Title: The Starlets
Author: Lee Kelly & Jennifer Thorne
Narrated by: Gail Shalan
Publisher: Harper
Muse
Length:
Approximately 9 hours and 17 minutes
Source: Review Copy from Harper Muse & NetGalley. Thank you!
Do you have a favorite epic movie from the golden age of Hollywood? Gone with the Wind is my favorite epic classic movie.
In the summer of 1958, Vivienne Rhodes, has traveled to the Italian island of Tavalli, to star in the new epic movie, A Thousand Ships, about Helen of Troy and the Trojan War. She is surprised to discover that she will not be the star, but her nemesis, Lottie Lawrence will be the star. Lottie “stole” Vivienne’s fiancé and Vivienne is still reeling from the heartbreak. Vivienne and Lottie inadvertently discover a murder on the island and are soon on the run. Will they be able to find help and solve this mystery?
My thoughts on
this novel:
· I read about half of this on audiobook and half in the physical book. I enjoyed both media formats and read this book quickly. The narrator was engaging.
· The storyline moved very quickly and kept me on my toes. I really wanted to know what was going to happen.
· I loved all the nods to real Hollywood movies and stars from that time period. I love classic movies and old Hollywood.
· I enjoyed how the two women were enemies, but were able to put aside their differences, get to know each other, and work towards a common goal. They became friends by the end. I loved how their relationship developed.
· The characters were great. I loved Vivienne and Lottie, but the other characters on the set were fun and interesting as well. The villains were very dastardly.
· I liked the adventure too as the two women fled through Europe. There is a scene involving Ben Hur and a race car that I will never forget.
· There were great moments of humor in the book as well.
Overall, The Starlets
by Lee Kelly & Jennifer Thorne was a fast-paced historical fiction novel
set in the golden age of Hollywood with unforgettable characters. I loved it and highly recommend it!
One perfect island. Two rivals. A star-studded cast. But underneath the glitter, disaster is brewing.
Summer, 1958. Vivienne Rhodes thinks she’s finally landed her break playing Helen of Troy in Apex Pictures’ big-budget epic, A Thousand Ships, an anticipated blockbuster meant to resurrect the failing studio. Naturally, she’s devastated when she arrives on the remote Italian island of Tavalli and finds herself cast as the secondary character, Cassandra—while her nemesis, the fiancé-stealing Lottie Lawrence, America’s supposed “sweetheart,” is playing the lead role instead.
The tension on set, though, turns deadly when the ladies discover that members of the crew are using the production as a front for something decidedly illegal—and that they are willing to kill to keep their dealings under wraps. When the two women find themselves on the run and holding key evidence, Vivienne and Lottie frantically agree to work together to deliver the proof to Interpol, hoping to protect both their lives and their careers.
Staying one step ahead of corrupt cops and looming mobsters, the archrivals flee across the seas. Their journey leads them into Monaco’s casinos, Grace Kelly’s palace, on a road trip through the Alps—even onto another film set, before a final showdown back on Tavalli, where the lives of the entire cast and crew hang in the balance. Vivienne and Lottie finally have the chance to be real heroines—to save the day, the film, maybe even each other—but only if they can first figure out how to share the spotlight.
“A spry and suspenseful crime novel set just after Hollywood’s golden age”— Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“A sheer delight! This fast-paced caper is fresh, fun, and exactly the escape readers need right now.” — Marie Bostwick, New York Times bestselling author of Esme Cahill Fails Spectacularly
AUTHOR BIOS
Jennifer Thorne is an American author of books for adults and young readers who writes from a nineteenth-century Cotswold cottage in the medieval market town of Minchinhampton alongside her husband, two sons, and various other animals.
Born in a small town in Tennessee, Jenn grew up bouncing between her parents’ homes in various other states and countries, with books as her constant companions, before returning to New York as a teen to study drama at NYU. Though acting had been her lifelong dream, she found that she was more fulfilled by writing performance vehicles for her friends than acting in them herself. After a move to Los Angeles, she detoured into writing and never looked back. Connect with her online at jenniferthorne.com.
Lee Kelly is the author of City of Savages, a Publishers Weekly "Best of Spring 2015" pick and a VOYA Magazine "Perfect Ten" selection; A Criminal Magic, which was optioned and developed for a television series by Warner Bros.; The Antiquity Affair, co-written with Jennifer Thorne; and With Regrets.
Her short fiction and essays have appeared in Gingerbread House, Orca, and Tor.com, among other publications, and she holds her MFA degree from the Vermont College of Fine Arts. An entertainment lawyer by trade, Lee has practiced law in Los Angeles and New York. She currently lives with her husband and two children in New Jersey, where you'll find them engaged in one adventure or another. Connect with her online at leekellyauthor.com.
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