Charm!

by Kendall Hart

Avery Wilkins is in her prime. She's 30 years old, living in Manhattan, beautiful, smart, and the head of her own cosmetics company, Flair. But her enviable exterior hides deep heartache and painful secrets. Determined to launch a successful perfume, and hopeful that her relationship with handsome and supportive Marcus is getting serious, Avery is chasing her dreams--and running from her traumatic past. Just when things seem to be on an even keel, Avery is hit with a succession of shocking setbacks, surprises, and A drug-addicted colleague who threatens the future of Flair, one boyfriend who is incapable of fidelity, another who may have committed a terrible crime, a long-lost sister who isn't quite who she seems, and most disturbing of all, the sudden appearance of a woman claiming to be Avery's birth mother. Avery is forced to question the loyalty of friends, lovers, and colleagues, and even her own beliefs about where she came from and who she is. Through it all, she draws on her ambition, grit, and cunning to outsmart her enemies, keep her company afloat, and protect herself from emotional meltdown. But when her archenemy resorts to kidnapping, has Avery finally met her match Dramatic, sexy, and fun, Charm! is a wickedly entertaining roman a clef by All My Children favorite Kendall Hart. Brimming with scandal, romance, backstabbing, and unpredictable twists, it is every bit as shocking and captivating as the character who wrote it.

Genres: Romance, Fiction, Chick Lit, Contemporary

288 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 2008

About the author

See Kendall R. Hart for works by the artist and illustrator.

"Tune into All My Children these days, and you’ll learn that Kendall Hart, daughter of Erica Kane, has written a book published by Hyperion (both ABC and Hyperion are owned by Disney). And, sure enough, reality mirroring fiction, here’s that book, written by Kendall Hart. Those who watch the show know that despite the stress of running a cosmetics company, overseeing her son’s cochlear implant, and fretting over the fact that her husband was trapped in a mine shaft for a month (with her best friend/worst enemy), Kendall is very excited about the publication of her book, a roman à clef."

Kendall Hart is a fictional character from the American daytime drama All My Children.

Reviews

[Kirk · Rating 1 out of 5]

This isn't my bag. It's a romance novel, and that's not my thing at all. The only reason I read it is because I watch "All My Children," and the book was "written" by one of the main characters, Kendall Hart. The whole book was also a promotional tool for the cheap tie-in perfume the show is peddling right now, which is fitting because now I feel like a tool for having read this.

The only thing that was remotely fun for me about this book was seeing the not-so-subtle connections to "All My Children." Several of the characters are clearly based on characters of the show: Avery, the protagonist, is Kendall; Parker, the spoiled bitch, is Greenlee; Marcus, the hot but immature sex symbol, is Ryan; and Finn, Avery's presumed-dead love-of-her-life, is Zach. Beyond that, the story is pretty lame and anti-climactic. Half the book goes on and on about how damn magical that perfume is. There are lots of romance novel-esque sex scenes. None of the situations or the dialogue ever felt real.

Thankfully it was pretty short and read very quickly. If you're a big AMC fan or have a very low threshold for what you consider good reading, then fine, pick it up.

And now I have to go to Wal-Mart and smell this damn perfume...

[Jeanine · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was like reading episodes of my favorite soap opera, 'All My Children'!

[Erica Figueroa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would give a 2.5 if I could. This book was made from one of the characters from “all my children”. This book was very soap opera-ey and predictable. I still enjoyed it. The lil smut scene was nice though. I’m a huge perfume addict so the perfume producing process was very intriguing and I even bought the perfume that goes with this book. I loved it!! This book will forever hold a small place in my heart. Reminds me of a quotev / wattpad story. 😭

[Patty꧁꧂ Wilby · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oof - this one was VERY much a byproduct of its era, as if the cover art doesn't already give it away. It's kind of fun in how silly it is and it does have a cohesive plot but otherwise, not good. Might be a fun "bad book" for a BookTokker to pick apart, though. "y2k aesthetic threw up everywhere" is written all over it.

[Angie Barrile · Rating 4 out of 5]

I still miss All My Children, I think I always will. Reading this book was like revisiting what could've been part of life in Pine Valley, the main character of Avery was so much like the character of Kendall Hart in the show. Totally enjoyed it!

[Kelsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved All My Children.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Charm!
Kendall Hart
Fiction
263 pages
Copyright: 2008
isbn: 978-1-4013-0307-5

Harley Wilkins is in her prime: 30-years-old, living in Manhattan, and working tirelessly to make her cosmetics company, Flair, a success. As she works to introduce her first perfume, multitudes of complications begin to infiltrate Harley's life. Trying to get things done at work, she constantly has to play babysitter to her partner Parker, who is little more than a partying socialite who used her nepotism to get undeserved equal-footing with Harley at the top of the company. She relies on the comic relief and smart perspective of her delightfully flamboyant friend, confidante, and co-worker Justin who helps Harley keep her head on straight amidst the drama that is her life. After being informed by a gleeful Parker of her boyfriend Marcus' infidelity, Harley meets the intriguing and successful Brad" but her hope for pleasurable preoccupation is extinguished when she is confronted with a startling truth about the woman she had always believed to be her mother.

Torn between reconciling with a cheating boyfriend or taking a chance on new love, trying to make sense of the new developments regarding her family, and all the while toiling endlessly to make her perfume launch a triumph, Harley's open heart and ability to trust is tried and tested as she is incessantly betrayed. A chaotic chain of events ensues" brimming with scandal, back-stabbing, and even a kidnapping" all the scintillating components necessary to make this immensely engaging story the ultimate soap opera tale!

