The Actress

by Amy Sohn

A big, lively breakout novel from bestselling author Amy Sohn, in which a talented young actress falls in love with Hollywood's biggest star — ignoring the rumors that he's gay — only to realize that she may just have been cast in the role of a lifetime.

All Maddy Freed has ever wanted is to act. When the indie film she made with her director boyfriend, Dan, wins her a special acting prize at the Mile's End Film Festival, she's thrilled but doesn't yet understand how much it will change her life. Then she catches the eye of Bridget Ostrow, a legendary talent manager whose biggest client is Hollywood heartthrob Steven Weller. Before Maddy knows it, her career has shifted onto the express track.

Bridget secures Maddy an audition for an Oscar-worthy role opposite Steven, and soon the two actors are thrown together amid Europe's Old World charm. Though for years there have been rumors that Steven is gay, it doesn’t take long before their professional relationship turns personal. After the passionate whirlwind wedding, though, rumors continue to swirl, and cracks start to appear in their fairytale lives. Even as Maddy stands by the man she believes is the love of her life, she begins to question just how much she knows about her role as his wife…

The Actress is a romantic, literary page-turner about Hollywood fame, the treachery of love, and the pleasures and pains of female ambition.

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary, Romance, Chick Lit, Audiobook, Book Club, Relationships

337 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 2014

About the author

Amy Sohn is the author of the upcoming novel The Actress, which will be published by Simon & Schuster in July 2014. Her other novels are Motherland, Prospect Park West, My Old Man, and Run Catch Kiss. She has been a columnist at New York magazine, New York Press, the New York Post and Grazia (UK). She has also written for The New York Times, The Nation, and Harper's Bazaar. She has written pilots for ABC, Fox, HBO, and Lifetime. She lives in Brooklyn, New York with her family.

Reviews

[Heidi (can’t retire soon enough) · Rating 3 out of 5]

What started out as a “behind the scenes” look at (fictional) Hollywood star making quickly devolved into a vapid, soap opera tale.

Normally I would have ditched this but it earned three stars ‘cuz I just had to know how the author was going to end the train wreck relationship that dominated the book.

Quick read with a few spots of real “insider” tidbits (know the difference between a manager and an agent or how an indie film jumps from a film festival to the big screen?) is the best I can do.

[Cassie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I never warmed up to the characters. Maddy was so naive as to be obtuse most of the time, and the book moves through the years so quickly (encompassing at least 5 years) that emotional depth was impossible to establish. Her romance with Steven is so abrupt that it makes her very difficult to sympathize with. The tension between Maddy and her longtime boyfriend Dan is present prior to her being swept off her feet by Steven, but the way she goes about everything makes it seem like she never respected the relationship despite all the pining she does over it later. Considering how much Maddy attests that she loves Steven throughout the book, I never felt it and she spends most of the narrative completely apart from him. Questions of his fidelity and sexual orientation aside, the few scenes where they actually interact are either fights, make-ups, or times when Maddy is almost sure she's being manipulated.

I think this could have been awesome if it were framed as more of a psychological drama or thriller. Amy Sohn alludes to DuMaurier's Rebecca a few times and there are touches of tension and paranoia in Maddy's relationship with Steven. There were times I wondered if this book might just veer into Night Film territory, and I really wish it had. Maddy's insecurities and desperation are occasionally vivid to the reader, but the vague sense of claustrophobia Sohn builds never has much of an opportunity to sink its teeth into Maddy before she jumps into another film project and brushes it off. Instead you're left with a bland look into a celebrity marriage that lacks the juicy fun of a Jackie Collins book but is so breezy and shallow it can't make a literary point, either.

[Nette · Rating 2 out of 5]

This would have been a fine guilty pleasure summer read, but the author has the oddest writing style, and I found it distracting. Her character descriptions are especially peculiar: almost every person in the book is allowed just two brief adjectives. For example:

"Reggie wore cats eye glasses and a geisha dress and Maddy liked her immediately."

"Bridget swooped over, accompanied by a thirtysomething woman with dark eyebrows."

"One of the men, who had thick eyebrows and a handsome stubbled face, had a bottle of something dark and shimmering."

But my favorite is this description of our heroine's boyfriend's penis:

"It was like the finger of a musical man. Pale and long."

(I guess it didn't have distinctive eyebrows.)

[Leanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I understand that this is absolutely not a perfect novel, but anything including the guilty pleasures of fame and Hollywood that is vaguely literary is right up my alley. I especially loved the tidbits about the film festival circuit as I've been to a few of those myself (as a spectator, of course!) Maddy is naive and emotional but I thought it was on the scale of believable, and I couldn't help but root for her to succeed in her career. I found out after finishing that this is a veiled re-telling of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes' marriage, which is some ways makes it more interesting and in others kind of turns me off - I have never particularly liked her and much preferred Sohn's version!

