More Than Fashion by Elizabeth Briggs

Publication Date: July 30, 2015.

Publisher: Elizabeth Briggs Books.

Genres: New Adult, Romance, and Contemporary.

Rating: 

Selling points: A reality show like Project Runway, super steamy romance, witty and strong main character.

Purchase here: Amazon | The Book Depository

Synopsis: They’re enemies who will do anything to win…including each other.

When Julie Hong wins a spot on a fashion design reality TV show, she celebrates by picking up a hot English guy in a hotel bar. But too many drinks leads to a night of embarrassment and a major hangover, and wow is she glad she’ll never see him again. Until the show starts, and he’s on it too.

Julie quickly realizes she’s out of her league among the other designers, and Gavin Bennett, with his cocky grin and sexy accent, is her biggest competition. Julie can’t decide if she wants to kiss him or kill him. Or both.

After she’s almost kicked off, Julie convinces Gavin to pretend they’re sleeping together for the camera. The ploy works, but as they get closer to the show’s finale their fake relationship starts to become too real. But only one of them can win the show—and they might both end up heartbroken.

Thank you Victory Editing for my review copy of More Than Fashion. I received this review copy in exchange for an honest review; this does not affect my opinion.

“Even though they were my competition, I felt a kinship with them. We were creators chasing after a shared dream. We all wanted the same thing: to win.”

More Than Fashion is a fun, light and entertaining new adult book. The book is a reality show in the form of a contest between a bunch of people who all want to be a successful fashion designer. The construction of the show is very much like Project Runway, and I absolutely love this concept. I personally love fashion, even if I’m not very good at it, so imagining the dresses and outfits was really an extra bonus for me as to why I enjoyed More Than Fashion so much. What I also really liked was how the main character, Julie, was somehow a part of this show even if she had a lot of stuff working against her and how this contest gave her a real chance to fulfill her dream. If only she can win.

More Than Fashion also has a romantic aspect (shocker I know) but I really think Elizabeth Briggs executed it perfectly. It truly wasn’t a case of “instant love” which a lot of books have, and it even had a bit of fake dating going on. You all know how amazing that is. Julie and Gavin truly evolved as people throughout the book while at the same time their relationship developed from something that was purely beneficial on superficial levels to something deep and meaningful. The romance is also described in an incredibly magical way, which can be seen here:

“He didn’t kiss me, didn’t touch me—just took me in, staring at me like he could tease every secret out of my soul. His eyes were the color of a rainstorm, and I wanted him to wash me away.”

In the end, however, I think the part I loved the most about the book is Julie’s voice. It’s enlightening, witty and genuine. Julie has an attitude I love and something I think a lot of girls and women can appreciate. We need strong women who aren’t perfect and who make mistakes and still get second chances. It is so amazing to see characters evolve and get their happy ending even if it is nowhere near what they imagined. Nevertheless, I’m a busy woman and I’ll just leave you with a couple of inspiring sentences said by the lovely Julie:

“Life was a bitch, and so was I. But fuck it. Bitches got stuff done.”