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Hollywood Girls Club #1
Hollywood Girls Club
The climb to the top of the Hollywood ladder is treacherous, especially in stilettos. And as any A-lister knows, even harder than getting to the top is staying there. Hollywood Girls Club follows the well-heeled footsteps of three power players who are determined not to lose their footing: Jessica, the agency president with hot, demanding clients and an ice-cold fiance; Celeste, the megastar whose action-flick-director husband just dumped her for a fresh-faced newcomer; and Lydia, the producer with the magic touch whose new boss is personally waging a campaign to ruin her career. They’ve been friends for a long time, and in the poisonous petri dish of the film industry, having friends with power is crucial, but having friends you can trust is even better.
For the first time, the stars have aligned and Jessica, Celeste, and Lydia are all working on the same project, a big-budget action movie called Seven Minutes Past Midnight. The movie is going to be a blockbuster if they can ever get it wrapped. But between complicated personal lives, mind games and backstabbing, and a movie studio head with an unfortunate resemblance to an evil leprechaun, there has been more than the usual amount of chaos during filming. It will take all their collective clout to get this movie into theaters. Together with Mary Anne, a naive writer from Minnesota whom they plucked from obscurity to polish Lydia’s script, the girls fight, Hollywood style, to make this film a box-office hit.
Shifting from one woman’s perspective to another’s, this addictive page-turner takes you inside L.A. to reveal the inner workings of Hollywood and how strong-willed women navigate the shifting landscape of influence and control. No more tales from the assistant’s office, Hollywood Girls Club is the story of the players themselves, with their sometimes ugly motivations, humanizing frailties, grandiose scandals, and the lasting friendships you can find, even in the Hollywood jungle.
For the first time, the stars have aligned and Jessica, Celeste, and Lydia are all working on the same project, a big-budget action movie called Seven Minutes Past Midnight. The movie is going to be a blockbuster if they can ever get it wrapped. But between complicated personal lives, mind games and backstabbing, and a movie studio head with an unfortunate resemblance to an evil leprechaun, there has been more than the usual amount of chaos during filming. It will take all their collective clout to get this movie into theaters. Together with Mary Anne, a naive writer from Minnesota whom they plucked from obscurity to polish Lydia’s script, the girls fight, Hollywood style, to make this film a box-office hit.
Shifting from one woman’s perspective to another’s, this addictive page-turner takes you inside L.A. to reveal the inner workings of Hollywood and how strong-willed women navigate the shifting landscape of influence and control. No more tales from the assistant’s office, Hollywood Girls Club is the story of the players themselves, with their sometimes ugly motivations, humanizing frailties, grandiose scandals, and the lasting friendships you can find, even in the Hollywood jungle.
304 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 10, 2007
About the author
Maggie Marr
48 books507 followersUSA Today Best Selling author of romance and women's fiction. If I'm not reading or writing I'm binge watching Netflix.
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www.maggiemarr.net
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xoMaggie
Join my update list to get *FREE* books and hear about new releases, specials on books, contests, and prizes!
www.maggiemarr.net
You can email me at:
maggiemarrbooks@gmail.com
xoMaggie
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews
December 10, 2017
Book #1 in the series Hollywood Girls Club by Maggie Marr
Sex and the City meets Hollywood!
If you are a fan of Sex and the City, you will absolutely adore this novel. In fact, you will devour it.. just as I did.
This was pure unadulterated fun! This book was lighthearted and provided me with so much joy and amusement. This book was by no means deep; let's call a spade a spade.. but it was just what I needed.
Some of my expressions while reading this book were..
This book takes place in Hollywood, as you might assume from the title, and it follows four high powered women in the movie - making industry. Lydia Albright is a top producer in Hollywood and has an innate ability to produce. Her father was a major player in the industry, as well. Celeste A.K.A. Cici Solange is comparable to Angelina Jolie or Nicole Kidman. She is a star. Then there is Jessica Caulfield who is the agent you want if you are a major actor or actress in Hollywood. She has that je ne sais quoi that most agents don't have. Finally, the last woman to round out the Hollywood Girls Club is Mary Anne Meyers. Mary Anne was practically penniless, until one of her scripts that she had written was discovered by Lydia Albright.
