Ramblings of an Avid Reader

Stars Over Sunset Boulevard is a quick reading, circular story set in modern day Los Angeles, and 1930's Hollywood.

In the modern day, a hat worn in Gone With the Wind shows up at a vintage clothing boutique run by Christine McAllister. Her desire to find out why she remembers touching the hat as a child, leads her on a special journey.

1938, the Golden Age of Hollywood. Filming has just begun on Gone With the Wind, a groundbreaking movie poised to change film-making for the future. Violet Mayfield arrives at the studio to be a secretary, she meets Audrey Duvall on her first day, and quickly decides to room with Audrey. Audrey has a past as an actress, and aspires to become famous once again. Violet is starting over in a new town, as far from her family as possible.

Their friendship spans decades, families, secrets, and lies. But through it all, Violet and Audrey always come back to each other. They both have deep running desires to achieve success, and success means something very different to each of them. The choices and sacrifices each one makes to achieve their goals have repercussions that reach farther and wider than either of them ever expected.

I enjoyed reading Stars Over Sunset Boulevard, it was an easy read that didn't require much effort to follow. The characters are both likable and pity inspiring at different times in the book. I found myself feeling for both Violet and Audrey, and the emotions didn't feel forced by the author, they felt quite natural. The story did feel a bit contrived at times, the plot was very predictable, and the supporting characters remained completely two dimensional. However, it didn't make me dislike the story, it made it feel more familiar, if anything. This was a nice book, and I'd recommend it for someone looking for a bit of an escape. 

In the full interest of disclosure, I did get and ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.