Miss Bubbles Steals The Show (Red Dress Ink Novels) [Paperback]

Melanie Murray (Author)

Book Description

Series: Red Dress Ink Novels | Publication Date: July 1, 2005

It's like the "big break" fairy knocked and I wasn't home!

But my roommate was -- he's up for a role on All My Children. And Miss Bubbles, my adorable and absurdly intelligent longhaired Persian, can now buy her own Fancy Feast -- she's starring in a prestigious off-Broadway play, opposite the man of my dreams. What's going on here? I mean, hello, my name is Stella -- it means star! Clearly I'm the one who's destined for divadom. I was just about to start really going for it, too: no more wasting time with good-for-nothing boyfriends, chocolate-martini hangovers and Oprah marathons. Just success! That was before my cat got her own dressing room and I landed the supporting role of stage mom. You know, a lesser girl might have contemplated hanging up her head shot.

But not me. I'm determined to snag myself a lead role . . . and while I'm at it, the leading man.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Murray's energetic debut novel stars 25-year-old Stella Aurora Monroe, a struggling actress in New York City whose sparkle may be dimming after one-too-many miserable auditions. On the rebound from an affair with a married man, Stella drowns her sorrows in chocolate martinis and one-night stands. She's on the lookout for a man who might help her career and thinks she's found her ticket to romance and fame in "ascending-to-the-stratosphere" actor Jasper Hodge, until he turns out to be another two-timing dog. Meanwhile, as Stella's career goes nowhere, her whistling white Persian cat, Miss Bubbles, lands a supporting role in Jasper's prestigious Off-Broadway show, and Stella slowly starts to question her own motives in pursuing stardom. She learns something about self-respect and authentic ambition, and makes a quick recovery from a trampled heart when she realizes the bookish boy next door is the real thing. By the end of this entertaining if somewhat thin novel, readers see a shallow, hapless Stella grow up into a more serious—but still spunky—young woman. (July)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Stella Monroe is a down-on-her-luck actress who took off for New York at 18. At 25 and fresh out of a relationship with a married entertainment lawyer, Stella's career is stalled. So she decides to get creative: she takes her cat, Miss Bubbles, to an upscale vet, hoping to be discovered. But it's Miss Bubbles, not Stella, who draws the attention of theater-director Frances Paine, who wants the cat in her latest production. Hoping to ride Miss Bubbles' coattails, Stella agrees. It doesn't hurt that hot TV-star Jasper Hodge is the lead in the play, or that Stella has caught his eye. But as Stella struggles to jump-start her career, she find it's her annoying if handsome neighbor, Christian, who may steal her heart. With a lovable heroine at its center, Murray's debut is a delightful romp through New York's theater world. Kristine Huntley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Red Dress Ink (July 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0373895275
• ISBN-13: 978-0373895274
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,681,097 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Manhattan chick lit romance, June 29, 2005

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Miss Bubbles Steals The Show (Red Dress Ink Novels) (Paperback)

At twenty-five, Stella Aurora Monroe feels like a big failure as she has not taken Manhattan by storm as an actress though she has tried for over six years. Adding to her feeling of failure is that she wakes up with some strange dude in her bed, having no idea of his name only she must have met him at Hell's Bar. After tossing the hunk out, her day goes further downhill when her neighbor Christian Porter treats her with his usual sarcastic disdain.

Stella takes her beloved cat Miss Bubbles to the vet when a Jack Russell gets loose and frightens the feline, who while hiding whistles. Another client Francis Paine sees the white Persian perform and suggests Stella take Miss Bubbles to the Cherry Lane Theater where she would obtain a part in a play. Excited for Miss Bubbles, Stella is also jealous that her cat is going to be a star and paying the rent while Christian is beginning to look nicer.

Talk about truth in advertising, MISS BUBBLES STEALS THE SHOW in this fun Manhattan chick lit romance. Stella almost seems like two people as she is kind to her feline owner yet a "bigger than big jerk" towards Christian although she always feeds him. Still Stella is no contender for smartest character as she sleeps around with no pleasure in that; readers will enjoy learning why in this fine lighthearted romp.

Harriet Klausner

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun feline fluff, April 6, 2006

By 

Melissa Niksic (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Miss Bubbles Steals The Show (Red Dress Ink Novels) (Paperback)

Okay, I'll admit it...I bought this book largely because of the fact that the cover features a gorgeous Persian cat sitting in a director's chair and wearing a feather boa. How could anyone pass that up?! I was pleasantly surprised, however, when I discovered that "Miss Bubbles Steals the Show" is actually GOOD! Yes, it's total chick lit, but it was a lot of fun to read.

The story revolves around Stella Monroe, a 25-year-old would-be actress in New York City. Poor Stella has had rotten luck with men and can't seem to land a decent audition. Eventually Stella is upstaged by her cat, Miss Bubbles, who is cast in an off-Broadway play. Miss Bubbles' costar, Jasper Hodge, is a handsome "solid B-list" actor who sweeps Stella off her feet, and it looks like her luck might finally be changing for the better. However, life is never that simple, and Stella must face many more ups and downs as she journeys down a road of personal self-discovery and ultimately figures out which things are most important in life.

"Miss Bubbles Steals the Show" is Melanie Murray's first novel, and it's very enjoyable. As a former college theatre major, I enjoyed the entertaining behind-the-scenes portrayal of New York's theatre industry. I also liked the way Stella's character transformed throughout the course of the novel: in the beginning, she's just another ditzy actress with her head in the clouds, but by the end of the book she's matured a great deal (although she's still kind of ditzy...but in an endearing sort of way).

I'm usually not a big advocate of chick lit, but I think most women will get a kick out of this book. It's a fun and relaxing story that will keep you amused and entertained until the very end. (Plus, there's a CAT in it! I love it!)

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Miss Bubbles is cute, July 3, 2005

By 

Little D (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Miss Bubbles Steals The Show (Red Dress Ink Novels) (Paperback)

I'm a new fan of Melanie Murray.
She really came through with her first book.
Stella Monroe is a likeable character who tried hard to get where she wants to be only to find out that's not what she wants to be at all. And of course she learns all this through many trials life has thrown her way. And of course Miss Bubbles, and her pack of friends and neighbors teaches her a thing or two about what she should be doing.
Let's hope that there will be a second novel by Melanie Murray. If there isn't I sure will be disappointed.