This is the first time that I have read anything by this author. I liked this author's writing style. She really brought to life Jean Harlow, Hollywood, the twenties, and the rest of the other famous movie stars during this time period.

I have heard the name Jean Harlow but she was way before my time. Although after reading this book I plan to check out her movies. Plus, I did not know she was the one that influenced Marilyn Monroe. While they were married before the stardom and Chuck's drinking I really did feel the love between them and thought they made a cute couple. I blame a lot of Jean's naïve nature on her age, she let others push her around a lot like her mother. Also, Jean just had a good nature attitude about her. I now want to go back and read Madame Picasso.

PLATINUM DOLL is a novel based on actress Jean Harlow’s rise to fame during the Golden Age of Hollywood. In the late 1920s, she goes to California as a teenage bride from the Midwest. The book follows her turbulent marriage to Chuck McGrew, and the struggles she had with her ruthless mother who pushed and pushed an acting career, not always having her best interest at heart.

I enjoy reading about this era, and this book presents an intriguing and well-researched “slice of life” of a promising Golden Age starlet. I liked the author’s portrayal of Jean Harlow – part blonde bombshell, part book nerd – though I wish she would’ve had more of a backbone when it came to her mother. It was fun watching the clips referenced in the book, especially the Laurel & Hardy short “Double Whoopee.” The pacing was slow in spots, but overall it was a “swell” read, as Jean would say. 3.75 stars.