una_macchia's review
4.0
Some aspects of this book are definitely dated and I'm not sure how I felt about the resolution to the romance, but it was really interesting - in fact, the romance between Jenny and Alec is kind of the least interesting part. Very well-developed characters and the soap opera world is fascinating.
tita_noir's review
3.0
This is the second book in my Seidel glom.
Jenny Cotton is the writer/producer of a daytime soap called My Lady's Chamber. Alec Cameron is a soap star who left a more prominent soap (but less well written and less well received) to over the part in Jenny's soap opera.
A bit lighter in tone than [b:Don't Forget to Smile|2385083|Don't Forget to Smile|Kathleen Gilles Seidel|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1218692529s/2385083.jpg|2392095] but just as in that book where Seidel give insider details about life in Beauty Pageants, this one gets the same treatment with daytime soaps.
I enjoyed this book but only gave it three stars for two reasons: First,because I found Jenny a bit elusive and, well, a bit of a wimp in some ways. At first I wondered if this was because the story is told mainly through Alec's POV (which is GREAT, btw)but then I figured a lot of authors tell stories through one character and still manage to make other characters very real.
One problem may be that Jenny is in a truly bad relationship when Alec comes along. Alec very quickly sees how terrible her boyfriend Brian is for her and even on some level Jenny does as well, but she is in deep denial. Brian isn't abusive or anything, but the dynamic of the relationship isn't healthy. Brian is an actor on the show and Seidel is subtle (at first) in painting the dysfunction of the relationship. Alec very falls in love with Jenny and is frustrated by her relationship with Brian. The flashback scenes of Jenny and Brian as a young kids, each the only child in a single parent home, who gravitate toward each other explains their deep connection and why these two different people are together in the first place. So it is a good and reasonable foundation, but like Alec, I was a tick frustrated as well.
Second, Jenny used her writing on the soap to work out her issues with Alec and Brian. Different fictional characters on the show act out their triangle. Alec immediately realizes what is going on and Jenny (again) is in denial ... but only up to a point. I actually find the convention of using a medium like a film or tv to mirror your life a but cheesy, actually. So i rolled my eyes a couple of times.
But these were two fairly smallish points in an overall, very well written and quite enjoyable read. Alec is an especially strong point in the book. He's quite a good character to use for the POV. I also especially loved the very soapy elements of the book itself. It seemed almost as if Seidel was paying homage to the subject she was writing about because there were some deliciously soapy moments in this book that I haven't seen in her other books. I also enjoyed the bitchy backstage gossip and fragile egos of the actors.
Jenny Cotton is the writer/producer of a daytime soap called My Lady's Chamber. Alec Cameron is a soap star who left a more prominent soap (but less well written and less well received) to over the part in Jenny's soap opera.
A bit lighter in tone than [b:Don't Forget to Smile|2385083|Don't Forget to Smile|Kathleen Gilles Seidel|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1218692529s/2385083.jpg|2392095] but just as in that book where Seidel give insider details about life in Beauty Pageants, this one gets the same treatment with daytime soaps.
I enjoyed this book but only gave it three stars for two reasons: First,because I found Jenny a bit elusive and, well, a bit of a wimp in some ways. At first I wondered if this was because the story is told mainly through Alec's POV (which is GREAT, btw)but then I figured a lot of authors tell stories through one character and still manage to make other characters very real.
One problem may be that Jenny is in a truly bad relationship when Alec comes along. Alec very quickly sees how terrible her boyfriend Brian is for her and even on some level Jenny does as well, but she is in deep denial. Brian isn't abusive or anything, but the dynamic of the relationship isn't healthy. Brian is an actor on the show and Seidel is subtle (at first) in painting the dysfunction of the relationship. Alec very falls in love with Jenny and is frustrated by her relationship with Brian. The flashback scenes of Jenny and Brian as a young kids, each the only child in a single parent home, who gravitate toward each other explains their deep connection and why these two different people are together in the first place. So it is a good and reasonable foundation, but like Alec, I was a tick frustrated as well.
Second, Jenny used her writing on the soap to work out her issues with Alec and Brian. Different fictional characters on the show act out their triangle. Alec immediately realizes what is going on and Jenny (again) is in denial ... but only up to a point. I actually find the convention of using a medium like a film or tv to mirror your life a but cheesy, actually. So i rolled my eyes a couple of times.
