Starlet's Man

The Starlet #0.5

by Carla J. Hanna

"If you live courageously, you have scars." -Beth, Starlet's Man

Starlet's Man is a story about a boy becoming a man amidst the mixed-messages in Hollywood culture.

Lights, Cameras, and Lies. High school student athlete, Manny Biro, is caught between the boy he should be and the man he wants to become.

Everyone around him accepts the Hollywood life. He doesn't. Manny wants no part of acting. On the surface, his childhood best friends seem to have it all: money, power, success. Between the lines, they are all confused. Alan is a messed up want-to-be director focused on pushing scenes to their sexy potential. Beth is an athlete driven to escape from a dark past. Janet is Manny's kid sister caught up in fashion and trends. And Marie is a lonely actress exhausted by the culture that makes everyone's favorite stories.

What is the price of fame for all the characters? Conflicts and truths will unfold in this installment of Carla Hanna's young adult Starlet Series, Starlet's Man.

Genres: young adult, romance, teen books, love story, inspirational romance, coming of age, fiction, Christian romance

Genres: Young Adult

262 pages, Paperback

First published May 5, 2014

About the author

Starlet's Web took GOLD and Starlet's Light brought in SILVER in the 2014 Readers' Favorite International Book Awards!

Carla J. Hanna is the author of award-winning young adult romance and coming of age fiction novels for readers who enjoyed Nicholas Sparks' A Walk to Remember, Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love, Gayle Forman's If I Stay, or John Green's The Fault in Our Stars.

Mrs. Hanna lived in Santa Monica, CA where her children played with the children of celebrities. She mingled with plenty of nannies and a few good celebrity moms. She received her Master’s in English/Communications from Colorado State University and lives near Denver, CO with her husband and two children.

LOVE. LIES. ACTING. THE STARLET SERIES.

Starlet's Man - Lights. Cameras. Lies. High school student athlete, Manny Biro, is caught between the boy he should be and the man he wants to become.

Starlet's Web – Love. Lies. Acting. Hollywood entangles talented teen actress in a web of lies.

Starlet's Run – Love. Intentions. Acting. In a world where an actress is a product and everyone is a critic, can young love survive? Should it?

Starlet's Light – Love. Trust. Acting. Young Hollywood actress is 'so done' with acting. She gives up the fight until she sees the light.

Starlet's End – Love. Justice. Living. The Hollywood elite are pointing fingers at those responsible for anti-aging drugs. Can justice be served? TBR May 1, 2016

http://www.carlahanna.com/
http://www.amazon.com/author/carlajhanna
http://www.facebook.com/CarlaJHanna
http://www.twitter.com/carlajhanna
http://www.wattpad.com/CarlaJHanna (over 28,000 fans!)

Reviews

[Chantal Santangelo · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/4.5 stars <3

ITALIN REVIEW: http://bookmarksarereadersbestfriends...

This book is amazing. *---*
The love story between Mary and Manny is beautifull! They are so cute, aaaw <3

[Carrie Slager · Rating 4 out of 5]

[Full disclosure: I received a free paperback in conjunction with the blog tour in exchange for an honest review.]

One of the things I really didn’t like about Manny in the beginning of the first book (this is a prequel) was his self-righteousness. He criticized everything about Hollywood but proceeded to act like he was a part of that culture by fooling around with different girls and such. I wasn’t really sold on him being Lia’s love interest at first but he did grow on me as the books went along. However, in this prequel we get a really good look into his mindset while he was transitioning from boy to man

In the beginning, Manny is a pretty confused young man. He sort of likes his friend Beth, who he trains with in the mornings. At the same time, Liana Marie will always hold a special place in his heart even though she seems to be in love with her current costar Evan. And all of this takes place in a catty environment where publicity is more important than doing what you actually feel like so even if he and Liana finally admitted their feelings for each other, Lia’s bosses would not be happy with her dating a no-name. This, understandably, puts Manny in a very brooding mindset and leads to some of the stupid decisions I’ve alluded to as well as some of his hypocritical self-righteousness. Do I particularly like him at this point in his life? No, but he is an interesting character and it really does make me appreciate how much he’s changed by the second and third books in the series.

My only real complaint about this prequel is that the plot is a little disjointed. Sometimes it feels like there are random scene changes that I had a hard time keeping up with and it certainly wasn’t because of formatting issues or anything like that. I think that sometimes Carla Hanna pared down her writing a little too much and should have left in some more descriptions of the different locations and the transitions between locations. It does make for a fast read but I really would have appreciated a little more description so I wouldn’t have to deal with the occasional confusion.

The plot, however, is pretty good. It starts out with Manny learning about the kerfuffle over Lia’s last movie and it goes through her filming of Constantine’s Muse and all the screwed up things that come along with it as I saw from her perspective in Starlet’s Web. Her trials and tribulations are always at the forefront of Manny’s mind but he has his own things to worry about: money, Alan’s gossip blog spreading lies about his love life and his growing willingness to admit to Lia that he really does love her. It’s by no means a straightforward journey but that’s probably in part why I loved Starlet’s Man so much. Life isn’t a straightforward plot line and neither is this book. Manny has his ups and downs but finally comes through as a caring young man who is no longer the messed-up, self-righteous boy we meet in the beginning. It’s a satsifying journey.

Since this is a prequel you can absolutely read it before you read the main series but as a matter of personal preference I’d recommend reading Starlet’s Web first because I just like Liana more as a character. Manny is interesting enough and grew to be a better person, but being introduced to his self-righteous younger self so soon could turn you off a wonderful series. But if you like reading the prequels first, go ahead! This is a good book.

