Beneath a Starlet Sky by Amanda Goldberg & Ruthanna Khalighi Hopper

Book Details
Beneath a Starlet Sky by Amanda Goldberg and Ruthanna Khalighi Hopper
Hardcover, 304 Pages
2011, St. Martin's Press
ISBN: 0312544421

Synopsis
Lola Santisi—CEO of a struggling fashion line, reformed Actorholic and daughter of Hollywood Royalty—is now not only bicoastal, she’s Bi-Lolar: That is the condition which causes her to swing like a pendulum between the opposing poles of the fashion world in New York and the real world with her Doctor Boyfriend in Los Angeles. She hardly knows which shoe fits her anymore: the Louboutin stiletto or the Croc. As Lola tries to launch Julian Tennant’s new dress line, it looks like they’re about to get their next big break: his wedding dresses have been chosen to feature in the top film at the Cannes Film Festival. And suddenly Lola is staging a full-blown couture show on a yacht – in the middle of the Med.  Think those super models had trouble walking down the catwalks at Fashion Week?  With an unexpected finale twist, this time it’s Lola who’s tumbling off the runway.

Having recently endured a disastrous break-up with Lola’s brother Christopher, Kate Woods, Lola’s BFF and CAA’s rising star agent, is newly single, and focused 24-7 on her clients. The only thing worse than thinking it was a good idea for Kate to date Lola’s brother, is thinking it was a good idea for Kate to put one of her most loose-cannon clients, Nic Knight, in Lola’s father’s movie. Among Kate’s other mega star clients is Saffron Sykes whose appearance on the cover of Vain magazine in Julian Tennant could be the difference between Julian Tennant, Inc. weathering the economy or going bust.

As Lola fights to survive the Cannes Film Festival, will she get swept into the French Riviera’s riptide of glamour and superficiality? Are real love and couture mutually exclusive?  Or can Lola have it all – the good doctor and her Louboutins. With her father and brother vying for the same prize, her mother starring in her new reality show, and one heartbroken girlfriend about to declare motherhood, it’s all on Lola to come up with the answers.  And it’s going to take more than one of her mother’s prosperity chants to save the day.

Review
Beneath a Starlet Sky is a wonderfully fun and often times outrageous novel that will appeal to readers who can't help but be mesmerized by Hollywood gossip. Lola's father is a famous movie director. She's done with dating actors and the whole Hollywood scene. She wants nothing more than to success in the fashion world as the CEO of her best gay friend's clothing line and to settle down with her doctor boyfriend. But when her mom gets her own reality show, her brother's film gets accepted to Cannes (to compete against their father's film), her boyfriend gets a taste of fame and her company has one disaster after another, Lola is sucked back into the cutthroat Hollywood world again and again.

Beneath the Starlet Sky will suck in any celebrity junkie from the very start. It's an entertaining look into Hollywood through the eyes of someone trying to escape its grasp. It's both snappy and addictive. Lola is immediately lovable and readers will find themselves rooting for her at every turn. With "cameos" from many well known celebrities, along with fictional movie and reality stars, fame has never looked so decadently and, well, dirty.

I loved just about everything in Beneath a Starlet Sky. Unfortunately it lost me occasionally when Lola's job was the focus. Fashion isn't my thing and I feel many readers will be confused. It seems as though the authors assumed that common folk would be know current trends in the fashion world and have a subscription to Vogue. Those who possess this type of knowledge will be fine. Those like myself, not so much. While I know of Louboutin and Manolo Blahnik, I can't tell the difference between them. When fashion took the stage during the book, I felt less involved in the story.

Beneath a Starlet Sky is scandalous at times and pure emotion at others. It contains a wonderful mix of crazed fame and real life. While some portions of the book may be a bit beyond the reader's understanding, be it film, fashion or celebrity obsession in general, Beneath a Starlet Sky is sure to delight.

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