Review and Giveaway: "Beneath a Starlet Sky"

"Beneath a Starlet Sky"
by Amanda Goldberg and Ruthana Khalighi Hopper

Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Release Date: April 26, 2011

Source: sent by publicist

My Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
 

Summary from goodreads.com:

 The New York Times bestselling authors of Celebutantes return with a dazzling new novel set among the star-studded crowds of the Cannes Film Festival, where everyone’s hoping to discover, sign, screw or become the Next Big Thing.  And a three-picture deal would be nice.   
Lola Santisi—CEO of a struggling fashion line, reformed Actorholic and daughter of Hollywood Royalty—is now not only bicoastal, she’s Bi-Lolar: That is the condition which causes her to swing like a pendulum between the opposing poles of the fashion world in New York and the real world with her Doctor Boyfriend in Los Angeles. She hardly knows which shoe fits her anymore: the Louboutin stiletto or the Croc. As Lola tries to launch Julian Tennant’s new dress line, it looks like they’re about to get their next big break: his wedding dresses have been chosen to feature in the top film at the Cannes Film Festival. And suddenly Lola is staging a full-blown couture show on a yacht – in the middle of the Med.  Think those super models had trouble walking down the catwalks at Fashion Week?  With an unexpected finale twist, this time it’s Lola who’s tumbling off the runway.
Having recently endured a disastrous break-up with Lola’s brother Christopher, Kate Woods, Lola’s BFF and CAA’s rising star agent, is newly single, and focused 24-7 on her clients. The only thing worse than thinking it was a good idea for Kate to date Lola’s brother, is thinking it was a good idea for Kate to put one of her most loose-cannon clients, Nic Knight, in Lola’s father’s movie. Among Kate’s other mega star clients is Saffron Sykes whose appearance on the cover of Vain magazine in Julian Tennant could be the difference between Julian Tennant, Inc. weathering the economy or going bust.
As Lola fights to survive the Cannes Film Festival, will she get swept into the French Riviera’s riptide of glamour and superficiality? Are real love and couture mutually exclusive?  Or can Lola have it all – the good doctor and her Louboutins. With her father and brother vying for the same prize, her mother starring in her new reality show, and one heartbroken girlfriend about to declare motherhood, it’s all on Lola to come up with the answers.  And it’s going to take more than one of her mother’s prosperity chants to save the day.

My Review:

If you're addicted to Access Hollywood and/or US Magazine, you're going to love this book. It's a great, easy beach read.

One thing I liked about the book was that there was so much drama, but it was all pretty PG-13 drama. There were no moments of thinking, "Ew, gross, she did what???" like you see in some Hollywood gossip style books.

Lola was a cute character, there wasn't whole lot of depth to her, but she was cute. I loved that she had a sweetie for a boyfriend, so that bumped up my opinion of her. Their relationship reminded me a tiny bit of Rebecca and Luke in the "Shopaholic" books.

The couple that really interested me was Lola's best friend, Kate, and Lola's brother, Chris. Talk about drama waiting to happen!

There's quite a bit of name-dropping in the book which was a little tiresome. Of course, I realize I've already dropped 3 or 4 names myself in this review, so maybe it just goes with the Hollywood territory. However, I enjoyed the more subtle pop culture references like the faux "Project Runway" tv show, and the "Wristwatch Wives" aka "Real Housewives." I thought the parodies were much funnier and more effective than dropping Viggo's name here and there.
 

Main Characters: 3/5
Supporting Characters: 3/5
Setting: 4/5
Romance: 3/5
Uniqueness: 4/5
Cover: 4/5
Writing: 4/5


Bottom Line: Overall, this is a cute, fun read, great if you need a really fluffy read to relax and unwind with.



GIVEAWAY RULES:

The publicist for "Beneath a Starlet Sky" has generously provided a copy of this book for readers of my blog!

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