[Leonel · Rating 4 out of 5]

The hype around Amy Sohn's "The Actress" is that the novel is based on the marriage of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes. That was enough enticement for me, and I was expecting juicy details. It's a false promise, though. In my mind, the main character, Maddy Freed, seemed more Nicole Kidman than Katie, and the Steven Weller character, resembles George Clooney more than Tom Cruise. I am sure the characters here are composites of peopel anyway, and that goes with the details as well. The story is also kind of run-of-the-mill. Sohn's imagination isn't as vivid as I wanted it to be, and there were no details that shocked me, and some twists and turns were very predictable. Still, it was a page-turner. i wanted it to challenge me more, but some scenes were closer to camp. The whole thing is closer to a soap opera, and I think it would be a good basis for a night time soap - or a television mini series. It's enjoyable, but not earth-shattering.



http://luhathoughts.blogspot.com/2014...

[Catherine Sumner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Terrible yet compulsively readable. Some of the writing was laughably bad. My enjoyment level was more like four stars, but I can't bring myself to rate it that highly.

[PacaLipstick Gramma · Rating 1 out of 5]

I won this book through a Goodreads Giveaway.

Ugh. I did not read the whole book. I read about half of it, and I just didn't feel it worthy of wasting any more of my time. The writing was fragmented at times and difficult to follow. I would reread it, thinking I had missed something, but not, it just wasn't cohesive. I skimmed the rest of the book, and was able to piece the rest of the story together.

I felt no connection to the characters. They were all too superficial. The main character, Maddie, didn't even seem believable. For being in theater, she was such a country bumpkin, gullible almost to the point of stupidity.

I have said this numerous times that I never start a book with a preconceived idea as to how it should go, but the story had the potential to be really good, but as they say in the tabloids, it was a flop.

[Ang · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is sincerely one of the worst books I've read in a long time. It's basically the fictionalized version of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, and it's just done SO POORLY. I would say that within 50 pages, I realized that it was going to be awful, but it was a little bit like a train crash: I couldn't look away. It didn't take me very long (THANK GOD), but oh lord, it was bad. Don't read it. Just don't. You won't be missing a damn thing.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most fun I've had in a while. Amy Sohn gives the people what they want. All pleasure, no guilt. Well, a little guilt, but only the fun kind that adds a frisson to the pleasure.

[Amy Prosenjak · Rating 1 out of 5]

Don’t bother

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are spoilers in my review.



I received this as a goodreads giveaway.

Let me first say I love the cover art for this book. Even had I not already heard about the book and wanted to read it the cover would have drawn me to it.

The story revolves around Maddie an up and coming Indie actress and Stephen a handsome A-list actor in his 40's. Maddie is at a film festival to promote a film that she starred in but also co-wrote with then boyfriend, Dan. During the festival Zach a young, savvy, new manager begins to pursue Maddie as a new client. Zach's mother Bridget is already a very well known manager herself and her #1 client is Stephen. Stephen is surrounded by gossip of homosexuality that he tries to divert by dating the "beauty" of the moment. Stephen and Maddie catch each others eye at a festival event and from there what appears to be a whirlwind romance begins. Bridget manages to steal Maddie as a client from her son, Zach, and from there on out manipulates Maddie's every situation to benefit Stephen. The two marry and after a brief "honeymoon" period between the two Stephen begins to be jealous of Maddie's success and becomes secretive and distant. Just when you think Maddie has had enough and is going to leave she finds out she is pregnant and the couple reunite. Stephen appears happy about the coming baby but ultimately misses the birth of his son by going on a sailing trip with a male co-star after Maddie begged him not to go. She stays with him but becomes more and more resentful until he brings his secret life home and throws it in her face.

I had a hard time during the first couple of chapters trying to keep the secondary characters straight because they all seemed to come into play at the same time. I didn't like that Maddie seemed overly naive and Stephen so obvious it made it hard to connect and become emotionally connected with them. Overall, I liked the book and I would recommend it for a light read.

