Heartbeat (#3) by Belinda Williams

11 Jun 2019 Leave a comment

by Amy in 3 Stars, Australian Women Writers, Hollywood Hearts, Romance Tags: , , , , , ,

Published: 4th December 2017Goodreads badge
Publisher: BWrite
Pages: 335
Format: ebook
Genre: Romance
★   ★   ★ – 3 Stars

GOOD GIRLS DON’T KISS AND TELL. UNLESS THEY’RE CAUGHT IN THE ACT…

Twenty-one-year-old Chloe Kemp knows it’s not easy growing up in the celebrity spotlight. Unlike other child actors, Chloe’s determined to hold onto her squeaky clean reputation. So far that’s been easy because she really is as sweet and innocent as the media portrays. 

Until a video of her in bed with the lead singer of a famous rock band is released online. Only nothing happened. Not that anyone will believe her…

Nor will anyone believe she was in bed with the wrong rock star. Chloe’s fallen for drummer, Gabriel da Silva, and she’s heartbroken she’s ruined her chances with him. Or is it possible he’s fallen for Chloe’s sweetness?

When Chloe is sent incriminating images, it becomes apparent someone is following her with the intention of ruining her reputation as well as any relationship with Gabe. If Chloe wants her career to survive, and a shot with Gabe, is it time she grows up and trusts her heart?

Note: I was provided with a copy of this book by the author for review via NetGalley

One of my favourite things about William’s series is how she connects her characters and books together. The character we have gotten to know and love in one book are revisited with new perspectives and insights. This is the third book in the Hollywood Hearts series and we get to see Chloe’s point of view. Chloe’s life is one I think is interesting because of her upbringing and Williams has chosen an interesting approach.

Chloe’s character hasn’t changed too much between the books, only now do we see it in more detail. Her youth in comparison to the other women is highlighted a few times in the past and this is evident in her depiction, not to mention her sheltered life certainly comes across in the things she does and says. Instead of having the completely media savvy girl, Chloe’s secluded and controlled life is obvious and it makes her attempt at breaking free that much more engaging even though you can feel a bit sorry for her as she is snagged in drama and her own ignorance. Williams balances this a bit by having her knowledgeable of a lot of Hollywood practices, some which we see in previous books, but this is the first time we see her personal experiences in the industry.

Williams did a great job in capturing Chloe’s voice and also her struggle to get some independence out of the spotlight and her mother’s influence. I also enjoyed the youthful romance that Chloe and Gabe experienced. It didn’t need to be mature or deep, it is a young love and that is clear. I enjoyed how we explore Chloe’s development through her relationship with Gabe and the realisation that she does want more from her life than she has had up until this point.

There is a great underlying suspense about stalking and manipulation which highlights the lengths people go to in order to keep the status quo or seek their own advantages. I liked that Chloe does stay the same character regardless, she doesn’t change to help her situation in any way. I will admit though that sometimes she annoyed me but it was also an aspect of her character I was going to have to accept.

I am really interested in seeing how this story ends because unlike William’s previous connected series City Love, there is distance between these characters that means a whole different type of story can be told. Not to mention one that is playing out under the lights of Hollywood!

You can purchase Heartthrob via the following

Amazon | Amazon Aust

Heartbreaker (#2) by Belinda Williams

05 Jun 2019 Leave a comment

by Amy in 3 Stars, Australian Women Writers, Hollywood Hearts, Romance Tags: , , , , , , ,

Published: 10th November 2016Goodreads badge
Publisher: BWrite
Pages: 346
Format: ebook
Genre: Contemporary Romance
★   ★   ★ – 3 Stars

WHEN LOVE IS AN ACT, WILL HER HEART BE FOOLED?

Lena Lyons, one of Hollywood’s hottest female stars, has a celebrity problem: she’s too famous.

Lena’s had stalkers before and figures the crazies come with the territory, but when things start going dangerously wrong on the set of her latest movie, her production company aren’t taking any risks. They hire Marc Romero, Hollywood security expert. And Lena thought stalkers were bad—Marc appears to hate his job and anything celebrity, including Lena.

Still reeling from her divorce, the last thing Lena needs is a brooding investigator who won’t let her out of his sight. Worse still, his plan to protect her involves him going undercover as an up-and-coming actor and pretending they’re a couple.

Lena has no choice but to get close to the mysterious man who won’t share anything about himself. With her life depending on her acting skills, she must convince everyone Marc’s the man for her. But will she be able to convince her heart it’s all an act?