But these were two fairly smallish points in an overall, very well written and quite enjoyable read. Alec is an especially strong point in the book. He's quite a good character to use for the POV. I also especially loved the very soapy elements of the book itself. It seemed almost as if Seidel was paying homage to the subject she was writing about because there were some deliciously soapy moments in this book that I haven't seen in her other books. I also enjoyed the bitchy backstage gossip and fragile egos of the actors.
ssejig's review against another edition
4.0
I remember reading this book around the time it first came out and I enjoyed it greatly. Then it was reviewed by Janine at Dear Author and I wondered how much the story held up. Actually, pretty well.
This is as much a story about falling out of love as it is a romance. Jenny Cotton has been with her boyfriend, Brian, for a long time. 14 years. They moved out to New York City together and now she's the head writer on a soap that Brian stars on. But a new actor, Alec Cameron, is joining the show. And he's shaking things up, making Jenny notice where her relationship might not be working as well as she thought.
I loved the characters of this story.
This is as much a story about falling out of love as it is a romance. Jenny Cotton has been with her boyfriend, Brian, for a long time. 14 years. They moved out to New York City together and now she's the head writer on a soap that Brian stars on. But a new actor, Alec Cameron, is joining the show. And he's shaking things up, making Jenny notice where her relationship might not be working as well as she thought.
I loved the characters of this story.
willaful's review
funny
hopeful
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Miscarriage
slowburnsrus's review against another edition
2.0
The more I thought about this book after I finished it, the more it annoyed me. The setting is the best part by far. The Downton Abbey-esque plot of the tv show where our characters spend their time was so engaging, it was disappointing when those interludes ended and we returned to the main love triangle. The insights into the making of a soap opera and the actor's relationship to their characters were intriguing. The story has some promise--hardworking heroine has been dating the same man since she was a child, and slowly realizes his flaws and her own power as a woman. But:
The hero refuses to do his job until the heroine (his boss) falls in love with him. He's pretty much the worst employee ever.
The sole sex scene is abbreviated and awkward. The hero withholds sex until the heroine falls in love with him. See a pattern?
The hero is both controlling and passive. I didn't find him particularly appealing although he is from Prince Edward Island and there are several enjoyable Anne of Green Gables references.
I also found the ending very unsatisfying and abrupt. It's told from the point of view of a minor character so you don't really get to see the HEA.
Despite the excellent setting, I would pass on this one.
The hero refuses to do his job until the heroine (his boss) falls in love with him. He's pretty much the worst employee ever.
The sole sex scene is abbreviated and awkward. The hero withholds sex until the heroine falls in love with him. See a pattern?
The hero is both controlling and passive. I didn't find him particularly appealing although he is from Prince Edward Island and there are several enjoyable Anne of Green Gables references.
I also found the ending very unsatisfying and abrupt. It's told from the point of view of a minor character so you don't really get to see the HEA.
Despite the excellent setting, I would pass on this one.
takethyme's review against another edition
3.0
AGAIN is an unusual piece of fiction in regards to the plot itself and the way it was told. It had both strengths and weaknesses. First, the storyline was unusual; two male actors are both interested in the same woman who is the lead writer for the show they work on. It is a soap opera that takes place during Regency times. Now, I have never watched a soap opera in my entire life, but if I did a soap of this kind would intrigue me.
The head writer, Jenny Cotton, had an unusual upbringing. Her mother died when she was very young and her father, just barely out of his teens, responsibly takes action and raised her up on his own. Though Jenny does not have the most ideal childhood, her dad tried his best. Unfortunately, she still fought against loneliness until she met Brian O'Neill. He also lived in a single parent household with his mother and fights some demons of his own. The two young people gravitate toward each other when Brian moves into the area and starts to attend the same high school as Jenny. Friends first, they eventually become lovers and decide to move to New York after they graduate.
The chapters in this mild romance move back and forth between Jenny's past and the present time. She is now 28 years old and her life with Brian is, for the most part, stagnant. He always seems to put himself first: nothing has changed in their personal life for a long time. Then Alec is hired to join the show and Jenny's life takes a turn. When he is 'talking' the story is told from his POV and that was very refreshing.
