From Publishers Weekly
Charlotte Frost—film student, yoga teacher, workaholic and single girl—is the gutsy heroine of this chick-lit debut. Charlie is intelligent, independent and ambitious—in short, ready to take the film industry by storm. But she is far from perfect, and when she says, "I love characters who are neurotic and flawed and not always sympathetic," she's talking about herself. In her last year of graduate school at Columbia, Charlie has high hopes for her pet screenplay. But when her esoteric script is rejected by her adviser and fails to land her a prestigious fellowship, she's forced to start over. Distraction comes in the form of Hank Destin, a particularly inept yoga student who also happens to be a well-known soap opera star. Astoundingly, he asks Charlie out. As their romance progresses, Charlie eagerly casts her hottie new boyfriend as the lead in her indie flick against the counsel of her adviser. But when Hank's egotistical "advice" clashes with her own elitist graduate student mentality, things on the set get painfully tense. The situation quickly spirals out of control as Charlie's roles as girlfriend and director become confused, and she must evaluate her own motivations, as well as Hank's. The novel's Hollywood ending is rather dubious, but Mendle humorously and sympathetically captures the outsize ambitions and insecurities of young actors and directors.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
Film student Charlotte Frost thinks that head-over-heels love only happens in the movies. It doesn't help that her only dates are with her thesis advisor. She never expects her dream guy, soap-opera-hunk Hank Destin, to walk into her yoga class and sweep her off her feet, but soon she is trading in her grungy sweats for designer duds. But even sexy Hank can't tear Charlie away from her one true love--making movies. When the Columbia film department funds her film adaptation of Madame Bovary and Hank agrees to star in it, Charlie thinks all her dreams are coming true--at least until Hank starts criticizing her directing and almost ruins her movie. Charlie soon realizes the lure of the glamorous life doesn't compare to chasing her dream. Mendle's characters are more interesting and multidimensional than most chick-lit offerings; her plot isn't predictable, and her snappy dialogue is romantic-comedy ready, which may prompt readers to turn off their TVs, pop some popcorn, and curl up with this book instead. Aleksandra Kostovski
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
