Charlie Hart can’t believe what her bestie Ember has done. She knew Ember was entering a competition which allows the winner to spend a few days with the hottest young movie star in Hollywood – Zander Rune. But Charlie never believed she would be the one going. Charlie despises Zander. She too used to be a huge fan, until she learnt of a dangerous choice Zander made. The same choice someone else made, that killed her mother.

Zander Rune is in trouble. After achieving super actor star status as a boy, he has got the role of his life in his sights. There’s only one problem. They’re not sure whether he’s the actor they want, after his bad-boy status has all but wiped his squeaky clean image. Will he be a liability for them and their new movie? Zander and his agent will do anything to get him back on track.

Charlie only accepts the prize in place of Ember, because she knows how much it means to her. Zander just wants to get it over with in order to get back to the life he loves. He’s surprised that the fan girl he dreaded is actually someone who doesn’t particularly like him, and he’s not sure why.

Charlie has to admit, that Zander Rune isn’t anything like she imagined – but that one choice he made prevents her from getting to know him on their survival trek through the bush in Katoomba, Australia.

Until everything goes terribly wrong….

This enemies to lovers (sort of), novel is a great read. I loved the way the back story was ever so gradually revealed after little clues were dropped throughout the story. Although I had an inkling of the reasons why the characters behave as they do, the real truth was a surprise. Zander Rune is far from the stereotypical famous actor type, and is easy to like, (and swoon over), so poor Charlie with her misconceptions, anger and grief has no chance to resist her feelings. She’s no pushover though, and constantly proves it.

The survival scenes were full on, and I could feel the actor’s claustrophobia inside tunnels and their fear as they rappelled down cliffs. The author admits she took lots of liberties with the details of their adventure, but she’s right that these choices make it an even better read.

My eyes were full of tears at the end – but I won’t tell you why. You’ll have to venture into the Aussie bush with Zander and Charlie and experience the action along with them to find out.

Definitely looking for more Lynette Noni novels!  

Author – Lynette Noni

Age – 12+

(2025, Penguin NZ, New Zealand, Aotearoa, Blackstone Publishing, Enemies to Lovers, Wilderness, Australian bush, Katoomba, Survival, Tramping, Hiking, Movie Star, Grief, Romance)