Clexa goes to Hollywood

Fanfiction
Title:	Clexa goes to Hollywood
Author(s):	ivywoman63
Date(s):	Published October 2, 2016 – May 1, 2017
Length:	120,726 words; 21 chapters
Genre(s):	modern AU, celebrity AU, femslash, rom-com
Fandom(s):	The 100
Relationship(s):	Clarke Griffin/Lexa
External Links:
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Clexa goes to Hollywood by ivywoman63 is a Clexa fanfiction that was originally hosted on Archive of Our Own. It is a modern rom-com AU and was published in 21 chapters from October 2, 2016 to May 1, 2017. The fic was deleted from AO3 so that it could be republished as an original novel after filing off the serial numbers. In the commercial version, titled #CassiNova, Clarke and Lexa's names were changed to Samantha Cassidy and Alex Novato respectively.

The original summary from AO3:

Modern AU Clexa. Clarke is an Emmy winning actress starring in a cable scifi series, who's fictional character just lost her lesbian love interest to an untimely death. Lexa is a landscaper by day fan fic/scifi writer by night. Fun, funny, bantering, lighthearted, Rom Com

On March 2, 2018, prior to being deleted, the fic had 1157 comments, 1801 kudos, 322 bookmarks, and 36,906 hits.

Reactions and Reviews

Of the original fic:

Holy shit balls if this isn't the Clexa definition of a fun fic, then I don’t know what is. Clarke is an actress and Lexa is a landscaper by day and fanfic writer by night. As with all the author's stories, this one will have you laughing out loud. The banter, comedic situations, and Clexa love are simply fantastic. Enjoy this with a bag of popcorn and some Twizzlers (but not Red Vines).

Of the published novel:

[4 stars]

3.75 Stars. I ended up enjoying this more than I expected. If you follow my reviews you will know I'm not the biggest rom-com fan. My funny bone seems to be broken when it comes to book humor and I struggle more times than not. However, I do love reading debut authors and Bella has a track record of publishing some really good debut authors these last few years, so I wanted to read this. I'm glad I did since this was an entertaining read. There were some bumps for sure, but for the most part they didn’t affect my enjoyment too much.

The author mentioned that this story was originally based on fanfiction. I honestly have no idea what this could have started out as. This is a celebrity romance with one of the main characters as an actress on a show that resembles The 100, so maybe this started as uber Clexa, I'm just not sure. I thought it was cute that one of the characters actually writes fanfiction so I think fanfiction fans will get a kick out of this book.

I do have to say I didn't like the book at first. Taking place in WeHo, with beautiful people, it seemed like really fake, stereotypical California. One character is a player sleeping with anything that moves, and for almost every character attraction is 100% based on looks with perfect bodies flying around. It was hard to see through all the plastic. Luckily, this really calmed down and got so much better as the book went on. I mean yes, the two mains are still the most perfect physical specimens on the planet, but at least they became more human with flaws, feelings, and actual personalities.

When it came to the romance I really enjoyed it, especially once the characters became more real. I don't think I would call this slow-burn, but it was a really nice even pace. The "actress" wants to win the heart of the "player" so she is trying to woo her. So this means a ton of flirting and making out before the characters even go further. And slowing it down this way brought out a ton of good chemistry. I was impressed, these two women set off fireworks together. I completely bought into them as a potential couple and I was rooting hard they would make it.

I do have to say that I was not big on the storyline of an actress in the closet worried about her career. I feel like this has been done to death and it doesn't have the same impact it would have had even five years ago. On the good side, it led to some really funny comedic moments. A group of friends had to keep the potential couple apart, at a bar, when drinking and dancing were involved. Let's just say it was really funny and like one long comedy sketch. There is a lot of humor in this book. Unfortunately, not everything hits and at times I thought it was too much, that the author was trying too hard. However, I laughed out loud more times while reading this book, then I have since I read Ambereye over four years ago. I mean even sometimes something was a little stupid funny and I didn't even want to laugh, but it still popped out of me anyway. When the humor landed this book was very funny indeed.

Overall, I would easily recommend this to rom-com fans. The romance has great chemistry and the humor is funny, exactly what you want in a rom-com. I would especially recommend this to Hollywood/celebrity romance fans and fanfiction fans. I did think that the book started off a little rough, and there were a few characters that were over the top, but this really was a fun read. There is some angst but it’s pretty low, all things considered this is mostly a feel-good and laugh out loud romance. I would absolutely read Lori G. Matthews again.

