FFBC: Welcome to the club, Under the Lights (Daylight Falls #2) by Dahlia Adler

Under the Lights (Daylight Falls #2)
by Dahlia Adler
Publisher: Spencer Hill Contemporary
Release Date: June 30th 2015

Genre: GLBT, Young Adult/New Adult, Contemporary

Synopsis:

Josh Chester loves being a Hollywood bad boy, coasting on his good looks, his parties, his parents' wealth, and the occasional modeling gig. But his laid-back lifestyle is about to change. To help out his best friend, Liam, he joins his hit teen TV show, Daylight Falls...opposite Vanessa Park, the one actor immune to his charms. (Not that he's trying to charm her, of course.) Meanwhile, his drama-queen mother blackmails him into a new family reality TV show, with Josh in the starring role. Now that he's in the spotlight—on everyone's terms but his own—Josh has to decide whether a life as a superstar is the one he really wants.

Vanessa Park has always been certain about her path as an actor, despite her parents' disapproval. But with all her relationships currently in upheaval, she's painfully uncertain about everything else. When she meets her new career handler, Brianna, Van is relieved to have found someone she can rely on, now that her BFF, Ally, is at college across the country. But as feelings unexpectedly evolve beyond friendship, Van's life reaches a whole new level of confusing. And she'll have to choose between the one thing she's always loved...and the person she never imagined she could.

Obviously I have a billion, but if I had to choose just one that’s been my favorite for most of my life…*ducks from all the firebombs* Catcher in the Rye. Yes, I know, I know, but so it goes. The heart loves what it loves. 

Veronica Mars

The Usual Suspects

“Heart-Shaped Box” by Nirvana

Fried chicken

I read mostly contemp so I’m really not up on fictional places! But if I could attend a fictional high school, it’d probably be Miranda Kenneally’s Hundred Oaks High; lots of good people have walked those halls.

Am I allowed to name one of my own? Because Connor Lawson from my Last Will and Testament is about as close to perfect fictional boyfriend for me as possible. If not, I’ll go with John After from Jennifer Echols’ Going Too Far.

“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent” –Eleanor Roosevelt

Anything Veronica Mars related. My favorite authors. 

Melina Marchetta. I’ve been lucky enough to meet almost all of my favorites, but she’s eluded me.

God bless you for loving books as much as you do. As both an author and a reader, I think book lovers are just the best people in the world. 

Hello Dahlia! We are super excited to have you in our FFBC tours.

Hi! Excited to be here! Thank you for having me!

UNDER THE LIGHTS is a companion to my debut novel, BEHIND THE SCENES, and alternates between the perspectives of two actors—Josh, who’s a rich, white, straight spoiled brat who doesn’t really love what he’s doing, and Vanessa, who’s Korean-American, adores acting, and is coming to realize she also adores her new publicity intern, Brianna. The story is really a slow-burn friendmance between them, while they also have independent storylines that work in tandem. 

Daylight Falls is one of those shows that would fit in perfectly on the CW—basically a 90210-like dramedy. What makes it stand out is basically only that the lead actress is Korean-American, which wasn’t the original plan, but Vanessa was just too good to pass up. It’s fun and soapy and the two main characters, Tristan Monroe and Bailey Summers, are played by Liam Holloway and Vanessa Park, and in UNDER THE LIGHTS, Josh joins for a guest arc.

Vanessa’s definitely hardworking and passionate and fun, and an extrovert—she draws her energy from being around people. I think the best thing about her is that she loves hard. She loves bravely. Not because she loves a girl, but because from her parents to her best friend to her girlfriend, she loves in a way that lays her heart at their feet. And even if they step on it, as occasionally happens, she always pushes through that pain to work toward her goals.

Brianna’s a little quirky and edgy and still trying to find her path. The stuff she knows, she knows, but she’s definitely still in a learning pattern. My favorite thing about her is how open she is—she constantly says yes to things, and she’s never held back by a fear of failure, or anything else. 

Josh is cocky, arrogant, snarky, kind of entitled, and all around a pain in the ass…but he’s also loyal as hell, occasionally thoughtful, and doesn’t hold back the truth from people who need to hear it. I love that he’s a secretly excellent support system in both books.

The story just sort of…unfolded as it kept changing during revisions. It definitely took bits and pieces from similar shows in concept—90210, Keeping Up with the Kardashians, Real Housewives… Basically a lot of the worst Hollywood has to offer! And Entourage definitely influenced the Josh half, particularly all the male privilege and interaction. 

Probably the one that most sums up the theme of the book, compliments of Josh: “Anyone who doesn’t want you to be happy with who you are is an asshole. Fuck pleasing everyone else. You only live once. Who are you gonna do it for?”

I can’t even pretend the sex scene wasn’t my favorite. I edited it to death, but I still love reading it, which is the best sign.

The obvious “All of the Lights” by Kanye West et al.

The girls for me are easy—Arden Cho is my perfect Vanessa, and there’s a Suicide Girls model (Lass, aka Julie Kennedy—Google at your own NSFW risk) who is my ideal Bri—but Josh in my head is a a 19-year-old Brody Jenner. I’m not sure who’d fit that bill now!

Definitely some fun party music and some solid fro-yo, and the closer to the beach you can get, the better, even if that just means a scented candle!

Don’t let anyone convince you there’s anything abnormal about these feelings—your emotions and attractions are as valid and legitimate as anyone else’s. And however much you feel like you’re the only one experiencing them, I promise you’re not. I can’t promise you’ll meet other people in person who are open about in high school, but that’s why books and TV and the internet exist—to see what’s beyond your personal world and how many people out there are just like you. Embrace who you are; it’s the first step to happiness, and no one else can do it for you. But trust that other people will also love you for exactly who you are.

Next up I have another contemporary YA called JUST VISITING, which releases on November 17 of this year, and two contemporary NA novels called RIGHT OF FIRST REFUSAL and OUT ON GOOD BEHAVIOR, which still have TBD release dates!

Thank you so much for everything, Dahlia!

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I'm an Associate Editor of Mathematics by day, a Copy Editor by night, and I blog at The Daily Dahlia, YA Misfits, and the Barnes & Noble book blog. I also write contemporary YA (The Daylight Falls duology) and NA (The Radleigh University series). Rec-ing books is approximately my favorite thing in the universe, with macarons being a close second. Come say hi on Twitter, where I'm @MissDahlELama!

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