Set in an iconic era of Hollywood, The Unforgettable Loretta, Darling, is a sassy and addictive book filled with fun and daring characters. I found this to be a really enjoyable read, it was filled with the 20th century historical fiction vibes that I love and was so engaging with both plot and characters. Everything about this book was so aesthetically pleasing, from the cover to the title to the characters, I was dying to read it and so glad that I was able to get an ARC.

I wanted to love this book. I nearly did in places. It’s the story of a young woman who cons her way to America and lands work, through persistence, as a make-up artist. It’s also a story of vengeance against a patriarchal studio system. It just needed a bit more fleshing out for me. Loretta’s story of how she got to where she ended up is drawn out until nearly the end of the book, by which time it felt like I’d worked it all out anyway. Her revenge against people who wrong her feels unsubtle- it feels like she is phenomenally lucky not to get found out. She also bags a lovely boyfriend, who puts up with a lot. If I were him I’d be sleeping with one eye open if I put a foot wrong.
All in all, I found this a readable tale, I just felt a bit unsatisfied with it.
Thanks to NetGalley for the reading opportunity.

This was fun! It's set in the old Hollywood era, full of scandals and orgies and gossip. I loved the references to real people. Loretta is such a great character.

In this thrilling debut set in 1950s Hollywood, aspiring makeup artist Loretta Reynolds escapes a troubled past for the glamorous yet brutal world of Tinseltown. Newly married, she’s thrust into a nightmarish party where her husband tries to trade her for favors. Fueled by betrayal, Loretta seeks revenge against Hollywood's powerful predators, assembling a diverse crew: a fading starlet, a friendly sex worker, and a brooding screenwriter.

A mix of historical fiction, mystery, and dark wit, this novel offers a sharp, gritty take on Golden Age Hollywood, with echoes of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo but with a darker edge. It does contain sexual violence, so be advised. If you enjoy tales of ambition and vengeance with a vintage twist, this one's for you.

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The story is about 20 year old Loretta Reynolds, who has moved to Hollywood hoping to become a make up artist to the movie stars, it’s set in 1950’s Hollywood where studio heads, contracts for stars and hunger for fame is what it’s all about.

Loretta is a BIG character - running from a complicated past in England, sets her sights on Hollywood only to find Tinseltown has a dark side to it.

A great debut novel!

Focuses on 20 year old Loretta Reynolds, who has moved to Hollywood hoping to become a make up artist to the movie stars
“Your Loretta Darling now, welcome to your brand new flipping life”
Loved the glamorous 1950s Hollywood setting, such an interesting decade, found it very reminiscent of Evelyn Hugo
Loretta is such a character - she is running from a complicated past in England and sets out on a quest for revenge when she discovers the dark side of Tinseltown
A fabulous debut novel that I can wholeheartedly recommend
Thanks @didyoumakethat @vikingbooksuk & @netgalley for introducing me to Loretta

The Unforgettable Loretta, Darling takes you through the back door of Hollywood and reveals the exploitation and misogyny masked by Golden Age glamour. Loretta Darling dreams of making a name for herself as a makeup artist to the stars. In the process she experiences the cruelty and darkness 1950s Hollywood reserved for women. I found the most interesting characters to be the actresses Loretta befriends. These women must play the powerful men around them, stroking their egos to ensure career progression yet are not exempt from Hollywood’s brutality. More a character led story than plot driven (I feel there are significant parts of the plot that aren’t fully developed), this story had similar themes to The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo which definitely piqued my interest.

This was a wonderfully fun, witty and at times shocking look into the golden age of Hollywood, see through the eyes of the gloriously sassy and beautiful Loretta Darling.
Arriving in California with the dream of becoming a makeup artist Loretta comes to realise that beneath the glitz and glamour lies a dark and sometimes dangerous underbelly. But Loretta is undeterred and gives as good as she gets and I loved her for it. Thank you to Penguin Michael Joseph and Netgalley for letting me read this, I thoroughly enjoyed it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I was intrigued by the synopsis of this book, however it turned out to be not to my taste at all. I could not enjoy reading about the darkness that is the underlying theme of this story. Loretta is a strong, feisty woman for sure. But she seems to be bereft of any scruples or morality, and will do whatever she needs to do to further her own career.
Not for me, this one, though I’m sure it will be enjoyed by many other readers.
I will not post this review elsewhere, as I did not read the whole book.
My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my advance copy of this book.

It’s the early 1950s and the titular Loretta is a Brit abroad, escaping from her past in Lancashire by reinventing herself in Hollywood, not as an actress but behind the scenes in the make-up department. She’s new to Hollywood and its machinations, but she’s a fast learner and she has got some weapons of her own as she fights her way through the studio system in the hunt for success.

