Blind Item

Blind Item #1

by Kevin Dickson, Jack Ketsoyan

An LA Times Bestseller

One of People Magazine's “Summer’s Best Books”

“ Summer’s hottest new beach read , a juicy tome inspired by real-life Hollywood stories and scandals.” ― E! Online

“A dishy summer read about Hollywood’s underbelly , featuring twists on real celebrity scandals that weren’t fit for print in their original state.” ― ET Online

"This book is as outrageous as any true life tabloid scandal― a must read !"
―Jenny McCarthy, talk show host, actress and New York Times- bestselling author of Belly Laughs

No one knows her name, but now everyone wants to.

As an assistant publicist in Hollywood, Nicola spends her days (and nights) sweeping up the scandals of singers, movie stars, and TV actors. Fresh from Ohio, she’s rapidly discovering the real Hollywood is rotten under its glittering skin. Everyone is a hustler with a hard bottom line and a soap opera sob story.

When she breaks her own rules and starts dating a movie star, the Los Angeles scene starts to spill into her own life. As the paparazzi begin the hunt for sexy star Seamus O’Riordan’s new mystery girl, Nicola’s best friend Billy has her back while he prowls parties for the latest scoop to sell to the tabloids. Her roommate Kara keeps tabs on things too―in between befriending a former child star and transforming herself from stylist to reality TV sensation.

As the scandals pile up behind them, their pasts will be exposed… And every secret can be sold.

Written by two Hollywood insiders, Kevin Dickson and Jack Ketsoyan, Blind Item 's jaw-dropping scandals are real, but the names are not. And they’ll never tell.

An Imprint Book

“[A] racy, rollicking novel by two industry insiders.” ― In Touch Weekly

“A dishy new book.” ― Page Six

“Sprinkled throughout this rags-to-riches wish-fulfillment story are real scandals that busy publicists and managers managed to hush up and hide.” ― Publishers Weekly

“This novel doesn’t just push the envelope but shreds it.” ― School and Library Journal

"What a sexy, fun read! It pulls back the curtain, for an inside look at the Hollywood that's behind the glitz and glamour. Blind Item leaves you wanting more."
―Kristin Cavallari, television star, designer and author of Balancing in Heels

Genres: Fiction, Chick Lit, Romance, Audiobook, Contemporary, Adult, Womens Fiction

368 pages, Paperback

First published June 6, 2017

About the author

Australian-American Kevin Dickson lives on the outskirts of Los Angeles with his husband, three dogs and an incredibly annoying parrot.
He is the author of the Vampire State book series - From Him To Eternity (book 1) and Seasons Of Blood (Book 2) - as well as the Los Angeles Times bestseller Blind Item and its sequel, Guilty Pleasure.
He is also the former guitarist/vocalist of punk band The Chew Toys, and you can pick up their one album real cheap on Bandcamp.
He's also a veteran entertainment journalist who somehow managed to survive fifteen years in the tabloids with a few shreds of integrity intact - even after appearing as a guest judge on Paris Hilton Is My New BFF.
Kevin is a music obsessive. He's friendly and chatty, and can often be found at the LA Zoo, hiking the San Gabriels or nursing a Labios Rojos at La Justina in Tijuana.
He is currently hard at work on the next Vampire State installment, as well as an LGBTQIA+ romance set in the sordid world of Hollywood.

Reviews

[Charlie Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meant to be a roman a clef written by Hollywood insiders about a small-town girl, comes to Hollywood, falls for a star, he falls for her, betrayal by friends, venal, drug-using, sex addicted, beautiful people with secrets and lies and --- you get the picture. Fast read. But, in truth, it made me miss Harold Robbins and Jaqueline Susann and Jackie Collins and, especially, Dominick Dunne's thinly veiled, scandalous trash-fests. On the other hand, in a world full of People Magazine, tabloids, TMZ, tr*mps spreading their filthy behavior and hateful, bigoted, class-warfare malaise over the country, 24 hour news, and the taste for scandal and icon-destruction this country has developed, how can a novel compete? And, honestly, though I rarely say anything like this --- and I apologize --- but it's really poorly written.

[Kelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Novel received courtesy of Goodreads.com First Reads Giveaway

I had a love/hate relationship with the characters in this book but I think that's kind of the point. Since the authors are industry insiders and the book is made up of scenes from real Hollywood life, I believe that the characters were pretty true to life...sadly in most of the cases.

