True Lies of a Drama Queen

Drama Queen #2

by Lee Nichols

Some true lies of a drama

* My name is Elle Medina. (Absolutely true!)

* I'm a professional psychic. (Completely accurate. Except for the "professional" part...and the "psychic" part.)

* I'm planning my best friend's wedding. (Maya only thinks she's planning it.)

* I'm a serious journalist. (I cover crystal therapy for the local weekly rag.)

* I live with my boyfriend, Merrick. (I'm pretty sure he's still my boyfriend.)

She may be lovely and talented but Elle Medina's phone psychic business is sputtering, her boyfriend thinks she's attending graduate school (not exactly) and she's about to ruin her best friend's wedding. Things can't get worse. Can they?

They can and do when Elle's innocent dressing-room striptease (oh, like you've never!) ends up on the Internet, and she sets out to find the cyber-creep who put her there. Elle knows coming of age is not a destination but a journey... she's just having a little trouble staying on the road.

Genres: Chick Lit, Fiction, Romance

304 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2006

About the author

Lee Nichols is the author of five novels for adults, including the bestselling TALES OF A DRAMA QUEEN. She'll be making her YA debut in 2010 with DECEPTION: A Haunting Emma Novel. Follow her on Twitter at LeeXNichols or Friend her on Facebook at Lee Nichols. http://www.leenicholsbooks.com/

Reviews

[Colleen Scidmore · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had me cracking up pretty much the whole time. Even though Elle has definitely gotten her life together since book 1 she is not all the way on the road to complete adulthood. Well it takes others a little longer. But her adventures in trying to get there just make the book so enjoyable, you can't help but laugh at Elle's dilemmas and hope she gets her crap together soon. But even with all her antics you see a person with a really good heart and someone I would even think would be a good friend to have. Maybe a little draining at times but there would be lots of surprises, and who doesn't love surprises?!

This book was a nice little wrap up to Elle Medinas escapades. Although I really think maybe one more book would have been even better. Any more and it would have gotten old but there are still some unresolved issues that I think Lee Nichols could have explored in a third Drama Queen book.

I will miss reading about Elle and hope there is a similar book out there about a train wreck waiting to happen but does it with lots of style and a heart of gold.

[Baley Petersen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ugh. It's a cute storyline (kinda) but the editor needs some help - the errors were distracting. It was really hard for me to care about Elle at all. I read the first book ages ago, but I don't remember her being soooo dumb. I nearly gave up on it multiple times, but I cared enough about the other story arcs that I stuck with it - primarily Maya's wedding.

[Monani · Rating 5 out of 5]

The writing style is exceptionally excellent.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Quick and fun read

[Robyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an upbeat, wedding-themed read with a little bit of scandal thrown in. I say a little because what happened was a huge violation but the way the protagonist handled it made it tiny. The story flowed, things happened as they were meant to, and I feel satisfied.

One thought does trouble me though. For being a liar, terrible with money, and a flake, Elle Medina sure does have a strong support system of people who love her and push her to be better. Is this real life? I would like to think so, but my suspicion is my best friend and perfect boyfriend wouldn't stick around if I behaved the way Elle does in this book.

Or maybe it's offering hope to all the gals who hope their life will come together in a perfect symphony one day. Hope it will, but don't sit around waiting for it. Opportunities come once we're already in motion. We don't know what will happen tomorrow, but we can control how we spend today.

A few comments of things I wished happened. I wish there was more of a love triangle with the rabbi--otherwise why bother with that story line at all? I wish Elle's creditor would have offered deeper advice than "you can't afford it." I wish Elle would think higher of herself than a psychic hack who didn't deal with real problems...why not aim a little higher and go to grad school? Show yourself some respect.

