The Kari AnnAlysis

Posts Tagged ‘the starlet’

Books Read:
Running Dark
Missing Mabel
Manifest
Finger Lickin’ 15
No One Lives Twice
Firefly Lane
The Starlet
Scandal
Always the Baker Never the Bride
To read the reviews on these books, click here.

Pages Read: 2789

Bookmarks Given:
1 bookmark: 0
2 bookmarks: 1
3 bookmarks: 3
4 bookmarks: 2
5 bookmarks: 3

Favorite Book:
There were a few books that I really liked this month, but I would have to say my favorite was Firefly Lane. I could not get enough of it and although it was 400+ pages, I was through it in no time. It’s a fantastic read and I keep recommending it to all of my co-workers.

Least Favorite Book:
I never thought I would say that a Private book would be my least favorite in a month, but Scandal was it. The other books were just so intense, this one didn’t do it for me. I thought it was a little boring, but am looking forward to the next one, as the ending left us with a major cliffhanger.

I did stop reading Match Made on Madison this month. I didn’t really give it a lot of time. I got some other books that I had been waiting on and since I just started, I just as easily stopped. I will get back to it at some point.

Goals for September:
I am really excited for the month of September. For one, it’s my birthday month! Woo! And this year, I am getting a Nook! Woo Again! So, I will probably put some books that are on my TBR shelf aside (obviously they already are) and check out some freebies and NetGalley’s on the Nook.

I have another goal with NetGalley. I want to get better at getting the books read and reviews ready before the books come out. This past month, I wasn’t able to do that. It’s September 1 already and I have three that came out today that I haven’t even started.

I am pretty much caught up with the series I am reading, but this month, I am looking forward to finishing The Hunger Games and the rest of the books in this series that are staring at me from my bookshelf.

And finally, I hope to make some more progress on my writing WIP. I have gone back through and made some additions and changes to the first 50 some pages. I have added some twists and turns that I really like and am still really excited about it. This month, I have a shift change on Friday’s and will be getting off at 12:30 all months on those days. I plan to spend those Friday afternoons, as fall nears, writing on the porch.

Juliette is on a much  needed vacation after her ex-husband was murdered and her most recent fling was with a movie star, secretly battling cancer  in the hotel where she worked. But her vacation is cut short when one of Hollywood’s biggest starlets takes a plunge in a fountain. Juliette, who has dealt with Mercy a number of times in the states, takes the drug filled star to the amazing property that she and her cousin share, complete with villas and a mini castle.

Juliette thinks she’ll let the star sleep it off and they’ll be done. Little does she realize that Mercy’s fling was just found dead and Mercy believes it is murder. Getting Mercy off the fountain was probably one of the most drama inducing decisions Juliette will ever make. This decision will put her on set of a movie, in the middle of a huge drug investigation, in the face of another possible murder and deciding between the arms of the hot-to-trot cancer fighting actor and her boss.

Upfront, I am going to say the books that The Starlet most reminded me of are the books written by Chuck Palahniuk. There are some of his I love, others I hate, but they are all so crazy. The Starlet follows in those footsteps. There is another crazy twist, murder, sex story around the corner and to me, it was definitely not what I expected. For that fact, I give props to Mary McNamara. I often read books and wonder “how did someone ever think of this?”. This is one of those cases.

Underneath all of the drama and drugs and death, this book does tell a good story of a woman who has been fighting getting over the death of her parents for over a decade. Juliette will not talk about the death with anyone, including her cousin, who also lost his parents during the tragic train accident. It’s a story of growth and recognition, with a little crazy mixed in.

I couldn’t help but fall in love with the characters in this book. Mercy, through all of her drug problems and show-stopping antics, is just a teenager, doing the one thing she is good at. Juliette may be hard-headed, but she has a huge heart. This has gotten her in trouble, with her cheating ex, but she means well and all she wants is to help this troubled, young star. Gabe may have a rocky past that was riddled with cocaine, but now he is extremely level-headed and straight forward. And finally, oh my Devlin. Dev is Juliette’s boss and I absolutely love him. He always has the answers, even a sea away and is there in a second when he believes his girl, Juliette, is in trouble.

While reading this book, I wasn’t in love with it. I felt that it was slow at times and although there was a lot of drama, it didn’t really pull me in and keep me there. Looking back though, I don’t hate it. I give The Starlet 3 bookmarks. It was just Meh for me.

ISBN: 9781439149843
Published: June 20, 2010
Buy from Amazon
Kari got this book from Crazy Book Tours

Happy Teaser Tuesday friends and foes! In the world of booky blogs, today is a HUGE day because it’s the release of Mockingjay. I, however, haven’t started on this series. I ordered them all in hardback, the first two won’t be here until Friday, Mockingjay, still no date yet! Bah. Anywho, back to what I’m reading as we speak, The Starlet by Mary McNamara.

I am going to warn you that I am going to use a curse word in this tease, but it’s my favorite quote of the book, so close the eyes of your kids.

Pg21: “Jesus Christ,” Gabriel said, looking for a moment as if he would drop her where he stood. “What is Mercy fucking Talbot doing in your car? And why did you bring her here? God almighty, Jules, you were only gone for five hours! Where did you find her?”

Although I am over halfway through this book, I’m still not sure how I feel about it. It’s got death and drugs and superstars, but it’s just Mehh so far.