Nicola is an Ohio native lucky enough (maybe) to have landed a job at a publicity firm. The novel tells about her life in that job: parties with drugs everywhere, stars that are closeted gays...just messy stuff. She meets a star and they begin a relationship.

The story is both sad and hopeful. The question is: Can people go to Hollywood and come out unscathed? I don't think so...

[Helen Dunn · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s trash but mindless fun trash.

As if TMZ and your favorite chick-lit book merged into a novel.

[Christine Beidel-Weiss · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dishy and funny and just everything you want in a summer read. Grab a fruity cocktail and a beach chair and get comfy because you'll want to devour it in one sitting! I don't want to give away any details because they're all so fun...and true. The PR Grand Dame is so well drawn that I wanted to call her office to set up drinks! Highly recommend. Enjoy!

[Rick eich · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it. This book is SO Hollywood from start to finish. And I'm talking about the Hollywood most people don't know about. Trust me when i say its not all glam and glitz like the magazines make it out to be. It all starts out innocently enough and then wham, Hollywood sideswipes the best of em. You might be next lol. If you're in the right place at the right time anything can happen. Wow you might get lucky and even meet a star. Anyways I'm not going to spoil this one. Its definitely worth reading so you can find out yourself.

[Heather Mood Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book shows you just how much people will do to become famous. I enjoyed this book because of meaningless drama. It was like watching a train wreck reality TV show.

I felt for Nicola even though she got herself mixed up with money hungry people who want their break into Hollywood. This book explains the dark and messy side of Hollywood that normal people don't get to experience.

I thought that some of the dialog used was unnecessary. This book touches on racism, the LGBTQ+ community and how Hollywood is not as supportive as it claims to be.

[Kara]

DNFing on page 35. Some of the writing reads stilted and amateurish, but I think I could get past that if I pushed on. I'd rather not though. Look, I knew going in there was going to be scandals, drugs, paparazzi, and a bunch of Hollywood stuff, but I didn't expect so much drugs. It's also incredibly catty and shallow, and I was expecting something a little more lighthearted, and I don't know, chick lit-y?

BLEH. Just not my thing. If I wanted this, I could read boy band fan fiction instead. But I don't.

[Candid · Rating 4 out of 5]

I never got truly sucked into the story but still found the book very interesting. I’d definitely recommend it to anyone interested in understanding how the PR machine of the entertainment industry works but if you’re not interested in that, you might find it less interesting. And for the record, Bluey is my favorite character.

[Melanie Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's like Jackie Collins rose from the grave and wrote this novel. If you like her books, you will also like this one. If you want to feel like a Hollywood insider from the publicist's perspective, then you will also love this. I can see this being a fun, dishy beach read.

[Kristin Downer · Rating 5 out of 5]

ORIGINAL POST: http://www.nerdprobs.com/books/book-r...

**A copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.**

What I had hoped Fifty Shades of Grey would have been, Blind Item was all of that and more. This book was full of spice, attitude, and wrapped in a sexy flair. Blind Item follows Nicola and her friends as they navigate the tricky world of Hollywood, some trying to stay out of trouble and others looking for it.

Blind Item has all these characters that are just regular people looking for a steady income and trustworthy people... in a town known for lies, deceit and being fake. Dickson and Ketsoyan brought to life these characters that I found myself yelling at their decisions, laughing, crying, and smacking my head right along with their every move. When an author can make you feel what their characters are feeling, it's a good one. The cover of this book mentions that the stories are real, but the names are not. So, while this is a fiction book, it's easy to picture in your head the reality that this happens every single day in Hollywood. The ups, downs and crazy that is squeezed into this book filled with hours of entertainment. Blind Item covered all the basis. Drama. Romance. Suspense. Mystery. Reality. Every genre I can think of was twisted and turned into this book made to question the very life we live and if our lives would be this insane if we were in their world.

The blind item has all the things that I wanted Fifty Shades of Grey to be, with an amazing and entertaining story line to go along with it. I will absolutely be picking up the next book either of these gentlemen write and enjoying every second of it.

[laurel [the suspected bibliophile] · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars.

As an up-and-coming publicist to the stars, Nicola has experienced a lot—but this Ohio girl is about to be exposed to Hollywoods' seamy underside. Nico has two rules: don't date a druggie, and never date an actor. Along with her two best friends, dirt-scraping journalist Billy and stylist/celebrity-wannabe Kara, Nico is about to take on Hollywood. Or not.

