3/5 Stars⭐️⭐️⭐️

"The Girl Made of Stars"

This book is a split-timeline plot featuring two perspectives. One from Joey, who is writing a book about Lola and bought Lola's house, in a modern setting. The other is from Lola, an actress living in an Old Hollywood setting.
I couldn't put the book down during Lola's chapters. Her story was heartbreaking and riveting. However, I really struggled during Joey's chapters. Her story seemed to drag a little and I wasn't as invested. Some of the plotlines didn't seem very realistic and I had to choose not to think about it that hard.
Overall, Lola's chapters were my favorite part of the book.

TW- mentions and lead up to SA, enough where it might be triggering to some.

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

The Girl Made of Stars by K.E. Le Veque is a third person multi-POV mixed historical and contemporary set in the modern day and the Golden Age of Hollywood. Joey is a romance genre author who got big on WWII romance, but recent narrative decisions have tanked her career. Her next project is a book about Lola Greyson, a Hollywood starlet who died tragically young and left behind her partner, Robert Taggert. When Joey buys Lola’s house to help inspire her, she finds a lot more information on Lola than she planned on.

The biggest theme in Lola’s chapters is a theme that will probably resonate with a lot of readers: the choice on whether or not to have a child and bodily autonomy. In the twenty-first century, this conversation is often framed around the right to abortion as so many lawmakers try to take that right away. Here, Lola wants to have a child very badly, but her mother, her bosses, and even her own significant other are convinced that it’s not the right move and try to pressure her into terminating her pregnancy. Robert even offers to have a child in three years because the world of Hollywood back then, especially for a sex icon, wouldn’t have been forgiving of her being a mother. Lola, however, will not bend even at the risk of her own health and career, a risk she knows she’s making and she’s willing to take it.

I haven’t done enough research into the norms of Hollywood and whether or not women really couldn’t be a wife and mother and a star at the same time in 1935, but I do buy that since some studios were quite controlling of their stars, that there would be producers who would try to control whether or not their stars procreated. With the lenses of modern day capitalism and sexism, it’s not hard to see how executives would view it as a bad business decision for a woman who sells herself on being a fantasy to suddenly become a mother. Lola has a right to bodily autonomy and most of the most powerful people around her are constantly telling her that she doesn’t.

A theme weaves together Lola and Joey is the toxic relationship that exists between them and their mothers and how it’s related to fame. Lola is pushed into Hollywood by her mother’s own dreams of stardom and it has led to Lola giving up her bodily autonomy in more ways than one. Joey’s mother has passed on but she was obsessed with Joey’s career in terms of money and what it could do for her. I’m so glad that in the wake of I’m Glad My Mom Died that we have more and more books talking about toxic femininity and mothers who only love their children as long as they benefit from that child.

Content warning for mentions of sexual assault and pregnancy

I would recommend this to fans of books about Old Hollywood that also discuss heavier themes and those looking for a novel exploring women’s rights to bodily autonomy

This is my first experience with Ms Le Veque, & I consider it my favorite book of the year! On;y problem is what year; I got my advanced reader's Copy in fall 2024, read it close to New Year's Eve, & it isn't being published until late January 2025!

Really tremendous writing. I chose to read this because I enjoy the fictional early Hollywood genre. But this was so much more! I'm a senior male, & I was crying through around 1/2 the book (us old guys aren't supposed to do that....) There are a number of fictionalized versions of real people in here. She doesn't say who inspired her female protagonist, but in the author's notes, she HINTS at Jean Harlow; though I suspect the inspiration wasn't Harlow. She does write excellent characters.

I can't say enough regarding how good this was. If you are an old movie fan, a romance fan, &/or a drama fan, buy it, read it, & enjoy it!

I am serious when I say this is the best book I've read this year. I'm not normally a romance fan (which is what she normally writes), so I'm not sure what I'd like to sample next. If you are reading this review on a site that allows comments, I would appreciate suggestions! Per the author's notes. she has written over 100 books..

I received an Advanced Reader's copy at no charge, and am writing an honest review.

I really enjoyed this one. The glimpse into old Hollywood is always a favorite for me. Then mixed with the modern day mystery was just so great.
I really enjoyed both of the stories that were tied into the one.

