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A review by tita_noir
Again by Kathleen Gilles Seidel
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.