[Read Rest Recharge · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book definitely falls into the “Summer Read” category. It’s a little more substantial than chick-lit fluff, but not heavy enough to be a literary masterpiece. It kept me entertained and I love the “behind the scenes” look into the Hollywood lifestyle. I was drawn to the book because I had read two articles that alluded to Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes short marriage as the background for this book.
The young female character, Maddy Freed, is in an indie film actress and screenwriter who quickly gets the attention of Steven Weller. Before you know it, she’s dumped her boyfriend, moves in with and marries Steven, and gets a new manager and movie career. Even though Maddy has heard rumors about Steven’s sexuality for years, she determines that they can’t be true because they have sex all of the time. However, she slowly starts to feel that she is being manipulated by both Steven and her manager and starts to think more and more about specific situations in which Steven is unavailable.
I enjoy reading Us Weekly and People, so this book was a great pop-culture fix for me. While I didn’t particularly like any of the characters, I was entertained. I didn’t even care so much for Maddy because she was often so frustratingly naïve. When she did start to catch on as to what was going on around her, she even became manipulative herself.
I would recommend this book, but remind the reader that this is a Summer Read, and not much more.
I received an advanced copy from the publisher, Simon & Schuster.

[Carla · Rating 4 out of 5]

New to the scene, Maddy Freed finds herself being whisked away - from the indie film she co wrote and starred in, from her boyfriend, from all she knew - to the world of Berlin openings, directors in Europe, and the famous actor Steven Weller. Like in the movies, he saw her from across the room and moved everything to have her - but their lives were real and not the movies. Enter the world of Hollywood, paper moons and cardboard seas, agents that manipulate and sell their own children - how can a genuine emotion like love be felt and survive in a place that feeds the disingenuous? After a year of marriage rumors of Maddy's marriage spew the tabloids, even old friends think her marriage is not real, yet as she works harder she feels as if she is failing and sinking further.
Written sections of the relationship as Acts, spanning years and keeping the characters growth or non growth in part of not just the main characters story, but also the secondary and very minor - the reader develops time, heart retching and joyous, but the naivety that once was there is no longer and what the soul now sees and experiences can not be undone. (Kind of like the lesson of Bluebeard, even to the bleeding key) Are we all acting in a role, and just who prepared us for it?

This one would be great for Book Group especially for discussions, but you will not want to put it down and will read in one sitting.

[Jennifer Gillette · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing & timing in this book are a little off.

The way it's written is odd at times, details seem randomly thrown in, and in more than one instance I was unaware the characters were angry until they stormed off - the dialogue and narrative didn't explain the feelings.

The timing impacts how well we readers can connect to the story. So much time passed that we weren't a part of that we don't understand what's going on. For instance, I didn't understand why Maddie wasn't still madly in love when in the paragraph before she was floating amongst the clouds. Things change, of course, but we are not aware of it.

And some timing doesn't seem to make sense - there's a marriage, then a scandal - the next act starts "about a year after". So we can assume they've been married "about" a year. Following are pages of days later, a week later, a few weeks later, etc. Then there's a comment that in August they will be married a year. But I had assumed the anniversary already happened (but not written about). While the timing may actually match up, the ambiguity of the writing makes it a little hard to follow.

[Lorri Steinbacher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good beach book. Sohn has the Hollywood lingo down and does a great job of capturing that self congratulatory, self-involved, self-immolating fragment of society. And I might have even rated it higher except that the story revolved around Maddy Freed who was just...ugh. Clueless, holier than thou in a society that is far from holy, self-delusional. She was just horrid. At first, I was willing to forgive her because she got caught up quickly in Steven Weller's world, but really for someone who was portrayed as so smart early on, she got stupid fast. And because I didn't find her believable in the middle of the book, her turnaround at the end left me cold. Good Hollywood book with a main character you wish would go away.

[Carol · Rating 1 out of 5]

Fascinating industry. Behind-the-scenes knowledge. I was excited to receive a copy of this book in connection with a giveaway because it had all the makings of a great summer read. It didn't measure up, though. The characters were caricatures. There's no one in this novel with whom you want to spend the time it takes to read it. The relationships between the characters don't come across as authentic. It's not awful, by any means - simply disappointing.

[Rita Mahan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had the feeling I should have returned this book to the library half way through it but I stuck it out and hated that I wasted my time! Can't even recommend this one as a beach read, it just annoyed me from beginning to end. Spoiled young actress married rich, older, "established" actor who may or may not be gay.....Ho hum! Characters were straight out of a soap opera (and not even a good one).
Don't waste your time.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐ While I liked the book I sometimes hated the characters. The main relationship is a total trainwreck and they're always doing something to piss the other person off. Even the supporting characters are awful people. I would say the only person that ends up being redeemed in the end would be the up and coming agent, Zach.

I'm disappointed that these people didn't get their comeuppance at the end of the book but I suppose that's how real Hollywood actually is.