[Paula Reis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Divertidíssimo !

[Kristin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was boring. Now, I don't read other romance novels, so I didn't have anything to compare this to besides my occasional vampire smut book. But...it wasn't even sexy. Seriously, people. You get to "see" more on the show than was written about in this book. I didn't even get a little bit hot and bothered about anything in here.

It was boring and ridiculous. And if this is what all romance novels are like, I'm glad I don't read them. All these amazing things happened to the main character. She had two men after her. It was very Mary Sue, which is probably the point of romance novels because we all want to be that woman sometimes.

I could see shadows of Kendall in the book, but really, Kendall fictionalized everything very well. This really wasn't a book cloaking her opinions of her real life. It was fiction. I can't believe I'm talking about Kendall like she's real.

It was odd that theer was cussing in the book when there isn't any on the show.

I wouldn't recommend it.

[Nasty Lady MJ · Rating 1 out of 5]

Little Known Fact About Me: I wanted to be a soap opera writer.

Okay, I am a huge ABC soaps fan and I used to really like All My Children till Charles Pratt started writing it and drove it off the air and I found One life to Live which was much better written (thanks Ron Carlivatii for giving renewing my faith in soaps). I bought this book as a bit of a joke. It was terrible. It has nothing to do with the show. Okay, so there was a love triangle that sort of had similar results to the character who was on the show. But still. Bland, bland, bland. I almost forgot it existed until I was cleaning out my shelves and why like why do I have a book about Kendall Hart? Is it a tell all. Um, no it's not.

[Kara · Rating 1 out of 5]

So I decided to read this book because it was written by Kendall Hart(from All My Children) I love All My Children. But this book was TOO predictable. And we all know how far fetched soap operas are,Well this book is like 25 times more unrealistic than a soap..Total waste of time to read..The general idea of the book probably would have been an okay read if all the ridiculous drama didn't happen ever page. I know books need some, but seriously every page. Not a believable book at all!Don't waste your time reading this.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Several years ago the soap operas decided to tie in books with their shows. The idea was that a fictional character wrote a book, and I think fans enjoyed them. The most popular one was The Killing Club by "Marcie Walsh" on One Life to Live. I don't remember this book being anything other than a pool side or beach read. There really was a Charm! perfume that hit Walmart stores, though. Now that most of the soaps are long gone I think it's still fun to remember their heyday, books, and memorabilia.

[Tanja · Rating 1 out of 5]

I do not have a particularly high-brow taste when it comes to reading. I even admit to reading and liking romance novels; heck, I even have a favourite author or two. Plus, I've watched AMC since I was in the womb (not hyperbole). But this? This was bad. Predictable, boring, and not very well written. It was kind of like eating fast food: tastes alright while your eating it, goes down fast, but then you feel slightly sick afterwards, wondering why you ate something so bad for you.

[Cindy Herdt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Which is really funny because Kendall Hart is not a real person. She's a character on All My Children. No where in the book does it list any other author. Too Funny. The book is right off the show. When Kendall was feeling down, she wrote "stuff" and for a "surprise" Greenley stole the manuscript and had it published. Charm is the perfume from their company ConFusion... on All My Children that is!

[Carmel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poor Avery goes through too many relationships in this story. I thought it strange, though, that Avery was able to easily get boyfriends. From the descriptions of her past relationships, I thought she would be more wary of men and getting into relationships. I liked how the author portrayed Avery's strength and determination, and the way she dealt with Parker.

[Christy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I definitely over-anticipated this one! The cover is beautiful, the soap opera is one of the best on TV, but the book was just ... there. Typical chick lit, nothing exciting or extra here at all. Don't get me wrong... it wasn't BAD, exactly. It was just disappointing.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

You have to look at this for what it is. It's a cheesy chick lit book and on that level it succeeds. It's pretty low brow stuff but it's kind of like staying at a Motel 6 and complaining that it's not a Hilton. It is what it is. It's entirely predictable but for chick lit it was fine.

[Phyllis · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am so disappointed with today 19s publishing firms having so many grammatical errors in their novels. This book was published by Hyperion and is full of errors. Doesn 19t anyone have any proofreaders these days?

[Tracy Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! Kinda reminds me of kendall finding out about Erika, developing her relationship with her sister Bianca, her relationship with Zach and becoming herself. I miss All My Children and hope that it comes back again; this time with Zach and Kendall back together.

[Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kendall Hart should keep her day job!

That being said, should Ms. Hart write a sequel, I'll be in line to read it!

[Paula · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's ok. nothing to write home about.

[Briana Avery]

i love kendall and i cant wait to read her book

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is a easy read and definatly a book for the beach. Very cute and kind of similar to the soap opera. But it was exciting to read and I enjoyed it all.

[Stephanie Haefner · Rating 2 out of 5]

I only made it to about page 75. It was a bit to predictable for me.

[Sue Kozlowski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice story and is an easy read!

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this one up kinda as a joke with a friend.It was a quick easy read. Reminds me alot of the TV show. If you like the show you will probably like the book.

[Sara]

I'm a little embarassed to admit this, but I enjoyed this book that was written by a character on All My Children. It read very much like a soap opera, imagine that!

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was like an unaired episode of All My Children where everyone has different names.

[Courtney · Rating 2 out of 5]

What a hot mess. So many sub-plots introduced and resolved in 2-page chapters. But I kept reading.

[Shelby · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this when I was in middle school and all three ABC soaps still aired back-to-back-to-back. This was a light, contemporary romance that was a quick read.