MONKEY STAR

Author: Brenda Scott Royce ISBN: 0451221265 8/2007 CONTEMPORARY Publisher: NAL TRADE

When we last saw Holly Heckerling, the Big Apple was taking a bite out of her! In this uproarious sequel to MONKEY LOVE, Holly sets her sights out West, traveling to Hollywood to be her best friend's Lamaze coach. Miracle of childbirth aside, Hollywood has a lot to offer. Holly soon finds herself working as an animal trainer on a big-budget movie and fantasizing about leaving New York behind for good. But she's reluctant to say goodbye to her boyfriend, Tom, or Tallullah, the monkey who stole her heart during a pet-sitting assignment. And while she's in her element wrangling monkeys, ferrets, and snakes, she isn't sure how to handle the A-list actor who's following her around like a lovesick puppy.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

When I received the email that Brenda Scott Royce had a book out for review, I was totally stoked to be able to review it. Her books are so over-the-top that they can take my moods from horrendous to downright hilarious in no time! I was lucky enough to get to review MONKEY LOVE when it came out, so I feel very privileged to say that I loved MONKEY STAR just as much, if not more!

We begin the very first chapter of the book with Holly obviously having the lousiest day of her life, even though it is pretty darned funny. Her aunt Betty is making the most out of a lamaze class that Holly is coaching; she gets locked out of her apartment and then subsequently stuffed into the milk door trying to get in, which results in a visit from the fire department, no less; her boyfriend ditches her to spend time with his ex-wife; and she is flat broke, down to her last dollar. Things seriously cannot get any worse for her. She has to move back home and is trying really hard to accept her boyfriend's relationship with his ex, but she is just altogether unhappy. She has become a broke, practically single, bingo playing temp worker and there has to be something more exciting than that!

So now she is on her way to Los Angeles to be her friend Carter's lamaze coach, and her trip has been a bit on the crappy side, but, at least she is here! And right from the get-go, this is one heck of a trip! Throw in another hunky guy, a man with a Monkey and a director's chair and this is bound to be Holly's best adventure yet! The fun just never ends in Holly's world (she would probably stare at me like I was crazy for thinking that). Holly is so charming and utterly unaware of her ability to make a person smile—she is just very endearing. Her life is one big-old, crazy mess after another, but that's what makes her so great!

Brenda Scott Royce has written a fabulous sequel to MONKEY LOVE, and I, for one, love being reacquainted with Holly after all this time!

Kristal Gorman