I received this book for free from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Liana Marie Michael is used to Hollywood - but that doesn't mean she likes it. As a popular young actress, she knows all about the not-as-glamorous behind-the-scenes actions that take place. Lia tries to keep her life normal as every other seventeen-year-old girl's, though. She has boy trouble. She's in love with her best friend Manuel, but is currently dating actor Evan. And co-star Byron is pretty cute, too... This actress may have gut, but will she be able to share her love for Manuel? That may not be the biggest of Lia's issues. Her mother, also an actress, has been keeping secrets from Lia; life-changing secrets. Hollywood's obsession with youth has driven Lia's mother to do an unspeakable thing, one that may haunt Lia for the rest of her life. Will Lia make it through all of Hollywood's betrayals and still be able to stay pure and loving?
I enjoyed this book, but I also had so many issues with it. The sheer number is ridiculous. Number one: the writing style. I found this writing to be choppy and flighty, jumping from one topic to another without any warning. The first page just irritated me, because although Carla J. Hanna was trying to let Lia explain who and what she was, this sentence only succeeded in making her sound enormously conceited: "We were both talented actors living separately." 'Talented 'is the word that irritated me, because Lia is then described throughout the book as being modest and shy. This sentence structuring continues throughout the book, with sentences that just don't sound natural when read out loud.
The dialogue in this story was just plain unrealistic. The expressions of love were nauseating, instead of sweet. They weren't built up to, instead just blurted out; they were spoken way too many times; and half the time, the characters they were spoken to didn't deserve it, being complete jerks. I also found that almost every single character gave Lia advice in a monologue that made them sound like a guardian angel turning her in the right direction. All the advice was good, relevant, and completely unrealistic. In real life, people don't go around giving other people unasked for advice that magically solves all their problems. The dialogue also jumped from topic to topic with seemingly no link between. I found this confusing and annoying.
The chapters were unique; I think they were one thing about this book that was better than other books. There were only four main chapters, and each stood for a month (although chapter one, The Uary Months, stood for two: January and February). Each of these main chapters was sectioned off into smaller ones by a subheading that titled each new mini-chapter. I found this to be very organized, though sometimes, at the beginning of a mini-chapter, there was a large space, like at the end of a normal book chapter; this was strange because most of the time, the new mini-chapter started on the same page, directly below the end of the last one. These spaces were erratic and frankly, a waste of paper. I wish they'd been removed.
Although not even mentioned in the summary on the back of this book, sex is a very large topic in the story. Pressure to do it, pressure to talk about it, and fear of being broken up with for not doing it. The only thing mentioned on the back cover was 'love', which is completely unrelated to the Hollywood rushing of sex. It seemed as though the entire beginning two-thirds of this story was completely focused on this topic. I found it to be unnecessary and, although not entirely untrue, extremely exaggerated. I only understood why it was needed as a part of the story when Lia reveals her mother's secret.
When Lia's mother's secret is finally revealed, that is the moment when I actually started to enjoy this book. Unfortunately, it's not at a point near the beginning. I found the secret to be imaginative, thought-provoking, and slightly frightening. If something like this could happen in real life, I'd be interested in hearing more about it.
This was the second published book I've ever read where the writing was left-aligned, instead of justified. I found this to be distracting at times, when large spaces were put between the end of the line and the spine of the book. It was somewhat disconcerting, since I'm used to justified books. I think it wastes paper when the writing isn't justified, since the longer words can't be fit on the one line and instead are forced down to the next, leaving a space where the word could have fit if it hadn't been left-aligned. I don't see any benefits to writing this way.
The surprising thing about the main character is that she doesn't like her life. She doesn't like her career or the things she must do to maintain it. Lia actually wanted to quit acting, leave Hollywood, and become a simple nobody. I think this is a good message, because it gets across that no one is happy with what they have; the best thing to do is go with the flow and see where life takes you. Follow your dreams, but only to a certain, healthy extent.
Overall, not the best book I've ever read. I found it frustrating to read and way too sex-based, but still an interesting novel. It did give a glimpse into a real Hollywood life, although it wasn't as enjoyable since Lia didn't like it. I would rate this book three stars, simply because the storyline was good (if it hadn't been for the secret kept from Lia, the rating would've been lower). Once I managed to wade my way through the things I didn't like and got somewhat used to them, I was able to more fully enjoy the story. I would recommend this novel to anyone looking for romance, mysteries, and a twist on glamorous Hollywood.
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