Sunday, January 29, 2012

Hollywood Ending by Lucie Simone


3.5 Star
Trina Stewart needs cash. Fast. She’s barely got enough dough to keep her fanny off the streets, let alone any spending money for hot nights clubbing on Sunset Strip. And her job teaching English as a Second Language is seriously lacking in both pay and glamour. But not just any job will do. She’s after a real Hollywood job. The kind that makes her $100,000 in film school debt and ten years in Tinsel Town not seem like such a big fat waste of time and money.  But a girl can’t fritter away all her time fretting over her next paycheck, can she? Certainly not when a man like Matiu Wulf, a sexy Maori from New Zealand, parks his oh-so-fine self in the apartment above hers while he takes his best shot at Showbiz.

If only Matiu didn’t seem so… repelled by Trina. Really, though, it’s Los Angeles that Matiu finds so revolting. He’s only in L.A. to get some scene design experience to beef up his resume, and then he’s headed back to New Zealand to follow his dreams in peace, thank you very much. That’s his plan, anyway, until he falls hard for Trina…and Trina falls under the spell of a toothy-grinned wannabe actor who charms the pants right off her.

With Matiu on a mission to win Trina’s heart, and Trina on a mission to nail down that ever elusive Hollywood job, these two soon discover that when love gets tossed in the mix, life in Tinsel Town isn’t all red carpets, after parties, and celebrity gossip. In fact, Hollywood can be a downright bitch!


Sabrina-Kate - 3.5 Star

Hollywood Ending is definitely an apt title for the tale of Trina Stewart. Set in, you guessed it, Los Angeles, our leading lady is a woman with a plan. A plan that isn't exactly working out, but nonetheless, a plan. After having gone to a very expensive film school and not getting her break, Trina is stuck teaching ESL classes part time to barely scrape by. Despite it all, Trina has dreams of getting her big break while also turning her nose up at typical Hollywood types.

New neighbor Matiu, a hot Kiwi in town for a class and a history working in the film industry back home, piques her interest but turns her down a couple of times until all of a sudden he just can't get enough of her. Couple this with her budding relationship with recently met model/limo driver Blake and you have a book that reminded me of a 90210 plot.

Trina can't see to make her mind up between the two men yet has no problems playing the field with both of them while pining for one or getting distracted by the other.

And this is where the book started to kind of lose me a bit more: Matiu goes from being completely uninterested in Trina to being willing to change his life for her. She goes to obsessing about him to trying to constantly run away. Seems a bit flighty and perhaps more the actions of younger characters than people in their late 20s... but I suppose it is possible.

The book is a light read, a good kind of beach or bath book but nothing that will make you ache for the character or cheer them on. The writing style is very enjoyable though with a lot of witty repartee and play upon stereotypes that is good for a chuckle (or a few of them). I won't spoil the ending but the title may just say it all.

Thank you to Lucie Simone for our review copy! All opinions are our own.

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