December 15, 2013
In this scintillating sequel to Starstruck (2013), the stakes are higher, the fights are cattier, and the drama soars sky-high. Margo Sterling, nee Margaret Frobisher, a former Pasadena society girl, seems to now have it all: good looks, a promising acting career and the handsome Dane Forrest on her arm. When her studio orchestrates impending nuptials between them, Margo must decide if she will concede to an illusory life or have a real one. As her star falters, Dane's rises. Meanwhile, tired of her controlling mother, Gabby Preston wants to shed her persona as the sweet-faced child star with sausage curls. Fueled by this determination and a dangerous regimen of pills and alcohol, she takes up with bad-boy musician Eddie Sharp. And in yet another plot thread, leaving her life at the brothel behind, Amanda Farraday is determined to make it in Hollywood. However, when her studio contract is terminated and her beau, Harry Gordon, leaves her after discovering her previous line of work, she makes a rash decision that sets off a chain of events that affects all three girls. Their interwoven narratives of Hollywood in the 1930s have more twists and turns than Mulholland Drive. Secrets abound, and enough is held back to ensure that the next volume will have plenty left to reveal. This sizzling sequel definitely delivers the goods: think Valley of the Dolls meets Gossip Girl. (Historical fiction. 14 & up)
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July 1, 2014
Actresses Margo, Gabby, and Amanda return for another soap about making it big--and staying big--in late-1930s Tinseltown. Much of the focus is on each girl's heartache at the hands of the domineering men in their lives, both lovers and movie-studio bigwigs. This sequel to Starstruck is rife with far-fetched coincidences and melodrama, but it's all deliciously entertaining.
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