Adored

Enter a world of adjective overload where every armed guard is a "heavily armed guard," where every head of blond hair is "luxuriant," where...aww, eff it. You get the picture. Hemmingway this ain't, and neither you nor I nor anybody else would want it to be. And, damnit, did I try hard to loathe this book. But nope, couldn't. Despite the plot twists too silly and too numerous to list, despite the rather grotesquely overdone sex scenes, despite the aforementioned attack of the adjectival clauses...there was a core to this book that worked. Damned if I know what it was, possibly it was somehow that the characters did in fact -- despite everything -- seem real? You knew how this 21st century morality play was going to come out, yet you show more kept the headphones on yer ears, bucko. And you lapped it up, listening to the last three disks in order, nonstop. The man police will be by to collect your testicles shortly. Damn, and I'm gonna miss 'em. :(

Should I dignify this "review" with any mention of the plot? giggle, snort, hell, no. It was squirted from a tube, the literary equivalent of cheez whiz. But you don't go to cocktail parties for the cheez whiz, and you don't read books like this for their plot, either. Plucky young female always wins out in the end, always gets the man of her dreams after various and sundry tribulations. I mean, c'mon. If cheez whiz is a bit harsh, perhaps an amusement park ride is a more appropriate metaphor.

Oh, and speaking of testicles...when I saw the name "Tilly Bagshawe" I said to myself, "Self, if that isn't a pen name I'll cut my testicles off and eat them." But it apparently is not. Apparently there really are people in the world named "Tilly Bagshawe," and even people in the world named that who've never starred in their own adult film. So, its just as well I'm gonna have to turn them in. Can't imagine they'd be very tasty.

Also, Barbara Rosenblat is to be commended as narrator. For the first hour and a half her voice was annoying has hell, but once we got past the Duke McMahon parts she seemed to settle down and all in all do a better than average job. Annoying that LT has no block to check in the "other authors" section for narrator. show less

Jag tycker om dessa böcker om rikedom, lyxiga miljöer och vackra människor. Vi får följa några personer i ett liv som är så långt ifrån mitt eget. Jag älskar spännande handlingar om svek och lögner i va kra miljöer.

A modern answer to Judith Krantz!! I didn't know anyone wrote these wonderful, fun, trashy family dynasty novels anymore. I loved this - a blast to read, with all the diamonds and silly smuttyness of a Krantz novel, only with more up-to-date cultural references and fashions. A must-read for Krantz fans.

Some critics compared this to Jackie Collins, but Jackie Collins is MUCH more interesting than this seemingly endless (548 pages) novel of evil Hollywood. The impossibly gorgeous and talented Siena McMahon is from a great Hollywood dynasty, yet even fame and fortune have their downside. Cheating, lying, abuse, family grudges, betrayal... yawn.

Siena McMahon inherited much more from her grandfather than his smoldering good looks. Like the famous Duke McMahon, she has a rapacious appetite for the opposite sex, a love of high-living and adventure, and one all-consuming desire: to be the most sought-after and dazzling star of her generation. This is the mesmerizing tale of Siena's journey to fame—her meteoric success as a high fashion model, her struggle to earn respect as an actress, and her legendary affairs with all the wrong men. It is also the story of her larger-than-life family, peopled with characters who give new meaning to the words "ruthless," "romantic," "powerful," and "glamorous." This is a story that brings back a beloved genre of storytelling—the big, sexy, show more larger-than-life blockbuster. show less

Fast pace, reads like a Jackie Collins novel, very entertaining.

Couldn't get into this at all. All the characters are nasty or weak or horrible! Listened to some on audio then gave up.