I found it so hard to articulate my feelings about this book. I enjoyed some parts and while I didn’t dislike others but I couldn’t find the words to explain why I didn’t love it. A lot I think had to do with the expression of Lena as a character and perhaps the story requiring a more refined plot and romantic entanglement.

This is part of a series and I think while you can read it on its own, the characters are across multiple books and you have a better understanding of them as background characters as well as on their own. I think you need to have seen Lena in a different situation to see she isn’t completely what she comes across here.

Ally is the voice that makes you realise why Lena is being so obstinate and a bit unreasonable, something which can frustrate the reader until you try and read it from that angle, especially when she tends to contradict herself. I didn’t warm to her and while I felt bad for her, she never tries to help herself and fighting those trying to help her so much made her appear foolish. That isn’t entirely bad but something didn’t click for me and while I enjoyed the story, I wasn’t totally drawn into it.

William’s writing feels natural when she write about friendships and romance, a few times around the movie production felt clunky where it felt we needed a full explanation process or history. I know it needed to be in there, but I could see the writing style change when different scenes were happening.

I enjoyed the characters and how they were different, only revealing to us what we needed to know. One thing I disliked was that Marc kept calling Lena Princess, and I hated that Lena seemed ok with it. It seemed unprofessional and while she was often rude to him, he tries to stay on task and do his job but that term felt disrespectful and due to their relationship never became a term of endearment in my eyes.

Lena plays up the “not like other Hollywood types” and that’s a character choice from Williams, it makes Lena look like sweet and good natured but she is also unreasonable, disrespectful and a bit up herself. Which is fine once you realise that is who she is, something that is beneficial from seeing her through Ally’s eyes as well as her own and Marc’s. It also helps show how she develops as a character and her own desire to find herself.

Between Lena and Marc, their love/hate relationship worked well and you could see it coming but I never reached that adorableness between them. I think this is because Williams gave Marc such a strong emotional backstory that it worked for character development and added more intensity to the relationship. I may not have felt the real chemistry between Lena and Marc but I did like the direction William’s took their story. There are complications and a business relationship to work around but it gave it intrigue that there might not have been if it were simpler.

I enjoyed the slow reveal about who Marc was. It was the connection to the in-depth and emotional backstory I was missing from Jacob in the first book. The secrecy about his past and his work gives him an air of mystery and you see how separately he keeps his personal life and work. One thing I loved was when Williams let down the barriers and I loved her explanations why. It was a great shift in the character and allowed a bit of light and humour into the story.

Overall I enjoyed the story. I think a few plot points could have been woven into the story better but it tells Lena’s story and no doubt we’ll see more of her story and character develop through future books and through other character’s points of view.

You can purchase Heartbreaker via the following

Amazon | Amazon Aust

Heartthrob (#1) by Belinda Williams

03 Jun 2019 Leave a comment

by Amy in 3 Stars, Australian Women Writers, Hollywood Hearts, Romance Tags: , , , , , , ,

Published: 10th November 2016Goodreads badge
Publisher: BWrite
Pages: 346
Format: ebook
Genre: Contemporary Romance
★   ★   ★ – 3 Stars

Can an average girl survive Hollywood? 

Ally Valenti doesn’t belong in Hollywood. Not like her friend and actress, Lena Lyons. Lena’s convinced Ally to pursue her dreams of fashion design, starting with some gowns for the awards season. 

Which Ally will get around to creating as soon as she can stop looking at Jacob Swan, Lena’s latest co-star. Not that she’s staring. Ally’s skeptical of anything celebrity and it’s not like she’d be pathetic enough to fall for a Hollywood heartthrob. 

Then Ally learns there’s more to Jacob than his good guy, all-American persona. She finds herself torn between the desire to get to know him better and her determination to stay out of the limelight. 

Of course the media has other ideas—and someone doesn’t like all the attention Ally’s getting. When threats aimed at destroying her fashion career go too far, Ally’s convinced she’s living in crazy town. 

The sensible thing would be to retreat home before it all ends in spectacular fashion. But will Ally be leaving more than her dreams behind if she says goodbye to Hollywood? 

Note: I was provided with a copy of this book by the author for review via Netgalley

When I saw Belinda Williams had a new series I was so excited. I loved her City Love series and the chance to fall in love with four more wonderful ladies was too good too pass up.

