It’s a not-so-well-respected rule in Hollywood that what happens on location stays on location. But when a hot young leading man winds up dead in his Rome hotel room, his costar’s life is about to go off the rails in a very public way—even by celeb standards.

At the tender age of twenty-three, Mercy Talbot has won an Oscar, battled addiction, wrecked more than her share of cars, and burned down her house. Her look-alike mother keeps her on a tight leash (and fueled with an endless supply of OxyContin and cocaine) and her producers demand a grueling schedule. By the time she stumbles across Juliette Greyson, a Hollywood insider on a much-needed vacation, Mercy is surrounded by photographers and about to emerge drunk, high, and naked from a public fountain. Whisking her away to an idyllic Tuscan ‘retreat,’ Juliette is about to discover another rule of Hollywood: wherever the starlet may go, the drama will follow.

Straight from the pages of a news stand tabloid comes the story of Mercy Talbot, a young actress plagued by stardom and an inherent ability to act. Everyone is clamoring for a piece of Mercy in some way or another, even her own mother can’t seem to get enough of what her talent brings to their small family. Unfortunately for Mercy, she hasn’t quite figured out how to balance the demands surrounding her with the chaos of an increasingly life-threatening work environment. Not only that, but her boyfriend has recently turned up dead and now she’s questioning the circumstances that lead him there. Could she possibly end in the same tragic state?

Starlet was one of those rather fun, quick reads that you enjoy in an afternoon with a cold drink. The characters are entertaining, the plot moves at a quick pace and there is a bit of mystery and romance that keep things exciting. From the moment I witnessed Mercy’s flailing body on top of the statue of Neptune in the Piazza Cordova in Italy, I couldn’t help but want to continue page after page.

Mercy is a Hollywood starlet. One of those girls we all love to hate, but can’t seem to take our eyes off of. They’re on the pages of tabloids and their every move is trapped in still and moving pictures for all the world to see. What I loved though, was that she wasn’t the one-dimensional bland Hollywood girl you get tired of after a few days or weeks, there was more to her. She was a chameleon, able to change into character, on and off the set, with the bat of an eyelash. Though, no matter her acting ability, her mother was able to lock down any potential with the same eyelash batting as Mercy. Each had their motives, but both were fantastic from beginning to end.

In addition to Mercy, Juliette Grayson, aide to the stars at a famous hotel in Hollywood, is just as intriguing. Her character’s shady past, but corrected future makes the perfect counterpart to Mercy’s wayward behavior. Juliette though, had no intention of involving herself with Mercy until filming of Mercy’s next big blockbuster happens to change locations. From that point forward, Juliette had no choice but to assist Mercy in whatever way she could. Not only because she felt compelled to, but because much of her own personal livelihood was at stake now as well.

It’s the story behind what happened to Mercy’s now dead co-star, Lloyd, that propels the story forward at a wonderful pace. Once I had an inkling of what was happening I could hardly help myself from putting it the book down and happily I finished the book in a single reading. There are twists that I honestly didn’t see coming and though I somewhat predicted parts of the ending, I was pleasantly surprised by the outcome.

Unfortunately for me, though the story carried well and was extremely entertaining, I did have one major problem with the writing. It seemed to me that the point of view was constantly shifting from one person to another or from first to third person. It became quite difficult to tell who was speaking and for whom the story was affecting at times. Until I was able to get a grasp on this constant shifting (at least a hundred pages or so), I had a hard time feeling absolutely connected to the story, though not impossible.

Though I had one qualm with Starlet I still found the book to be incredibly delightful and an enjoyable read. With the perfect balance of character development, mystery, glamour and excitement it was a fabulous afternoon read. I would definitely recommend this book to fans of the glitz and glamour of Hollywood, for a small taste of what goes on behind the scenes and an added mystery for excitement.

Thank you to the publisher for sending a copy for review!

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