This is a good and easy listen. The story moved pretty well and did leave me wanting to know what was going to happen next. I also liked that the characters seemed to start off going in one direction as enemies but then went another and worked well together. I think people who read and liked Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo would likely like this as well. Would recommend.

I had a hard time getting into this book. It might be the mood I am currently experiencing. As I have written with other reviews, I am a major mood reader.. I may give this book another shot when I am in the mood for a historical fiction book about Hollywood.

This was adorable, kind of like a "Scooby- Doo" mystery. Fans of thrillers with giant plot twists may not be as enchanted, but mystery readers who can accept a bit of camp for the sake of the plot. I really enjoyed the character of Lottie, her heart was in the right place even when it was to get detrimental. Great voice acting on this audiobook too.
Thank you to NetGalley, the authors Lee Kelly and Jennifer Marie Thorne, and HarperCollins Focus for my copy of this audiobook

This is our January book club book. The audiobook was really fun, I enjoyed how Lottie and Vivianne's relationship evolved. This is an old Hollywood female lead James Bond!

So glamorous and starry! Loved being transported back to the golden age of cinema. Very well written and compelling story.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Focus | Harper Muse for an audio copy in exchange for an honest review.

Vivienne Rhodes is reaching the apex of her career as she will be the face that launched a thousand ships in the new film about Helene of Troy. After her recent Oscar loss she knows this role will nab her the coveted award. As she arrives at a small island off the coast of Italy she is shocked to discover her arch nemesis, Lottie Lawrence, has been cast in the role and she has been recast as Cassandra. Lottie also lost the Oscar nod a few months ago but stole Vivienne's boyfriend in the process. Tensions on the small set are high as the studio is on the brink of folding, the film has far exceeded its budget and the two actresses are at each others throats. But when a sinister plot unfolds on the small island the actresses must band together to flee for their lives. Can they save their film and friends?

I love a historical fiction or a film tie in and this was pretty good with both. I liked the premise of the story but the action goes a bit off the rails as the two heroines tromp all over Europe looking for Interpol. I liked the character of Lottie the most as she had more dimension and back story. Vivienne comes across as entitled and spoiled. The story was told from the POV of both women which kept the pace up and the audience engaged in the narrative. Its a little too over the top and predictable to be a great story.

I had the audio version read by Gail Shalan who does an excellent job. She had distinct voices for the characters and her performance was enjoyable to listen to. I would definitely seek out more of her work.

It’s summer 1958, Vivienne Rhodes fresh off her Oscar nomination arrives on the remote Italian island to star in a mythical epic film in her breakout role of Helen of Troy. Devastatingly she discovers that instead, Lottie Lawerence the up-and-coming, perky sidekick will be the leading lady opposite Vivienne’s ex who Lottie recently stole away from her. Tension is high on set between the two women. When they discover that the movie is being used as a front for illegal activity, they run for their lives. Will they be able to put aside their differences and work together to solve the crime and save the rest of the cast?
Fans of the Golden Age of cinema will likely enjoy this especially when the ladies’ adventure finds them on the set of Ben Hurr. Generally I found the audiobook to be an easy listen but lacking originality, tension and suspense.