This book follows the meteoric rise to fame of the Hollywood Girls Club - and their bumps along the way. Even when things got a little bumpy, they picked themselves up.. dusted off their Minolos and Louboutins and kept right on stomping the ground.
You go girls!
Their trials and tribulations through out this book made me root and cheer for them. At the end of the book, I felt like they were my friends.. and I didn't want to let them go!
Another facet of this book I really enjoyed was how the author chose to mark each chapter. Each chapter would be titled: Lydia Albright and Her Black Alexandra Neel Calfskin Pumps or Jessica Caulfield and Her Balenciaga Sandals . Every chapter having some relationship to shoes in one way or another. I thought that was really cute. It also reminded the reader that these ladies liked things in excess and had the means to afford that lifestyle.. Again, You go girls!
For me, the keystone of a great novel is the likeability or relatability of the characters; whether or not you are invested in them. For this book, I definitely was and I will be reading the sequel without a doubt!
Sex and the City meets Hollywood!
If you are a fan of Sex and the City, you will absolutely adore this novel. In fact, you will devour it.. just as I did.
This was pure unadulterated fun! This book was lighthearted and provided me with so much joy and amusement. This book was by no means deep; let's call a spade a spade.. but it was just what I needed.
Some of my expressions while reading this book were..
This book takes place in Hollywood, as you might assume from the title, and it follows four high powered women in the movie - making industry. Lydia Albright is a top producer in Hollywood and has an innate ability to produce. Her father was a major player in the industry, as well. Celeste A.K.A. Cici Solange is comparable to Angelina Jolie or Nicole Kidman. She is a star. Then there is Jessica Caulfield who is the agent you want if you are a major actor or actress in Hollywood. She has that je ne sais quoi that most agents don't have. Finally, the last woman to round out the Hollywood Girls Club is Mary Anne Meyers. Mary Anne was practically penniless, until one of her scripts that she had written was discovered by Lydia Albright.
This book follows the meteoric rise to fame of the Hollywood Girls Club - and their bumps along the way. Even when things got a little bumpy, they picked themselves up.. dusted off their Minolos and Louboutins and kept right on stomping the ground.
You go girls!
Their trials and tribulations through out this book made me root and cheer for them. At the end of the book, I felt like they were my friends.. and I didn't want to let them go!
Another facet of this book I really enjoyed was how the author chose to mark each chapter. Each chapter would be titled: Lydia Albright and Her Black Alexandra Neel Calfskin Pumps or Jessica Caulfield and Her Balenciaga Sandals . Every chapter having some relationship to shoes in one way or another. I thought that was really cute. It also reminded the reader that these ladies liked things in excess and had the means to afford that lifestyle.. Again, You go girls!
For me, the keystone of a great novel is the likeability or relatability of the characters; whether or not you are invested in them. For this book, I definitely was and I will be reading the sequel without a doubt!
July 30, 2012
The more I read of Hollywood Girls Club, the more I was sure the author knew what she was talking about. There was a definite sense of insider knowledge about the film industry as the book progressed, beyond the surface knowledge most of us would know. So I wasn't surprised, at the end of the book, to find that Maggie Marr is a lawyer turned agent, living with her actor husband in Los Angeles. Shades of one of her main characters, Jess.
My first impression as I started reading Hollywood Girls Club was that this was another Jackie Collins wannabe. Sex, drugs and excesses, with a large dose of bad language (not good for using text to speech on Kindle when cooking dinner). However, as the novel unfolded, the characters became less edgy (in a good way, as far as I'm concerned), and that was when I started to care about them and their situations.
The four main characters were women either at the top of their careers, or in the case of one, just starting out (but in a blockbuster way). Movie star, agent, producer and screenplay writer ... they were four women who had that most surprising of commodities in Hollywood: true friendship. It's this friendship that is the glue for Hollywood Girls Club. By the end of the novel, I was cheering each of the ladies on.
Hollywood Girls Club was an enjoyable diversion. All fairly predictable, but that didn't spoil the story. It was a light, easy read. However, readers should be aware that this book does contain some coarse language and sexual references, together with a small amount of drug use by one of the main characters.