[3 stars]

A bit too silly for my liking even for a romantic comedy. I really do like some humor and witty dialogue in romances but this was over the top -- a kind of screwball/slapstick combination. In general, the book gives the impression of exaggeration in everything and that made reading it quite an exhausting experience for me. The said exaggeration includes too much f-bombs and s-bombs. The book lacks depth in some essential things and although the author's writing is technically not bad, her plot and character choices are just not my cup of tea.
So, the quality of writing -- three stars, degree of enjoyment -– two stars, in total -- two and a half stars rounded up considering it is the author's first published novel.
Regardless of all this, read it and see for yourself. Maybe you will not be bothered by all this as much as I was.

2.5 stars
November 21, 2020

[4 stars]

3.75 stars. I haven't laughed reading a book as much as I did this one in a long time. Personally, sarcasm is my only form of humour - so the sarcasm from most of the characters in this was right in my wheelhouse.

Reading the notes from the author at the beginning of the book I was aware that this started as a work of fan fiction - however I'm clearly behind in my popular culture as I couldn't work out what this aligned with. Either it's moved on so much the original inspiration really didn't matter - or someone else will spot something that has completely passed me by.

Sam is an actress in a popular sci-fi TV show (I think I get the inspiration here) that inspires much fan fiction, but she's in the closet - it's been a long time since she dated anyone except the guy she uses to hide her orientation and really wants a girlfriend. Her manager Jade advises her against it due to the usual you won't be successful in your career if you're out thoughts.

Alex is a landscaper by day but an inspiring writer. Her sister encourages her to write fan fiction about Sam's show. Sam and Jade spot her work and decide to hunt Alex down leading to Sam hiring Alex as a contractor.

It's clear Alex and Sam have feelings for each other, but they decide to take it slow and tease and flirt with each other constantly. The humour in Alex and Sam falling for each other and their conversations with their friends is the thing that made this book really good in my opinion. Clearly some of the friends exist in the narrative purely for humour opportunities but nonetheless it works. Despite it being the expected I still really enjoyed the ending and I love these two main characters together. I'd also really like to see a prequel book relating to Alex's sister and her wife.

Whilst it's not the most original storyline I'd happily recommend this to anyone who loves wlw fiction - and hopefully people will enjoy the humour too.

[4 stars]

#CassiNova was the debut novel for this author and it was a rom-com. It was very silly at times, some of it over the top silliness. It had goofy and dorky characters and many laugh out loud moments.

Sam was a closeted movie star. She was afraid of hurting her career if she came out. Alex was a landscaper by day, but also continued to write a sci-fi story in the hopes of soon getting it published. After Alex wrote a fan fiction about Sam's show, Sam and her manager/best friend loved it and needed to meet her. But they couldn't do it the conventional way. They stalked Alex at her workplace. From this point on, the zaniness took off and continued throughout the story.

There were many comedic episodes throughout the story involving the mains and the secondary characters. I actually enjoyed the scenes where all the characters were together. My favorites involved the gay bar scenes. The first time all the characters went there, they needed to protect Sam's privacy and to make sure she and Alex stayed apart. The shenanigans that followed was like watching a comedy show. One funny moment after the next. The second time they went there to celebrate Alex's recent accomplishment was equally as funny. But this time Sam couldn't go since she was almost outed her first time there. Sam was determined to celebrate with Alex at that bar. She and her friend Emma, unbeknownst to anyone else, decided to dress as men in order to openly celebrate with Alex and their friends. They wanted to make sure they looked the part. So they donned mustaches and wanted their bottom half to look authentic as well. Sam used a sock, but Emma...oh Emma went all out with what she proudly tucked into her pants. The situations these two women found themselves in were beyond silly and extremely funny.

Besides all the comedy involved, there were some serious moments concerning Alex's past and Sam's relationship with her father. Those were the tender and serious scenes.

I liked the way the author used the title, #CassiNova, at the beginning of the story and then wasn't mentioned until it re-emerged near the end in a very sweet, and of course, fun way.

I really enjoyed these characters and their zany antics. Some scenes might have been a bit too much in terms of its comedy lengths, but for the most part it was fine.

I don't read many rom-coms, but I wanted something different, something that might provide some laughs. This was definitely the right book to read with many laughable moments, and I look forward to any future books from this author.

[3 stars]

#CassiNova is a lighthearted romantic comedy by debut author Lori G. Matthews. It is a story that is based on the Clexa fandom so those of you who are knowledgeable of this genre will recognize it in the tale.

The story is technically well written with a good premise. I did have some problems though. I never connected with the characters. They just seemed to lack depth. They were surface characters with little growth to them. The plot was kind of predictable and also needed a bit more depth. While I do enjoy comedy in stories, there was sometimes a bit too much slapstick comedy here. That may be just a personal preference though. Some of you may really enjoy this type of comedy.
While this novel is kind of a mixed bag for me, I do see lots of potential for this author, and I will be looking for more from her in the future.