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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
while this was an interesting exploration of the struggles of being a poc actress in the media landscape, i felt this book fell flat for me for a number of reasons. there were so many characters that i did not care about and win herself was very frustrating to me. while i understand to some degree why she behaved the way she did, it wasn’t until the epilogue that her character really developed. i thought the epilogue was well-done and rounded out the novel’s message, but the plot and pacing was questionable and i found myself bored and racing through a lot of the writing.
emotional
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
TJR was right this is truly the summer read to keep you captivated, what a delightful treat of a page turner! I loved how diversed it was, the messaging, how each character felt relatable, how real the dialogues and fights were... Really lovely. Not a fan of the abrupt start and end of this story or the back and forth motion between snipets of their relationship but that didn't stop me from really enjoying this book.
Completely fantastic, fun book! Probably the most well-written and interesting book I've read in awhile. I felt transported, and all the characters were incredibly layered. Absolutely recommend!
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This felt like a chore to read. The writing was choppy, and the back and forth in time pieces felt disjointed and forced. I was into their current timeline but it had gone nowhere in the time I’d been reading bc of all the unnecessary flip flopping back to pieces of the past.
PR relationship turns real as emotionally stunted character come face to face with their own shortcomings.
4/5
4/5
If you’re looking for a bit of escapism, this could be the book for you. It’s a bright and sassy novel about celebrity and social networking and it will certainly transport you from your day-to-day life, that is, unless you happen to be a rich and famous film star, or one of those slebs who’s just famous for being rich and famous.
You’ll have fun trying to work out who Win Whitman Tagore and Leo Milanowski are based on. I was certainly reminded of a few celebrity stories.
Win is a young British Asian film star who has to deal with the casual racism and prejudice that comes her way on a daily basis from people in the film industry in which she works. Her mum is being treated for cancer, her father died before she became famous, and she relies on her assistant and her publicist for support, as well as her best friend Shift, who’s a musician who’s written a top 40 hit.
Leo is a rich and famous young man who has a vast trust fund to fall back on, and who is basically looking for an easy path through life. He gets drawn into a pretend relationship with Win which is purely for the benefit of the media, so that Win can maintain a screen presence that will make people want to see her films and make her studios rich.
So, Win and Leo embark on a seven year long carefully choreographed “relationship” that will keep everyone wanting to see her in films. And it works. She’s nominated for an Oscar.
I suppose you might have guessed that surely the twist will be that one of the two falls genuinely in love with the other. It doesn’t happen the way you expect. Win and Leo spend a lot of time fighting and hating each other. If you want to know if they finally get together, you’ll have to read the book!
There’s a lot of name dropping in here of sites like TMZ, Buzzfeed, the Daily Mail, and so on. It’s right up to date with contemporary references, so it feels very modern and spicy. There are some sex scenes.
There are also some literary references including Jane Austen, Infinite Jest and Middlemarch.
The racism strand of the story is what I found most engaging. Win’s struggles to be seen as an actor who can be successful as well as British Asian feels very accurate, and very timely. I found it so frustrating that Win had to put up with seemingly innocent remarks - for example the use of the adjective “exotic” to describe her. She doesn’t tell Leo about this, because she’s trying to find her own way through, and in spite of the fact she is a bit spoilt and selfish, she’s also a strong character who I wanted to succeed. Leo’s character felt less rounded to me, but I liked the characters of his mums, and of Win’s mum too. They felt real.
So, all in all, this struck me as a great read for when you’ve had a busy day and you want to escape to the bright lights of Saint Tropez and Hollywood.
This was a fun escapist read. Would have enjoyed more character development. Highly recommend listening on audio, idk if I would have enjoyed reading the physical version of this book.