[Sarah Lance · Rating 2 out of 5]

This girl understands Murphy's Law. Anything that can go wrong, will; and usually at her own hand. In True Lies Of A Drama Queen by Lee Nichols, Elle is a fake psychic with an apartment in Santa Barbara, CA. Her more committed boyfriend Merrick, is an architect who wants Elle to be more serious about him, and her own career. Elle’s best friend Maya is getting married in a few months and Elle feels it’s necessary to plan the wedding. Elle wants control and success and in this novel, it’s quite a struggle to balance them.
A scandal makes Elle’s psychic business booming. Her dressing room striptease at a boutique was secretly filmed and put on a local light porn site. Once word gets out though, she is expected to psychically find out who is responsible. This turns out to be a task for her more technically enhanced friends. She has many stressors that need to be minimized i.e. relationship, newspaper column, psychic job, wedding plans, leaked naked film. But somehow she manages to somewhat balance her life just in the nick of time.
I found this book cute, but pretty predictable. The author sounds very young and perky. Her language wasn’t rich at all, and relied on the drama of the characters to create interest. I enjoyed this book enough to finish it and smile when I was done.

[Dawn · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was just okay. Chalk it up as yet another formulaic chick lit story with a flaky main character who is somewhat difficult to relate to. I finished it merely because I didn't want to waste what time I had already spent reading it. It was predictable and rather generic.

If you're considering reading this one, save your energy for a better, more engrossing read, with a character who is infinitely more relateable.

[Charity · Rating 3 out of 5]

Elle is up to her old tricks of creating drama and pretending to be psychic (continued from the prequel, Tales of a Drama Queen). When she ends up half-naked on the internet, she begins to wish she had real psychic powers to track down who filmed her and wonders how drama seems to follow her wherever she goes. Cute read overall.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the sequel to True Confessions of a Drama Queen (not at all related to that Lindsay Lohan movie.) I think I was expecting too much and I also think I'm a little biased because I just read an EXTREMELY similar book by the same author. But, it was cute and funny. Good if you're looking for an easy book with no surprises and a happy ending.

[Sherri Bryant · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this story more than I enjoyed the first Drama Queen book. Elle is someone who manages to make complete chaos manageable. When everything seems to fall apart around her, she is at the top of her game. I can't help but admire that.

I recommend this author for her fresh and witty storylines, snappy dialogue and characters that are realistic and easy to relate to.

[Drucilla · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's nice that this sequel actually does what it's supposed to, i.e. show the main character actually mature from the previous book. Elle still has chaos erupt around her, but doesn't make those annoying decisions that made half of the first book so frustrating. I really wish this series had gotten more books. I love Elle.

[Jaye · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ahaha ~ cute! A totally poofy chick book, quite humorous. It is apparently a sequel to Tales of a Drama Queen which I have not read but now want to do so. Very cute, must read. Put it on your summer reading list, you won't regret it.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Elle is flighty, but still endearing. I thought I wouldn't like her based on the first couple of pages, but she grew on me. I don't remember much about the first installment in the series, but this one stands well enough on its own.

[kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

!

[Krystal · Rating 3 out of 5]

it was a funny, well written chick lit book and the dialogue flowed very well...and that always makes or breaks a book for me

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute, fun read. Books like this are the reason I love chick lit.

[KyleeJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't read the first one, but I liked this book anyway. I felt like I was missing something now and then. I'd recommend reading the first one before this one.

[Erika · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another quick silly read. Drama queen is definitely the right title!

[Alessia · Rating 4 out of 5]

not quite as funny as the first, but definitely a good read.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a pretty funny book; I liked that she felt she had to make herself uglier so she wouldn't outshine her friend at her friend's wedding. Good times.

[Lawillett · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best chick lit books I've ever read.

[Amy Matthes · Rating 5 out of 5]

so funny!!

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Considering this was a random book that I got at Costco, I was pleasantly surprised. Totally readable and I didn't hate the main character (a rarity in chick lit).

[Diane · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read the first half of the book and then skipped to the end. It didn't seem like I missed much.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel is hilarious and absolutely intriguing,so far,but I'm halfway,so i'll see what my judgement is at the end.

[Bonnie Lazaruk · Rating 3 out of 5]

it was easy reading

[Carla · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the first book years ago and enjoyed that so I wanted to read the sequel. Elle is a semi American version of Becky Bloomwood, but not as likeable to me.

[it's just me! · Rating 2 out of 5]

Light and fun reading,I'll call it fluff and stuff.Loved the nicknames that Elle gave to everyone.

[Wendy Richards · Rating 3 out of 5]

True Lies was a light, easy read. It's been sitting in tbr pile for years now. Glad I finally read it, would definitely read more by Lee Nichols.

[Meaghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

pretty funny and entertaining.