3.5 stars

From Dust to Stardust gave me some serious The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo vibes. But where Evelyn won me over with her humility and ability to reflect on the past with brutal honesty, Doreen was a little more restrained and a little too perfect.

Rooney's writing made it easy to fall back into the past and really feel like you were right there with Doreen, moving to Hollywood and finding her way. It was fun to get a peek behind the scenes and while I’ve read a lot of historical fiction about this time, this was one of the best. While the story is told from Doreen’s perspective, she becomes close with people who play different roles within the industry so her narrative feels more well rounded than you'd expect.

Having said that, by about halfway through the book I was a bit over how Doreen always seemed to do everything right and stumbled into opportunities without having to play dirty or compromise her values. There are a few moments when she even gets a little superior about others around her doing what they need to to try and get ahead.

From Dust to Stardust was easy to read and about a fascinating time in history and in movies. I wasn’t super interested in the dollhouses but I liked the way they were used to direct the storytelling and how they helped Doreen rediscover herself and a purpose. I enjoyed Rooney's writing and will definitely be interested in reading more of her books.

I was intrigued by the synopsis of this book, but I wasn't really sure if I'd like it. I think I equated silent films (kind of boring) to the potentiality of this being boring; however, I didn't find that true at all. The story closely follows the life of Colleen Moore, a well-know silent film star. That being said, the book is fictional and not biographical. So, we get a mix of historical characters and totally fictional and I didn't always know the difference.

The MC and heroine of the story is Doreen O'Dare who has known her entire life that she wanted to be in movies. Her uncle just happened to have a contact who owed him a favor, so he was able to get an audition for Doreen. After that she moved to the to where she could better get her start and stardom...the West Coast. And, of course, her life just took flight from there.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review. From Dust to Stardust is set during the silent film era. Our FMC, Doreen is multifaceted and has worked hard to be a star. I liked how the author describes Doreen’s relationship with her family, friends, colleagues and to a degree even the press. Doreen is a really strong woman and I adore her.

CW: abuse, alcoholism

The only reason why I've not given this book five stars is because the pacing felt a little off at times. There are moments in Eileen's life where it feels like we spend almost every second of every day with her, and other times, especially during the second half of the book, such as the lawsuit she was dealing with as well as her divorce, that I wish we got to spend a little more time on.
Besides that, the author has managed to create a novel that breathes life into a time period that is so often forgotten about.

Thank you to Netgalley for this arc! I appreciate the privilege of reading it and experiencing the world the author has created!

I wanted to love this one! I think it suffered from bad timing - it being a busy holiday season and me flipping it to an audiobook.

The cover is just gorgeous and the premise was intriguing. I liked the back and forth style, the past and present way of storytelling. But I never felt fully pulled in. I never connected with the MC or her story so I never felt the dazzle and rush of success and stardom. I wish I'd loved it.

If the synopsis sounds good and you enjoy these types of stories, you should still give it a try!

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

So happy that Colleen Moore's story is getting broader attention through From Dust to Stardust! Thank you NetGalley for the advance ecopy of this book.

this was such an enjoyable and interesting story!! i would say if you are a Taylor Jenkins Reid fan, you are going to love this!!

As I rarely read historical fiction and this is my first Kathleen Rooney book, I wasn't sure what to expect but what I found was a truly captivating read. I quickly fell in love with the writing style and the main character, and I was pleasantly surprised to find out that she was based on a real life actress, Colleen Moore. It was an incredible experience to read a story equally magical and realistic, one that didn't shy away from describing abuse but also showed the power of hope and hard work. I definitely recommend this one to fans of historical fiction and Hollywood tales but also to anyone who can appreciate real life stories with a bit of magic.

I love books about (relatively) unknown periods of time and the amazing women who navigated those times. A fascinating tale of a woman who pioneered a life in early Hollywood.

