Customer Reviews

Catch a Rising Star (Drama Queens Series #1)

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Tracey Bateman caught my attention with the Claire series- light, fluffy, funny reading. Catch a Rising Star is still light and fluffy but the little plot there is, is very predictable. There are a few endearing scenes- when we first meet Tabby, she is dressed as Peter Rabbit and reading to small children. She was a star soap actress but her character was killed off. Now she's working odd jobs to make ends meet. But things start to click for her again, and she swept back into the soap opera world.

The romance is sweet and the story itself is an easy read for one sitting. But overall nothing happens that comes as a real surprise. It was very contrived and predictable. As with Defiant Heart, I'm disppointed that both are not quite up to Claire's standards but I'm not ready to give up all hope. Ms. Bateman has a fun, witty writing style so I'll stick around to see if the storylines can improve enough to be worthy of her talent.

I have to say, wow the 1 star review person sounds a tad bitter! Not sure at all where they come up with that assessment. The great thing about Traceys character is they hold "THEMSELVES" to a certain Christian standard, NOT forcing it on anyone else.

I have to say, I just picked this book up at the library on a whim and couldn't put it down! IT was so FUN! I had to run out and get the next 2 in the series as quick as I could. You can relate so well to the characters, you feel like you are sitting in the living room with them, in the middle of their converstations and drama. The same types of drama, we all face on a daily basis. Family issues, loss jobs, man issues, uncertainty of the future, and feelings of inadequacy to name a few. I would say with total confidence that when you read these books, and I recommed the whole series, that you will relate in many ways to one or ALL of the characters in some way shape or form. The books have gotten me thinking about certain things in my life, such as the direction I am going, is it some dream I have or a God given gift?

Go ahead, grab a coffee, a blanket, and the book and ENJOY! I sure did!

Tracey Bateman did a great job writing this book. I read this book in one sitting. I tried to pace myself, but it was just too good!

Former soap opera diva Tabby Brockman feels she has hit bottom. Fired from the number one soap "Legacy of Life" for a misunderstanding with the writer (she caught her husband making a move on Tabby during a party and blamed Tabby), she's forced to work at a bookstore wearing costumes to read to kids which she can't get along with as one of her best friends and roommate Laini puts it "Putting Tabby with kids is like ... asking the garbage man to cook without washing his hands"- so needless to say she's been fired again.

Than out of the blue she hears from Freddie her old friend and fitness trainer, from "Legacy of Life". That man always seems to know all the latest gossip about the show and now he knows the show wants her back! And to top it off Kyle Preston, everyone's dream agent, with good looks and great negotiation skills wants her as a client! After all her agent dropped her after she was fired from the soap and according to Freddie it seems her agent is friends with Julie, the show's writer, who fired her so now she's starting to understand everything. She can't believe God has opened the door for her to go back. But not everyone shares her enthusiasm Laini and Dancy (the other roommate and friend) and her Mom voice their opinions and they are not too keen on the idea.

Back at the set Tabby wonders if they were right. She still has to deal with Julie, the writer that killed her off in the first place who makes her wear bandages for the first week and gives her lousy lines and the "precious" five year old twins that play her kids on the show that she wants to strangle and their dreamy dad that she finds she's falling for despite the kids and the fact their not hitting it off at all.

Meanwhile her Mother keeps pushing David at her, which she has no interest in and won't take the hint. Her sister is unmarried and pregnant and her brother's new girlfriend drives her Mom up the wall. Her Dad suffers a heart attack and her friends have their own problems. All in all it's not your typical family life!

What an awesome book, this reviewer could not put it down! The author Tracey Bateman does an awesome job in pulling you into Tabby's, Laini's and Dancy's lives and her sense of humor will have you in stitches. The characters are amazing in this first book of the Drama Queens Series. This reviewer is new to the world of Chick Lit but Bateman has given me an amazing introduction and I am definitely hooked not only on Tracey Bateman but on Chick Lit!

"A girl should always count the cost before diving into blind dates, suspicious-looking sushi, and/or rabbit suits," says Tabby Brockman in the first line of this hilarious novel by bestselling romance author, Tracey Bateman.

Unfortunately, Tabby's stuck trying to earn a few bucks entertaining kids in a rabbit costume, after being "killed off' her acting role in the nation's number-one soap opera.

From this point on, Tabby's life has nowhere to go but up - and up she goes. Given the opportunity of a lifetime to reprise her former posh role as daytime TV star, Tabby faces new challenges: how will her sizzling career mesh with her newfound faith as a Christian?