The Starlets
By Lee Kelly and Jennifer Thorne
Read by Gail Shalan
As always, this is a review of the audio version of the book.
The authors and the narrator are new to me, so I'm eager to see how this goes. I love nothing more than new singers/bands and new authors! This, sadly, sets me up for much disappointment with authors since, with music I can decide to download after about 10 or 15 secs, whereas a decent book is upwards of 7 1/2 hours. Many times I have gotten through at least 4 of those hours and realized that, yes, monkeys can use spell check and grammerly too.
What is life without risk? Besides safe and happy and healthy, I mean.
Okay, today I'm risking 9 hours and 17 minutes if I can make it to the end. Here's hoping!
Also as usual, I will begin listening at 75% speed and adjust accordingly. For books with many characters and/or an involved plot, it just works better to begin slowly. If it sounds strange at first, give your brain about 10 seconds and it will start to sound perfectly normal.
It's remarkable how many important details you miss by hearing them read too quickly.
As the name implies, the book features two actresses. They are apparently nemeses and have traveled to an Italian island for a production about the Trojan war, each under the impression they will have the role of Helen. The story takes place in the late 1950s and is told from the alternating POVs of Vivian and Lottie. Vivian has recently had her fiance stolen by Lottie and finds out she herself has been cast as Cassandra instead of Helen. To make matters worse, Lottie has the lead role and Vivian's ex love, Teddy is cast as her leading man.
I'm hoping for more action, suspense, and intrigue than drama, but I've been burned before *smh ruefully*.
The narrator is wonderful thus far, and her Italian accent is (to my admittedly untrained ear) quite good. Accents are always a wild card, and can make or break an audiobook.
My only complaint regarding Ms. Shalan is the shrillness (is that a word?) of Lottie's voice. She does a wonderful job of portraying actresses of the time period. I can only describe it as "gosh, golly jeepers" mixed with Judy Garland if that makes sense. Whatever, it definitely works, if only Lottie's voice could be slightly lower in pitch and still convey her childlike quality.
I warn you that there are quite a few characters to keep straight and I confess I kept confusing Clay with Charles and the Italian names definitely mixed me up a time or two, but after I stopped and went over them in my head, I caught on. Also every character isn't present throughout the book which reduces the need to keep them all straight the whole time.
Without ruining the plot, I'll summarize: Vivian is an actress who isn't new but not yet a lady "of a certain age" and needs a huge break to rocket her to fame. She has been promised the role of Helen of Troy in an epic to be filmed on a remote Italian island.
When she arrives, she finds that, not only is she to take a secondary role, but her arch nemesis, Lottie (who is annoyingly younger, although we aren't sure how much) is on location along with Vivian's ex, Teddy, whom Lottie stole within a year of these events.
And that's really all I can say without spoiling.
(I'm going to mention this, although I hope the producer catches it before the final release: Part two of the prologue is exact same word for word as the start of official chapter one. Extremely confused now. Even the statement of the date at the beginning of the chapter is the same. I thought I had accidentally rewound. Apparently the book has a glitch wherein the official first chapter is a total repeat of what we just heard. Ends with cast and crew list.)
Plot hasn't been dragging, enough details for interest but not too many to become tedious which moves the story along pretty fast, both main characters are interesting and very different which keep things interesting!
Foresaw a significant occurrence unfortunately. Imo, it would've been more unexpected if the...well, less predictable event hadn't happened.
At about 70%, during an unbelievably detailed action/chase scene, I sped up to 2x just to get through it. Although quite detailed, it seemed to last much more than the 2 chapters it spanned. It would've been quite enjoyable visually, but the description was somewhat endless.
The fact that I couldn't tell you a lot of the plot without spoilers tells you that the story moves much faster than I expected. In fact, as I prefer in an "action" book, there are very few uneventful periods.
I would definitely not call this a mystery, as we find out pretty quickly what's what before the two must go on the lam, but action/suspense sums it up nicely.
And I love a happy ending!
Definitely recommend and I'm going to check for more books by these authors together or separately.

This is entertaining and I must admit that I enjoyed the book more than I expected.
Vivienne and Lottie have the adventure of their life and their adventure would not have been that spicy and colourful if there was not the sweet rivalry they had on the scene.
The comical and stressful situations were amusing, the bad characters in place, a bit of flirty romantic moments and here is a nice story. The ending appealed to the entire story and left me smiling.
The book is 3.5 stars, but I rounded it to 3.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Net Galley for an ARC of this book.
I enjoyed The Starlets. It is a fast paced mystery, adventure with enemies to friends. It made me laugh one minute then be on the edge of my seat the next. I felt like I was running along side Viv and Lottie. What a great escape of a book! So fun!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an early audio copy of this book.

What initially sparked my interest was that it was set in the 1950. The fact that it involved movie stars, Italy, and a mystery was a bonus.
I though it was a fun and inventive story that really held my interest. Throughout. The narrator was pretty good, as she had a lot of characters to keep up with.

Some of the events were perhaps a bit unrealistic, but to me this was a fun *fiction* book and I'm totally on board with that.
Loved the descriptions of the characters, clothing, and dialogue. I've never read anything by Lee Kelly or Jennifer Thorne, but I'll definitely be looking for more books by them.

I really enjoyed seeing the friendship unfold between Lottie and Vivienne. I love it when we see people who are at odds in the beginning, only to find out they are not so different in the end.

I'm all about Old Hollywood and this time period so it was a fun adventure for me and I'd recommend it to anyone looking for the same.

