Starlet's Light by Carla J. Hanna
Author: Carla J. Hanna Website|Twitter
Published: 1 May 2013 (CreateSpace)
Format: Kindle e-book
Pages: 322
Buy the paperback: Amazon
Buy the e-book: Kindle
Source: Received free copy from author in exchange for an honest review
Plot Summary (from Goodreads):
Isolated on set in the United Kingdom, Lia struggles through the 5 Stages of Grief while shooting her last feature film. Cancer survivor, Oscar winner, and victim of several crimes, Lia sinks into despair as her heart fails. With supportive childhood friend Manuel Biro, and the help from Swiss billionaire-heir Pierre Lambert, Lia is 'so done' with acting and learns that she needs more than just a man's love to prevail.
My Review:
This is the third book in the Starlet series and follows Lia/Marie as she heads to the UK to start filming her latest project. With the moment she meets Pierre fast approaching and her health still in the balance, there's still a lot for her to deal with.
I was really excited to read this book as I knew there were going to be scenes in the UK. It was really cool to see Wales used as a filming location because let's face it, Wales gets neglected a lot when people think of the UK. I love the scenes where Marie is on set and we get a sneak peak at the movie business.
There was tons of drama to sink your teeth into with Starlet's Light. Marie is still having health issues and it seems her life is hanging in the balance at times. I really feared for her. It was also really moving to see her relationship with her mother, whose health is deteriorating even faster. They've had a lot to overcome and it's not easy, but it was really heartbreaking to read about.
What I was most looking forward to in this book was a chance to really meet Pierre. In the previous two books we've only heard from him in email conversations and I couldn't wait for him to make an appearance as Marie heads to Europe. And I wasn't disappointed! He was just as charming and gorgeous a character as I was hoping him to be and I was doing all sorts of squeeing as Marie realises how much she cares about him. I was really rooting for the two of them from the last book and they had great chemistry together in person. I adored that we got to see Pierre's family too and how they became included in the story.
Sadly, Manuel was still very much present and I disliked him even more in this book. He's still completely horrible and very controlling. What made it worse is that Marie seemed to have lost all ability to make decisions for herself, and instead made her choices of who to be with based on everybody else telling her who she'd be better of with. I feel like Marie has the potential to be that strong character and make decisions but she's far too easily influenced by those around her in Starlet's Light, and seems to spend more time talking to people about being in a relationship with someone than actually enjoying being in one. In the middle of all the drama with Manuel it seemed like Pierre got forgotten about which made me sad.
The first half of Starlet's Light was definitely more enjoyable for me and like the previous books it raised some really important issues. I liked the plotline about Marie's health and what her future holds. She had some really tough things to face up to such as the chance she may not have children. There were also some really tense scenes where her stalker shows up on the scene. I've become really invested in the characters so with one more book left to read I'd definitely be interested in carrying on with the series. I just hope Marie gets a chance to become a stronger, happier character in future and that Manuel gets what's coming to him!
Rating: 3*
What to read next: Starlet's End by Carla J. Hanna, the unreleased final book in the series
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