From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Glamour, fashion, gossip, scheming—they're all here in a page-turning debut starring Siena McMahon, feisty granddaughter of Hollywood movie legend Duke McMahon. In the tradition of Jackie Collins and Danielle Steel, Bagshawe strews Sienna's path to stardom with bumps aplenty. Family trouble began before Siena was born, when Duke decided his mistress should move in with his wife and kids, but Siena, born in 1981, had a pretty cushy childhood as a granddaughter of the wife—at least until she finds her beloved grandfather dead in the family's Hollywood manse. Siena's father, jealous of the attention Duke lavished on Siena, cows his wife into packing their outspoken 10-year-old to an English boarding school, and when Siena later defies her father's plans for her (Oxford med school) to become a supermodel (and thus kick-start an acting career) he disinherits her. Bagshawe nimbly captures Siena's fierce ambition, and like her glam novel predecessors, she keeps the pages flying with steamy sex and keen behind-the-scenes takes on the fashion, movie and television businesses. Secondary characters, such as British director wannabe Max De Seville, Sienna's on again/off again love interest, shine almost as brightly as Siena, and Bagshawe nips in an entertaining side plot about Max's half-brother's struggle to keep his 16th-century Cotswold farm from the hands of a dodgy Cockney developer. This is one of those big, juicy summer beach reads—not too deep, just wildly entertaining.
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Bagshawe set out to write a book that broke free from the chick-lit mold. She succeeded in producing an epic romance with ultraglamorous characters--no Bridget Jones here. The book opens with the story of philandering movie star Duke; his coolly detached wife, Minnie; and their decidedly untraditional home--Duke's mistress shares quarters with his true family. After Duke's death, Bagshawe follows the lives of his granddaughter, Siena, and his illegitimate son, Hunter. The two have reunited just as they're both becoming Hollywood stars. But when Hunter's best friend, Max, betrays Siena, their refashioned family is split once again. Siena then becomes involved with a hotshot producer until a violent incident leaves her forever changed. Although the lengthy novel could have done with some judicious editing, the Hollywood setting and the volatile relationships will keep readers enthralled. Recommend it to fans of Danielle Steele and Nora Roberts.
Aleksandra KostovskiCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
--This text refers to an alternate
Hardcover
edition.