I give this book 4/5 stars.

[Dani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read the full review at: Polkadot's Book Blog

I received this copy in return for an honest review through Publishers at NetGalley

Manny sighed. He leaned foward. The man he wanted to be and the boy he was being were disconnected.

The thing that drew me in about this book was the idea of a how fame and fortune was woven into the story, because it sounded intriguing and something that I personally have never read before. So all in all I was completely excited to see how this book would turn out and whether or not it would be something I completely adore.

Going into the book it became clear that there was another hidden message that makes the book stand out and that is the influence of Christianity and how it affects the actions of the main character. Manny looks to his religion when he feels insecure or when he is confused on how to act. Again this idea is something which I personally have never read before so I found it a compelling and refreshing idea that really helped me connect with Manny, as I felt that he was a little more realistic and developed.

While some aspects of the book was lost to me, I really enjoyed the writing, the character development and loved how easy it was to get lost in the book. The writing is very descriptive with not a lot of dialogue, but I liked that because it was something new for me to get stuck into. I really understood how confused and lost Manny was when it came to girls.I really loved that because it made Manny a lot more relate-able and lovable as a character. You just wanted to help him and love him because he was just so sweet and his values and beliefs were so morally right, yet he couldn't really catch a break. Having said this, there were times when I was slightly confused by Manny and his intentions. Sometimes I wasn't so sure as too what he was thinking, even though we are reading from his perspective.

All in all, I felt that Starlet's Man was a really compelling and interesting read. This book is a really good introduction to the series and really encourages you to delve into the world of the Starlet. It was a really interesting read and I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a fast read that can inspire you with good values and beliefs on Love and how to treat people you love.

[zapkode · Rating 5 out of 5]

{My Thoughts} – Manny, What can I say, he’s a boy after my own heart. He’s sweet, he’s considerate. He has christian values, he’s respectful and he has made his share of mistakes. He is friends with a lot of people that are much better off than he is, but he doesn’t let that get to him. He has dreams, wishful thoughts and desires just like any normal person.

Marie, she is an actress, she is a symbol for up and coming girls, she is lost and she isn’t sure which direction to turn. She is constantly being told that she should zip it and do whats asked of her, regardless how uncomfortable she is with the situation at hand.

There is also Alan, Beth, Kate, Byron, Evan and many others in this book that help to build the story into what it becomes, but the main focus is Marie and Manny.

I really enjoyed this book, I am glad that I got to read the prequel before reading the rest of the series. I always feel like the prequels are important and sometimes I wish they were written first instead of in between or after the series, but that isn’t always the case and I understand why, but it’s easier to read them in the order they are meant to be read in my opinion. I love knowing that there is always something more to a book.

This book allows the readers to get a clear understanding of Marie and Manny. It helps them to see what is going on within both their lives and why they are who they are. It helps the readers to better understand why they have made the choices in life that they have made and to see where they can go should they choose a different path. A path that isn’t the one that had been laid for them because others wanted to control every aspect of their lives, mostly just and issue for Marie. Manny seems to know what he wants and just needs to be able to get there.

This book had it’s ups and it had it’s downs, but overall it was a really nice read and I look forward to reading the remainder of the series. If there is one type of book that I enjoy more then any other it would be realistic fiction, so this one was a very enjoyable read for me!

[Diana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved that this book is set up in a Hollywood life and being a teenager in a town and school where everyone is someone and he is just a boy or a man, well becoming a man. This story is about Manny Biro, he lives a normal life, school, sports, Mom and Dad at home, works as a bus boy, but he has friends who ‘s parents have lots of money. Most of this book is about Manny and his true love and he they finally became true loves.
I love that this story tells his side, what he sees and how he has to deal with everyone in his life, this is a perfect book to go with the rest of the Starlet’s Series. Carla J Hanna, did an amazing job writing this books.
This books was a great read, I enjoyed reading the series and can’t wait for the next one.

I did receive this book from Net-Galley for an honest review.

[Kelly Akemann · Rating 4 out of 5]

felt connected to the characters very quickly in this book and therefore, I really liked this. I had unfortunately read many a book before this one that I did not enjoy so I waited to review it in case my feelings were not genuine. But I did really enjoy this. I felt that the characters were well developed - all of them not just the main characters. I would highly recommend this book to others and have already done so. It is rare to find a book that has a love story that is realistic and intense. Sometimes that line becomes blurred and it is very cheesy - not here. I am a big fan of this book and can't wait to read more.

[Araya Swinehart · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is really good. It shows the true life into fame and acting. I actually learned a lot about what it takes to be famous. I realize that this story is fiction but it truly something that got me thinking into a different life. Good book. Would possibly be interest in reading the sequels.

[Mallory · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book in exchange for an honest review. Thanks!

I definitely enjoyed it; it was an interesting behind-the-scenes look at fame and those who have friends involved in the the industry. However, there were so many trivial characters in this book (maybe they play a bigger part in the rest of the series?) that I found myself often asking, "Who's that?" The plot was good, but too many characters just makes it overwhelming.

[Paperback Mo · Rating 1 out of 5]

It is very rare that I find myself putting a book down after having read just a few pages. But unfortunately this book was just way too childish, too much dialogue and not realistic enough for me to carry on reading it. I think I got to about page 5. Disappointed.