Sex. Drugs. Gassy blowjobs. Druggie parties. Gay people. Overdoses. Bigotry. Weird-as-fuck sex. A little rock 'n roll. And more drugs. Oh and lots of paparazzis and really horrible people doing horrible things. This is about the summation of this book. There are really no sympathetic characters, aside from perhaps Bluey, but maybe that's the adorable Aussie bit. Everyone, and I repeat, everyone, is pretty much a lying asshole.

All of which I can handle. The plot isn't much to sniff at. There are some entertaining moments, but the back-door politicking seems a little juvenile. The main thing I couldn't really stand was the overuse of the word "bitch" and just general hatred everyone throws around so casually. It seriously made me want to curb someone.

I initially requested this because I thought it was going to be a snarky and sassy expose of Hollywood life. What I got was a whole bunch of cheap drug parties in abandoned and shitty mansions, and the people who supported their little cash-cows' addictions and poor behavior in order to ride the gravy train a little longer. When I finished the book, I wanted to take a long, hot shower and scrub myself down with steel wool.

I received this ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was talking to someone that told me about this book. That 'said someone' was a Hollywood D-girl. I live in and used to work in Hollywood. I say this because it is not shiny and pretty like magazines (minus tabloids) and awards shows want you to believe. There is a lot of Weinstein business going on and has been for decades. Yes, this dirty laundry is not unique to the entertainment business. I have seen it in fashion and business (Wall Street is notorious for sexual depravity). I digress...this book put what for many would seem a fairy tale (of sorts) into the realm of possibility. Trust me, I bought it. I thought the depictions and interactions were believable because I have seen craziness from all angles including Playboy Mansion parties. I think this book falls in the category of earlier Bushnell works. The behind the scenes fictionalized to lengthen and strengthen the storyline works. This is obviously not the Art of War or a great piece of historical literature but it delivers a quick and distracting page turner for those looking to 'get away from the real life insanity at present.' I personally like distraction while running on the treadmill at the gym and this did the trick!

[Amanda (Books, Life and Everything Nice) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Blind Item is a ridiculous, trashy, addictive, reality show type book that I couldn't stop reading. It's definitely not "the next great novel", but it doesn't pretend to be either. The story draws you in and doesn't let go, no matter how ridiculous it gets. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed this book. It shows a side of Hollywood that people don't always want to see and isn't often shown. I thought it would be a romantic fairytale of Hollywood proportions, but instead we got a trashy addictive reality show that goes behind the scenes to the nitty gritty world of celebrity and fame. I could definitely do without all the startlettes and wannabe's intentionally and unintentionally flashing their genitals to everyone. To balance out all this ridiculous behavior, there's Nicola and Seamus. They're not perfect either, but have good hearts and intentions. The storylines mainly center around them, which kept me interested in the book. Blind Item is an addictive reality show look at the behind the scenes world of Hollywood.

[Sarita · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun trashy Hollywood read, sort of like a modern Jackie Collins.

Nicola is a small town Ohio transplant in LA working PR for an eccentric demanding boss (Can we get a book just about the boss, she was so delightful, kind of like a loveable Devil Wears Prada type!), and just trying to get over her tragic past. Her gay BFF Billy, who makes a living selling stories to the tabloids, always has her back, and her roommate Kara, who is chasing fame a-la-Kardashian's always keeps her entertained.

At an industry party, Nicola runs into superstar Seamus O'Riordan, who sweeps Nicola off of her feet. Seamus has a secret, however, that could ruin his career and his growing relationship with Nicola if the truth gets out.

A fun read if this is your sort of thing. I definitely lol-ed at some parts. I'd say it's the perfect beach read.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great summer pool, beach, plane, train, boat or even couch read! I was a little nervous when I saw reality to celeb Kim what's her face and her daughter promoting it but I read the synopsis and thought it sounded like a fun easy read so I gave it a shot. Only 380 pages so it doesn't drag out. A little sad it didn't have a happier ending but all in all I'm satisfied with the story and hope that there might be a sequel! Nicola is a good protagonist and I like Billy and Gaynor too. Kara I could do without. And Seamus who couldn't love a handsome Scot? Pretty sure O'Riordan is an Irish name though... If you're looking to entertain yourself with some faux Hollywood scandals and a bit of sex and romance than this is the summer read for you!