I loved this fun and exciting romp through an old Hollywood production (or two). This book was a joy to read and I loved every page.

i love a dual pov, it was a fun and mysterious read with lots of emotion and thrill
the book overall is delightful and refreshing
it was enjoyable to see the friendship between the mcs blossom
the narration brought this book to life

I recently picked up "The Starlets" after seeing many fellow readers rave about it on social media. At first, I struggled to engage with the story until I reached the pivotal moment of the fatal night. From that point on, the pacing quickened, and the narrative turned into a thrilling ride.

The dynamic between the two main characters, who transition from rivals to partners in crime, was captivating. These two actresses navigate the challenges of Hollywood, proving that women can be strong heroines both on-screen and off.

What I particularly enjoyed about the novel was its ability to transport readers to a variety of beautiful and evocative locations, enriching the experience even further. The cast of characters is extensive, but the author's skillful storytelling makes it easy to follow their intertwining lives. The intrigue was expertly woven throughout, leaving me eager to turn the page and discover what would happen next. By the time I reached the end, I felt as though the story had flown by—all too short, yet incredibly satisfying.

I want to thank NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of the novel in exchange for my honest review. A special thank you go to Lee Kelly for crafting such a phenomenal and engaging story.

Youtube: https://youtu.be/8o7YbpCiKTc

I absolutely adored it. It was fun and exciting and just really worth the read.

🐱Catty actresses
🎬Danger on the movie set
👯‍♀️Courage, trust, and friendship

The two actresses have an All About Eve relationship until all hell breaks loose, and the actresses realize that the movie is a front for drug trafficking. The two women need to work together and learn to trust each other so they can save their friends from the drug lord/producer.

It was an entertaining read. I enjoyed reading about how Vivienne and Lottie learn to trust one another and let their guards down (but their guards are up for a good reason). However, the character development was not evenly distributed, primarily seen in the two leading characters. I would have liked a bit more development with the minor characters.

It is a light, fun read for those who need a palate cleanse.

I’m not sure whether I am supposed to take this book seriously, but it wasn’t funny or clever. So I am assuming that it is not intended as satire. It starts out as a snapshot of old Hollywood, with a snarky rivalry between 2 starlets on a movie filming in Italy. Then a murder occurs and the enemies have to join forces to bring down the evil doers on the movie location. They go on the run scampering around Europe in a farcical and totally unbelievable manner. At the end they wind up back in Italy and the book takes a darker, but still unbelievable, turn.

The first part of the book had some promise, although it wasn’t very original. The rest of the book was more original, because no one else has thought of a premise this ridiculous. I’m really surprised that I kept reading, and I doubt that I would try either of these authors again. 2.5 stars

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

The Starlets by Lee Kelly and Jennifer Thorne is a captivating and thrilling dive into the glittering world of 1950s Hollywood, where drama, rivalry, and high stakes intertwine. The story centers on two dazzling starlets, Vivienne Rhodes and Lottie Lawrence, who share a complicated and tense history. The pair is unexpectedly reunited when they are cast in a film together on a remote Greek island. While filming takes an interesting turn and drama flares between the two leading ladies, they inevitably find themselves forced to work together save themselves as well as the entire cast and crew.
The book masterfully blends Hollywood’s golden era with a suspenseful, high-stakes survival scenario, providing readers with a mix of intrigue, suspense, and old-school glamour. Fun friends and villainous enemies are made along the way, as this duo has to find creative ways to keep themselves out of trouble.

This was a fun read, like an updated old time movie. Vivienne Rhodes is excited to star in a big-budget Troy epic, but her nemesis Lottie Lawrence steals her role. As tensions rise on set, they discover illegal activities happening behind the scenes. The two women must work together to gather evidence and escape dangerous situations. Their journey takes them across Europe, leading to a final showdown on an Italian island. In the end, they have the chance to be heroes if they can learn to work together. This story was both fun and intriguing! It follows the journey of two women who, despite their differences, come together and learn more about each other. Their newfound friendship blossoms as they realize they have more in common than not.
I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this audiobook, the narrators were great and really helped to bring the story to life. I highly recommend the audiobook version, as the narration truly enhances the overall experience.

Thank you, NetGalley and HarperCollins Focus | Harper Muse for the audio ARC copy to preview.

Starlets took me a minute to get into. Initially, I found the characters a bit cartoonish and hard to believe—HOWEVER—then the action started and, cartoons be damned, we’ve got ourselves a full-on caper! Dashing about Europe, two steps ahead of the bad guys, this is a classic buddy movie, er book, featuring a couple of creative, naïve, ballsy women. This book is great edge-of-your seat fun, particularly in audio form, as the narrator sets the tone and the pace beautifully.