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Mary McNamara

Auteur de Oscar Season

3 oeuvres 78 utilisateurs 5 critiques

Œuvres de Mary McNamara

Oscar Season (2008) 56 exemplaires
The Starlet: A Novel (2010) 21 exemplaires

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Critiques

This is a perfect vacation read. I just spent an afternoon enjoying it.The Starlet works because of the story-- not the plot, not the characters, not the writing (although all of those things contribute to the success of the book) but how they come together to tell a story.None of the characters are completely lovable, although Juliette and her cousin Gabriel are mostly easy to sympathize with. The fun is in deciding which of the other characters to love, to hate, to pity, and to see how many of those you can do simultaneously. This book manages to be entertaining while simultaneously not trivializing the impact that drugs can have on a person's life. I think this works because the writing was so good. The serious side of this book comes from the dealing with drugs mentioned above. Mercy (the Starlet) is out of control in her use of them, Juliette and Gabriel have managed to get past that in their own lives. Various other characters use and abuse drugs as well.The lighthearted side comes from the craziness of life on a movie set, particularly when the movie is behind schedule and being rewritten scene by scene. The characters range from slightly larger than life to completely over the top, which suits the Hollywood scene very well.Each moment in the book was vivid and portrayed what was needed for the scene to work. I loved the descriptions of the Italian countryside, and I usually don't stop to notice that sort or thing-- maybe it was the cinematic theme, but this book was much more visual than average for me.All in all, a great vacation read.… (plus d'informations)
 
Signalé
ImBookingIt | 1 autre critique | Jun 6, 2011 |
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.
… (plus d'informations)
 
Signalé
kariannalysis | 1 autre critique | Aug 25, 2010 |
Like "Based on Availability" this book focused on a manager in a fancy hotel, and I started out loving it. What I always call "evil Hollywood" truly is evil as bodies pile up just before the Oscars. Juliette deals with diva demands, a star's secret medical treatment in the penthouse, and romance while ducking danger and trying to solve the murders. Maybe I was missing something, but the eventual answer didn't quite make sense and I didn't feel like rereading to figure it out.
 
Signalé
ennie | 2 autres critiques | Jun 12, 2010 |
It's never a good sign when you find yourself half-way through a several-hundred page book and still not caring how it ends. Abandoned.
½
 
Signalé
nglofile_reads_2008 | 2 autres critiques | Apr 25, 2008 |

Statistiques

Œuvres
3
Membres
78
Popularité
#229,022
Évaluation
2.9
Critiques
5
ISBN
9

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