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thebookdivareads's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
novelesque_life's review against another edition
2.0
2.5 STARS
"Get yourself ready for Mary Lisa Beverly - a soap-opera phenom who's just won her third Daytime Emmy for her role as Sunday Cavendish on Born to Be Wild. She's fun and lovable and has lots of crazy friends, most of whom hang out at her house in the Colony, the famous gated community in Malibu. Unfortunately, there is one bad thing to poleax her champagne life - someone is trying to kill her.
You'll meet Mary Lisa's family in Goddard Bay, Oregon. She's blessed with her father, cursed with her mother, and betwixt and between with her two nutzoid sisters.
And how about guys? There aren't any hotties in L.A. of interest to Mary Lisa, but in Goddard Bay - there are District Attorney John Goddard and Chief of Police Jack Wolf. And guess what? Even in the boondocks, bad stuff can happen.
Mary Lisa's best friends, Lou Lou Bollinger and Elizabeth Fargas, become embroiled in the baffling attempts on Mary Lisa's life in L.A., with unexpected results." (From Amazon)
After reading the summary I was expecting a fluffy romance mystery - like a made for tv movie - but it was just flat and unrealistic.
"Get yourself ready for Mary Lisa Beverly - a soap-opera phenom who's just won her third Daytime Emmy for her role as Sunday Cavendish on Born to Be Wild. She's fun and lovable and has lots of crazy friends, most of whom hang out at her house in the Colony, the famous gated community in Malibu. Unfortunately, there is one bad thing to poleax her champagne life - someone is trying to kill her.
You'll meet Mary Lisa's family in Goddard Bay, Oregon. She's blessed with her father, cursed with her mother, and betwixt and between with her two nutzoid sisters.
And how about guys? There aren't any hotties in L.A. of interest to Mary Lisa, but in Goddard Bay - there are District Attorney John Goddard and Chief of Police Jack Wolf. And guess what? Even in the boondocks, bad stuff can happen.
Mary Lisa's best friends, Lou Lou Bollinger and Elizabeth Fargas, become embroiled in the baffling attempts on Mary Lisa's life in L.A., with unexpected results." (From Amazon)
After reading the summary I was expecting a fluffy romance mystery - like a made for tv movie - but it was just flat and unrealistic.
javamamanc's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
stitchsds's review against another edition
2.0
Everyone recommends Catherine Coulter as a good writer so I'm hoping this was just an unlucky introduction to her writing. Born to be Wild was boring and I'm still not sure what the purpose of the murders back in her home town had to do with the story. There were too many unresolved issues within the story. I agree with one previous reviewer: I finished this story feeling very little interest in the main characters.
I hope the next Coulter novel I try is better, but I think it might be a little while before I give her another chance.
I hope the next Coulter novel I try is better, but I think it might be a little while before I give her another chance.
lazydream's review against another edition
3.0
I liked it.. it was fun and not a very typical lustful tale.. it was nice funny and cute
ssejig's review against another edition
3.0
Mary Lisa Beverly is a soap star who is in trouble. Someone is stalking her but she doesn't know who. She's also starting to fall in love with the police chief of her home town, a man who thinks she is just like his ex-wife.
Frothy fun. Light read that doesn't mean much.
Frothy fun. Light read that doesn't mean much.
luanne_oleas_author's review against another edition
5.0
When I picked up this book, I was looking for something akin to a beach read, and this filled the bill in spades. I've been reading a lot of intense books lately about death, metaphysics, and deep spirituality. I needed a change. Something light, quick-paced and not stressful. (COVID gives me enough of that already.)
I learned a lot about soap opera history while reading this book. It contains little tidbits in the story and historic quips at the beginning of some paragraphs. Sort of interesting that the shows were called soap operas because originally most of the sponsors were companies who made soap products.
The book was full of good-looking people, except the bad guys, of course. But there was the qualifying condition that it was set in Los Angeles in the entertainment industry. . . although the cops were cute too, so that sort of blows that theory. But I wanted something fun and this was definitely that.
The violence that drove the story was pretty much off screen which was fine with me. Actually, not a lot of the story was realistic. Instead, it was more of a soap opera, but that fit. Mary Lisa, the main character's pathetic relationship with her own family was almost as dysfunctional as her on screen persona's, the semi-wicked, love-to-hate, star of a soap opera, Sunday Cavendish.
I like a book that can laugh at itself. The romantic lead was Jack Wolf, chief of police in a small city. In the story, characters who worked in the daily soap opera industry teased him about his name, asking if he had made it up to sound like a cop.
If you want a romp that not too deep, this book is for you. I might check out more of Catherine Coulter when I need a light read again.
I learned a lot about soap opera history while reading this book. It contains little tidbits in the story and historic quips at the beginning of some paragraphs. Sort of interesting that the shows were called soap operas because originally most of the sponsors were companies who made soap products.
The book was full of good-looking people, except the bad guys, of course. But there was the qualifying condition that it was set in Los Angeles in the entertainment industry. . . although the cops were cute too, so that sort of blows that theory. But I wanted something fun and this was definitely that.
The violence that drove the story was pretty much off screen which was fine with me. Actually, not a lot of the story was realistic. Instead, it was more of a soap opera, but that fit. Mary Lisa, the main character's pathetic relationship with her own family was almost as dysfunctional as her on screen persona's, the semi-wicked, love-to-hate, star of a soap opera, Sunday Cavendish.
I like a book that can laugh at itself. The romantic lead was Jack Wolf, chief of police in a small city. In the story, characters who worked in the daily soap opera industry teased him about his name, asking if he had made it up to sound like a cop.
If you want a romp that not too deep, this book is for you. I might check out more of Catherine Coulter when I need a light read again.
mrisner's review against another edition
4.0
Sunday Cavendish is the woman everyone loves to hate. Independent, outspoken and brazenly sexy, she's clearly the star of the popular soap opera, Born To Be Wild, despite her character's machinations.
But Mary Lisa Beverly isn't Sunday - except in front of the cameras. So when a car practically runs her over in idyllic Malibu, she realizes she needs some time off to escape. Returning home to Oregon, quickly reminds her why she left three years ago. Her ex-fiancé and the sister she found in bed with him are now married, her mother barely tolerates her, and she can't remember the last time she had a date. Her father alone is her refuge, that is, until she meets someone off-limits.
When the attacks on her life continue after her return to LaLaLand, Mary Lisa turns to her friends and neighbors, her true family, for support. But she doesn't expect to turn to the last man she ever expected to show up on her doorstep. With the threat of danger lurking in every shadow, Mary Lisa must learn to trust her hometown adversary with her life and her heart.
But Mary Lisa Beverly isn't Sunday - except in front of the cameras. So when a car practically runs her over in idyllic Malibu, she realizes she needs some time off to escape. Returning home to Oregon, quickly reminds her why she left three years ago. Her ex-fiancé and the sister she found in bed with him are now married, her mother barely tolerates her, and she can't remember the last time she had a date. Her father alone is her refuge, that is, until she meets someone off-limits.
When the attacks on her life continue after her return to LaLaLand, Mary Lisa turns to her friends and neighbors, her true family, for support. But she doesn't expect to turn to the last man she ever expected to show up on her doorstep. With the threat of danger lurking in every shadow, Mary Lisa must learn to trust her hometown adversary with her life and her heart.
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