Friday 13 May 2011

Hollywood Sinners by Victoria Fox

Hollywood Sinners is an explosive tale of love, jealousy and revenge that hops between glamorous locations in LA and Las Vegas. It follows the four couples of Lana Falcon and Cole Steel; Nate Reid and Chloe French; Robert St Louis and Elisabeth Sabell; and Kate diLaurentis and Jimmy Hart - their stories intertwine, overlap and finally collide in a delicious finale at a film premiere in Las Vegas.

For a debut novel, Victoria Fox writes with assurance - the pages fly by thanks to short, sharp chapters, larger-than-life characters and an intriguing plot. It certainly doesn't feel at all like a debut novel, and sits well alongside classic bonkbuster authors such as Jackie Collins.

The characters are a mix of those you love and those you loathe - as is usual in these types of novels there is a central character who is warm and the reader is able to root for; in Hollywood Sinners this character is Lana Falcon. The nature of her marriage and the past that comes back to haunt her allows the reader to feel great sympathy, and hope that everything will come good in the end.

I enjoyed the fact that this ending to the novel was hard to predict, certainly after a twist that Fox revealed a little over halfway through the story. I was kept guessing, and felt I *had* to read all the way to the end just to find out what would happen. Having a plot as engaging as this is a great addition to the usual threads you find through your usual bonkbuster.

I will complain a little about the sex! It was decent enough, but most of it felt quick and perfunctory - I didn't find myself *ahem* satisfied, and felt that Fox shied away a little from more *ahem* lengthy scenes. In future novels, I would happily see more of this! *grins*

Seriously, Hollywood Sinners is a perfect summer beach read. As I flew through the pages, I could almost feel the sun and taste the pina colada! It was thoroughly entertaining, with a refreshing youthful voice joining the field of bonkbusters. I will definitely be picking up Fox's next novel.

2 comments:

  1. awesome blog.

    check out short story slam and make a submission today.

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  2. Loved this! Can't wait for her next one!

    ReplyDelete