Happy to include this title in my recent round-up “The Past is Prologue,” highlighting historical fiction reads for the Books section of Zoomer, Canada’s national culture magazine. (see column and mini-review at link)

I thoroughly enjoyed immersing myself in this book, finding it exceptionally well-written with characters I formed a strong connection to. The narrative skillfully weaves in references to the events and notable figures of the era, offering a rich representation of the historical context. As the story unfolded, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that it draws inspiration from the true life story of Colleen Moore, "The Original Flapper."

The revelation added an extra layer of fascination, knowing that the captivating events and characters were grounded in the experiences of a real-life individual. Intrigued by this connection, I sought out online photographs of the 1-ton miniature fairy castle that the authentic Colleen created—its grandeur surpassing my initial imaginings. I highly recommend readers to explore these visuals as they add a tangible dimension to the narrative.

A heartfelt thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for providing the ARC, granting me the opportunity to delve into this compelling tale enriched by its roots in Colleen Moore's remarkable life.

From Dust to Stardust is a fictionalised retelling of the silent screen star Colleen Moore. From her life as a wannabe actress, pioneer of the Bob hair cut and finally her building of a fairy castle to take on tour.

The story is told by an elderly Colleen, or Doreen O’Dare as the prime female character is in the book.

The novel is based in the wild years of the Hollywood Golden Age, but for me it managed to glam it down a bit. I didn’t feel as I was at any wild parties. I didn’t feel people really laughing and having fun. I just didn’t feel the excitement and hedonism of the time.

This made the novel drag on for me. I wanted glamour, I wanted drama, and I wanted gossip but there was none of it. Or the sniffs and whiffs of it were an aside and this made me feel that it was all a bit sanitised.

This wasn’t a DNF for me, but it was very nearly abandoned. Only my fascination of the era kept me going.

I enjoyed Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk very much, and this, From Dust to Stardust, is written in a similar vein - the main characters each an elderly woman recounting her life. In the first, Lillian walks and thinks of her life. Here, a former silent film star, Eileen Sullivan, known as Doreen O'Dare, tells part of her story to a museum employee who is recording how Sullivan's immense dollhouse came to be, that is on display in the museum's basement, and remembers other parts of her story, her life in Tampa as a child, with a scolding mother and unloving father, her Irish grandmother, her love of movies, her foray to Los Angeles as a would-be actress, her life as a star, her loves, marriages, and more. It didn't matter, but I couldn't always tell what Eileen was telling to the tape recorder and museum employee and what she was only remembering in her mind. In any case, Eileen Sullivan, though a fictionalized character, is based on the silent film star Colleen Moore, whom I'd never heard of, who was a major silent film star, who made the movies Eileen made, and who built the incredible dollhouse that Eileen/Doreen took on the road, as did Colleen, during the Depression. Wonderful historical research is clear in the book, the birth and burgeoning silent film industry in Los Angeles, how that city was then, how Eileen/Doreen/Colleen made their way, the problematic then traumatic marriage to an alcoholic PR man whom she eventually divorces, her sense of focus and determination, her intelligence with money, her friendships with other famous silent film stars, Marion Davies, Mary Pickford, etc., the love she has for fairies, instilled in her by her grandmother. So much happens in Eileen/Doreen's life by such a young age, fame, fortune, heartbreak in love, the bob haircut that helped make her a star. There's no real plot here, it is the former film star who built a dollhouse, had three marriages, left Hollywood, became a financial advisor, talking. She is a fun character, and the prose is often sparkly. While the book didn't work for me overall, I did enjoy reading it, and the form of the book, via these tape recordings, was a good way to get so much historical research across.

Thanks to Lake Union Publishing and Netgalley for the Arc.