My first impression as I started reading Hollywood Girls Club was that this was another Jackie Collins wannabe. Sex, drugs and excesses, with a large dose of bad language (not good for using text to speech on Kindle when cooking dinner). However, as the novel unfolded, the characters became less edgy (in a good way, as far as I'm concerned), and that was when I started to care about them and their situations.
The four main characters were women either at the top of their careers, or in the case of one, just starting out (but in a blockbuster way). Movie star, agent, producer and screenplay writer ... they were four women who had that most surprising of commodities in Hollywood: true friendship. It's this friendship that is the glue for Hollywood Girls Club. By the end of the novel, I was cheering each of the ladies on.
Hollywood Girls Club was an enjoyable diversion. All fairly predictable, but that didn't spoil the story. It was a light, easy read. However, readers should be aware that this book does contain some coarse language and sexual references, together with a small amount of drug use by one of the main characters.
March 1, 2008
This was a very nice quick read. It wasn't deep, but I didn't feel like I wasn't getting anything out of it reading it. In finishing it I actually think feel like my friends have gone away. I can't wait to read the next one so I know more about what they all do.
There are 4 maybe 5 main characters in this "Hollywood Girls Club", one not technically in it, but set up like she could be. Celeste, the star aka actress, Jessica the agent, Lydia the producer, MaryAnn the writer from the midwest that the girls give their big breaks too, and Christina (who I hope we see more of in future books) is the daughter of the director of the movie and after college wants to be an agent. Each was individual and had a different way you could relate to them, but it still made since why they all got along.
Overall, have to say I really enjoyed it and can see myself reading it again and that if you like Chick Lit you should read it.
There are 4 maybe 5 main characters in this "Hollywood Girls Club", one not technically in it, but set up like she could be. Celeste, the star aka actress, Jessica the agent, Lydia the producer, MaryAnn the writer from the midwest that the girls give their big breaks too, and Christina (who I hope we see more of in future books) is the daughter of the director of the movie and after college wants to be an agent. Each was individual and had a different way you could relate to them, but it still made since why they all got along.
Overall, have to say I really enjoyed it and can see myself reading it again and that if you like Chick Lit you should read it.
November 26, 2016
Other reviewers compare this to Jackie Collins, but that isn't really accurate. This is the story of four powerful or up and coming powerful women who succeed in Hollywood while learning what is really important to each of them. One is an super agent, one is a successful producer, one is a superstar actress and the last is a long struggling but recently discovered writer. They have paid their dues and clawed their way to the pinnacles of their careers with very little help, if not outright sabotage from men. While there are men in the story they are not main characters and while there is sex in the book it isn't the detailed style of Ms. Collins.
It is instead a peek behind the curtains in Hollywood where lies are told, people are tossed away and revenge is a dish best served with sushi.
It is instead a peek behind the curtains in Hollywood where lies are told, people are tossed away and revenge is a dish best served with sushi.
November 14, 2016
So many questions left unanswered: why was Ted kept unnamed until the most integral part of the story? Because he was the most powerful man in Hollywood? And what was with the sudden change in Mitsy? She started off very mid-western, 50s-era housewife then after Mary Anne told her off, she pulled a Sandy from "Grease". They never explained how she became so different. All in all, I enjoyed how catty the characters could be. It was like a modern-day "Valley of the Dolls" and after saying that, I will definitely read the sequel.
July 17, 2012
I picked up this book because I wanted an escape from my own writing, which normally deals with intense subject matter. The author delivered exactly the kind of escape I needed. The book was so much fun to read, and i didn't want it to end. It reminded me of Jackie Collins books, yet refreshingly different. It is clear that the author is well versed with the entertainment industry she writes about. The plot, the setting and the characters were very well developed and realistic. I especially loved the relationships between the four leading ladies. They were mature, intelligent and looked out for each other. It was also good to see them grow as the story progressed. This is a mature version of sex in the city. I highly recommend this book and I am looking forward to reading the author's next book.
February 19, 2008
A fast paced read about a celebrity, producer, agent, and writer who share a unique friendship in a cutthroat industry.
Fun fact: Each chapter is named after one of the main characters and a pair of shoes!
