Customer Reviews

The Last Hollywood Romance: A Novel

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Veteran television writer Beverly Bloomberg's The Last Hollywood Romance is an original and witty satire of television sitcoms. This irreverent story of love and showbiz features producers, writers and stars all seeking to out-manipulate one another. the banter is political incorrect, the language earthy, the intrigue and hypocrisy pervasive, all reflecting the Hollywood reality as can only be told by a true insider. If you like television series like "Beggars And Choosers", or Hollywood films like "The Player", you will love reading Beverly Bloomberg's novel, The Last Hollywood Romance.

the best thing about this story is the peek into the tv business. I don't doubt the author has faced some of the complex politics and back-stabbing in her career as a sitcom writer. The romance, however, reads like a dull sitcom. corny jokes you can't help but laugh at, flawed characters you can't help but like. but i found myself not really caring whether the leads got together or not. more interested in whether they got to write for a good show. maybe i was looking for a bit more fantasy.

What a funny, little book! The characters are writers for a TV Sitcom, "Life with Lucky", and the story is about their bizarre, dysfunctional behavior. They vie for position, spread gossip and rumors about each other, "do lunch" at all times of the day, endlessly rewrite scripts, redecorate their offices, go to parties, and seem to spend very little time actually writing.

Emmaline is the newest writer on the show, and she is assigned to work and share an office with Bud, and guess what? They hit it off, start sleeping together, and actually WRITE together!

Bloomberg's writing style is uncluttered and spare, irreverent but effective. The chapter titles are amusing, such as Chapter 32 "The earth moved, and now I can't find a thing." The chapters are short and brisk, and the voice alternates between Emmaline and Bud. Girl meets boy, girl sleeps with boy, girl falls in love with boy...all in 230 pages; hey, I just got it the book is a sitcom!

What fun to get a satirical glimpse into Hollywood sit com writersŐlives. The Last Hollywood Romance also perceptively takes on gender viewpoint by devoting alternate chapters to lst person accounts from the two main characters: Eager newcomer Emmaline and calloused comedy writer Bud. Dancing around these two, are desperate co-writers, manical tv tycoons, and a particularly loveable, albeit frenzied, sycophant. I recommend The Last Hollywood Romance to anyone who is curious about the lives of the Hollywood players, and the hilarious dynamics of male/female communication.

What fun to get a satirical glimpse into Hollywood sit com writersŐlives. The Last Hollywood Romance also perceptively takes on gender viewpoint by devoting alternate chapters to lst person accounts from the two main characters: Eager newcomer Emmaline and calloused comedy writer Bud. Dancing around these two, are desperate co-writers, manical tv tycoons, and a particularly loveable, albeit frenzied, sycophant. I recommend The Last Hollywood Romance to anyone who is curious about the lives of the Hollywood players, and the hilarious dynamics of male/female communication.

This is a great weekend read! I couldn't put it down. I was very invested in the characters, and couldn't wait to see what Hollywood served up for them with each new chapter. The chapter titles were, by the way, Hilarious! It also served to demystify and unglamorize Hollywood. I found the characters very easy to relate to, and that surprised me. They had normal reactions to bizarre situations. Previously, Star magazine provided my insider view, now I know the real deal. Beverly Bloomberg is quite a talent! Everyone should read her book especially if you're a bigtime movie producer!