In K E LeVeque's The Girl Made of Stars author Joey Cabot wants to write a book about Golden Age of Hollywood movie star Lola Grayson and buys the house Lola lived in. Within the house she finds clues to a mystery surrounding Lola and her early death. LeVeque means the story to be a parallel between Joey and Lola, as both women dealt with difficult mothers and are in interracial relationships, but Joey's stakes aren't as high as Lola's which means the modern parts of the novel aren't as interesting as past. LeVeque makes mention of real life movie stars like Clark Gable, Carole Lombard, and Joan Crawford but fictional Lola is the most interesting character. The Girl Made of Stars is a unique look into Hollywood and the trappings of movie star life.

This was my first time reading this author and what an introduction it was. This isn’t my usual type of book but something about the premise just called out to me. The Girl Made of Stars tells the story of two different women who share similar struggles; Lola a siren of the silver screen in the golden age of Hollywood and Joey a writer of historical romance struggling with a career that is floundering. This was a 4 stars read for me (4.5 in a world that allows for half stars) but I wouldn’t say anything that stopped it from being 5 stars should stop you from reading this amazing story. My biggest issues are just the slow start I struggled getting into it for the first few chapters; a few random injected statements / character thoughts that seemed out of place like it was either meant to be fleshed out further or should have been deleted in editing. I liked the way the author set up the switching between times as blocks rather then switching frequently as it served the story better. Part one you learn about Joey and how she got interested in the life of Lola. Part two you finally get to hear from Lola and learn her truth. Part three is back to the present where Joey is dealing with what she uncovered and how to move forward.

This book took me on a fantastic journey through the life of a Hollywood Starlet! We begin with Joey, researching Lola Grayson and how she met her end at the peak of her career. Lola's nickname was the Siren, and she was at the top of Hollywood's most sexy starlets. Every man wanted her, and every woman craved to be like her, yet she suddenly passed away, and her death took everyone by surprise. In the present day, Joey decides to research her life and write a fictional story about her last 6 months. While digging into her life, she discovers the real Hollywood and finally brings Lola's story to light.

I truly loved meeting all the different characters and seeing how their stories intertwined. Learning about the young starlet's challenging life and all she endured brought tears to my eyes. If you want to dive into what it meant to be a Hollywood actress during the 1930s, look no further!

Thank you NetGalley, K.E. Le Veque, and Dragonblade Publishing for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! I originally requested this one because of the gorgeous cover, but I’m glad that I did, because I ended up really enjoying it.

This book is told in three parts and goes back and forth between the past and the present. In the past, it follows actress Lola Grayson and her struggles in Hollywood in the 1930’s. In present day, Joey Cabot buys Lola’s house that she lived in with her lover, Robert Taggart, and she begins to unravel the mystery that is Lola. There are a lot of twists in this one and the plot definitely went in a way I didn’t expect, but I really enjoyed it.

I read this one in one day because I couldn’t put it down! I thought that it was a little slow at first, but it really picked up in part two. I love that more and more books about Hollywood are coming out and I hope that more continue to in the future. This one definitely gives off similar vibes to “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo” which is one of my favorite books. If you like that one, give this one a chance when it comes out!

Thank you for the opportunity to read this novel. I found it enjoyable.

The novel opens with an author purchasing a house in LA. This had me questioning how a house purchase was going to explore the Golden Age of Hollywood and Lola Grayson. But as the story progressed, I saw the connection. This novel is told in 3 parts; current, past, current. I found the second part to be the most fascinating piece and the third part wrapped up the story nicely. The main character, Joey, was the driving force, but I didn't find her particularly likeable. I can't identify what I did not like about Joey, or how I'd rather Joey was developed, but the character was flat.

3 1/2 stars, rounded up.

The Girl Made of Stars is a dual timeline, historical fiction set in present day and 1930s Hollywood. Which for the moment seems to be having a bit of a hey day and I seem to have read good few dramas set in the Golden Age of Hollywood.

Joey, the present-day character is writing a novel on the glamorous star Lola Grace; focusing on how she was manipulated and controlled by her mother and pushed into the Hollywood Casting Couch. Joey believes that as she also had a controlling mother her childhood had many parallels with Lola’s hence her interest in the starlet.

What comes out in the 1930s timeline is a horrific account of how people were controlled by the Studios; abused and sexually abused with all aspects of the star’s life, relationships, hair colour and right to reproduce owned by the studios. This is not news having read many such novels/memoirs and books about this age, but it still made for some uncomfortable reading.

Despite the recounting this novel for me seemed a bit like a Hallmark recount of the Hollywood Glamour Age. Clarke Cable calls everyone kid. Everything gets wrapped up and there is barely a bad word or swearword said.

