Title: Pop Star

Series: Famous

Author: Eden Finley

Publisher: Self-published, April 6, 2020

ISBN:979-8632395366

Goodreads Rating: 4; Amazon Rating: 4.4 as of 07/2025

Personal Rating: “Siri, when can I go home?”

2.5/5 ⭐⭐

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Harley 

What happens when the most successful boy band on the planet breaks up? How about twenty thousand fans screaming my name.

But the price of fame comes with an increased risk to my safety. I’ve been avoiding the dreaded B word for as long as I can, but after a close call with a rambunctious fan, I can’t do it anymore. It’s time to give in. I need to hire a full-time bodyguard.

And when he shows up, he not only screams badass, he’s another B word I try to stay away from: boyfriend material.

Brix 

Protecting people is not what my company usually does, but the boss knows I need money, and the pop star is offering an insane amount to live with him and make sure no more crazy fans break into his house.

I’m doing it for the money and nothing else. He may be the prettiest man I’ve ever seen, and I may feel sorry for the celebrity life he’s been forced into since he was a teenager, but that doesn’t mean anything. Just because he fascinates me, that doesn’t mean I like him.

It doesn’t.

Professionalism. I’m gonna live it. Breathe it. Enforce it … Mostly

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Ok I’m going to level with you here. And by that I mean we are about to jump into some mild spoilers territory because it somewhat explains my semi-poor rating.

One of the things I like about Eden Finley is their openness with their intimate scenes. Nothing is perfect. What you see is what you get, so not everyone will have massive dongs and gushing orifices. They talk about safe sex and how important it is to obtain consent, even from those with whom one is in a relationship. They even touch on how sex isn’t important in relationships and how it is ok to go without. So, tell me why, and I do mean explain it to me like I am a toddler, does Eden force their characters into such stagnant sex roles?

Harley and Brix are both bottoms. The same dynamic as another couple we have ran across in Sadenverse, yet instead of respecting their preferences, something Eden tends to focus on in other scenes, they instead turn one into a reluctant Dominant. Now, it isn’t something he complains about but he does show his discomfort during nearly every intimate scene in this book. At one point I was convinced he was going to have a panic attack because he couldn’t figure out what to do and so just sat there shaking. And yea, sure, they do get the chance to bottom but it is with the understanding that it is going to be a once in a blue moon thing.

This isn’t necessarily a spoiler but it does pain a picture of their whole dynamic. They are both put into roles that only kind of fit them.

When we first meet Brix it is when he is being told that he is going to have to take on the honor of being Harleys bodyguard. He, as every bodyguard tends to do in stories like these, complains because doesn’t want to babysit a popstar. Through the mouths of his coworker and boss, we learn that Brix is stubborn, rigid, and annoying in how he gets his job done. He is the one person his boss trusts to do this job because he can not be distracted. And while he does prove that he isn’t easy to distract he became comfortable with the thought of falling in love with his charge a bit too quickly. Like it took him no effort at all to get this relationship to start. This confused the heck out of me because this was not the guy we were introduced to so it was almost as if he went through a character shift just so the story could move on with mimmun agnst.

The same goes for Harley, although to a lesser degree. We already knew that he was a diva used to getting his way, but we weren’t privy to the fact that he is an extremely emotional person in other ways. He is self-centered but isn’t selfish, which is a complete 180 from Jet’s book, where he only seemed to care about himself and no one else. It came off as malicious as he made actions that wrecked Jet. And the thing was, he didn’t care. He went out of his way to be toxic and seemed to take pride in it. In this story, almost none of that is present despite it all taking place a mere two years later. He still cares about his interests but shows love and protectiveness towards his friends and former bandmates. He is aware of the harm he caused Jet, and while some of him is resentful, he is understanding and filled with regret over how they ended.

This does not normally happen without some divine intervention, which we know did not happen. So, the safe thing to assume is that this has always been him. We couldn’t see it because it may not have been Eden’s intention. I believe she set out to make him unlikable, as every other ex in this series before running back to write him his own story. She turned this abusive and manipulative pile of bones into an endearing kitten worthy of love and respect. And all it took was a POV shift. And yes, this is the same thing she did with Ollie and Ash. I

In Ollie’s story, we learn that his relationship with Ash was horrible. While Ash wasn’t as bad as Harley, he was still selfish and didn’t try to understand Ollie’s predicament. Ollie gave Ash everything, but it wasn’t enough because he refused to come out due to his high-profile job. In Ash’s book, we get the idea that they only dated because Ash felt like Ollie was convenient. They did grow to love each other but they suffered a lot due to him not being open about his feeling.

Harley and Jet give off the same vibes. They were bad for each other and eventually saw that, but the path leading up to it nearly broke them to the point where they will never be friends. Which sucks when you realize just how much of a positive support they can be for each other.

Harley and Brix rub me the wrong way. As far as pairings go, they do seem to fit, but I think it is because the author took a lot of liberties with them to make them fit.

Ignoring the sexual incompatibility, Harley and his manipulative personality, Brix and his desire to be a decent member of society. It all falls to the wayside so that they stay together and get their HEA.

It happens, but at what cost?

And another thing!! What’s up with the name-dropping in this series???