Book Review: "The Four Dorothys (Drama!, #1)"

With a title like The Four Dorothys, my initial assumption was the book was likely about drag queens. (No really...for those not in the know, Judy Garland is more or less the patron saint of the LGBT world. The rainbow flags are even a nod to her.) Well, this book isn't about that (although I wouldn't have been opposed if it were -- quick, somebody write one! ;)). No, this story is about an ill-fated high school production of The Wizard of Oz that was doomed from the moment it left the gates, and ended up in complete and total utter sabotage. Without giving too much away, this story quickly becomes that of a whodunnit? nature. It's well-done though, and I enjoyed every minute of it. I also give props to all the chapter titles being named after different Broadway shows. (I literally squealed when I saw one was named after The Boy From Oz.) Even if you're not a Broadway geek like me, you'll probably still enjoy it even if some of the more subtle references sail over your head; the story itself is still phenomental. Big 5 stars for this one!

Book Review: "Diva (The Flappers, #3)"

I know I should have read this series in sequence, but I just couldn't help myself -- I was so in love with the cover of this one that I read it first. ;) (I'm going to backtrack and read the other two though.) Anyhow, Diva, the third book in Jillian Larkin's The Flapper series, is a perfectly marvelous romance/drama/mystery about the 1920's, right in the height of the same era as The Great Gatsby. The author certainly did her homework in terms of fashion, slang, popular locations, you name it... I was absolutely thrilled to see this. The book is really about three miniature stories all in one book, all intertwined and running parallel to each other. Each chapter is labeled with which woman it involves, so once you realize that, the book is far easier to follow. I don't know how much I can truly say here about the plot without giving it all away, so I'm going to just leave that part a mystery for you to find out if you should choose to read it. ;) Anyway, I absolutely adored this book and I'm rating it 5 stars!

Book Review: "City Of Angels (The A-List: Hollywood Royalty #3)"

The final book of Zoey Dean's A-List series has now truly drawn to a close...and I must happily say that I was finally impressed with this off-shoot of the original series. If you've read my reviews of the other two books in this trilogy spin-off, you'll know that I felt the other two books left much to be desired and paled vastly in comparison with its mother series. This book, however, makes me a little sad to see it go so soon now. Why couldn't all three have been written as well as this one?? I'd be rooting and cheering for more if they'd all been like this! (I'm tempted to shoot the author an email, asking if there's any chance there might just be one more story left in her to round out these books...perhaps to tie up loose ends a little more, but I'm sure that it's just not in the cards.)

The characters that I'd more or less resented in the past two books, I finally came to love in this one. Especially when it came to the rockstar romance drama of Daisy and Ash, it truly made me yearn for more. In all honesty, I would be beyond thrilled if there were a series just for them out of all this, as I feel that in this book, they became my favorite characters. Maybe I'm a little bit biased, as I once lived a romance verrrrry similar to the one that was outlined here, but that's neither here nor there. Then there's the drama of Jake with Amelie and Jojo, which made me yearn with every ounce of my being to finally see Jake end up with Jojo and get their own happy ending story. Hell, I even wanted to see Myla and Danny hook back up, once and for all, but that wasn't to be, either. (Insert dramatic sigh here.) I just... I feel like I just now finally got into these books, and now it's all over. :( This really bums me out, because this story was written so well. Please, Zoey Dean, write one more for me?

A big 5 star rating to this one!

Book Review: "Secrets of My Hollywood Life"

Secrets of My Hollywood Life by Jen Calonita is the first book in a series by the same title, written for teens. The premise of this first book is essentially a spin on the classic starlet-leading-a-double-life plot. (Think Hannah Montana, without the redneck overtones.) Kaitlin Burke is the hot young star du jour, best known for playing one of the long-running starring roles on the soap opera Family Affair. Since she's been playing the role since she was a toddler, she's never known any semblance of normalcy in her life, ever. She's always craved it and been obsessed with how all the 'normal' kids live, even though most people would kill for the sort of opportunities she's had. Her family has never let her really take so much as a break the entire time she's been on the show, telling her that "vacations are for normal people" and not for stars who want to keep their name in the public conscious.

Naturally, she eventually hits the point of burn out and needs a break. But, where wuold she go? In her obsessive quest for normalcy, she develops a plan that, instead of working non-stop during the soap opera's hiatus, she'll go to school like a normal teenager instead. But how could she, America's #1 'It Girl', go to school without being mobbed and without being placed on a pedestal? Easy. Create another persona. One who's poor, British, can't afford nice clothes, and looks absolutely nothing like her, and adopt a false name and backstory.

All is not well with this plan though. Not only was she offered the audition of a lifetime by her favorite ever film producer/director almost the same day that she hatched this plan, but the media is taking notice of her absence on the typical Hollywood scene. Her co-star, who's always hated her and fought with her like cats and dogs, is planting nasty rumors about her left and right as well. And of course, there's the stress of maintaining the double life and making sure that they in no way whatsoever overlap, and that nobody finds out.

But as you can imagine....she eventually does get found out. And it's not pretty. But, the aftermath is completely unexpected and I didn't even see it coming. I'm very impressed!

Overall, I thought this was a really well-written book. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series! I'm rating this a 5 out of 5 stars. :)