I don’t read a lot of romance, unless it has a suspenseful or paranormal twist, but I jumped on board Cinematic Destinies because of the publicity push. I don’t know if I missed out on anything because I haven’t read the previous two books in the Red Carpet Romance series. I sometimes grab a simple romance to cleanse my pallet. I read a lot of books and if I read too many of one particular genre back to back, they all seem to blend together. A refresher has me coming back raring to go.
Cinematic Destinies by Patricia Leavy is about the fairy tale Hollywood romance of the parents and how their children learn that everything is not always as it seems. As the children grow and work through their own problems, they strive to have a happy ever after.
Cinematic Destinies is pretty much what I expected. It makes for a great summer read.
3 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
For fans of Tessa Bailey and Hannah Grace, Cinematic Destinies is a feel-good, contemporary romance about a trio of adult children searching for love and beauty in the shadow of their parents’ legendary Hollywood fairy-tale romance.
Legendary actor Finn Forrester and his wife philosopher Ella Sinclair Forrester met on the location shoot for Jean Mercier’s film Celebration. The world has been captivated by their fairy-tale romance since Finn famously proposed on the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival. As the couple now prepares to celebrate their thirtieth wedding anniversary, they wonder if their children will ever find love.
Eldest daughter Betty is excelling in a medical residency program in New York City—and has convinced herself that distancing herself from emotions is the path to success. Youngest son Albert, a recent college graduate, is trying to find his footing in Boston as he struggles with his identity. Free-spirited Georgia, her mother’s spitting image and an actress following in her father’s footsteps, has been cast in Jean Mercier’s final film, mysteriously titled Beauty. When she arrives on set in Iceland and meets her costar, sparks fly. Is history repeating itself? How has growing up in the shadow of the world’s most iconic love story affected each of the Forrester children?
In this highly anticipated conclusion to The Location Shoot and After the Red Carpet, we see how Finn, Ella, and their children fulfill their cinematic destinies.
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
232 pages, Paperback
Published September 2, 2025 by She Writes Press
Series: Red Carpet Romance #3
ABOUT PATRICIA LEAVY
Patricia Leavy, Ph.D., is a bestselling author. She has published over fifty books, earning commercial and critical success in both fiction and nonfiction, and her work has been translated into many languages. Patricia has received over 100 book honors as well as career awards from the New England Sociological Association, the American Creativity Association, the American Educational Research Association, the International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry, and the National Art Education Association. In 2024 the London Arts-Based Research Centre established “The Patricia Leavy Award for Arts-Based Research.” She lives in Maine with her family. Patricia loves writing, reading, watching films, and traveling. These days, she’s focused on writing feel-good love stories.
I am excited to have Patricia Leavy visiting fundinmental to share her thoughts in this fun interview. What did you find most interesting?
What would we find under your bed?
Nothing.
What was the scariest moment of your life?
When my daughter was little, she fell down a big
staircase in front of my eyes. It was terrifying. I rushed her to the hospital.
Fortunately, by some miracle she was not hurt. This was over fifteen years ago
and I remember it like yesterday.
Do you listen to music while writing? If
so what?
I used to but I don’t anymore. However, I do make a
playlist for each of my books filled with songs that help me mentally set the
tone and get in the flow of that story-world. I listen to the playlist on
writing breaks for the duration of writing the book. It helps keep me in that
world.
What is something you’d like to accomplish
in your writing career next year?
Finishing a novel that I’ve been working on off and on
for a decade. I’ve published nearly 40 books, and written some in as few as ten
days, but this one has always been slow going. I think it’s good though, and it’s
different from my other work.
How long did it take you to write this
book?
Celestial Bodies
is a collection of six novels. Earlier versions of some of them have already
been released. It took me anywhere from ten days to a month to draft each of
the six novels, but then loads of time editing and revising. From when I
started the first one to when the entire collection was released, that was
about two and a half years.
No monsters under the bed, Patricia. LOL Thanks for sharing.
Heart-warming
and wonderfully romantic, written with the sharp wit of Candace Bushnell and
the sensitivity of Meg Donahue, comes best-selling author Patricia Leavy’s tour
de force about learning to balance darkness and light in our lives.
Celestial Bodies is a
series of six novels that follow the epic romance of Tess and Jack: Shooting
Stars, Twinkle, Constellations, Supernova, North Star, and Stardust. An
exploration of the power of love, each novel focuses on love at the
intersection of another topic: healing, doubt, intimacy, trust, commitment, and
faith. While external threats occur in each book, this is ultimately a story
about internal threats—the audio playing in our own heads.
Tess Lee is a
world-famous novelist. Her inspirational books explore people’s innermost
struggles and the human need to believe that there is light at the end of the
tunnel. Despite her extraordinary success, she’s been unable to find happiness
in her personal life. Jack Miller is a federal agent who specializes in
counterterrorism. After spending decades immersed in a violent world, a residue
remains. He’s dedicated everything to his job, leaving nothing for himself. The
night Tess and Jack meet, their connection is palpable. She examines the scars
on his body and says, “I’ve never seen anyone whose outsides match my insides.”
