Customer Reviews

Lucky Stars

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Okay, those of you who know me know we're really going into uncharted territory here when I am reading a romantic mystery. My usual formula for evaluating a mystery or suspense novel is explosions X karate battles = Great Book. LUCKY STARS however is a romantic mystery, which is to say it's light on the mystery and heavy on the romance and life situations, though the touch on those topics is actually pretty light, too.

It's what I call a poolside (as opposed to beach) book. I have a friend who has a closetful of books like this, by authors of whom I've never heard; my friend has friends who have a closetful of these books as well and they trade them around and around. There's a heck of a fan base here and, while the writers who mine that base aren't exactly as well known as the Parkers and the Burkes and the Grishams, they have their serious fans. And after reading LUCKY STARS by Jane Heller, I can see why.

This isn't deep or tricky stuff. The heroine of the piece, Stacey Reiser, moves from Cleveland to Hollywood, seeking fame and hopefully fortune as an actress. It is not incidental that, in the process, she also leaves her mother Helen behind. Helen, however, decides to move to Hollywood to look after Stacey. Her meddlesome ways would be bad enough all by themselves. To make matters worse, though, Helen suddenly finds herself to be an overnight Hollywood sensation, with all of the trappings that go along with it, such as fame, fortune and romance --- all of the things that Stacey has been working for but that continue to elude her. Suddenly, their roles are reversed and, when Helen's boyfriend, who seems to be the perfect catch, arouses Stacey's suspicions, it's Helen who resents the meddling. Stacey's suspicions are well placed of course and it's subtly obvious she is right. Neither the reader nor Stacey quite knows why, however, but finding out is part of the fun of LUCKY STARS. Along the way Stacey finds true love and, while she doesn't get everything she wants, she gets what she wants the most.

Escapist? Sure, but what fiction isn't? It's not Raymond Chandler, but not everyone wants, or needs, Chandler. Heller is quite good at what she does. She makes you care about what happens to her characters --- even Helen --- and LUCKY STARS moves along quite quickly and quite nicely. I've already told my friend to make more room, as she'll want to add LUCKY STARS to her collection.

--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

I'm feeling kind of neutral about this JH book. On one hand, I enjoyed the humor and the bantering dialogue. I also liked the pace of the book. However, the lame "mystery" surrounding the mom's boyfriend dragged down the last third of the book and I couldn't wait to finish it. The farce at the end with Stacey disguised as an ex-wife of the mom's boyfriend was too over-the-top for my liking. Out of the three JH books I've read so far, including Female Intelligence and An Ex To Grind, I would recommend An Ex To Grind over the three. I like the author's voice overall so I will be trying one or two more of her novels and hopefully I won't be disappointed.

Jane Heller has a nack for always keeping her books new and fresh.

Stacy Rieser is a budding star and she is trying so hard to make it in Hollywood. She goes on some auditions and lands a really great part in a movie that a famous movie critic pans. He makes mention of her part and how terrible she was in the movie. While she is realing in her self pity - her mother who is a very possive and intrudes on all aspects of Stacy's life, moves from the midwest to Hollywood. She is a constant complainer, and whiner and she is making tuna for her daughter and she finds a bone. She complains to the company who invites her to the plant to look over the factory and she makes such a scene that they LOVE her and NEED her for their new advertising compaign. Stacy is now going crazy.

Stacy gets a job in a retail shop and she inadvertently meets the critic who gives her a rotten write up. She lets him know that she is annoyed and he feels bad that he eventually invites her out to dinner.

The Mother, Helen, is now a HUGE star ( just like the "wheres the beef lady) and she meets a man who wants to marry her. Stacy is now over protective of her mother and goes out to prove that the mother's boyfriend is a murderer.

I liked the book alot, I would recommend this book to anyone.

Ellen

I have read Hellers books before and have loved them so I was anxious to read this one as well. I really enjoyed the first half of the book dealing with the mother - daughter struggles but lost interest with the corny second half dealing with the mothers loser boyfriend. Not up to the same standards as her usual work.

This book written by Jane Heller is passably entertaining. It reminds me of a made for T.V. romantic comedy. All of the elements that make a major motion picture are there, but whatever it is that makes you want to watch (or this case read) something over and over again are missing. Don't get me wrong, there are moments of genuine character developement and humor in the book, but the moments are too few and far between to sustain the story. The plot and the main mystery in the story oddly seems to be in the background. It is predicable with no real plot twists. The first person narration used in the novel is supposed to establish a rappaport bewteen the narrator and the reader fails at times. I felt irrated with the narrator many times, not enchanted. All in all this book is fun to read, but utterly forgettable.

I really enjoy reading Jane Heller's books. I'll admit: I'm a romantic and all her books have happy endings. Lucky Stars starts out with a over-protective annoying mother and her daughter, who is an aspiring actress. The mom moves out to California to be closer to her daughter and the action begins. Heller has such an amazing imagination! Her plots will always surprise and amuse. This is a wonderful and fun read!

Great book that was funny and easy to read. Good storylne, maybe a bit frustrating at times how the mither ignores the daughter, but overall great book with a good ending - already have checked out many more Jane Heller books from the library.

I enjoy Jane Heller's cheerful and entertaining style. A young woman moves to Hollywood to pursue her acting career and get away from her overbearing but well-meaning mother. A hallmark of the author's style is her main characters have funny personality flaws that constantly get them into ridiculous situations. They are human and easy to identify with. Mother and daughter try iron things out in comical ways that make this book a great read.

Having read Ms. Heller's Best Enemies and Name Dropping, I had high hopes for this book. I like her style of writing: romance/comedy/mystery all in one. This book started off well, but somewhere in the middle I just got tired of Stacey's constant complaining about EVERYTHING! Enough already! I managed to keep reading and closer to the end, I got into it again. I wouldn't buy it, check it out from the library. It's worth reading if your a fan of the author. This won't stop me from reading her other books. Hopefully they will be better.

Having read several of Heller's novels, I was looking forward to reading Lucky Stars. However, I found it to be a disappointment: the dialogue was contrived, the characters were flat, and the plot itself was slow. Heller describes her heroine, Stacey, as savvy, intelligent, and street-smart, but she is portrayed as completely the opposite. She is too quick to fall for whatever information she finds on the antagonist, Victor Chellus, and is even quicker to tattle-tale to her mother. Her romance with Jack Rawlins is completely unbelievable, given the fact that he is portrayed as a pompous jerk in the beginning--he fell for her too easily, and the whole thing comes off as entirely contrived. The book has its moments, but overall, it was a big disappointment. My advice? Save your money--not to mention your time--for something more enjoyable and worthwhile.