Cat Johnson Braves Doll Lil’s Word Association Challenge!

Post Written by Doll Alli

Author: Amanda Goldberg
and Ruthanna Khalighi Hopper
Book: Beneath a Starlet Sky
Release: April 26, 2011
Series: N/A
Source: GetRed PR
Purchase: – Book Depository

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.”

I’m going keep it real here for a minute. I really did NOT want to read or like this book. I put off reading it because I thought, hell, it’ll just be like despite its geographical difference. I swear, I must have read the back cover at least ten times and picked it up to read a thousand times. I told myself to stop being silly and just read it. So I did, albeit kicking and screaming like a five year old. Two hundred some odd pages later, I have to say I liked the book a lot better than I anticipated. Normally I take the time to do a nice little “Allison’s version of the story,” but the back cover totally stole my thunder. Why put most of the plot on the back of the book if you ACTUALLY want people to read it? Beats me – I’m not a publisher (nor do I play one on TV).

I read this entire book in 3 days, which is pretty quick considering the above paragraph. I haven’t read anything by these authors before, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I have to admit, I really enjoyed their writing style. There was a lot of dialogue, which kept the story moving without getting bogged down in the details. The action was fast-paced with seldom-slow spots. I was completely engrossed in wanting to figure out what would happen next. I LOVE that quality in a book. Now I know not everyone loves lots of dialogue and prefers to have paragraph upon paragraph of descriptions. My eyes tend to glaze over and skip those paragraphs. Sad fact, but true and I know I’m not the only one.

Lola Santisi, the main character was very likeable. It made you feel horrible for Lola, as everything she planned unraveled before her eyes. Even as she managed to somehow always save the day, there was something or someone there burst her bubble. Her family is quite dysfunctional, which everyone can relate to (me particularly), but she manages to deal and cope with quite respectively. What really surprised me was that, instead of wrapping herself up in “Hollyweird,” as she calls it, Lola tried to shun her famous upbringing and stay as grounded as possible. She seemingly mocks most of Hollywood, which was refreshing for someone in her position to have that mentality.

I do have to admit the one thing that irked me was the name-dropping! Seriously, do these people get paid money for every time someone mentions their name? *cough*PerezHiltonMarcJacobsToomanytoname *cough*. Quick! Name an actor/actress/anyone famous within the last 5 years! I guarantee they are mentioned in this book. I feel like too much name-dropping can actually detract from the story. You become more focused on cameos rather than the story itself. Okay, rant over.

I think this was a fun, quick, easy to read book. The Hollywood obsessed or proclaimed fashionistas will love this book. I recommend it for a great beach or vacation read. I wouldn’t quite classify this book as chick-lit as the romance element in this story played second fiddle to the struggling fashion CEO storyline. However, there’s enough love in there for everyone to be happy. I’m very curious to see what these two ladies put out in the future.

PS: Ruthanna Khalighi Hopper is Dennis Hopper’s daughter. I wonder how much of her real-life ties into the story? Oh, the intrigue!

Also Reviewed By: – Single Minded Women - Simply Stacie

Alli has always been a lover of books. Her mom even has a photograph of her sleeping curled up in a book rack as a young child. From reading R.L. Stein’s Fear Street books as a young teen to reading just about anything and everything these days, her love for great stories has never ceased. She even thought to pursue her love of books with an English degree in college, but decided science was more of her forte. She currently resides in Georgia with her husband, her Boston Terrier (Maddie), and two fluffy cats (Chummy, Lulu) where she works as a research scientist. When her nose isn’t in a book, she enjoys anything outdoorsy and running races/ triathlons in her spare time.

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