie because she’s constantly trodden on and bullied and overlooked by the press just because she’s not a supermodel or famous, she’s a down to earth woman who just happens to date a high profile actor. The love story that wasn’t formulaic,even though there have probably been many books about ‘ordinary girl meets a superstar man’. Considering that it looks as if it was her first book, it was a brilliant debut, even though there’s quite a lot of pressure for authors to write a great debut novel.

4.5/5