I did enjoy reading The Girl Made of Stars and was interested to the see that the author is a prolific writer and will be looking up her other novel. For lovers of historical fiction and dual timelines this should be on your Christmas list. And if Hallmark did make this into a movie I would definitely watch it.

"Lola Grayson had it all.

In 1934, Lola was on top of the world. Dubbed "The Siren" by MGM, she was a protégé of Louis B. Mayer, the original talkie sex symbol before the rise of stars like Carole Lombard and Jean Harlow. But like Harlow, Lola Grayson had a dominant stage mother and bad health that struggled to meet the demand of the Golden Age of Hollywood. Exploited, pushed, primped, and promoted as MGM's biggest star, Lola Grayson made one fatal mistake - falling in love with fellow MGM star Robert Taggart. Together, they were the golden couple that audiences demanded to see. But Lola wanted what every young woman at the time wanted - a husband and a family. For a major star, that was a death sentence.

Lola Grayson's death rocked the world.

In the present day, Joey Cabot is a novelist with a struggling career. In a stroke of fate, she purchases Lola Grayson and Robert Taggart's former home in Los Angeles. It was a secret love nest they kept hidden from the world, but what comes out of the old walls is a secret no one wanted to see the light of day. Something so explosive that it could lay Hollywood history wide-open. In discovering that secret, Joey sees the salvation of her career, but it soon becomes apparent that Joey isn't working for her salvation, but for Lola's.

Old Hollywood glamour and tragedy brings together two lost souls in this masterpiece fictional tale of one woman's death... and one woman's life."

I'm such a sucker for Old Hollywood.

Reading this book, brought back many good memories. Watching the black and white movies with my mom. So reading about Clark Gable, Carole Lombard to name a few made me want to know who Lola Grayson was. The up and coming star who wanted a real family a home and husband. With the demands of her domineering mother controlling movie studio and not being able to marry the love of her life. You can say Lola had a tragic life or did she?

Enter JoeyCabot a successful author who has just bought the home that Robert Taggert Lola’s secret lover bought her. While refurbishing the house Joey comes across a safe in a secret room that contained information about Lola. Joey becomes more obsessed with Lola when she stumbles upon a broach in the safe along with an empty ring box. Where is that ring? What happened to Robert Taggert? Joey was not giving up on finding out about what really happened to Lola Grayson. Hollywood in the 1930s all the glamour a d glitz. Famous. Movie stars who wouldn’t like this book.

I love the story and loved reading about Old Hollywood. Joey was determined to find the truth about Lola because she deserved to have her story told. I admired her determination and how she kept true to Lola. Lola’s life came full circle.

Thank you Dragonblade Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC. Thank you KE La Veque for a great story.

This book is was amazing! I could not stop reading. The attention to detail was perfect! Now I have another favorite author! If you love old Hollywood then this book is for you. Thanks NetGallery!

I loved everything about this book, from how it was set in both the past and present, to the characterization, storyline, and reveals. This book has it all. I think the message is a poignant one and really shows how expectations of old Hollywood caused such harm to woman and their aspirations in life. I am sure these are still some of the same issues females deal with, but I can only hope that the studios are kinder. I am so excited to recommend this book. It is everything I could have asked for and more.
Thank you to Dragonblade Publishing and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this title.

All that glitters isn't always gold.

The then Hollywood stars were a sort of myth bearers: like deities, they seemed to exist at a level above of mortals carrying the ‘divine forces of good, evil, lust and redemption’ (Cashmore 2006: 251). They lived lives of such magnificence, such splendour, such sublime beauty that they seemed unreachable, from a greater planet. And authentically, they were. The stunning ‘unattainability’ was coined as ‘fetishization’ by Laura Mulvey in her essay “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema”. They used to revive themselves away from the public eye and astonished their fans with rare appearances, and cautiously maintained the silvery images. Every image reminded of a dream world, one that was at once remote, yet touchable, distant yet close.

Accusations of sexual assault in the American film industry go back to 1921, and during the last decades, they have gained strength due to the accusations against producers, directors, actors, and related publicists.Louis B. Mayer has been accused of sexual abuse.The personality of abusers in show business also has atypical behaviours, such as pressuring actresses and models to attend castings or sign contracts in unusual places such as hotel rooms or private rooms. After the abuse, they resort to blackmail or a direct threat to silence the victim.
Many sexual abusers use persuasion, deception, or pressure, rather than physical violence or force, to subdue their victims. They often have authoritative relationships with their victims.In the case of child sexual abuse, the rapist would be opportunistic, taking advantage of the carelessness of the parents and, in this case, of their desire to venture into the media.

