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ssebens 's review for:
Stars Over Sunset Boulevard
by Susan Meissner
Stars Over Sunset Boulevard takes place from the perspective of two women who meet while in the secretarial pool at Selznick Studios, right before Gone With the Wind starts filming. Violet is the new secretary, come to LA from Alabama and trying to escape her past. Audrey has been in Hollywood for over a decade. She was discovered right before the end of silent movies, cast as a leading role, then watched as talking pictures destroyed her hopes of becoming a star. She is determined that she can still become a star, even though she is thirty now.
I really enjoyed this novel. I loved the details about Hollywood during the golden age of movies. The insider's look at the filming of Gone With the Wind was fascinating, I loved hearing about the trials of bringing that epic to the screen. Plus, Susan Meissner's characters rang true to me. While I didn't agree with some decisions they made (especially Violet), I was able to understand their motivations and sympathize with them. Audrey, particularly, was easy to love and I deeply wanted things to work out for her.
Violet on the other hand... Well, let me just say that I respect the author so much more for getting me to sympathize at all with Violet. And I really did sympathize with her, she was handed some bad cards. I think that was the thing that I liked most about this book. I don't mind disliking a character, but I hate when they make choices that just don't make sense. Every choice made by Violet, I could understand, even if I didn't like her for those choices.
I have to say, I was looking through historical fiction for 2016 and this was not one of the books I added to my list. I am so happy that I received an advance read copy from a Goodreads giveaway so that I gave this wonderful book a chance. I will definitely be looking up Susan Meissner's other books because I feel she has a true talent for making characters come to life.
I really enjoyed this novel. I loved the details about Hollywood during the golden age of movies. The insider's look at the filming of Gone With the Wind was fascinating, I loved hearing about the trials of bringing that epic to the screen. Plus, Susan Meissner's characters rang true to me. While I didn't agree with some decisions they made (especially Violet), I was able to understand their motivations and sympathize with them. Audrey, particularly, was easy to love and I deeply wanted things to work out for her.
Violet on the other hand... Well, let me just say that I respect the author so much more for getting me to sympathize at all with Violet. And I really did sympathize with her, she was handed some bad cards. I think that was the thing that I liked most about this book. I don't mind disliking a character, but I hate when they make choices that just don't make sense. Every choice made by Violet, I could understand, even if I didn't like her for those choices.
I have to say, I was looking through historical fiction for 2016 and this was not one of the books I added to my list. I am so happy that I received an advance read copy from a Goodreads giveaway so that I gave this wonderful book a chance. I will definitely be looking up Susan Meissner's other books because I feel she has a true talent for making characters come to life.