It’s quite hard to describe what actually happens in this, or give it a genre. It’s historical fiction, but there’s a dash of mystery in there and it’s witty too. But there’s also some sexual violence that I need to warn you about because I know that’s a hard no for some people. I love a book that features Golden Age and studio system Hollywood and this has plenty of that – with faded starlets, up and coming ingenues and plenty of awful men. If you liked The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo this has some similar vibes – but with a darker edge.

On the surface, a definite one for the strong female lead historical fiction lovers (i.e Daisy Jones and The Six) but a thorough read showcases some darker elements.

The Unforgettable Loretta Darling by Katherine Blake really transports you back in time. I especially enjoyed reading about all the details of the era and Loretta’s character. Would recommend this book!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! If you want to read something inspirational, this is the one for you!!
Loretta lives in a small town and has Hollywood in her sights! She wants to be a makeup artist to the stars and that’s where she’s going to be!! We follow the highs and lows of her life as she travels and makes her way towards her dream.
I loved her character. She adapted herself to any opportunity so she could get what she wanted out of the situation. There’s no way you wouldn’t admire her confidence and ballsiness!!
A great read!!
Thanks to Penguin Uk Books for the opportunity to read this arc copy via Netgalley. My opinion is my own.
#Netgalley, #PenguinUkBooks, #KatherineBlake.

I went into this fully expecting to really enjoy it, and for quite a fair bit I did. The first part of the book feels like a Hollywood Novel for the 21st Century, despite its 1950s setting, exploring the glitz and glamour of Hollywood alongside the darker, seedier side, but things soon felt rocky once Loretta starts to establish herself.

TW: sexual assault

Loretta scams her way to America and to Hollywood, where she is determined to become a makeup artist. But things take a turn for the worse when, on her 21st birthday and wedding day, her new husband takes her a big party thrown by Tinseltown’s newest star, known as ‘The Emperor’. But it’s more than a party, and Loretta finds herself cornered by The Emperor himself. She escapes, with the help of a screenwriter, but the event makes her more determined to make it on her own terms, and sets her on a dangerous path, once she’s got her foot in the door at a studio, of course.

The setup was good and I liked Loretta’s character, a woman who is daring and eager, ambitious and with a sharp eye. But once the ‘revenge’ aspect kicked in, things felt really rushed. It doesn’t feel like the actual mechanics are taken into consideration, and any plot holes are quickly waved away by the characters themselves.

It felt like Loretta was surrounded by interesting, quirky characters but they soon fall flat and, like the plot itself, their own arcs feel rushed. There’s a whole buildup towards Loretta’s past and the secrets she’s hiding, but even that reveal felt skipped through and anticlimactic, and maybe a touch too obvious, too early on.

It felt jumpy and overall rushed – as I mentioned, I liked how it started and the build-up, but characters float in and out and we don’t ever really get a grasp on who various people are, and the budding relationship between Loretta and Eliot feels so strained, with the complications between them being little more than arguments that could easily be resolved if Loretta didn’t get offended by every little thing. By the end, I found her to be a really frustrating character who rushes in (and out of) things with little consideration, including the way she takes her revenge on those who wronged her.

This book has a strong start, enough I got invested and was completely along for the ride, but eventually it tipped over into boring, frustrating and predictable. There was some really good stuff, but unfortunately, it’s buried with more messy parts of the book later on.

Thank you to Viking for providing this arc via NetGalley. Views remain my own.

This book follows Loretta, an aspiring makeup artist trying to make her way in Hollywood. The absolute best part of this book for me has to be our main character, reading about her strength and determination to get what she wants was truly inspiring. Even with her strength we get to see those moments where she doesn’t feel strong enough and it was so raw and emotional to read. The side characters of this story added so much to the plot and they are part of the reason I couldn’t put this book down. And just so you know, Loretta will stop at nothing to get what she wants or get back at the people who have wronged her.

Glitz and glamour galore.
Loretta (Margaret) wants to make it big as a make up artist in Hollywood, but shes got to get there first and when she does, things dont run as smoothly as she would hope.
I really enjoyed this story of 1950s Hollywood, Loretta is a great character and I enjoyed following her story. I loved how she started fighting against the establishment, and gosh it's anger inducing that things haven't changed all that much / are coming more to light now.

Thoroughly enjoyed this mystery, liked the setting and the well developed characters.
A solid plot that kept me guessing, excellent storytelling
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

Margaret is from the seaside town of Morecombe, England. Yet for Margaret, Morecombe is the very place that ripped her world apart. The place that will always play host to the ghosts of her past. If she wants to live her life to the full, she has to move as far away as possible, where she can be anybody she wants to be.

Margaret is often found on the arm of a man, his accomplice, a distraction while he conducts his shady business deals. She barters with one such man, and bags herself a one way ticket to Hollywood.