Fun fact: Each chapter is named after one of the main characters and a pair of shoes!
March 8, 2008
Enjoyed this more than I expected. Only thing that bothered me was that the all ended up with men almost as if that is the only thing that would make them happy. Planning on reading the next in the series.
January 25, 2008
This book was really good...if you like jackie collins you will like this new author
Read
March 8, 2008Of course I LOVE it...I wrote it!
xoMaggie
xoMaggie
May 21, 2023
Amazing! It's a great book, and I think it shows, in my opinion, a very knowledgeable outlook on Hollywood life. All the characters have such interesting personalities, and the debacles that come along the way make you wanna root for each of them, most you can.
April 4, 2020
AMAZING!
February 20, 2023
Ok, just one of those you can’t put down!!!!
March 14, 2008
These are NOT the girls next door!
Where do I start with this review? WOW! Maggie Marr gives readers a front row seat and glimpse into the Hollywood lives of Jessica, Celeste, MaryAnne and Lydia. It was so hard for me to put this book down. I kept saying, "Okay, I'm going to read one more chapter and then go to bed...I'm going to read one more chapter and then cook..one more chpater and then I'll return my best friend's phone call.." You get the point...this book was so GOOD!
Jessica, is the president of one of the hottest talent agencies in LA and sexually bored with her soon-to-be husband, Celeste is a beautiful actress living in one of the biggest and extravangant homes in Hollywood Hills, but she is unhappy in her marriage, Lydia is a movie producer having an affair with a married man until one day..and Mary Anne is a homely aspiring writer from Minnesota who gets her first big break when Lydia calls her out the blue one day.
I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED this book! I emphasized how entertaining and good this book was to my husband and he would text me at work and call me to get updates on the characters. My favorite character was Jessica and he liked hearing about Celeste. There are not enough stars to rate this one!
The author has a two page teaser of the sequel and I can't wait to read it! Kiki Dee seems like she's a scandalous *BEEP*! :)
Highly recommended!
Where do I start with this review? WOW! Maggie Marr gives readers a front row seat and glimpse into the Hollywood lives of Jessica, Celeste, MaryAnne and Lydia. It was so hard for me to put this book down. I kept saying, "Okay, I'm going to read one more chapter and then go to bed...I'm going to read one more chapter and then cook..one more chpater and then I'll return my best friend's phone call.." You get the point...this book was so GOOD!
Jessica, is the president of one of the hottest talent agencies in LA and sexually bored with her soon-to-be husband, Celeste is a beautiful actress living in one of the biggest and extravangant homes in Hollywood Hills, but she is unhappy in her marriage, Lydia is a movie producer having an affair with a married man until one day..and Mary Anne is a homely aspiring writer from Minnesota who gets her first big break when Lydia calls her out the blue one day.
I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED this book! I emphasized how entertaining and good this book was to my husband and he would text me at work and call me to get updates on the characters. My favorite character was Jessica and he liked hearing about Celeste. There are not enough stars to rate this one!
The author has a two page teaser of the sequel and I can't wait to read it! Kiki Dee seems like she's a scandalous *BEEP*! :)
Highly recommended!
May 9, 2014
A long time ago, I read a Danielle Steel book called Secrets. I think it was my first time reading about Hollywood, and I clearly remember enjoying an insider's glimpse into the world of TV and filmmaking.
Yesterday, I finished this little gem and it gave me that same fun, voyeuristic feeling. I loved reading about four strong women navigating male-centric Hollywood. Some situations may seem outrageous to those who have not worked in the business, but they felt pretty true to me. Except for all the happy endings, LOL. Hollywood endings generally happen on screen only, but this is a romance, so everyone got their well-earned HEA. I wouldn't have it any other way.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and immediately got Secrets of the Hollywood Girls Club and Hollywood Hit. Can't wait!
Yesterday, I finished this little gem and it gave me that same fun, voyeuristic feeling. I loved reading about four strong women navigating male-centric Hollywood. Some situations may seem outrageous to those who have not worked in the business, but they felt pretty true to me. Except for all the happy endings, LOL. Hollywood endings generally happen on screen only, but this is a romance, so everyone got their well-earned HEA. I wouldn't have it any other way.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and immediately got Secrets of the Hollywood Girls Club and Hollywood Hit. Can't wait!