[Audrey · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was tough to get through because the characters were so unlikeable. The story seems to mirror the Tom Cruise/Katy Holmes relationship (minus the religious aspect), and all the main characters were manipulative, needy, and annoying. The big question (mystery) of the book is what got me all the way to the end. And I did learn a bit about the movie production process.

[Kelly · Rating 1 out of 5]

Is this really what straight women think gay men are like? Was this book actually published in 2014? Also, reading queer books for OTR has protected me from the queasiness of having to read straight sex scenes. And these were bad ones!

[Kirsten · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. I did finish it, but it was a chore. Did not live up to some reviews which prompted me to try it. And here's a barometer of a so-so book: I already can't remember how it ended. Or else that's Alzheimer's.....

[Robin · Rating 1 out of 5]

You know those magazines you see near the cashier at a supermarket? Well buy that instead, it's better and less expensive than this novel.

Maddy is boring, bland, and has no discernible traits. She sells out in almost every way. She hires a personal trainer, stylist, and nanny. She worries about her weight. She becomes shallow in that Hollywood way. She has no character arc, no transformation, no decisions that make us realise what kind of person she is. If anything, her decisions only reinforce her blandness and her lack of personality.

Similarly, the story feels like an overstretched episode of Entertainment Tonight. I couldn't empathise with Maddy. Yes her dad dying left her scarred, and she has anxiety, but because she sells out and becomes this stereotypical Hollywood person, it's hard to feel anything for her.

You know what the biggest let down is? The book doesn't really teach you anything. It just dissects a Hollywood drama and gives you pages and pages of emptiness. There's no critical views about homosexuality in Hollywood, no discussion on open relationships, no satire or parody, no anything. This could have been a great novel on the struggles of coming to terms with your sexuality with a backdrop of Hollywood, or a novel about how Hollywood changes you. But instead it's just a dull, uninteresting, story. You want something with Hollywood in it but actually is worthwhile? Go watch Bojack Horseman.

[Rowan's Bookshelf (Carleigh) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was conflicted throughout the whole book, and even as I write this, I'm still torn between two or three stars. It's a guilty pleasure, but some parts the characters are just unbearably unreasonable of just plain unlikeable. Any development that happens over the years in the book still seems rushed, and the author doesn't take too much time to show them and rather tells you what's going on, but at the same time just makes in confusing. Some parts were very interesting however, it was like I didn't want to read any more but couldn't put it down.

[Лика Могилевская · Rating 1 out of 5]

not sure why i must always finish books in hopes that they will get better. This was a bit of a time-waster, as close to an extended version of yellow press/People magazine... Ok, so after a couple dozen pages you get it - the movie making business is tough, competitive, the media is harsh, some actors are gay, stress is through the roof..... SO WHAT ELSE IS NEW?? Sooo much runaround.... the romantic scenes were pretty dull.... main character, Maddy, seemed too naive and the dialogue was poorly written. I wouldn't even qualify this as a guilty beach bum novel....

[Judith Yeabsley · Rating 1 out of 5]

Haven't read a book as bad in years. Awful. The characters were so flat and so dislikable and so not believable. Not sure what the book was trying to achieve - relationship angst? homosexuality? women's rights? It went nowhere and I should have ditched it right at the start. There were so many jumps that left huge blanks. One minute they are soooo in love and the next minute it was all cold and distant but without any explanation. Bad, bad, bad.

[Concordia West · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book made me feel bemused and bored. The characters all lacked personality and proper descriptions, as if this was a fanfic where the reader already knew how they looked and behaved. The main character was insultingly naive, and it didn't feel like she was a real human. I gave up halfway in, but since none of the other reviewers suggested she is revealed to be an android at the end, I'm assuming this was unintentional

[Amy · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was really bad. A nonsensical and all over the place plot, unlikable and paranoid characters, inconsistent and confusing chronology, and ridiculous and melodramatic dialogue. Nothing about it was believable. I kept reading because it was entertaining, but in a can't-look-away-from-a-train-wreck sort of way.

[Rachel Gioia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ugh, this was not a winner. The writing stunk. I didn't like any of the characters...literally, not one. Just when I would start enjoying the development of a character, he/she would say or do something so ridiculous. Chapters ended in weird and unusual ways. So much of this book seemed highly unrealistic. Would not recommend.

[Meghan]

Amazing page turner! Great story line, felt fresh and unexpected, leaving me not seeing the next piece of information coming! The details of how the characters were feelings, and the growth of the characters over the time span was well executed! Highly recommend!

[Laur · Rating 4 out of 5]

If I could give it 4.5 I would. It was really really good, would highly recommend but had a few instances in which I felt merited the -.5 --> if you read it, let me know what you think!