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A review by paperbacksandsketchbooks
The Starlets by Lee Kelly, Jennifer Marie Thorne
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Thank you Bibliolifestyle and Harper Collins for the gifted review copy!
This was the most ridiculous, unserious historical fiction book I have ever read. There were a million things happening, and everything kept becoming more insane. The whole book gave me whiplash, dragging me around in so many different directions, and for what reason?!
This review will be full of spoilers here on out, so if you want the ridiculous play by play, keep reading. If not, you can read this book for yourself.
Let me break it down for you: it's 1958 and Vivienne Rhodes is heading to an island to film a movie. She gets there, realizes her archnemesis Lottie Lawrence is also in the film - and in Vivienne's promised role! 😱 < This is all fine and dandy. I'm vibing with the old Hollywood drama and movie sets. I don't expect this book to go in the direction it did based on the first few chapters.
Lottie discovers a dead body in a mysterious hangar holding props for the film. Yes, a dead body. On a film set. While this is happening, Vivienne is on the movie studio president's yacht. The yacht ends up getting hijacked?? And Vivienne has to swim to safety so she doesn't get shot. And behold! Lottie to the rescue on a stolen boat. < There is much more context here but this gives the jist of it.
Together, Vivienne and Lottie begin a journey to Monaco to have the one and only Grace Kelly save them and get them to Paris to alert Interpol of some illegal doings on the film set. < This does not actually happen and Lottie and Vivienne end up on this wild journey involving a wine truck and the Alps and posing as extras on a Rome film set... it's crazy, yall. And all this time Vivienne is carrying some very important film roll in her bra that can implicate whoever was doing illegal things on the film set.
Eventually, Lottie and Vivienne end up back on the island they're filming the movie on and are being blackmailed by the studio president to keep their mouths shut about his illegal drug dealings. < Not surprised in the least that the illegal activities are drugs, and he is hiding them in movie props to bring back to the US. But he will expose everyone's biggest secrets if they spill anything about what he's doing.
Lottie and Vivienne do not keep their mouths shut and tell all their costars about the drug dealings and their big adventure to try and get a film role to Interpol. There was a snake in this group who told the studio president and he almost blows everybody up at 3am with a giant Trojan horse full of dynamite. < I am not joking.
In the end, the Navy rescues everyone and Vivienne throws the studio president off a cliff and all is well.
This was the most ridiculous, unserious historical fiction book I have ever read. There were a million things happening, and everything kept becoming more insane. The whole book gave me whiplash, dragging me around in so many different directions, and for what reason?!
This review will be full of spoilers here on out, so if you want the ridiculous play by play, keep reading. If not, you can read this book for yourself.
Let me break it down for you: it's 1958 and Vivienne Rhodes is heading to an island to film a movie. She gets there, realizes her archnemesis Lottie Lawrence is also in the film - and in Vivienne's promised role! 😱 < This is all fine and dandy. I'm vibing with the old Hollywood drama and movie sets. I don't expect this book to go in the direction it did based on the first few chapters.
Lottie discovers a dead body in a mysterious hangar holding props for the film. Yes, a dead body. On a film set. While this is happening, Vivienne is on the movie studio president's yacht. The yacht ends up getting hijacked?? And Vivienne has to swim to safety so she doesn't get shot. And behold! Lottie to the rescue on a stolen boat. < There is much more context here but this gives the jist of it.
Together, Vivienne and Lottie begin a journey to Monaco to have the one and only Grace Kelly save them and get them to Paris to alert Interpol of some illegal doings on the film set. < This does not actually happen and Lottie and Vivienne end up on this wild journey involving a wine truck and the Alps and posing as extras on a Rome film set... it's crazy, yall. And all this time Vivienne is carrying some very important film roll in her bra that can implicate whoever was doing illegal things on the film set.
Eventually, Lottie and Vivienne end up back on the island they're filming the movie on and are being blackmailed by the studio president to keep their mouths shut about his illegal drug dealings. < Not surprised in the least that the illegal activities are drugs, and he is hiding them in movie props to bring back to the US. But he will expose everyone's biggest secrets if they spill anything about what he's doing.
Lottie and Vivienne do not keep their mouths shut and tell all their costars about the drug dealings and their big adventure to try and get a film role to Interpol. There was a snake in this group who told the studio president and he almost blows everybody up at 3am with a giant Trojan horse full of dynamite. < I am not joking.
In the end, the Navy rescues everyone and Vivienne throws the studio president off a cliff and all is well.