Customer Reviews

Scandal Sheet

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book is fun-- plain and simple. It has funny, quirky characters (I just love the aunts!) that make you laugh. It's a quick and easy read. I generally reserve 5 stars for truly fantastic books (so I don't give them often), so 4 stars to me is still a very, very good read. I definitely recommend it. I think I read somewhere that this is going to be part of a series. If so, I am very much looking forward to the next installment.

Warning to Kindle users, however. It seems that the editing on the Kindle version fell through the cracks, so to speak, about 80% or 90% of the way through the book. All of a sudden all of the quotation marks disappear! It made the last part of the book a bit of a challenge to read. :-)

Hollywood gossip columnist Tina Bender has the scoop on all the latest celebrities. She has no hesitation whatsoever to print the latest news --- no matter how scandalous and she has even been known to bend the truth a little in the name of a story. When Tina receives an anonymous threat, her whole world is upturned especially when it comes to the sexy bodyguard, Calvin Dean, that her boss hires to keep her safe. How can she do her job with him shadowing her? But as the threats become more deadly, his presence might be exactly what she needs and in more ways than one. Until now, Tina's lacks any real connection to those around her. Her love life is confined to a internet friendship with ManInBlack72 and she lives in a retirement home with her Aunt Sue. As the danger mounts, so does the heat between this gossip columnist and bodyguard. Together, they will have to sift through all the stories she has printed and discover just who might be willing to commit murder.

Gemma Halliday's sassy new Hollywood Headlines series in SCANDAL SHEET starts off with a bang. Humorous, slightly outrageous and playful, this mystery romance also touches the heart in moments amid the fast-paced race to catch the culprit. A crazy set of Hollywood characters make up the suspect list, characters just as wild as the stories Tina creates from even the slightest innuendo. Tina may ride a hot pink Honda Rebel motorcycle complete with yellow flames, but beneath the tough exterior she wears on the job, her life lacks the kind of intimacy and indeed non-virtual friendship a woman needs. Sexy, protective and yet willing listen, Cal is just the man for this independent, sassy tabloid reporter. Gemma Halliday creates a wonderful mixture of romance and mystery as Tina digs even deeper into world behind the celebrities. Delightful romantic twists and a clever mystery puzzle make SCANDAL SHEET a light romantic mystery full of smiles, laughter and perfectly placed heart-warming moments amid the humorous, zany Hollywold tabloid world. SCANDAL SHEET is reading entertainment at its best.

COURTESY OF BOOK ILLUMINATIONS

The first book in the new Hollywood Headlines Mystery - Series by Gemma Halliday is funny, great and a joy to read.

Tina Bender's job is to find out all the dirty little secrets nobody wants to share. She is working as a gossip columnist at the infamous L.A. Informer tabloid and loves her job.
But when she starts to receive threatening notes that announce her death, her boss Felix Dunn thinks it's time to team her up with hunky bodyguard Calvin Dean. Tina and the sexy bodyguard are attracted to each other from the beginnig and when the threats become more serious Tina is glad to have Calvin on her side.
But even Calvin can't stop her from digging for the truth about who is willing to kill because of some Hollywood gossip.

"Scandal Sheet" made me laugh a lot and I'm already excited to see how the series goes on. Tina and Calvin are great characters but I also enjoyed reading about Tina's friends and colleagues.
Tina is a hilarious heroine, very witty and clever and you have to love her even though I'm normally not a fan of gossip. Calvin is more of a strong and quiet type but with a good sense of humour. Together they make a great couple and I guess he will have his hands full with Tina and her actions in the future.
It was also nice to meet some of the characters from the High Heel Mysteries- series again. It's not clear where the relationship between Allie and Felix stands so that's another thing I want to know from the next books in the series. I loved Tina's reaction to Allie and how she doesn't know that Allie and Felix share some past.

"Scandal Sheet" is just the right book to relax after a stressful day and I will definitely read the next book in the series called "The perfect Shot" (coming fall 2010) with Cameron Dakota, L.A. Informer's photographer, in the leading role

If you loved Gemma Halliday's "High Heels Mysteries" as much as I did, then you'll be happy to learn that the "Hollywood Headlines Mysteries" series is set in that same world! (Warning: 90s references ahead.) It's a spin-off much like how "Melrose Place" was a 90210 spin-off. You know how Jake the carpenter had that affair with Kelly at the end of one of the 90210 seasons, and then that fall Melrose started and Jake was one of the leads? You had a crossover character, and it was set in the same world, but the main characters and plots were different.

Same thing here. One of my very fave characters from the High Heels series was Felix, the British tabloid reporter. The "Hollywood Headlines" series is set at Felix's newspaper, so while it isn't a sequel to Maddie's adventures, some of the secondaries are the same. And it's written in Halliday's trademark witty tone and style, so High Heels readers will love to come on this new journey. An intriguing whodunnit, a satisfying romance, laugh out loud writing -- what more can you ask for?

I highly recommend!

I loved Halliday's series with Maddie, the Tiny Tot shoe designer who kept walking her high heels into murder, so had high hopes for this new series. And I wasn't disappointed.

Main character, Tina Bender, works for Felix at the LA Informer, and she's full of spunk and promise. What a chick! What a read!

Plus, I love the way people from the first series get pulled into this one. Besides Felix, Marco makes several swishy appearances, and is as priceless as he's always been. While he was Maddie's connection to gossip and all things fashion in the previous series, now he's one of Tina Bender's links to stars and gossip to fuel her column.

I loved this book!! I started it a little cynically, but a few chapters in I was hooked. Couldnt put it down!!!
Purely on how much I loved this (free) book, I have since gone and bought more from Gemma Halliday.

I usually scoff when a book description compares itself to popular authors because it is so rarely true, especially for kindle freebies. For some reason I downloaded this anyway and am glad I did! Halliday does capture the fun spirit of the Stephanie Plum novels without being a secondrate ripoff. Sure, this is fluff but it is well done, fun fluff! I will be downloading her other books and will be happy to pay for them.

I picked this up as a Kindle freebie a while back, and finally had the chance to start reading it. What a fun, irreverant, fast-paced look at the entire paparazzi/Hollywood/celebrity part of Los Angeles. It's a fast read, and we're introduced to the main character's quirky sense of style and ethics early on. Just as we can't help but love Tina and her interesting co-workers, we can't help but laugh (out loud, which earned me some interesting glances from my fellow commuters!) at the narcissism of the southern California elite.
I won't summarize the book, but I will say that if you enjoy a light mystery, poking fun at the self-centered SoCalifornians, meeting offbeat characters, if you live (or have lived) in the area, or have ever laughed at a scandal rag while waiting to pay for your groceries, this is a great sitting-by-the-pool book for you!
I ordered the next in the Hollywood Headlines series immediately on finishing this book.

So happy I decided to download this free Kindle book!! So fun to read, I had a hard time putting it down. I hadn't ever heard of Gemma Halliday prior to searching through Amazon's free Kindle book listing, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I was surprised to find all of the elements that I look for in a great book; suspense, spunk, a little crazy, and a dash of romance. I loved the characters, from the senile aunts, to spunky Bender, the bubbly bimbo...Just loved it. Great book, and I am currently planning how I can justify paying for all of Ms. Halliday's kindle versions. :)

This was one of the better free Kindle books. Although this story is somewhat predictable, I still had a hard time putting it down. I plan to read other Gemma Halliday books since I liked this one so much!