Review: Priceless

Twenty-two year old Charlotte Williams seems to have it all: she’s a tall, gorgeous blonde, has a rich father who dotes on her and a huge Park Avenue penthouse where she has just returned to after studying in Paris for a year.

After an exciting first night back in town, Charlotte’s world crashes down around her quickly. Her father Jacob is arrested on charges of fraud, and suddenly everyone is out for her blood. The tabloids trash her and she has enemies threatening her security. Her personal bank accounts have been frozen, and Charlotte feels she has no choice but to leave town.

Charlotte heads down to New Orleans to stay with her beloved former nanny Millie and finds a job in a local restaurant. In no time at all she has a new best friend Kat, who introduces her to the New Orleans nightlife and vintage fashion. Soon Charlotte is scoring singing gigs and becoming known for her smoky, sexy voice. She even reconnects with an old friend Jackson, who is looking like he might become more than a friend.

However, there are still problems… for one thing, Charlotte is being stalked by someone who wants to make her pay for her father’s crimes.

I enjoyed Nicole Richie’s Priceless quite a bit – especially in the beginning & middle of the novel. The pace was breathless and there was plenty of suspense. Charlotte was an interesting character for the most part although a little one-dimensional. The story line flowed rather well except in the last several chapters, where it almost seemed to be rushed to the final conclusion.

Overall? I’d recommend this to anyone who liked her first book The Truth About Diamonds.

reviewed by Rian Montgomery

Review: L.A. Candy

I won’t lie – I watch The Hills religiously every week when it’s on and I’m a fan of Lauren Conrad’s. So of course I was going to buy a copy of her first book L.A. Candy, which happened to be a teen chick lit novel.

Set in the glamourous LA/Hollywood area, L.A. Candy was a fast and fun read about two girls who have just moved to LA together: Jane Roberts, who has just started an internship for celebrity event planner Fiona Chen, and Scarlett, an intelligent and outgoing beauty who is attending USC.

The girls are overwhelmed and enthralled with the glitz and glamour of Hollywood life. One night at a club, a producer approaches them about starting their own reality series, a “reality version of Sex and the City”. After some hesitation, Jane and Scarlett agree… and their lives are never the same again. They join two other girls for the show: Madison, a spoiled, rich heiress, and Gaby, a loveable airhead. It doesn’t take long for the show to become a hit and for the girls to become celebrities. (more…)

Review: Kissing In Technicolor

Charlie Frost is 27, about to graduate from film school, and is trying to make a name for herself in the film industry. Making ends barely meet as a Yoga instructor, and having her latest screenplay rejected, she has no idea her life is about to change. On the advice of one her professors at school, she begins to revise one of her earlier plays in hopes it will be made into a movie. At the same time, she meets a handsome soap star, Hank, who is definitely interested in her.

When she receives the great news that she will be able to direct the play, Charlie is thrilled. Hank manages to convince her to give him the lead part, but she isn’t too sure of her decision. When problems break out during the rehearsals and taping, she realizes it may not have been the best idea… (more…)

Review: White Bikini Panties

White Bikini Panties by Kelly James-Enger had the ingredients of a good chick lit read: a likeable and less-than-perfect heroine with an adorable, smart and sweet boyfriend who she had just found cheating on her; a semi-good job with the requisite catty coworker and gay friend. It’s the classic, original chick lit forumla, but does it work every time? Thankfully it did this time.

Trina is 28 years old and just living. When she finds her sweet, computer-obsessed boyfriend is found in his living room making out with another girl, she figures it’s time to move on. Trina is understandably disappointed, but decides it is time to move on. So she does. First there is the irresistable Javier, who only seems to call her once in a blue moon. Then there is Pete, the “guy’s guy” who seems to be pretty interesting after all, despite his initial impression; At the same time her job is going through a “reorganization” which could either land her a promotion or the ax. When she discovers a very unpleasant ailment that one of her boyfriends apparently gave her, she has to find out who is responsible. (more…)

Review: Reinventing Mona

Ever get tired of your mundane life and set out to reinvent yourself and go for what you want, no holds barred? If so, you are in good company – we all have at some point. This is also the scenario that Mona, the main character in this novel, is in.

When her company offers some of their employees early retirement (as a way to cut back on layoffs), Mona jumps at the chance. She takes the modest package and decides to spend her free time making over herself and getting the man of her dreams (a tax accountant named Adam). She hasn’t seen or spoken to him in some time, and he barely (if at all) knows she exists, but why should that stop her? Her recently deceased grandmother (with whom Mona grew up with, since the rest of her family perished in a terrible accident in Montana when she was a young girl) had always said he would make the perfect man to marry. (more…)

Review: Whose Wedding Is It Anyway?

Eloise is about to find out if there is such thing as a free wedding.

It all starts when Eloise is offered a free wedding from the magazine she works for. In exchange, she will have to keep a diary detailing her every move – from picking wedding cake, to deciding on a florist, to choosing a gown. Sounds amazing, right? It is at first, but things go downhill fast. First off, Eloise’s boss Astrid, who is calling all the shots, insists that she have her family at the photo shoot. The problem with that is Eloise’s mother passed away years ago, and her father has always been MIA. (He took off when she was a kid.) She also hadn’t spoken to her brother in some time. If that isn’t bad enough, Astrid is forcing Eloise to be the “modern bride”, which among other things means a canary yellow feathered wedding dress. (Yeah, you read that right.) To top everything off, Eloise is suddenly feeling as though she might be making a mistake marrying Noah. (more…)

Review: The Go-To Girl

Louise Bagshawe has created a novel filled with vibrant characters and a suspenseful romantic plot, which I might add kept me reading far into the night.

Now, if you think YOU have a pathetic life, try out Anna’s, our main heroine: She is a self-admitted “ugly” girl, has an underpaid (albeit interesting, at times) job of reading slush movie scripts, complete with a horrible boss and a lazy, catty coworker who just got promoted over her. Anna also lives with two beautiful models (one of which is very stuck up) and who have no qualms in assuring Anna of how ugly she is. If all of that isn’t bad enough, she has just been dumped by her boyfriend Brian, who had suffered from halitosis and questionable body odor. The cherry on the pie is Anna’s personality. She is horribly acquiescent – to the point of being a complete pushover. (more…)

Review: Summer In The City

Do opposites really attract? I definitely think so – as long as people are willing to work on their relationship. Robyn Sisman, author of Summer in the City seems to think so too.

Meet Lloyd and Suze. They are total opposites – Lloyd lives in NYC, is responsible, straight and has a devoted girlfriend named Betsy. Suze on the other hand lives in London, is unpredictable, scattered, and single. The two of them work for the same company but in different countries. When the company asks them to switch places for the summer, they both agree. Lloyd, accompanied by his perfect girlfriend Betsy move into Suze’s untidy flat in London, while Suze happily moves into their pristine apartment in NYC. (more…)

Review: Hot Tamara

Meet Tamara Contreras. She is 26 and still living at home, but desperate to break out on her own. Especially after her boyfriend Ruben proposes at a family wedding, and Tamara turns him down in front of everyone. Now her mother is angry with her, and her family thinks something is wrong with her.

With her mother getting more and more controlling, Tamara decides to put her dreams to break free into reality. She gets a part-time job at a gallery in Los Angeles and a tiny apartment. Much to her mother’s strong protest and threats that she will no longer speak to her, Tamara moves out. And that’s not all – there is the handsome Will, with whom she went to kindergarten, and have always been attracted to. Now that she is on her own and forced to be in contact with him (because of her job), their mutual attraction begins burning out of control. (more…)

Next Page »