I Heart Hollywood Book Review

I Heart Hollywood by Lindsey Kelk

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Blurb:

Celebs, sunshine and beautiful boys...enough to lead a girl astray?

Angela Clark can't believe her luck. She's an English girl living in New York with a dream job at a hip magazine, The Look, and a sexy boyfriend. Her latest assignment takes her to Hollywood to interview hot actor and fellow Brit James Jacobs. Thrown in at the deep end, she heads west with best friend Jenny, dreaming of Rodeo Drive and Malibu beach. Soon Angela discovers that celebrity life in Hollywood is not all glamour, gloss and sunshine. Despite his lady-killer reputation, the only person who seems genuine is James. Then a paparazzi snaps them in an uncompromising position and suddenly Angela is thrust into the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.

Can she convince all those close to her - especially her boss and her boyfriend - not to believe everything they read? And will Hollywood ever win Angela's heart?

Review by Brittany:

This is the second in the "I Heart" series by this author. This book is a UK import as she is published in the UK and not in the US.

Even though this is a second installment, it is not necessary for the first to be read before this one is. It may enhance the reading experience, but the author does enough of a recap in this second book to cover all necessary bases.

My largest disappointment with this book was actually the character of Jenny Lopez, which is surprising because she seems to be a fan favorite and was a great character in the first novel. She is Angela's best friend, but I thought she was the worst character in the book. She was extremely temperamental with everyone, especially Angela, and she came across as being quite selfish. Angela and Jenny have many confrontations throughout the book, and each time I found myself getting more and more frustrated with Jenny. I also can't understand why Angela puts up with Jenny. I found the entire friendship frustrating and I don't understand why they are friends.

That being said, the other characters in the book are great. Angela is a bit of an airhead and makes some bad choices, but she is lovable anyway. She is funny and humble and endearing, despite the fact that there were many times when I just wanted to shake her. Her boyfriend, Alex, is less developed in this novel, which is one reason why reading the first would enhance this one. I could see why she cares for him, but I don't think his charm came through as well in this one. The Hollywood star of the novel, James Jacobs, spends most of the book seeming just that little bit too good to be true. In the end, he is shown to be human like the rest of us, which I really appreciated.

I enjoyed reading about the different hot spots in LA and the experiences Angela had. There was a bit too much partying and drinking for my taste, but that's only a personal preference. Overall I thought the book was pretty cute. I just hope that, throughout the series, Jenny's character will get some redeeming qualities.