Starlet's Run by Carla J. Hanna

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

I received this book for free from the author in exchange for an honest review.

     Lia has what she's always wanted: she and her boyfriend, Manual, are planning on getting married; her illness isn't as serious or unknown; and her career is so close to being in her own hands. But Lia is still unsatisfied. Everything good about her life seems to be rejected by her friends and family. Everyone seems to think that Lia and Manual are too young to marry; although her illness is better, Lia's mother's is worse; and Lia must still go through with her contractual obligations before she can take full control of her jobs and commitments. Lia must realize that to get through this tough life, she has to learn from her mistakes and grow as a person. No one has ever said that's an easy thing to do.
     I knew after finishing Starlet's Web that the writing style of this book would irritate me, so I was prepared. Once I got somewhat used to it, I was better able to focus on the different aspects of the story. The first thing I want to say is that I really disliked Manual in this book. He was sweet, caring (although somewhat overprotective) and genuine in the book before this. However, he took those characteristics to the extreme in this novel. He got angry at Lia so quickly about her career. He couldn't handle the fact that she was an actress. This bothered me, because she'd been an actress for several years in which he knew her, and he knew what she was when he chose to get into a relationship with her. The majority of this story is all about Manual trying to love Lia's actress side as well as her Native side and schoolgirl side before he would marry her. His negative emotions were overpowering, and it almost seemed like he was bipolar, the way he alternated between emotions. He was jealous to the extreme, and I couldn't see why Lia loved him. I found this romance to be almost depressing.
     Lia changed her whole outlook on Hollywood since Starlet's Web. I found this to be disorienting; first, she hates Hollywood and her acting jobs, and now she's trying to keep her career? I suppose it's because she wanted to control it, but then why didn't she consider that as an option instead of telling everyone that she's going to live out a quiet, isolated life in another state? She kind of gave Manual false hope with that statement, only to snatch it away when she decided she changed her mind. I just find it somewhat odd that all her morals and beliefs about Hollywood in the first book were completely switched around for Starlet's Run.
     Religion was a big part of this story. I normally don't like to read very religious books, but I didn't mind as much with this novel, since Lia's beliefs are somewhat similar to mine. I think the only reason Lia liked to go to church, considering she's not very religious, was because all her happy childhood pre-Hollywood-and-acting memories took place there. However, I found it odd that she spoke with Manual about raising their children to be Catholic, since she's not and he's a mix of different religions. I also didn't understand why she would want her children to believe in something that she didn't. I just found those items strange.
     Starlet's Run was a book, just like its prequel, where the ideas were good, even great, but the writing wasn't. I would rate this book three stars, that high because of the innovative ideas, but that low because of the writing style. If the writing was less choppy and unrealistic, it would have been rated higher. Overall, I though it was a decent book, but I won't be recommending it to anyone for quality. A reader who may like it would be looking for drama, love, and life decisions.