August 29, 2013
The uber-agent, the uber-producer, the superstar actress, and the newbie screenwriter - four stories that interweave together deliciously, all tied in to the success - or failure - or the upcoming motion picture Seven Minutes Past Midnight. Along with restaurants, spas, romantic affairs, and SHOES.
If you like chick lit, name/place-dropping, and women who can learn to play the Hollywood game without losing their femininity in a town that is built around "good ol' boys' club" rules, you'll love this book.
I particularly liked being drawn in to scenes where we are clued in to where someone broke the unwritten Hollywood rules, like "the Leprechaun" trying to sabotage Lydia's big action shoot out of spite. We meet some stereotypes: the aging producer who loses his head (both of them) over a VERY young starlet, the director who has to be fetched from his Fiji baboon-poo splattered retreat, some male stars just out of rehab who can't be trusted without a babysitter.
It's an entertaining summer beach read, and full of humor and fashion, if not particularly earth-shattering.
If you like chick lit, name/place-dropping, and women who can learn to play the Hollywood game without losing their femininity in a town that is built around "good ol' boys' club" rules, you'll love this book.
I particularly liked being drawn in to scenes where we are clued in to where someone broke the unwritten Hollywood rules, like "the Leprechaun" trying to sabotage Lydia's big action shoot out of spite. We meet some stereotypes: the aging producer who loses his head (both of them) over a VERY young starlet, the director who has to be fetched from his Fiji baboon-poo splattered retreat, some male stars just out of rehab who can't be trusted without a babysitter.
It's an entertaining summer beach read, and full of humor and fashion, if not particularly earth-shattering.
February 27, 2014
6-hollywood-very-insider stars!
1. unputdownable. very hooked me till the end!
2. absolutely write about the dirty side of hollywood that other author tend to not writing about.
3. the many POV. building anticipation for the continuation till i cant help my self to keep flicking at my phone screen, want to finally read the rest.
4. oh. the emptyness, then the hollow, the breakdown, while found a true happyness along side all. this book rocks ur heart and mind and emotion.
5. no unnecessary, toe curled disgusting drama.
6. ohh.. and the not telling name ideaa .. to describe Cici lover. wowww. i had no idea till 10% end. had to review who would be that cici man.
7. the lover literally come out of nowhere. what a sweet hope and surprise.
8. i love Cici ! like so much.
9. a lot things left unexplained. like why Bradfort want to help Cici out. why Damien let go the tape. aand the ending for Cici. everyone got their own ending, not for Cici and Lydia.
1. unputdownable. very hooked me till the end!
2. absolutely write about the dirty side of hollywood that other author tend to not writing about.
3. the many POV. building anticipation for the continuation till i cant help my self to keep flicking at my phone screen, want to finally read the rest.
4. oh. the emptyness, then the hollow, the breakdown, while found a true happyness along side all. this book rocks ur heart and mind and emotion.
5. no unnecessary, toe curled disgusting drama.
6. ohh.. and the not telling name ideaa .. to describe Cici lover. wowww. i had no idea till 10% end. had to review who would be that cici man.
7. the lover literally come out of nowhere. what a sweet hope and surprise.
8. i love Cici ! like so much.
9. a lot things left unexplained. like why Bradfort want to help Cici out. why Damien let go the tape. aand the ending for Cici. everyone got their own ending, not for Cici and Lydia.
March 12, 2008
I really enjoyed this book. It kept me wanting to find out more, even though some of the things were predictable and easy to figure out, it didn't bore me.
I did not, however, enjoy the amount of foul language and extreme sexual references in the book. I understand that part of the story is probably going on in Hollywood (and probably elsewhere too) but it just seemed excessive to me and really started to turn me off about halfway through the book.
It did NOT keep me from wanting to finish the book,though.
I did not, however, enjoy the amount of foul language and extreme sexual references in the book. I understand that part of the story is probably going on in Hollywood (and probably elsewhere too) but it just seemed excessive to me and really started to turn me off about halfway through the book.