Not that I went in to compare, but one thing that I noticed immediately was that the writing seemed slightly more stilted than I was used to. I wasn’t caught up in the flow of Ally and her Hollywood life. It was something I don’t remember noticing in Williams’ other work. Thankfully it settles into a natural rhythm about a third of the way through and a more natural flow of writing style comes through.

I love William’s series which follow the same group of friends through their lives. The story is filled with regular drama, Hollywood drama and of course, romance. It is a tight story but manages to achieve conflict, mystery and a decent exploration of who the characters are. Being the first we are only seeing things from Ally’s point of view but William’s does a good job in establishing the players without having to wait for their own narratives. You get to see who they are as people through the eyes of the main character. Knowing more books will come though, your interest is piqued about the secondary characters and what secrets of their own they may be hiding.

Characters with insecurities, doubt, fabulous friendships, and big dreams shine through as we get to know who Ally is and what she is trying to gain from her life and her career. Ally’s innocent “Bambi” trait rings true early on as she struggles with being start struck and being teased by celebrities. Her big brown eyes widen at the media coverage, the attitude of those around her, and the general environment of Hollywood. Williams does well to show Ally out of her depth but also with the ability to achieve.

Once you get passed Ally’s knee-jerk reactions anytime someone mentions a woman’s name in relation to Jacob and constant worry and doubt over hearsay you realise it’s a reflection of her own insecurities. She is a down to earth person, feisty, honest but insecure. I would have loved more about Jacob, you get a lot of his backstory but I still felt like he was a closed book, I knew the facts of his life but felt like he needed more depth. But he remains a warm, cheeky character who had a lot of charm in other areas.

In true Williams’ style she had me gushing and gasping and grinning by the end with her romance and genuine moments that while fit a certain mould, are wonderfully sweet.

From a clunky first third the writing settled into a good rhythm and Williams’ takes us on a journey of emotional growth, doubt, romance, and family. A great read.

You can purchase Heartthrob via the following

Amazon | Amazon Aust

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

30 May 2019 2 Comments

by Amy in 3 Stars, Audiobook, Historical Tags: , , , ,

Published: 1st May 2007 (print)/3 December 2015 (audio) Goodreads badge
Publisher: Algonquin Books/Lamplight Audio
Pages: 335/11 hrs and 26 mins
Narrator: David LeDoux, John Randolph Jones
Format: Audiobook
Genre: Historical
★   ★   ★ – 3 Stars

When Jacob Jankowski, recently orphaned and suddenly adrift, jumps onto a passing train, he enters a world of freaks, drifters, and misfits, a second-rate circus struggling to survive during the Great Depression, making one-night stands in town after endless town. A veterinary student who almost earned his degree, Jacob is put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie. It is there that he meets Marlena, the beautiful young star of the equestrian act, who is married to August, the charismatic but twisted animal trainer. He also meets Rosie, an elephant who seems untrainable until he discovers a way to reach her. 

After years of having this book on my shelf and after even more years of wanting to read it. I have finally read Water for Elephants! I actually chose the audiobook and it was a good listen. There are two narrators, one for young Jacob and one for elderly Jacob and both gentleman did a great job.

The story jumps through time from the present day to Jacob’s early life in the 1930s when he runs away and joins the circus. While the present day begins the story, most of it is told by Jacob’s younger self but there is a constant back and forward, especially in the early chapters. I loved present day Jacob, his thoughts are sardonic and admittedly a bit depressing but there is hope and it is so easy to fall in love with him. He worries about his mind, his memory and while a lot frustrates him, he is a darling.

It was definitely a curious contrast because I loved present day Jacob but twenty three year old Jacob annoyed me a few times. He is a fool but I guess that what comes from being young and naïve, especially in a world he knows nothing about.

The story is heartbreaking at times and tough in terms of content. With an audiobook I definitely had to turn the volume down while I was driving on occasion with some of the animal abuse but thankfully you could tell it was coming and Gruen is restrained in her descriptions so they don’t last long. A lot of it reinforces character development and while it is tough, it was also a reality of the time and the treatment of animals in the circus.

There is diversity of the characters and Gruen sets up the class system well for the train layout and the circus employees. And while it was not essentially part of Jacob’s story, I enjoyed that Gruen manages to casually slip in the prejudices against the African-Americans and other folk as they travelled the various American towns.

