Starring in the Movie of My Life by Laurel Osterkamp

When author Laurel Osterkamp contacted me to coordinate her blog tour, I was excited to work with her and her novel Starring in the Movie of My Life. The synopsis reeled me in quickly, and once I started reading, this novel was very difficult to put down. There are three characters that are followed: Samantha and Nathan Linden, who are husband and wife, and Melody, a teenage student of Nathan’s. When Melody is attacked at a school dance, it is Nathan that plays hero, getting her away from harm. After that incident, Melody clings to the fact that she will get Nathan to leave Samantha for her, and through a very eerie and calculating plan, it looks like it just may work. Samantha begins to question all the time Nathan spends with Melody, going to her house for dinners and staying late to help her at school. When Samantha’s ex keeps popping up in her life, Samantha can’t help but still be drawn to him, because of what they have been through in their past and because she is feeling ignored by her husband. The complicated drama of the three lives comes to a head when Melody takes her devious plan one step too far, and a serious crisis happens in Samantha’s family.

I loved how Osterkamp blended the character’s lives so seamlessly throughout the pages. While I could never agree with what Melody was doing, it was easy to see why she acted that way, with her complicated family drama going on behind the scenes. This is a great love story, very deep and complicated and messy, but very real. The drama is there from the start, and the story lines will keep you on your toes throughout. The only thing I wished that were different was the ending left me a little unsettled with Nathan’s character. I felt like he really got the short end of the stick throughout, and there was really no happy ending, or really even any sort of ending for him. He just drifted off while Melody and Samantha got the closure.  But other than that, I loved this book and highly recommend Starring in the Movie of My Life.