Whether you're a fan of soaps or not, Bateman's new Drama Queens series will give you a backstage pass, behind the camera and into the human heart.

--Christian Women Online Book Buzz

Tabby Brockman is a rabbit working in a bookstore. Ok well she's a dressed up rabbit because her former job as a soap opera actress came to an end with her character's death. This can be blamed on jealousy by the head writer's husband being attracted to Tabby. She's getting by in life with her two best friends Dancy and Laini when she gets the call that she's been invited to rejoin the soap opera again. Now a Christian, Tabby has to make sure her character doesn't tread into dangerous waters, fend off unwanted suitors and try to stay on her toes with the hunky dad of her two soap opera kids. All in a day's work for an actress!

Reading this book introduced a first for me. Tabby is a soap opera actress. I have never read in a Christian fiction book about a Christian acting in a soap opera AND still being a Christian. Normally the character will be a non Christian who's an actor, then converts and drops out of acting all together. So this was a welcome relief to see how one can be a Christian and act at the same time. This was a really fun book to read. I enjoyed learning about the soap opera world especially since I was a closet All My Children fan back in the day. It was interesting learning about what goes on in the makings of a show and reading about the backstage lives of the actors. Tabby is a great character who made me laugh a lot with her antics. I do love how there are characters you can love to hate in this book and that Tabby equally shares the reader's dislike in them. It makes the characters more relatable when they are acting the way you would act in that sort of situation. And I loved her relationship with Dave. Loved reading all the drama that happened between the two! It's just really cool to read about people who are around my age doing things they love, having great shoes and clothes but still be really adamant about their faith. I loved all the characters in this book and I'm looking forward to reading about Dancy and Laini's stories as well. If you are a soap opera fan or a chick lit gal, pick up this book!

This book was a very fast read! I read through this book in less than a week, and it was really cute! The only reason I am giving it four stars is because some of the book is really shaky from a Christian perspective. I thought the mother daughter relationship was a little rocky and although that happens in real life I was kind of hoping for the book to touch more on that than it did.

What a great author Tracey Bateman is. Great insight and real characters. I love that Christ is the ongoing focus of the main character. They do not always get it right, and are not always on the right track, but continuing to focus on the Lord leads the main character to the right path. I am already on book three and have loved every one of them. Thank you Tracey for a fast, witty and inspiring novel.

Tabby Brockman is an actress. Fired from her soap opera when the head writer, out of anger and jealousy, kills off her character, she flits from job to job always hoping for another break. When she's asked to rejoin the cast of the soap when her character makes a miraculous recovery after several years, she figures she has it made. Hilarity ensues when head writer doesn't like her, she's jealous of her on-screen rival, her mother drives her crazy and she has a crush on the father of her television children.

While Tabby is a bit of a doormat, her narration is quite funny. She can't tell the man who has a crush on her to go away, she won't stand up to her mother, and she always misreading and misunderstanding situations around her. Her two roommates add fun to the mix and what follows is laugh out loud entertaining.

Almost casually Christian, this is a fun, light-hearted chick-lit novel with nothing serious or thought-provoking about it. An easy read when you need a light diversion. Sequels follow for her two best friends.

CATCH A RISING STAR
By Tracey Bateman
Review by Laura V. Hilton






Tabitha (Tabby) Brockman is thrilled when the day-time soap opera she starred on (before they killed her off) decides to rehire her. But she's been gaining weight, so her personal trainer has to get her back into a size 8. Not to mention that the soap opera writer believes that Tabby made a pass at her husband, so she writes in some bad scenes for Tabby to act.

However, Tabby believes that God rewarded her by giving her back the soap opera job, so she's determined to make it work. After all, it beats hopping around in a hot bunny outfit and being kicked by little brats. And now there's this totally gorgeous stage dad--but he's dating Tabby's rival. Add to the mix an over-attentive ex-boyfriend, a hovering mother, and friends' crisises...is Tabby a star on the rise, or on the brink of a fall?

CATCH A RISING STAR is the first book in The Drama Queens series by Tracey Bateman. (You Had Me At Goodbye will be out in 2008.) CATCH A RISING STAR is a funny (at times) chick lit with a realistic heroine (even if she is a movie star) and a snappy plot that keeps the story moving along. Not to mention that one of the men in the book is totally dreamy--and drool-worthy.

Fans of Ms. Bateman and chick lit will not want to miss this newest series. It is a winner in my book--and one to be enjoyed over and over. Watch for CATCH A RISING STAR coming soon to a bookstore near you. Discussion questions are included at the end of the book. $12.99. 276 pages.