I was really excited to read this book. And then I finished it and was NOT excited about it. I didn't expect a great literary story...but I was hoping for something with a little more depth.
Summary: Sometimes the biggest ripples come from the smallest events. Like the day that Emma Guthrie walks into world-famous movie star Garrett Walker’s trailer. When she steps through the door, she’s a novice PA who’s just dropped out of college after losing her scholarship. When she walks out, she’s on her way to becoming Mrs. Emma Walker—wife of an A-list actor. Soon, Emma has made the transition from nobody to red-carpet royalty, trading jeans and flip-flops for closets full of Chanel and Birkin bags, swishing past velvet ropes to attend every lavish party and charity gala on both coasts. With her husband’s encouragement, Emma pens a screenplay based on her life, Fame Tax, which becomes a blockbuster sensation. Through it all, Garrett is her ally and her mentor . . . until their relationship is thrown into question by an incriminating text message that Emma discovers on Garrett’s phone the night of the Met Costume Institute Gala.
Devastated by her husband’s infidelity and hounded mercilessly by the paparazzi, Emma must flee New York City to get away from it all and clear her head. Her destination? A sleepy coastal town in Mexico where no one recognizes her and there is nothing but unspoiled beaches for miles. Here, she meets Ben, a gorgeous, California-born surf instructor, who teaches her about the healing powers of surfing, shows her the joys of the simple life, and ultimately opens her up to the possibility of love.
Maybe it's my fault for not being more realistic about my expectations for this book, but the story was 100% predictable and the end was absolutely ridiculous. I think by reading the description of the book, one could surmise what the end result would be...and I'm okay with that. But when there is zero twist thrown into the story until I get to that ending, that's when I really dislike a book.
But I think my biggest beef with the book is the title of the book and it's connection to the story. The majority of the book was about how the main character was struggling, then met a rich actor, their whirlwind romance, and the ultimate demise of their romance. Then the recovery of our main character was told in such a rushed fashion with a REALLY weak connection to this idea of what a "groundswell" is.
This story is written by Billy Joel's ex-wife (Katie Lee) and their romance supposedly went a way that is similar to this story. The author has denied it, but the story tells a different story. There is so much emphasis put into how they got together, how they existed in this uber-glamourous setting, and then a lengthy description of their downfall. The end part of the story was such a side note to me that it seemed to me that she rushed that part along because she didn't have as much of a story to tell like the first part of the book.
Overall, it was okay. It's a quick read (I finished in about 24 hours) and is a nice palate cleanser between heavy books. But I certainly wouldn't buy this book (I library-ed this one).
Rank: C-
No comments:
Post a Comment