My problem was with Jenny because she comes across as weak. She knows her life is far from ideal but she still clings to Brian, who is a very shallow man. Alec helps her out on more than one occasion -when Brian should have been there- and they become attracted to each other. Things build very slowly between these two but Brian is still very much a part of Jenny's life. And everything is fairly innocent until....well, you just need to read the story.
I really, really wanted to give the story more stars. Like other reviewers, I had a hard time with the heroine. I wanted to tell Jenny to move on(!); she could do so much better. She had someone who truly appreciated and cared about her; Alec was a sweetheart who tried to let Jenny go at her own pace. If you have an opportunity to find this older contemporary romance and are a sucker for the underdog, give it a try.
The head writer, Jenny Cotton, had an unusual upbringing. Her mother died when she was very young and her father, just barely out of his teens, responsibly takes action and raised her up on his own. Though Jenny does not have the most ideal childhood, her dad tried his best. Unfortunately, she still fought against loneliness until she met Brian O'Neill. He also lived in a single parent household with his mother and fights some demons of his own. The two young people gravitate toward each other when Brian moves into the area and starts to attend the same high school as Jenny. Friends first, they eventually become lovers and decide to move to New York after they graduate.
The chapters in this mild romance move back and forth between Jenny's past and the present time. She is now 28 years old and her life with Brian is, for the most part, stagnant. He always seems to put himself first: nothing has changed in their personal life for a long time. Then Alec is hired to join the show and Jenny's life takes a turn. When he is 'talking' the story is told from his POV and that was very refreshing.
My problem was with Jenny because she comes across as weak. She knows her life is far from ideal but she still clings to Brian, who is a very shallow man. Alec helps her out on more than one occasion -when Brian should have been there- and they become attracted to each other. Things build very slowly between these two but Brian is still very much a part of Jenny's life. And everything is fairly innocent until....well, you just need to read the story.
I really, really wanted to give the story more stars. Like other reviewers, I had a hard time with the heroine. I wanted to tell Jenny to move on(!); she could do so much better. She had someone who truly appreciated and cared about her; Alec was a sweetheart who tried to let Jenny go at her own pace. If you have an opportunity to find this older contemporary romance and are a sucker for the underdog, give it a try.
isalaur's review
5.0
I absolutely loved this book. The unique storytelling device served the plot advancement so well.
The book takes place on the set of a daytime soap opera set in the Regency period. Through the stories on the show the show's head writer and the male main character figure out who they are, why they are and ultimately what and who they want to be. At times it is emotionally heart wrenching. One particular passage had me sobbing (no spoilers!). At other points in time I wanted to reach into the pages and slap people.
The detailed way in which the world of soap opera writing and production were portrayed demonstrates a lot of research and the ability to really paint a setting. I felt like I was there and felt the urgency.
Overall just a really rewarding and exhilarating read. Something different and welcome.
The book takes place on the set of a daytime soap opera set in the Regency period. Through the stories on the show the show's head writer and the male main character figure out who they are, why they are and ultimately what and who they want to be. At times it is emotionally heart wrenching. One particular passage had me sobbing (no spoilers!). At other points in time I wanted to reach into the pages and slap people.
The detailed way in which the world of soap opera writing and production were portrayed demonstrates a lot of research and the ability to really paint a setting. I felt like I was there and felt the urgency.
Overall just a really rewarding and exhilarating read. Something different and welcome.
rebleejen's review
4.0
A book set on a soap opera set, where soap opera imitates life and life starts to imitate soap opera. Very cleverly done. Ending was a little cheesy.
georgiewhoissarahdrew's review
3.0
Clunky clunky opening, but a surprisingly entertaining story about a HR soap opera. All the best bits are about the making of the shows--the relationship and characters didn't really work for me. Some intolerant opinions about motherhood, and a 2-D OW further left a slightly sour taste. But all in, it's worth it for the fascinating setting.
aliibera's review
4.0
This was a reread for me but a good one- the combination of old school soap operas, Regency romance, and Seidel's ability to create strong characters with recognizable behavior make for terrific pleasure reading.
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