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Twenty-eight-year-old beauty Emerson Blue is the second most followed celebrity on social media. A self-proclaimed “living piece of art” who rose to fame as a reality star and then parlayed her celebrity into a megabucks career as an influencer, she seems to have everything.
Forty-eight-year-old Grammy winner Renn Walker is a fallen country music star. Years ago, he was canceled following allegations of sexual misconduct, and he has lived in seclusion ever since. Once a beloved figure, he seems to have lost it all.
When Emerson and Renn meet, sparks fly. Against all odds, a star obsessed with popularity and a recluse shunned by the world fall in love. Everyone in the public and media has an opinion and thinks they know Emerson and Renn. But in a world dominated by social media—a world that blurs the lines between what’s public and private, what’s real and what’s illusion—do we ever really know anyone? (Synopsis courtesy of Goodreads.)
Sugar Sand Land reminded me a little of the TV show Nashville, although maybe I’ve had Hayden Panettiere on my mind as of late, and Emerson Blue reminded me of Hayden. She is a bright light who draws people to her in all the best of ways, yet is an enigma and not easily understood. No one knows where Emerson comes from, or her past. The only thing they know is how much of a force she is in the social media realm.
Renn Walker has been living in seclusion for years after a public fallout he’d had over allegations of sexual misconduct, and he has no clue how to use social media, or who Emerson is. I think that was a big factor in the attraction Emerson has for Renn, because he’s not interested in her based on her platform, or what she can offer him. He genuinely falls for her based on who she is as a person, a rarity for Emerson. But socially, it doesn’t look great. Not for either of them. The rumors about Renn have far surpassed him, and no one trusts that their budding relationship will survive.
There are also secrets that Emerson holds close, her hidden past buried so deep, not even the sleuthiest of the sleuths could ever figure it out. But events out of Renn’s control crop up, and he won’t let Emerson go, not without a fight. And not without discovering the real truth behind Emerson’s origins. I thought it was interesting to see how far both of them will go to do what they feel they need to do, in order to protect, and preserve, who they are as individuals and also as a couple.
Sugar Sand Land was an interesting take on what goes on behind the scenes of what we see in our social media lives. How much of it is real, and how much of it is generated for the public, showcasing our best selves and graying out the other areas that we don’t want anyone to find out about. I’m not a big presence on social media and I’m not super into it myself, but I watch plenty of reality tv to really identify with what Emerson and Renn are dealing with, most likely finding themselves in similar situations that I’ve seen on tv but have no real idea of what’s beneath that surface. I was on the hook and invested in their story from page one, right up until the very end!
Thanks to BookSparks for the book in exchange for an honest review.
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