All Made Up by Kara Isaac

About All Made Up:

Everyone thinks Katriona McLeod is living the dream. Her professional career as a make up artist sees her traveling the world working with the stars and she's got no shortage of men wanting her affection. Only problem is she's never gotten over Caleb Murphy, the one guy she's ever loved. When she accepts a job on the latest looking-for-love reality TV show, Falling for the Farmer, she discovers to her horror that Caleb is the leading man and she's cast as one of his harem. But she hides a secret that means that even if she wanted a second chance with the guy who broke her heart, she could never have it.

Caleb Murphy couldn't care less about C-Class celebrity fame or reality TV and he certainly doesn't believe it could lead him to love. The one thing he does care about is fulfilling his mother's last wish. Kat's presence on the show seems to offer up a solution that will make both the network and his mother happy. It might have been almost ten years since they split but he knows he can trust her with his plan. Just as long as he doesn't fall in love all over again with the woman who will never stay.

My thoughts:

At the end of this year, All Made Up by Kara Isaac is going to land a spot on my list of favorite reads in 2018. I haven't watched reality TV in years so I was skeptical about the book. However, so many people were raving about it that I had to see what the fuss was about. Now I'm fangirling with them. It's an amazing book! And here's why:

The story instantly hooked my attention and the romantic tension between Caleb and Kat sustained my interest. I wasn't able to read it all in one sitting and when I wasn't reading, I daydreamed up scenes of Caleb and Kat getting together, all the while wondering how the author was going to make it happen. The well-written narrative and humor-laced dialogue spun a superb story of lost love and second chances that captivated me until the end.

Kat and Caleb are strong characters individually, but they are fabulous together. Both had substantial character development throughout the story which I enjoyed. Caleb felt like a modern-day hero who respected women and didn't take advantage of them.

I appreciated the theme of a woman being valuable because of who she is, not because of her body parts. This theme played out in several characters: Kat, Mirabelle, other female contestants. The affirming voices of Caleb and Janine resounded a message relevant to girls and women of all ages: You are more than the sum of your broken parts. You are more than your body. You are valuable for who you are.

All Made Up is the first novel by Kara Isaac that I've read, but it will not be the last. It includes characters from Kara Isaac's previous novels, but functions well as a stand-alone contemporary romance. I paid for my copy of All Made Up and it was worth every cent. I highly recommend All Made Up to romantic comedy fans even if reality TV isn't your thing.