Review: Unscripted with Mila by Melanie Moreland (Vested Interest: ABC Corp #6)

May 30, 2023

Note: An advance reader copy (ARC) was provided by the author.

Unscripted with Mila is the sixth and final novel in the Vested Interest: ABC Corp series from Melanie Moreland, and this book brings with some bittersweet feels. As a reader who has yet to read Moreland’s OG series, The Contract, and its immediate spin-off series, Vested Interest, I confess that I was a bit hesitant to dive into this second spin-off because I was afraid I’d feel like I was missing something, especially regarding all the history and back stories for each family. However, I decided to take my chances, and I’m glad I did because I was very much fully invested in the characters that I met through this second spin-off series, as well as each journey they took towards their respective happily-ever-afters. And now, we’ve come to the end, and I can’t quite believe six full-length novels have graced my Kindle!

Writing under a pseudonym allows thirty-two-year-old Amelia Morrison, better known as Mila, privacy while relishing the fact that she is, indeed, a bestselling author. The success of her books has led to a film deal, and her presence has been requested on set in order to provide any insight on the characters and answer questions the cast may have. Being painfully shy is a challenge, but Mila recognizes this is part of the job. She expected to come face to face with Nicholas Scott, the thirty-six-year-old actor she’d hand-picked to play the male main character. What she wasn’t quite prepared for was to that spark of something that was far more than fleeting attraction—a spark that Nick was more than willing to kindle and stoke. However, there was no script detailing whatever conflict they would have to face should their affair ignite into much more or if there was any sort of happy ending waiting for them at the end of it all.

One my favorite things about Mila and Nick’s story was seeing how much the former was able to truly come into her own because of the latter’s presence in her life. Yes, she was an author with an immense following and bestsellers under her (pen) name, and yes, she also had the love and support of her family, immediate and extended. But while she always the adored daughter, beloved sister, and protected niece and cousin, with Nick she was able to experience what her parents and her siblings and their partners had—an everlasting sort of love, the kind that she wrote about. As for Nick, he was able to find someone who loved and accepted him, proverbial warts and all. Mila was the perfect person for him, and I love how she fought for him and their relationship. There was so much to love about this romance, but that series epilogue? It brought such a smile to my lips and a pinch to my heart because this truly was the end of something that I had a vested interest (see what I did there?) in. Five stars for Unscripted with Mila.

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Read my reviews for the Vested Interest: ABC Corp series: