Book review: Hollywood Sinners by Victoria Fox

POWER Marriage to Hollywood heartthrob Cole Steel secured Lana Falcon a glittering place on the red carpet. But running from a wicked past she has trapped herself in a gilded cage the price of freedom…her soul?

REVENGE Kate diLaurentis’s career is fading as quickly as her looks… What could be worse than discovering her husband’s latest mistress is Hollywood s hottest starlet? Her only option the most shocking revenge.

LUST Chloe French s innocent beauty has captured a million hearts, but no one s warned her of the dangerous, dark temptation of rock star Nate – will lust destroy her?

GREED Las Vegas King, Robert St Louis s fairytale wedding to Sin City s richest heiress is tabloid gold… But scandal circles like a vulture – dirty secrets are about to be exposed!

BETRAYAL From the deepest desires come the deadliest deeds…and these four couples are about to pay for their sins…

Hollywood Sinners is Victoria Fox’s debut novel and what a debut! Right from the first page, as a mystery woman prepares for a movie premiere, I was drawn into the world of fame and celebrity that Victoria creates and I literally didn’t want to put this book down until I’d finished it.

When I was offered Hollywood Sinners for review I wasn’t sure initially as usually I’m not a huge fan of the ‘bonkbuster’ genre but I was drawn to the gorgeous cover and the synopsis sounded interesting so I said yes. I’m so glad I did. Victoria’s writing is fresh and Hollywood Sinners taps into our obsession with celebrity, reading like an insider view of the film, music and entertainment industries. The main locations for the story are Hollywood and Las Vegas; perfect settings for this story of glamour and glitz but which also allow for the seedier underside of the story to be revealed in spectacular fashion.

The cast of characters is large enough to create a really gripping storyline but not so overwhelming as to be confusing and I loved the way that the threads of the individual stories overlapped, met and came together in the final explosive conclusion. There are some fantastic characters in this book including rock-star Nate Reid,the British front-man of The Hides and wannabe bad boy; Kate di Laurenti, Hollywood actress desperate to stay young and in the game and Frank Bernstein, Las Vegas hotelier and old school gangster. But despite the ‘larger than life’ depictions and eccentricities, there is more than a kernel of truth to the characters in Hollywood Sinners and I think their believability is what makes the story so gripping.

Although all of the characters have meaty story-lines, Lana Falcon is the main focus of the book and it was the mystery of her story that had me gripped. As half of America’s golden couple, Lana is a rising star in the acting world, married to Cole Steel, action man and Hollywood heartthrob. But appearances aren’t everything and their fairytale marriage isn’t what it seems. Both Lana and Cole are hiding secrets and Lana’s past is threatening to come back and destroy her perfect life. Flashbacks from Lana’s childhood and teenage years are woven into the story and give a brilliant air of mystery to the plot and set the scene for some dramatic twists as the story progresses.

As with any good ‘bonkbuster’ there are elements of Hollywood Sinners that came as a bit of a shock but they only added to the scandalous nature of the book and despite thinking ‘really?!’ a few times as I was reading, this is a thoroughly enjoyable read. At 600 pages, it certainly packs a punch with short snappy chapters that keep the story moving at a terrific pace with plenty of twists and turns in the plot to keep the reader guessing.

This is the book to be seen with as you lie on your sun lounger this summer – funny and fresh, Hollywood Sinners is a glamtastic debut and sure to be a huge hit!

5/5

Hollywood Sinners is released today and I’d like to thank Tory at Midas for sending me a copy to review.

Look out for my interview with Victoria Fox which I’ll be publishing next week!

You can find out more about Victoria and Hollywood Sinners and enter to win a copy of the book at: http://www.victoriafoxwrites.co.uk