There’s hope and triumph through the story but there’s a bittersweet reality to it as well. The stories have always been around about the reality of circuses in those days and while the circumstances were rough, it is also fascinating when you see how many were in operation and makes you realise how amazing it is for those that survived.

This isn’t a history of circuses, but it is a good story about the life of being on a circus, and especially one that isn’t real. The ending was the crowning glory. After hearing Jacob’s life story and seeing his present day circumstances Gruen concludes this story in the best way possible. I barely remember the movie but I know it was a bit different to the book. There is a lot of padding and I was surprised when it was revealed a lot takes place over a few months because it felt like a lot longer as the story was happening. I’m glad I finally read it and while it was enjoyable, I will admit a small part of me found it a tad underwhelming.

You can purchase Water for Elephant via the following

QBD | Booktopia | Book Depository

Dymocks | Wordery | Angus and Robinson

 Fishpond | Amazon | Amazon Aust | Audible

Tomorrow’s World by Guy Portman

20 May 2019 Leave a comment

by Amy in 3 Stars, Science Fiction Tags: , , , , ,

Published: 22nd November 2018Goodreads badge
Publisher: Self-Published
Pages: 220
Format: Ebook
Genre: Science Fiction
★   ★   ★ – 3 Stars

The future’s here and it’s great. You can live for a very long time, you can experience the dream in virtual reality, and you can even worship David Hasselhoff. But not everyone is feeling fulfilled …

With the relentlessly increasing mandatory retirement age, Terrence can see no end to his life of drudgery. And then there are the compensation claim drones …

On the other side of the pond, Walter is faring far better. With the assistance of age-defying medication, the kung fu hyper-capitalist plans to prosper indefinitely. However, there are plenty of people who want to see him fail.

Will these two contrasting characters thrive in a future that’s changing forever? Or even survive? And what about the rest of us?

If you like dark humour and scathing satire, then you will relish experiencing tomorrow’s outlandish world through the eyes of its colourful cast of characters.

Note: I was provided with a copy of this book by the author for review.

I read the forward before starting because I thought it would be a good preparation for this story and I was right. The unique format and the short story/chapter style certainly needed some context beyond the blurb.

It didn’t take long to get into the flow of this futuristic world. Initially you can see a semblance to our own society, albeit in the near future, but before long it descends into a strange future where the issues of today are heightened and reflected back on us with strange new technologies and obsessions at the forefront.

The format and writing style is a clever choice and one that works especially well for this kind of story. The short snippets and chapters focus on key characters but also random, often unnamed characters and scenes offering up a rounded view of the wider world and society. Portman also cleverly circles back as we see a few reoccurring lesser characters throughout the timeline.

At times I felt that it was perhaps too long, but I understand that in following Terrance’s life it needed to be long. I enjoyed the satire and the reflection of the society, the only issue is around the halfway mark I felt it had run its course and I was growing tired of a few characters but thankfully it picked up again. One thing that kept me going was the things happening away from the main characters; I enjoyed the subtle reflections of the changing society and the snippets of life from these brief chapters and scenes.

The short chapters are certainly a benefit and the jumps in time allow a lot more narrative to be covered, especially with a plot like this. Terrence’s story is woven throughout alongside these reoccurring and one off characters and an overview of how society is progressing further into the late 21st century and 22nd century.

The story has three main parts, starting with the everyday before coming to the revolution then the inevitable rise of the machines. While not a complete overhaul, there is a demonstration of what the world would look like if everything was automated and the impact that has one humanity and society.

The language is an odd balance of satire and mockery, definitely dark humour. I liked the sardonic tone and the frustration of Terrance in his life, each key character had a definitive voice and there is a lot of humour and reflection that is recognisable in today’s society. One thing I noted was that while the narrative is meant to be inclusive of all genders, sexualities, and religions, there are multiple cases of trans people being referred to as “he/she” which satire or not, sat weirdly with me.

I enjoyed the far future world we see at the end, especially seeing teenagers trying to understand the old world in comparison to their current one was humorous. The impact of virtual reality and other advancements means they’ve ended up in a slightly Wall-E-esque world minus the spaceship.

If science fiction and dark humour are your thing then this will certainly be enjoyable. It is bizarre but there is a charm to it as well. There is a lot to take from it and a lot of little gems to enjoy.

You can purchase Tomorrow’s World via the following

Booktopia | Book Depository

Wordery | Fishpond | Amazon | Amazon Aust

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