The two embark on a beautiful love story that asks the questions: What happens
when people truly see each other? Can unconditional love change the way we see
ourselves? Their friends are along for the ride: Omar, Tess’s sarcastic best
friend who calls her Butterfly; Joe, Jack’s friend from the Bureau who understands
the sacrifices he’s made; and Bobby and Gina, Jack’s younger friends who never
fail to lighten the mood. Along the way, others join their journey: the female
president of the United States, with whom Tess bakes cookies and talks
politics; the Millers, Jack’s childhood family; and many others. Celestial
Bodies is about walking through our past traumas, moving from darkness to
light, learning to live in color, and the ways in which love—from lovers,
friends, or the art we experience—can heal us. Written as unfolding action,
this collection moves fluidly between melancholy, humor, and joy. It can be
read for pleasure or selected for book clubs.
EXCERPT
Tess clung to Jack as they sped along the cliffside road on
their Harley, winding around the last curve as they approached their house.
When they arrived home, Jack carefully took off Tess’s helmet, kissed her, and
grabbed the bag of fruit they’d bought at the farmers’ market. She pulled the
scrunchie out of her hair, releasing dirty blonde locks down to her waist. They
headed inside. “You thirsty, baby?” he asked.
She nodded.
He quickly tapped a coconut, stuck a paper straw in, and
handed it to her.
“You’ve gotten so good at that,” she said, taking a sip.
“Yeah, just in time to go back to DC. I can’t believe we
have to leave our Hawaiian paradise tomorrow morning. We’re crazy to leave Maui
this time of year.”
“I know, baby. But we’ll be back in less than three months
to throw Omar and Clay the tropical Valentine’s Day wedding of their dreams.
Besides, it’ll be fun to see our friends.”
He smiled and kissed her forehead.
“Here, have some,” she said, handing him the coconut. “Let’s
leave the pineapple out. We can grill it tonight for our Thanksgiving feast
while we sit on the lanai and watch the sunset.” She kicked her shoes off,
slipped her T-shirt over her head, and shimmied out of her shorts, revealing a
hot pink string bikini. “Bet I can beat you to the ocean,” she teased, darting
off.
Soon, they were splashing around in the warm water, the sun
beating down on them. Jack wrapped his tanned arms around Tess and kissed her.
They stared at each other, the energy between them electric.
“I could get lost in your big, brown eyes,” he said.
She smiled and said, “Come on, let’s dry off.” They walked
to their pool and lay together on a chaise lounge.
“Jack?” Tess whispered.
“Yeah, baby.”
“I know you hold back sometimes, but you don’t need to.”
“Tess…”
“Baby, I know you do. There’s nothing that could ever happen
between us that I wouldn’t want.”
He caressed the side of her face. “You’re so beautiful and
delicate. I just want you to feel safe and loved.”
“I do and I always will.”
“You’ve been through so much. It wasn’t that long ago that
Ray was stalking you; I know that brought up memories of your childhood abuse.
I don’t ever want to be the cause of your pain or remind you of the ways you
have suffered.”
“You couldn’t. You only push those thoughts further away. I
trust you, Jack. Nothing could ever change that. I want to share everything
with you. I’ve never felt as close to another human being as I do to you.” She
ran her fingers through his wet, salty hair and said, “I still remember the
first time we came here, before we owned this place. You took me in the shower
and we were so free.”
He grazed his fingers along her cheek.
“I’m gonna rinse off,” she said. She untied her bikini top,
let it fall to the floor, and headed for the outdoor shower.
Jack hustled out of his swim trunks and followed her. She
flipped the water on, turned toward him, and smiled. He cupped her face in his
hands, kissed her softly, and with one swift movement, swung her around and
pulled her bathing suit bottom down. “Don’t let me hurt you,” he whispered. He
pushed her against the wall and they made love passionately.
With his quivering body pressed tightly against hers, Jack
kissed Tess’s neck and nibbled on her ear. Finally satiated, he turned the
shower off and wrapped towels around each of them. He picked her up and cradled
her in his arms as he carried her to a lounge chair. They resumed their tender
kisses, Jack caressing the side of her face. He looked at her with
unadulterated adoration.
“I love you so much,” he said.
“I love you too. More than anything.”
AUTHOR Bio and Links
Patricia Leavy, Ph.D., is a bestselling author. She was formerly Associate Professor of Sociology, Chair of Sociology and Criminology, and Founding Director of Gender Studies at Stonehill College in Massachusetts. She has published over thirty-five books, earning commercial and critical success in both fiction and nonfiction, and her work has been translated into many languages. Patricia has received dozens of accolades for her books. Recently, her novel Shooting Stars won the 2021 Independent Press Award Distinguished Favorite Contemporary Novel, her novel Film won the 2020 American Fiction Award for Inspirational Fiction, the 2021 NYC Big Book Award for Chick-Lit, and the 2021 Independent Press Award Distinguished Favorite Chick-Lit, her 3-novel set Candy Floss Collection won the 2020 American Fiction Award for Anthologies and the 2021 NYC Big Book Award for Anthology, and her novel Spark won the 2019 American Fiction Award for Inspirational Fiction, the 2019 Living Now Book Award for Adventure Fiction, and the 2021 National Indie Excellence Award for New Adult Fiction. She has also received career awards from the New England Sociological Association, the American Creativity Association, the American Educational Research Association, the International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry, and the National Art Education Association. In 2016 Mogul, a global women’s empowerment network, named her an “Influencer.” In 2018, she was honored by the National Women’s Hall of Fame and SUNY-New Paltz established the “Patricia Leavy Award for Art and Social Justice.” She lives in Maine with her husband, daughter (when she’s not away at college), and her dog. Patricia loves writing, reading, watching films, and traveling.
