This is my favorite Susan Meissner book (as of 2016). I just loved it. I've had a fangirl crush on Gone With the Wind for a very long time, and that fed into my love for this book. The story, the characters, the entire GWTW vibe, all of it was amazing. Big Thanks to NetGalley for an early copy, and even Bigger Thanks to Susan Meissner for the opportunity to review her books over the years; thanks for letting me fangirl over your books for the past 17 years!

I am a big fan of Susan Meissner - but I have to say that this one I didn't enjoy all that much. One of the main characters I strongly disliked...so it made reading this book unpleasant and a chore - especially because this character seemed to get everything she wanted. But never fear, I will always read this author, and if you like "Old Hollywood" then you will enjoy this book!

I have to admit that I have not ever read Gone with the Wind or seen the movie. That worried me a little starting Stars Over Sunset Boulevard only because I wasn’t sure how much of the book would revolve around something I am not really familiar with. I had no reason to worry, I was not missing anything by not having seen or read Gone with the Wind.

The historical fiction labeling is what really made me pick up this book. I love the era, the parties, the movie stars, and, of course, the cinema that was produced. I felt like it was a simpler time to live in. The look into the making of Gone with the Wind was fun because it was an inside look. It wasn’t just the movie stars it was the story of the secretaries, the costume people, and others from behind the scenes.

Violet and Audrey’s lives were simpler but were not necessarily easier than the current time. They went from being complete strangers who worked in the same secretary pool to truly being best friends. The disagreements, the fun, and most of all the friendship were all genuine. While Audrey was the strong friend to start, I felt like Violet came into her own because she lived with Audrey. She was forced to stand up for herself, although there were a few times that she was a little shady in how she acted and I wasn’t sure that she was being a good friend.

There is a present time storyline within Stars Over Sunset Boulevard, but I felt like it wasn’t important to the story as a whole. While it was fun to hear how the rest of the family turned out it did not catch my attention and I found myself skimming over that part of the story.


I definitely recommend checking out Susan Meissner’s Stars Over Sunset Boulevard.

I love the Golden Age of Hollywood, and I love Gone with the Wind, and this book absolutely elevated both of those. A wonderful read that I thoroughly enjoyed!

This was a decent read, but nothing really earth shattering. I liked watching the evolution of the friendship, but I never warmed to any of the characters save Bert. Violet and Audrey were not sympathetic to me for the most part.
I enjoyed the parts about working for a movie studio in the 30s and about the production of Gone with the Wind, those were my favorite bits, but they weren't as plentiful as I would have liked.
Overall, the plot moves forward deliberately, but this isn't my favorite Meissner book.

I love Susan Meisner's books. They are so engrossing. This book about the making of Gone with the Wind and the present day was a lot of fun to read. Characters in the past and present are well written.

Stars Over Sunset Boulevard is a story set mostly in the past, with a few moments in the present time. What bonds the two periods is that they both are set in Los Angeles, bonded by family and the movie world.

Los Angeles, present time: In the vintage boutique of Christine McAllister, a hat from that was used in the movie Gone With The Wind ends up there by coincidence. When Christine finds out the origins of the hat, she starts a search to return the hat to the rightfull owner, but finds out more in her search..

Los Angeles, 1938: In this period of the book the reader meets Violet Mayfield and Audrey Duvall. Violet has moved to L.A. after her dream of becoming a wife and mother falls apart. There she meets Audrey Duvall. Audrey works as a secretary for the film studio where Violet lands a job on the film set of Gone With the Wind.Violet wants a husband. Audrey wants to be a film star. Also working on the set of Gone With The Wind is Bert. Bert falls for Audrey (who doesn't reciprocate his feelings), and Violet has her eyes on Bert. This love triangle is the red line during the story, where drama, lies and secrets, and a daughter eventually lead to the hat that ends up in Christine's boutique.

I would like to point out that not everything in the storyline was worked out well to make them clear for the reader. For example:I was quite confused for quite a while what Violet and Audrey's role on the movie set was. At some point I thought they where both secretaries, and at another point it seemed the author wanted to make the reader believe they where both aspiring actresses. The characters where okay, I expected more of them before I started the book, as I loved Susan Meissner's book Fall of Marigolds. The plot was full of Hollywood glamour, but as I don't know that much about Gone With The Wind that part was a little lost on me. I also was a bit dissapointed by the ending, which wasn't a very strong conclusion to the story.

Overall I expected more of this book, as I was quite attracted to it by the author's name and the cover/synopsis, but it didn't met my expectations.