Beneath the Glitter by Elle & Blair Fowler (Book #9)

Good Reads

Synopsis:

From internet stars Elle and Blair Fowler comes a scintillating new novel that takes readers Beneath the Glitter of the glitzy L.A. social scene.
Welcome to a place where dreams are made.  And where nothing—and no one—is ever what it seems.
After their make-up and fashion videos went viral on YouTube, sisters Sophia and Ava London are thrust into the exclusive life of the Los Angeles elite.  Here fabulous parties, air kisses, paparazzi and hot guys all come with the scene. Sophia finds herself torn between a gorgeous bartender and a millionaire playboy, and Ava starts dating an A-list actor.  But as they’re about to discover, the life they’ve always dreamed of comes with a cost.
Beneath the glitter of the Hollywood social scene lies a world of ruthless ambition, vicious gossip…and betrayal.  Someone close to them, someone they trust, is working in the shadows to bring the London sisters falling down. And once the betrayal is complete, Sophia and Ava find themselves knee-deep in a scandal that could take away everything they care about, including the one thing that matters most—each other.

Review:

I picked up this book mostly out of pure curiosity, I had to know what the book was like and I wanted to be impressed by Elle and Blair's foray into writing -and of course, I was curious to know what their life is really like. In that sense, I was completely disappointed, despite a blurb at the beginning thanking their fans on YouTube for all the support, the sisters' making videos is barely even mentioned in the book. This books is really just a story about two girls living in LA and each of them being interested in two guys. I think I would have been a lot happier if they had just written an autobiography...maybe one day!

I think I expected different things from the book, I expected a novel about Elle & Blair, and I got an incredibly predictable story aimed at tween girls. Obviously, I'm not the target audience! I found the "fights" to be pretty random and unfounded, and the best way to describe it was there was a lot of "telling, not showing". I'm not sure how old the girls are in the book but it just surprised me how immature they both are. It made me think that what was "beneath the glitter" didn't go very deep. 

However, I will give this book two stars, for a few reasons: 1. this book wasn't what I was expecting and I can't fault it for not living up to what I wanted the book to be and 2. Despite not being the next War and Peace, one section of the book made me really sympathize with Elle & Blair. The one line was during a photo shoot when Ava wonders what they even did to deserve being so successful, and that she feels like a fraud. That one tiny part made me feel for them immensely. The book itself though? A lot of telling, not showing, i.e. "Ava's mad (and we're not going to explain why or how she got this way, she's just mad!!)" 

What type of read is it? Simple

Would I recommend this book? No.... I wouldn't recommend this to book to myself, but I'm sure that there's an audience of girls who would love this and be more obsessed with the social lives than business lives. 

Will I read it again/the sequels? Probably not...maybe if I see the paperbacks on a $5 special.

What's "beneath the glitter"? Modpodge that the glitter was stuck to.

Overall Review: 2/5 stars

Questions:

1. Did you read Beneath the Glitter? What about it did you like? Didn't like?
2. How do you feel when you read a book that is different than you thought it would be? Do you keep reading it or do you give up?

Do you have any recommendations for me to read next? Please send me a message if you do, I'm open to all suggestions.

The Fame Game by Lauren Conrad (Archive #1)

The Fame Game by Lauren Conrad

Amazon.com, Chapters.ca, Good Reads

Synopsis: 

In Hollywood, fame can be found on every corner and behind any door. You just have to know where to look for it. Nineteen-year-old Madison Parker made a name for herself as best frenemy of nice-girl-next-door Jane Roberts on the hot reality show L.A. Candy. Now Madison's ready for her turn in the spotlight and she'll stop at nothing to get it. Sure, she's the star of a new show, but with backstabbing friends and suspicious family members trying to bring her down, Madison has her work cut out for her. Plus, there's a new nice girl in "reality" town—aspiring actress Carmen Price, the daughter of Hollywood royalty—and she's a lot more experienced at playing the fame game... When the camera's start rolling, whose star will shine brighter?

Filled with characters both familiar and new, Lauren Conrad's series about the highs and lows of being famous delivers Hollywood gossip and drama at every turn.

Review:

I picked this book up because I’d read all three LA Candy books and I thought there might be something interesting about it. I read LA Candy because I’ve never been on a reality show and I wanted to see what the behind-the-scenes would be like, that’s the same reason why I read A Model Summer by Paulina Porizkova two summers ago, I didn’t know what it was like in that world and I was curious. If you’ve read LA Candy, and unless you’re obsessed with Lauren Conrad and want to gobble up anything she makes, you can skip this one. If you haven’t read LA Candy, you can give this one a shot.

The book has familiar characters from the old series (Madison Parker & Gaby Iforgetherlastname) and some new ones but I just couldn’t find myself interested in any of the characters. You could see the next plot point eight chapters ahead and, because I’d read LA Candy, I didn’t have any sympathy/surprise for the characters when things happened that you knew were going to happen anyway! I found Madison more likable in this book but not what I wanted, I would have preferred if she was a true villain who was still calling magazines to get covers and was more obsessed with the tabloid/ “real” world than the reality show, Lauren Conrad covered reality shows in LA Candy and this book didn’t really add anything to the game.

What I didn’t like about this book: It was predictable, characters were one-dimensional, but maybe, maybe, one could be considered two-dimensional by the end.

What I liked about this book: It was an easy read, the plot was semi-interesting (hey, I finished it!)

Who would enjoy this book? Anyone who is obsessed with Lauren Conrad and will gobble up anything she touches. Or, if you haven’t read LA Candy, you might get more excitement out of this book than I did.

What type of read is it (one word!)? Easy

Would I recommend this book? It’s easy, holds your attention, but you don’t think that much about it after. If you haven’t read LA Candy and , you might get more out of this. I wouldn’t give it a ringing endorsement though.

Which character was my favourite? Madison was the most interesting, but she was a 3/5 when every one else hovered around 1 or 2.

Will I read it again? Nope.

Review (in related to my reading style): I think this proves that if I read a book about something I want to know more about once, I don’t need to read the same style of book again, unless I really care about the plot.

Overall Review: 2/5