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: The Year Of Living Famously

Ever wonder what it would be like to be married to a famous movie star? Do you think you’d be able to handle the constant attention, media circus and fame that comes along with it? No matter what your answers to those questions are, you will enjoy Laura Caldwell’s November 2004 RDI novel The Year of Living Famously. In this novel she explores the ups and downs of having a famous husband.

Kyra Felis, a native New Yorker, is a semi-famous clothing designer in her own right when she meets Declan McKenna, a handsome Irish actor who has just completed a major movie that is yet to be released. The attraction is immediate and mutual, although Declan is supposedly seeing a famous movie star, Laura Stapleton, at the time. However, the two of them soon find themselves sending flirtatious emails back and forth, culminating in a face to face meeting, and eventually, Kyra moving to Venice, CA to be with him. (more…)

Review: The Next Big Thing

If you enjoy books that feature bigger than average women, you will absolutely adore this book. Even if you tend to steer clear of such books, you will still love this novel. The main heroine isn’t annoying, cliche or whiny – she is strong, sarcastic and will grow on you throughout the book.

Meet Kat Larson – she is overweight, slugging away in a PR company, and has a British internet boyfriend. Unfortunately he thinks she is a size four because she doctored the picture she sent him in Photoshop. Sound familiar? She isn’t exactly unhappy, but she knows she needs to improve her life in a big way. When her British boyfriend begins making noises like he wants to meet, she knows something has to be done. (more…)

Review: Mim Warner’s Lost Her Cool

Expecting a light and glamorous read, I was surprised to discover that this book was actually pretty deep – if you can overcome the froth in the first part of the book.

Meet Meghan Resnick. Things are going OK for her – she is a “coolhunter” at Pravda, (a trend forecasting company), and has recently broken up with her last boyfriend Ian because he based a character in his novel (quite unflatteringly) on her. But lately her job seems to lack the excitement it once did for her. For one thing, Mim Warner, her boss and co-owner of the company, has lately been extremely careless. Her latest trend forecasts, which are outrageous and unlike her, have lost business for the company. As a matter of fact, she has horrified her fellow staff and colleagues enough for them to decide on a strategy to silence her for a while – until she “gets better”. After all, none of them will have jobs if they lose any more accounts! (more…)

Review: Wolves In Chic Clothing

There’s nothing like a good book with spoiled, rich characters who have it all and like to flaunt it. We first saw this type of book in “Bergdorf Blondes” (which was a better book than this). With Wolves in Chic Clothing by Carrie Karasyov and Jill Kargman, it’s a jewelry heiress named Lell Pelham of Pelham Jewelers who decides to take the hip, beautiful but offbeat Julia under her wings.

It begins innocently enough. First Julia gets to deliver Lell’s engagement ring to her, then Lell decides to promote Julia to be her assistant in a new department of the store. Soon Julia is thrust into parties, makeovers, and society events. Lell’s rich and mostly stuck-up friends, who are not without problems of their own, also take Julia under her wing, but not without some cattiness. But when Lell’s husband and Julia realize they are extremely attracted to each other, things begin spinning out of control. What will happen if Lell catches them? (more…)

Review: Everyone Worth Knowing

Everyone Worth Knowing
by Lauren Weisberger
Hardcover
2005
4/5 Stars

It’s no secret that I love Glamour chick lit and Single City Girl lit, so when a book comes along that falls into both categories, I am usually quick to snatch it up. Everyone Worth Knowing by Lauren Weisberger is such a book.

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Review: True Hollywood Lies

True Hollywood Lies
by Josie Brown
Avon Trade
Published September 2005
4/5 Stars

If anyone has ever had a bad few days, it’s Hannah Fairchild, main character of True Hollywood Lies. Not only has her famous movie-star father kicked the bucket and left his trust fund to his latest conniving wife, but her boyfriend has dumped her for another woman. Hannah’s only option at this point is to take a job as a personal assistant to Louis Trollope, who also happens to be one of the most eligible and sought-after actors.

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Review: My 15 Minutes

My 15 Minutes
by Sarah Faith Alterman
Published September 2005
3/5 stars

A lot of glamour lit type of books lately have been about the main character getting famous in some way. My 15 Minutes by Sara Faith Alterman is no exception.

Meet Julie Jorlamo. She is single and lives and works as a waitress in Los Angeles. Her life could be summed up as “generally normal” until she discovers quite by accident that Chad Downing, famous actor, lives in her building. But why would anyone famous live in her somewhat run-down building? She has little time to find out before accidentally getting caught up in his life. (more…)

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