Ranking the love interests from "Red Carpet Diaries" - Choices: Stories You Play

Red Carpet Diaries is an interactive story / visual novel series available in the Choices: Stories You Play app created by Pixelberry Studios. Red Carpet Diaries sees you (Main Character) coming to Los Angeles from Iowa in the hopes of making it in the entertainment industry over the course of three books. Along the way, you will meet a colorful cast of characters, some who will have their hearts up for grabs if you play your cards right. However, as with all choose-your-romance stories, personal preference will play a huge part in who a player will choose as their main love interest. Below, I have ranked my preferences for the love interests available in the Red Carpet Diaries series.

Some brief disclaimers before we dive in. I have no affiliation with Pixelberry and own no rights to these characters or their story. This list is fully my own personal opinion and this article is intended to be fun. In no way is this intended to influence other players or their choices (pun absolutely intended). Also, in case it wasn’t obvious, there will be SPOILERS for the entirety of the series below. You have been warned.

[Another disclaimer including a spoiler : I never read Red Carpet Diaries, book 1 back when Victoria physically assaulted the main character. That plot point had been changed by the time I read the book. Because of that, I will not be taking that old plot point into consideration in my list as this is something I found out well after the fact of reading through the series. I under no circumstances condone physical assault and if this had been left in, Victoria wouldn’t even be considered.]

Honorable Mention – Addison Sinclair

Addison Sinclair is a sweet, upbeat young woman who is has become a renowned costume designer. She is one of several characters, and one of two love interests, to have been crossed over from another Pixelberry app, Hollywood U: Rising Stars. The main character first meets Addison when tagging along with Matt Rodriguez to Vegas in Book 1. While there the player start making friends with Matt’s group, Addison, Josh Morello and Ryan Summers. Almost immediately the player has a chance to start a more physical relationship with her.

However, the reason Addison ranks so low on this list as the only honorable mention is solely because her romantic story line was dropped/never started. I confess, I don’t know if there’s an official reason for why she’s not a marriage candidate in Book 3, but she only has a handful of romantic scenes throughout the books and a few more friendly scenes. Had she persisted as a love interest for the remainder of the series, or had more scenes in at all, I have no doubt she would be placed much higher. I really enjoyed all of the scenes with Addison and thirsted for more but alas, it just wasn’t meant to be.

#5 – Matt Rodriguez

Matt Rodriguez is an already well established actor, known at the beginning of the series for his work in action films. His father is also respected actor with a long, illustrious career which leads Matt to later put high expectations on his own shoulders to do as well, if not better, than his father. He is quite friendly, prefers a more private life in the midst of the public eye and deeply enjoys his profession, wanting to work on all sorts of genres as the series continues.

Matt was one of those love interests for me who starts out really strong in book 1, but who declined hard after that. By no fault of his own, he really wasn’t interesting in book 2 as he was completely overshadowed by almost everyone else and by book 3 he was almost straight boring. He has a truly lovable personality but his character development got caught up in stereotypes the longer the series progressed.

#4 – Teja Desai

When the main character meets Teja Desai, she is working as an assistant director to world famous (infamous?) Markus von Groot. However, over the course of the series, she comes into her own as a director and becomes well sought after. She is hard working, smart, and enjoys having fun. Her tendency to bite off more than she can chew fueled by her ambition is frequently stressed through the series, much like the character herself is, either due to her boss (book 1), creative conflicts (book 2), or a full plate (book 3).

The only reason Teja ranks so low on this list is I happen to like everyone else more. She’s a fine character whether pursued romantically or just as a friend in the other routes. Her character, as unfortunately many of the Choices female partners do, feels really bland compared to the rest. Unlike the higher characters on this list, I will not likely be playing a Teja-pure route on a replay again.

#3 – Victoria Fontaine

Victoria Fontaine is a proven actress in Hollywood and immediately singles your character out as a threat, given that she’s an “aging actress” who is afraid your character, among other younger women, is going to push her out of the industry. In the beginning, she treats you with open hostility and her petty behavior makes her quite nasty throughout the first book in the series until the last couple of chapters. She is shown to be cynical and jaded, but has a soft side as the series progresses, even culminating in her mentoring of a young want-to-be actress.

I know she’s a controversial character and there are many people who justifiably don’t like her as a character due to how plain mean she was throughout book 1, but I have to confess. I loved her even then. I know, I know, in real life people like that don’t just change their spots and terrible people don’t just get to be “forgiven and forgotten”, but I really enjoyed her play through. In fiction, it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy seeing her switch from the dark side. Among all of the characters, Victoria really showed the most character development, choosing to become a better person overall. For the character, it’s remarkable and something to be admired.

#2 – Seth Levine

Seth Levine is introduced as a new neighbor of yours when you first arrive and helps you with an unwelcome visitor in your apartment before even learning your name. He is a fellow Midwest transplant who had once hoped of making it big, but has since given up on those dreams and even soured to the idea of the Hollywood dream until the end of book 1. He is friendly, kind, loyal and, as you learn more throughout the books, deeply insecure. He is also wildly creative, not only writing his own jokes for stand up, but also later working on screenplays and script doctoring.

Seth is a character who it is easy to love. He could be your best friend and also your most amazing romance. He sticks with the main character through thick and thin and is willing to help them accomplish their dreams without asking for anything in return. This is especially amazing considering how jaded he was at the time of their meeting in book 1. Seth is also easily the most down to Earth and “common” of all of the characters in the series, seeming the most like a real life human. He’s an open geek making references to Elder Scrolls V : Skyrim among others that go unnoticed or unappreciated by most other characters. He’s the boy-next-door of this series and I couldn’t love him more for it.

However, as perfect as Seth is, there is one more love interest I would put into first.

#1 – Thomas Hunt

Thomas Hunt is an acclaimed film director and former professor. Though he cameos briefly in Book 1, it isn’t until Book 2 that Thomas becomes a major player. After the main character is fired from her current project, Thomas offers her a role in his new, highly secretive film. He is stoic and stubborn, frequently referred to as a grouch by other characters, though it is seen almost immediately by the main character to be a front for his softer side, often showing itself with small tells and tiny smiles.

Thomas is just about everything I love in a love interest. He has that “rough side covering up a marshmallow center” trope and seems to genuinely be a good person, someone who refuses to compromise on morals and personal ethics just to make it ahead. His romance with the main character is a slow burn rather than an immediate whirlwind, which is always my favorite. Like is mentioned on his play through, the anticipation can be the best part of the romance. He also hesitates when the main character tries to initiate a romance, not wanting to do something she would regret and likely didn’t want people to think the main character had gotten the part in his film based on favors rather than merit. His consideration for her when compared to other characters in his position (cough Viktor Montmartre cough), really makes him shine in comparison.

His story flails a bit in book 3. It feels like they gave the standard dialogue for the wedding planning that would work perfectly for just about every other character to Thomas as well. It doesn’t quite sit right on his lips, especially given how often his character is smiling rather than the standard stoic persona, but as those are optional premium choices, I left those out of completely affecting my answer. He fully acknowledges, even in his wedding vows, that he’s not always the most likable person. However, its almost paradoxically his sometimes unpleasant demeanor that makes him so likable, which is why Thomas is my #1 for Red Carpet Diaries.

That’s it for the list this time around. Are there any other Choices stories I should rank? Where would your Red Carpet Diaries love interests rank? Sound off and let me know below!