Sick of men's brutish ways, she is determined to make it on her own. Once in Hollywood, she reinvents herself as Loretta. Ambitious and tenacious, Loretta has her sites set on the glitz and glamour of Hollywood and aims to become a make up artist to the stars.

Like most, Loretta is mesmerised with the golden age of Hollywood movies. She's all to eager to peek round the velvet curtain. She's worked so hard to get to where she is, unfortunately for Loretta, what lurks in the underbelly of Hollywood isn't at all glamourous. It's patriarchy, it's debauchery, it's sleaze, it's predatory men with wondering hands. The same hands that violate women, are the hands that hold the money and wield the power.

There are a multitude of themes addressed in this book, while they make for uncomfortable reading, they're executed beautifully. Blake has done an excellent job of shining a light on an era that is so often romanticized by many. To me, this story reflects the Hollywood we see today. The many predatory men,wielding power, earning millions of dollars, untouchable.

One of the things I adore about this book is the celebration of female friendship. When society is against them, the power dynamic not in their favour, they find strength in each other and beautiful bonds are formed.

Loretta embodies everything I adore in a female protagonist. She is complex, flawed, chaotic but she is bold, ambitious and scrappy.
💄💜✨

This British debut featured in my round-up of what I was looking forward to in 2024. I thought it might be a perfect beach read and having now finished it I think I was on the right track but I do have reservations.
It is set in Hollywood in the early 1950s- a time when the studio system is still exerting an influence but the Golden Age is drawing to a close with television infringing on the movie world’s domination. Main characters are fictional but real names associated with this time including gossip columnist Hedda Hopper and such stars as Lauren Bacall, Danny Kaye, Liz Taylor, Doris Day etc. hover around in the background, with one, silent star Louise Brooks featuring in a cautionary cameo of how the studio discarded those they felt no longer fit the bill.
Into this and from the British seaside town of Morecambe comes Margaret who soon restyles herself as Loretta Darling and aims to succeed in the world of film make-up. This isn’t a bad idea on the author’s part as this role gets to see a different, more vulnerable side to the acting talent. In this male-dominated world the bully boys seem to hang around the longest and events following a fateful wedding lead Loretta onto a plan of revenge.
The theme of exploitation in the entertainment industry is still very relevant and there’s a definite aspect of the author wanting to redress the balance but when it comes down to it there’s not a lot of difference from her depiction of this world to earlier and perhaps less nobly motivated novels such as “Valley Of The Dolls” by Jacqueline Sussan (1966) and some of the work of Jackie and Joan Collins springs to mind. The trashiness is still there amongst the glamour and that’s why I’d recommend it as a holiday read. I think I was expecting something a little more literary, a little spikier and with characters I could care more about but it reads well. I’m not sure how great a commercial prospect it is in that I’m not sure who it will appeal to but probably by just saying that I’ve ensured it will be the runaway hit of the summer. I’m not totally convinced by it. There’s a couple of minor characters who seem to have their more resonant story to tell, which could be something the author could explore in the future. I didn’t dislike it by any means but it felt underdeveloped and flat which is a shame giving the potential of its setting.
Calling the main character “Unforgettable” in the title seems a little risky, the author would really need to ensure that this was the case otherwise there is an inevitability to the comments critics will make.

I approached this book expecting a glimpse into the glitz and glamour of 1950s Hollywood, perhaps with a bit of a seedy undertone. However, I was soon drawn into a much darker narrative than anticipated.

The protagonist, Loretta, is a standout character—bold, confident, and unwavering in her pursuit of what she wants. Her determination and assertiveness make her a compelling figure in a world that often tries to sideline women with strong ambitions.

The cast of characters surrounding Loretta is diverse, ranging from the despicable and unlikable to the truly wonderful. Her friendship with Sally is particularly heartwarming, and their bond adds a layer of emotional depth to the story. The heartbreak that comes with this relationship is palpable, making it one of the most poignant aspects of the book. Loretta’s relationship with Elliot is also noteworthy, though I wished there had been more time to explore their connection in greater detail. Among the supporting characters, Primrose stands out as a favorite—a total queen in every sense.

The book does not shy away from exposing the darker side of Hollywood, including some intense and troubling moments. Prospective readers should be aware of content and trigger warnings, as some scenes delve into disturbing territory.

A significant element of the narrative is the air of mystery surrounding Loretta and her previous life as Margaret. This intrigue helps maintain interest and adds a layer of suspense, even as the pacing of the story fluctuates.

Overall, this book offers a gripping, albeit dark, portrayal of Hollywood in the 1950s. It’s a story filled with complex characters, emotional highs and lows, and an underlying mystery that keeps the reader engaged from start to finish.