Rating: 
Summary: A So-So Read
Review: After reading Amazon.com readers' reviews for "Best Actress," I bought it as it sounded like a fun read. Murder, movies, divas, Oscars...rich fodder for Hollywood Hilarity, right? Wrong...or, at least, not in this fluffy novel. It's not bad; it's merely so-so, mildly amusing. I do not recommend it.
Rating: 
Summary: A note from the author
Review: Anyone who enjoyed "Best Actress" may be pleased to learn that E! Entertainment Television has selected it to be their first-ever TV movie. The film, currently in production, is set to air on E! the week after the Oscars. Thanks to all of you who enjoyed the book. And, to my harshest critic, (see below) SUFFER sweetheart!
Rating: 
Summary: Sex, Murder, Shoplifting..Best Actress is laugh out loud fun
Review: Five actesses and one Oscar. This lighthearted romp through the lives of five nominees is a real page turner. I couldn't put it down. These five womem make the fued between Bette Davis and Joan Crawford look like a Sesame Street playgroud fight. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: More backstabbing and bitchiness than "Dynasty"
Review: Five interesting women are nominated for the "Best Actress" Oscar: Fiona Covington, who portrayed a lesbian nanny in a re-telling of "Mary Poppins" and whose personal life just took a turn for the worse; Amber Lyons, the newcomer with a serious drug problem; Connie Travatano, the sentimental favorite whose run-ins with the law could be a problem; Lori Seefer, who desparately wants to keep her private life - and her lover Maria - a secret from the publicity hounds; and Karen Kroll, a known former porn star with a dirty little secret of her own. All of these women want that statuette. But only one is willing to kill for it.
This is by far one of the cattiest, sharpest, most fun novel about the entertainment industry I have ever read! It begins with the morning that the nominees are announced and from then on, it's a roller coaster ride into the personal lives of the 5 nominees. It's chock full of nasty publicists, writers who will do anything to get a scoop, and enough bitchiness and backstabbing to put "Dynasty" to shame. Author John Kane even has the characters interacting with the rich and famous like Goldie Hawn and Liza Minelli to keep things interesting. He's also thrown in enough clues and red herrings to keep you guessing until the very end whodunnit. This book is mindless entertainment, but it's so much fun!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Flaccid. Strained. A steaming pile of cliche.
Review: I bought this expecting high-octane, venomous camp, but this thing is about as spicy as oatmeal. A cliche on top of a cliche wrapped in a cliche served on a cliche... A sodden lump of smarmy drivel. Zero cleverness, zero style, zero character. Even the sex is moronic. And though the pitch/plot is solid enough, Kane's execution is so hamhanded that I only finished the pitiful mess so I could review it here and spare others the same mistake.Spoof presupposes mastery of a style. Mr. Kane hasn't even mastered the basics of research. In Chekhov's Seagull, MASHA (not Nina, duh) was "in mourning for my life." If he's going to write about this stuff could he maybe interview someone, anyone? Lesbians are more than militarism and sexual positions. Porn star does not equal nymphomaniac. Rehab units can be hilarious (see Fisher's POSTCARDS FROM THE EDGE), but they are not just hotels with group therapy. And, most annoyingly: does every ethnicity have to be a stereotype? His spicy mexicana is all community theatre West Side Story Puerto Rican. And his Brits all spout American cliches about England. I don't think he's even met anyone English. To top the whole vile enterprise off, Kane manages to make a story about 5 supposedly powerful women seem insulting, repetitive and MISOGYNISTIC. This book is a monument to every facile judgement repeated in fan rags. The characters are less than cliches... they are sketches of impressions of generalizations about cliches. And though he refers to Valley of the Dolls throughout, he can't even live up to La Susann's level of sleaze: he isn't even bad enough to be good. Please, please, please let this be John Kane's first and last attempt at fictive prose. If you want a Hollywood novel, buy a copy of Wagner's I'M LOSING YOU or Gore Vidal's MYRA BRECKENRIDGE/MYRON or even Jackie Collins before you consider breathing on this soggy navel lint.
Rating:
Summary: Sensationally Terriffic!
Review: I love to read. I was enthusiastically challenged after reading this book.
Rating:
Summary: A Very Funny Read
Review: I really enjoyed this story. It's the perfect combination of murder, sex, lust, mystery, and greed. It kept me on the edge of my seat, and there were times when I could not stop laughing. Definitely buy this book of you are looking for a light read for vacation. It's engaging without being too heavy.
Rating:
Summary: Laugh-Out-Loud Tale of Hollywood Excess At Oscar Time
Review: I was lucky enough to read an advance copy of this delightful first novel. Hysterical spoof of the Jackie Collins Hollywood cycle, following the amoral, hapless lives of the five nominees for Best Actress from the morning of the nominations through awards night. Well-paced and consistently funny, with hilarious plot twists and over-the-top intrigue. A grand romp with genuine laughs on every page. Pefect for plane or beach reading.
Rating: 
Summary: Hilariously funny "Hollywood" novel
Review: I was SO disappointed by this novel. A truly original concept gone very badly awry. I felt like I was reading work from a high school student. The characters are pointedly based on loose conglomerations of known actresses. That's the only fun part. Otherwise the characters are so one-dimensional that you needn't waste your time or money. A real let down for me... and I'm a BIG-TIME Academy Awards buff.
Rating:
Summary: GARBAGE ... DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY
Review: I was SO disappointed by this novel. A truly original concept gone very badly awry. I felt like I was reading work from a high school student. The characters are pointedly based on loose conglomerations of known actresses. That's the only fun part. Otherwise the characters are so one-dimensional that you needn't waste your time or money. A real let down for me... and I'm a BIG-TIME Academy Awards buff.
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