It did NOT keep me from wanting to finish the book,though.
March 12, 2008
I've read a few books that I consider "Insider Hollywood Chick Lit" and every time, I'm kind of disgusted that things operate that way out there, yet I still enjoy TV and movies, so I shouldnt complain too much....this one is a little more blunt about how people - especially women - climb up the Hollywood ladder, but still a quick, fun read about a group of friends in the movie business (a star, an agent, a producer, and a writer).
June 11, 2012
Managed to get a book finished finally (time commitments made it slow going, not the book itself)
Light, fluffy, fun.
Backstabbing and agendas in Hollywood. Enjoyable story - written from the point of view of 4 different Hollywood women (the tried and true Sex and the City formula) . Unfortuntely there wasn't a lot to tell them apart and there were times I would have to re-read a chapter not realising the character had changed.
Would make a great holiday/beach/travel companion book.
Light, fluffy, fun.
Backstabbing and agendas in Hollywood. Enjoyable story - written from the point of view of 4 different Hollywood women (the tried and true Sex and the City formula) . Unfortuntely there wasn't a lot to tell them apart and there were times I would have to re-read a chapter not realising the character had changed.
Would make a great holiday/beach/travel companion book.
February 7, 2013
I was hooked from the name of the first chapter: "Celeste Solange and Her Fifteen-Thousand-Dollar Shoes." Each chapter is similarly named ("Lydia Albright and Her Alexandra Neel Pumps," "Jessica Caulfield and Her Balenciaga Sandals"), making me truly look forward to each new chapter so I could see who it would be about and what shoes they would be wearing. What a fun book this was. Can't wait to start Secrets of the Hollywood Girls Club next!
October 25, 2016
I really liked the book. This gives us idea of how Hollywood actually can be. How people can be to reach success. I love all the girls. they all had different personality and each of them was unique but all of them had one same thing - fighting spirit. I actually didn't read its blurb at first, just picked book at random and I am so glad I did. this book was worth my time. i just think at last the story was kind of rushed.
May 29, 2008
i'm all for fluff for fluff's sake and Lord knows that name-dropping is half the fun in this hollywood chick lit genre, but i just couldn't get past the relentless "product placement"- i think i would've been able to like the characters more if i wasn't being told at every turn what they were wearing and who designed it... the E! red carpet tactics don't translate all that well onto the pages.
August 14, 2008
I read this after the sequal which I just happened to pick up at the library on a whim. I have to say I enjoyed these books is a trashy summer induljance kind of way. I probably would have liked this one more if I had read them in order. The characters are fun and interesting, this truly makes you wonder if that is what Hollywood is realy like.
May 26, 2009
WARNING: this book is not for the faint of heart due to a whole bunch of super foul language and quite explicit sex scenes. I loved it! :) I'm really upset that my B&N doesn't carry this author in-store because I want to read the next one NOW. Guess I'll have to wait for the library to transfer it from another location for me.
January 12, 2014
Light mystery Hollywood read written by someone who experienced it from the inside.
A great poolside escape from the intensity of the books I've been reading ;) great job Maggie
Hate to spoil but book 3 if the series is the best!
So hard to rate books on this blanket rating system as you can't compare this to books outside it's genre.
A great poolside escape from the intensity of the books I've been reading ;) great job Maggie
Hate to spoil but book 3 if the series is the best!
So hard to rate books on this blanket rating system as you can't compare this to books outside it's genre.
February 4, 2008
One of the main reasons I picked this book up was because I had heard of the similarities to the Hollywood series by Jackie Collins. I was pleased that the premise was reminiscent of that series as it is one of my favorites. I think it is an excellent novel, and can't wait to read the next one.
January 21, 2010
I was skeptical about this book, not being a huge fan of the Hollywood culture. However, Marr's presentation of the steadfast friendship among three old friends and a newer addition is the saving grace of the novel.. No women fighting over men, here (WITH them - yes). I even read the follow-up.
June 21, 2010
It was a quick, superficial story that quickly unraveled as it went on. It was somewhat difficuy to tell the jobs of the main characters apart, as well as which man belonged to who. It certainly makes you think that maybe the people of Hollywood actually behave this way.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews