The Location Shoot by Patricia Leavy

Rating: 3/5, average

The Location Shoot by Patricia Leavy is about a literal cast of characters filming an intimate family drama with a French director in Sweden.

When I received the email from the publicist and read the description, I wasn’t sure if The Location Shoot would be more romance or philosophy focused. I would say it falls more on the romance side, as the philosophy that’s in it is more along the lines of life advice.

If there is a main character (it’s an ensemble cast) it would be Ella Sinclair, an American philosopher who’s working on a series of books about pleasure. The central romance is between her and Finn Forrester, an American movie star. They strike up a whirlwind romance that changes Ella’s life forever.

I didn’t love this book and I didn’t hate this book… it’s easy to read, but not super deep. Albie, an older actor, brings most of the existential philosophy. Ella has a bit of sexual philosophy: she says, “you should only sleep with people you’ll always love or people you’ll never love.” Ella also has some good career advice for Willow, a young starlet who has been feeling pressured by her agent into accepting gigs she’s not interested in. She essentially reminds her that the agent works for her and she doesn’t have to agree to jobs that don’t align with who she wants to be.

The sex scenes are vanilla and explicit. It is insta-love, so it goes a little fast, but Ella and Finn have a little chemistry.

I enjoyed taking a break from heavier reading, but I was a little disappointed with the plain prose and mostly unmet promise of philosophical ideas.

I would recommend The Location Shoot as a fluffy, don’t-think-too-hard romance with down-to-earth characters that explores the fantasy of being behind-the-scenes on a movie set.