Cape May Stars by Claudia Vance (2021)
Cape May #3
127-page Kindle Ebook story pages 1-122
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Featuring: Cape May, New Jersey; Bed & Breakfast (B&B), Movie Production, February, Gardening, Children, Quadragenarians, Wildlife Refuge Hospital, Sisters, Family Dynamics, Production Assistant, High-Maintenance Celebrity Actress, Coffee House Bookstore, Homecoming Trope, Sweet & Hot Actor, Los Angeles, California; Germany, Italy, Valentine's Day, Parties, Lite Drama, March, Restaurant, Cast & Crew, Lead into Next Book, Link to Book 4 Cape May Beach Days, Link to Ocean City Tides Book 1 A Summer in Ocean City, Author's Links
Rating as a movie: PG/PG-13
Songs for the soundtrack: "Same Ol’ Situation (S.O.S.)" by Mötley Crüe, "Anasthasia" by Deep Forest, "Come Saturday Morning" by The Sandpipers, "Uptown Funk" by Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars, "Don't Stop Me Now" by Queen, "Get on Your Feet" by Gloria Estefan and Miami Sound Machine, "Flight" by Anoushka Shankar, "Put A Little Love On Me" by Niall Horan, "I Was Made for Loving You" by Tori Kelly featuring Ed Sheeran, "I’m Coming Out" by Diana Ross, "Only Time" by Enya, "Meeting Of Two Oceans" by Chinmaya Dunster, celebratory "L'Amours Toujours" by Gigi D'Agostino, "Good Lovin'" by Grateful Dead, "One More Time" by Daft Punk, "Lifetime" by Justin Bieber, “To Be With You” by Joey Dinatto
Memorable Quotes: Liz grabbed Margaret’s phone and quickly looked the e-mail over. “Bowls of only brown M&M’s in every room? White roses with stems cut at exactly 7 inches in vases in every room that need to be replaced every other day? A case of Lauquen Artes Mineral Water in every bedroom? Black Egyptian cotton towels in every bathroom? Are they serious? And we have to provide all of this?” Margaret sighed. “Yeah. They’re paying for it and paying us to get it. Though, I thought we were just providing a place for her to stay. Of course, we could say no, but I feel like she might find somewhere else to stay. I’m just so excited to have her here, I don’t mind too much. It kind of makes me feel like we’re part of the production team. There’s a lot more on that list, though.”
Katie glanced at Katherine outside talking to the driver, and awkwardly looked back at Margaret and Liz. “Well, there is one thing I forgot to mention. Don’t talk to Katherine, and don’t look her in the eye. If there’s a question for her, you can ask one of us.” Liz nearly rolled her eyes and let out a loud laugh she disguised as a cough. Margaret forced a smile. “OK, we can do that. Whatever she’s most comfortable with.” Erin, her other assistant, stopped at the stop of the steps next to Katie, looking completely exhausted. “Hi, I’m Erin. Where can we put all of her luggage?” “We figured she’d get the nicest room, so that will be the first room on the left upstairs. It’s the roomiest and has the best bathroom,” Margaret said motioning to the stairwell. Erin, wiped the sweat off of her forehead with her hand, heaved the overstuffed suitcase off the ground, and made her way inside. Katie looked at her clipboard and back up at Margaret and Liz. “There were some other things I needed to go over with you guys, but we can get to all that later. For right now, I’ll let you know that Katherine is a very picky eater. She brings her personal chef with her whenever she travels for work, so Maria will be arriving tomorrow. She will need to use the kitchen. I’m assuming that’s OK.” Liz scrunched her brow. “So, we’re not providing any breakfasts or snacks like we usually do here at our B&B?” Katie looked back at her clipboard. “That’s correct. Maria will be providing meals for the assistants and whoever else stays at the B&B with Katherine, as well. It’s what Katherine wants. She’s particular about smells and what food is around her.” Liz breathed a subtle sigh of relief. “Well, who’s in the other cars?” Katie laughed. “It’s all filled with her luggage. Plus, she also likes to have extra cars available for when her friends arrive.” “Friends?” Margaret asked curiously. Katie looked over at Katherine, who seemed to secretly love the attention from the paparazzi. “Yes, she likes to have them come visit her. It looks like Katherine’s coming inside now, so just remember what I told you.” Margaret and Liz stood at attention and tried to look anywhere but at her eyes. Katherine elegantly made her way to the porch steps in black stilettos, tightly fitted jeans, and a black cashmere sweater, escorted by her driver, who seemed to be enamored with her. She was tall, about five eleven, and being in her late-forties, had aged gracefully since her twenties. Twenty-five years ago she was featured in her breakout roll, a romance drama based in France, called C’est la Vie. She’d starred in many other acclaimed films since, but seemed to be fading from the movie scene over the last ten years. Katherine walked past Margaret and Liz, only looking at Katie. “I’m assuming everything is ready, and I can go to my room now?” Katie smiled and opened her arm out towards the door. “Yes, Erin will see you to your room.” “Thank you, Katie.” Katie nervously looked back at Margaret and Liz, trying to hide her embarrassment of how impolite Katherine could be. “Also, one more thing for now. Please don’t mention to anyone about how she … is.”
My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️½🛎🎬☕️🦋
My thoughts: This was okay, but it had too much going on. With so many characters and storylines in under 150 pages, it felt more like pulp fiction sans action than romance. I also was wondering how many projects are these people going to take on, this was almost more stressful than cleansing, but it's so lighthearted you get over it.
Recommend to others: Maybe. This wasn't as good as the others but Stoneybrook got repetitive and absurd too, so I think is just a Hallmark series with low drama and this was a filler book.
Cape May
1. The Cape May Garden (2020)
2. Christmas in Cape May (2020)
3. Cape May Stars (2021)
4. Cape May Beach Days (2021)
5. Cape May Summer Nights (2021)
6. Cape May Locals' Summer (2021)
7. Cape May Monarch Butterflies (2021)
8. A Cozy Cape May Autumn (2021)
9. The Cape May Movie Theater (2022)
10. Cape May Hydrangeas (2022)
11. Cape May Sunshine (2022)
12. Cape May Raindrops (2023)
13. Cape May Sunsets (2023)
14. Cape May Magic (2024)
15. Cape May Glitter (2024)
16. Cape May Dreams (2025)