A HOLLYWOOD ENDING

Author: Robin Sysman ISBN: 9780452286139 5/2008 CHICK LIT Publisher: PLUME

American starlet Paige Carson is off to London to try her hand at Shakespeare, and prove that she deserves more than bimbo roles and Hollywood hunks who can't see beyond their own reflections. But stage acting is not quite what she expected. Neither is her landlord, Ed Hawkshead, a highfalutin documentary-maker who seems far from the charming, floppy-haired Brit of her daydreams. Having a spoiled Hollywood brat—even one this attractive—as a tenant is Ed's worst nightmare. He's certain he will have to rescue her from trouble and is surprised when the tables are turned and he is the one needing help. Opposites attract as Paige and Ed must revise their assumptions about each other and rise to new challenges professionally.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

A HOLLYWOOD ENDING bills itself as a London-based romance, but more than half the book is over before the heroine even meets the "hero"—so I'd categorize this book as chick lit. It's a fun, enjoyable read, but calling it a romantic comedy is pushing it.
 
Paige Carson is the twenty-nine year old daughter of a rock god and a Playboy playmate turned actress turned activist. Think Kate Hudson or her ilk. Over the course of the first third of the book, her life falls apart from her point of view. She's a rich, beautiful, A-list actress, but all she can really see are the clunkers in her career, the ape-like male costars, and that most of her family and former loves move on while she stays in place. Finally, she can't take it anymore and accepts a low-paying theater job in London playing the biggest female lead in Shakespeare's canon.
 
Her temporary lodging there is most of a house owned by Ed, a snooty BAFTA-wielding documentary producer who is torn between continuing to pursue his non-commercial dreams or selling his business for big bucks.
 
You are probably getting the picture. These people don't have problems by the standards of normal people, so you aren't going to enjoy this book unless you surrender to the fantasy. I did like the book, actually, but I want you to know what you are really getting. It's A HOLLYWOOD ENDING, indeed!

Heather Hiestand