Split Ends: Sometimes the End is Really the Beginning [Paperback]

Kristin Billerbeck (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 17, 2007

She's armed--with hot irons, sharp shears, and a flair for color.

She's dangerous--truly bad news for bad hair.

And she's going to do whatever it takes to make a place for herself in the exclusive Beverly Hills salon.

Even if that means sweeping hair, emptying trash, scrubbing dummy heads, and making soy lattes for the stars that come to Yoshi's salon.

Even if it means hiding the fact that she's not really an up-and-comer from New York, but a drunk's daughter from small-town Wyoming.

Even if it means igoring her attraction to a tall, dark stranger in a fedora who just stepped off the elevator...and into her heart.

But can a talented hairdresser from the sticks really make it in image-obsessed L.A.? And can she ever find true love and real success in a town that wrote the book on fake?

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson (April 17, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591455081
• ISBN-13: 978-1591455080
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #940,691 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Kristin Billerbeck is the author of more than 30 novels, including "What a Girl Wants" and the Ashley Stockingdale and Spa Girls Series. She is a fourth-generation Californian, who loves her state and the writing fodder it provides. Learn more at www.KristinBillerbeck.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars It's okay..., June 11, 2007

By 

C. Widman (CT) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Split Ends: Sometimes the End is Really the Beginning (Paperback)

All right it's a cute story but the premise of a country, small town girl moving to a big city isn't an original idea. Unfortunately, Split Ends doesn't venture far or exceptionally well from that idea...

Sarah Claire Winowski moves from small-town-USA, Wyoming to LA in hopes of becoming a star hairstylist. You want her to succeed, to break out on her own because in the past, she has often gotten the short stick in life. I liked the characters from back home- the sweet, blue-haired old ladies who paid her extra at her tag sale just so she'd have more money. I liked the quotes that started each chapter from old time movie stars (Cary Grant, Greta Garbo, James Stewart, etc). That said there was a lot that bothered me. There were many tangents in the story line where Sarah and Dane, usually, would argue over something stupid for multiple pages. And then the very same argument would come up again (i.e. she was a "have not" and he was a "have"). Sarah seemed like a really kind, giving individual that you would love to meet but after awhile she got really annoying, focusing on minute details and making a HUGE deal about them.

Split Ends, overall, was not as enjoyable as other Kristin Billerbeck's books (Ashley Stockingdale series). I was a bit disappointed. There were a lot of very obvious typos. The premise was nothing real original but I still was originally intrigued to see how things would work out for Sarah Claire. (In many ways, the story reminded me a little too much of Phoebe Grant books by Laura Jenson Walker with the movie quotes and trivia.)

I'd recommend Stealing Adda by Tamara Leigh if you're wanting a better fun, fluffy read!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Surprising, atypical chick lit, April 7, 2008

By 

Stacey (Las Vegas, NV USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Split Ends: Sometimes the End is Really the Beginning (Paperback)

Kristin Billerbeck's "Split Ends" seemed like just another `chick lit' novel to start. This time, our heroine is from the wrong side of the tracks - an illegitimate daughter of the town's richest guy - but she wants a better life, so she leaves town (and the responsibility of caring for her alcoholic mother) to pursue her dream of being a hairdresser to the starts at an exclusive salon in California!

I was finally able to really commit to the novel by page 118 when I encountered my favorite line in the book: "...her beauty didn't protect her." The author was relating the story of a gorgeous California girl that just got dumped. This is one of the major themes of the novel, and it really touched me. Beauty has no power!

The celebrity quotes that begin the chapters are charming and some represent very sound advice. The story is smart and funny and touching and (although drama-laden) so true for many American women, today. We place too much importance on what other people think of us instead of who God actually tells us we are. That is an important lesson for us to learn, so this is an important book for us to read. Not only does Kristin Billerbeck entertain, she ministers to the deepest hurt faced by many of us - self-criticism.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Delightful!, February 21, 2008

By 

Elysa Mac "Book-aholic Homeschool Mom" (America's Deep South) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Split Ends: Sometimes the End is Really the Beginning (Paperback)

This delightful love story is a wondeful mix of old fashioned charm and sassy wit. My teenage daughter and I both found this romantic tale to be highly satisfying and enjoyed all the allusions to the Hollywood classics, especially where a certain famous Mr. Grant was concerned.

Kristin Billerbeck is one of my favorite for-fun authors and I think this one is her best yet!