A captivating story based on the life of a silent film star. She was a strong and independent woman. Well written.
Many thanks to Lake Union Publishing and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

The years of silent films is nearly forgotten. Few of the stars are known today as well as the stories behind the scenes. Based on the story of Colleen Moore, Kathleen Rooney introduces the reader to Doreen O'Dare who rises up from poverty to being a star in the new world of movies. She takes her love of fairies and starts a collection that culminates in creating a fairy castle that can still be seen today in Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry. 
While I knew of a few silent film stars, I really never studied that era much. When I began reading the story, I found myself looking up information and trying to find more about the era and the industry. There was so much I didn't know and will be discovering all thanks to this book. 
Doreen is a determined woman who would not let anyone, including family, hold her back from her dream of being an actress. Through her eyes, we see the world of silent films and how they were made. While the story is about Doreen and her life, I found myself being educated into a strange world that has been lost in history. 
The characters are all flawed. They are real people with new names or new roles, but their souls are present to take us all on a grand adventure. Doreen becomes a woman you'd love to have known. The story is more than a hint of the bygone years. It is a story that brings that world back to life with an explosion of color and adventure. 
A great read that I'm glad I had the chance to enjoy. Already telling others to read this book. It is one that you have to read if you enjoy historical fiction based on real people. Will also be visiting the museum to see this fairy castle that was created and filled with Ms. Moore's collection of miniatures.

From Dust to Stardust follows the story of Eileen, who travelled to Hollywood to pursue her dream of becoming a movie star, and adopted the name Doreen O'Dare.

I have a great fascination with old Hollywood and the movie stars of the time, so I was very interested in this title. It is a loose adaptation of the life of movie star Colleen Moore, somebody I was unaware of prior to reading this book, but once I learned that, I became even more drawn to the story.

This book gave me Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo vibes, and if you enjoyed that book, then this could very well be for you! Although a little slower to start and not quite as scandalous, From Dust to Stardust is a well written story and I'd be interested to read any of Kathleen Rooney's future work.

The story of an actress’s rise to fame and prominence during the Dust Bowl.

I loved Lillian Boxfish by this author, but this one was so slow. I think it took way too long to get to the main crux of the plot. Halfway through, we weren’t there yet. I think she was trying to evoke Evelyn Hugo too with the way it was setup, but it felt so much more like a narration than an actual story.

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is the story of Eileen Sullivan who made her way to Hollywood via Chicago as a 14 year old chaperoned by her grandmother where she became a silent movie star with the stage name Doreen O’Dare. When the reader meets her, it’s the 1960s and she’s on her way to a museum in Chicago where a dolls house she created is on display. The model then jumps backwards and forwards between Doreen’s early life and film career and her conversations with the museum curator about her dolls house which she built during the Depression to house her collection of miniatures and toured it around the country.

Doreen/Eileen and her dolls house are based on the real life silent movie star Colleen Moore – at least in terms of the Hollywood career, dolls house and some aspects of her later life. I didn’t know anything about Moore before I read the book – and was astonished when I went to read up afterwards how much of the story was based on truth. This is my first book by Kathleen Rooney and I enjoyed the writing style as well as the Old Hollywood setting. It’s hard to tell how you’d find this if you did know more about stars of silent movies, but given that I’m fairly into stuff like this and didn’t know anything about her – despite the fact that it turns out that she’s credited with popularising the bob (and in the pictures it’s basically Phryne’s bob) – I reckon people who do know about her may be in the minority!

So I would rate this as well worth a read if you liked Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and want more movie stars – even if this has less twists and secrets, and is set in a different time.

What a beautiful novel! From the writing, the details, the old Hollywood glamour to the dollhouse, everything was perfection. The story of Doreen O’Dare (Eileen) is told through an interview about the dollhouse she created. Through will and hard work, she made her dream of becoming an actress in Hollywood in the silent movie era come true. She never forgot the fairies her Granny Shaunessy brought her up on or the stories she told her about them. The dollhouse was for them. Through the story, we see the ups and downs of life as an actress in Old Hollywood, the trials of being a woman at that time in history, and Doreen’s personal struggles and accomplishments.

It was so interesting to read about the struggles of an Irish woman, both things that could hold you down at that time. Being Irish and being female could both mean discrimination. Doreen is strong and likable. The dollhouse and Doreen’s obsession with miniatures is an interesting angle from which to tell this story. 5 stars!