In the performing arts, the term stage mother sometimes has a negative connotation, suggesting that the individual is prone to obnoxiously demanding special treatment for her child, or suggesting that the individual has placed inappropriate pressure on her child to succeed, perhaps for reasons of vicariously living out her own dreams through the child.Entitled and grandiose demands have sometimes led to reportedly veiled threats from a stage parent.

A tragic love story set in the golden age of Hollywood with secrets, this drew me right in and held me from beginning to end. I liked the duel timeline aspect but felt like it didn't always line up. None the less I am still happy to give this book a great rating and recommend it to others.

The Girl Made of Stars, by K.E. Le Veque, is a dual timeline story that will take the reader back to the 1930's when the studios controlled every aspect of a star's life. Lola Grayson is the premier star, having been pushed by her mother, but all she wants is a family. Robert Taggert, her fiancé, is also a star and the studio will not allow them to marry or have children yet. Lola dies when only 26 years old.

Joey is a modern World War II fiction writer who, after two flops, has decided to write a novel about the life of Lola Grayson. She and her boyfriend buy Lola & Robert's secret hideaway house. What she finds hidden there takes her on an amazing journey to uncover the true story behind all the glitz and glamor of Lola's life and death. There is some bad language. but overall it was a very interesting read. I was able to read an aRC on #NetGalley.

On a dreary Saturday I began reading this book about a stunning siren of the Golden Age of Hollywood, a tragic love story with a secret that was kept for more than eighty years and I almost finished it in one day!

Present Day: Joey Cabot is a successful writer whose last book didn’t sell very well. She is hoping that the new novel she is writing about the tragic last months of Hollywood legend, Lola Grayson, will put her back on top. Joey even manages to buy the California house that Lola and her lover, Robert Taggert, kept as their hidden love nest. The house is in disrepair and as walls are removed and plumbing updated, Joey finds a secret space with a safe. Inside the safe are documents related to Lola’s life. There is also an empty ring box and another box that contains a beautiful ruby and diamond brooch. What happened to the ring and why was this beautiful brooch left behind when Robert sold the house after Lola’s death? Joey’s obsession grows as she opens more boxes with things from Lola’s life. There are so many unexplained documents in these boxes and when she meets someone who was close to Lola, the story of her tragic life really begins to unfold.

Los Angeles, 1934: Lola Grayson is the biggest star at MGM. She rose to stardom the hard way through the casting couch with an insufferable stage mother and now she is owned by the studio. Her life isn’t her own as the studio dictates what she will do and with whom, what movies she will make and if she crosses the studio she will be in big trouble. Lola has always been medically frail and as her health worsens she wants to give up Hollywood, marry Robert and have children but the studio and he mother won’t allow it. When Lola tragically dies at the age of 26, the world is in morning and MGM has lost its biggest star.

As Joey hears about the life of Lola she realizes that she must write a book about the real Lola and not the one that Louis B. Mayer manufactured. The Girl Made of Stars brought the Golden Age of Hollywood and the studio system alive and cameo appearances by Clark Gable, Carole Lombard, Spencer Tracy, Joan Crawford, Myrna Loy and Marion Davies added to the story.

I loved this book and had to keep reading it until I learned more about the secrets in Lola Grayson’s life.

Thanks to Dragonblade Publishing Inc and NetGalley for the advanced reading copy. It will be published on January 29, 2025.

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the Golden Age of Hollywood and classic movie star trope for books! It was definitely giving me Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo vibes, which is one of my favorite books of all time. The contrast and entanglement of similarities between the two story lines, old Hollywood vs. modern day, is just so good.

Thank you to Netgalley, K.E. Le Veque, and Dragonblade Publishing for the opportunity to read an ARC of A Girl Made of Stars

I read mostly memoirs and historical fiction. Lately, “Old Hollywood” has taken over the WW2 spot and every time I turn around there is a new release about some former fallen starlet. Often, it’s an author-created character (as it is in this case) but not always.

I’m tempted to round up to 3.5 stars and may do after I process a bit (decided against it and stand by my 3 stars). Dual timeline with some parallel conflicts. For lack of a better word, as I was reading it, I kept thinking that it was “cheesy” and overly predictable and some aspects were completely unrealistic. Sure, it’s historical “fiction” but plausible would have resulted in a higher rating from me.

This book is certainty worth a read if you enjoy historical fiction and especially if Old Hollywood appeals to you.