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Jill · Rating 1 out of 5]

Abandoned quickly. Maybe I've read too many of these but even Jackie Collins' were better.

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

Trashy page turner. One part soap opera and one part Entertainment Tonight with a touch of soullessness to round out the story.

That said-- it was a pretty good vacation read.

[Charlotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bloody loved this book. It's never going to win a Pulitzer, but it doesn't pretend it wants to do so and it's just so. much. fun.

As someone who works adjacent to this industry, I spent most of my time trying to figure out who the character archetypes were based on and giggling at how ridiculous this whole song-and-dance all seems from the outside. Reading this felt like being in on all the best secrets.

The characters are all so biting and bitchy, there's no glossing over their motivations and everyone just leans into the fact that their job is about who can tell the best lies which I honestly loved. I love unrepentantly, gloriously bitchy characters, they're such a fun headspace to inhabit and good god do I want to hang out with Gaynor. I've read other reviews who absolutely can't stand this aspect of the book, so your milage may vary, but over the course of Blind Item and its sequel, despite the surface level vapidity, a lot of these characters have surprising depth to them.

There's also a sweet, little love story and a surprisingly robust cast of supporting characters who all have their own shit to deal with. I might be being slightly generous on that front, since I've already read the sequel and got to spend another book getting to know even more about them.

If you've ever wanted to know how cut-throat and downright silly working in PR and media is, I'd highly recommend this book. Even the most ridiculous and outlandish tales have all - unfortunately - happened.
If you'd rather not read about recreational drug use, sex, more drugs, weirder sex and lying people telling lies, I'd recommend skipping this; this isn't a stars-in-your-eyes look at Hollywood with velvet ropes and red carpets, it's the unflinching, grimy, dirty spirit of the truth and it really leans into how flawed people caught up in the fame machine are.

[Fluff Smut & Murder · Rating 1 out of 5]

I tried. Oh Lord how I tried to like this book.

I saw the ads for it, read the glowing reviews from C-list celebrities. I thought it was going to be the perfect, fluffy, summer read.

Yeah - no.

First of all, it took me almost a month to read past the first 100 pages. If you know anything about me, my average reading time is like 5 days max. And that's usually because I've snuck a 7 day library book in the middle. I live to read a fluffy, smutty book.

And then - the worst thing could have happened. I found a huge mistake in the book. For those who live outside of West L.A. (or didn't grow up there like I did) it would seem like nothing. But for me, I couldn't read any further because all I could think was that these two authors, who are supposed to be veteran entertainment people - one based in L.A. didn't even write this book.

Its simple. Its stupid. But its huge.

The driver didn't take the curve to the 91 freeway too fast to go to Marina del Rey to get to the marina (Which is attached to the Pacific Ocean which would make it to the WEST). How could he? The 91 freeway begins at Artesia Blvd. That's way south of where he was if they had just passed The Getty Center Museum and the 91 freeway doesn't go west. It goes east to the Inland Empire. The Marina del Rey freeway is the 90.

Completely ruined everything for me.

[Laurel · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars. I'm not really sure what I was expecting with this one. I heard an interview with the authors on the Juicy Scoop podcast and thought it sounded so good and right up my alley. I like a good Hollywood scandal story. Sadly, I couldn't really get into it.

I don't have high standards for books, but there were a few picky things that bothered me. The writing was kind of clunky. There were a few points where I had to re-read because I didn't understand what had just happened. The main character, Nicola, Cola, Nic, Nico, whatever her name is was too perfect and I get that the author was trying to really make a point that she is just not the typical Hollywood girl but she was kind of boring and I don't feel like readers get a chance to really know her that deeply. Some supporting characters like her spicy boss at the PR office, Gaynor, or her fame chasing roommate, Kara had more interesting personalities and I feel like I would have liked to read a book about their stories and scandals.

Lastly, I personally don't like to read detailed "intimate scenes" and prefer the whole fade to black and wake up the next day thing. This book gets reeeaaaaaaal detailed and I just don't think it added anything to the story.

Sigh. I just read the synopsis again and what is written there sounds so much better than what you actually get.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book for the most part, but I wasn't "in love". Nicola actually got on my nerves a little bit with her "down to earth", "don't buy me anything even though we both know I'm dead broke" attitudes. It actually made me a bit uncomfortable at times.. I also found it off-putting when she hadn't felt like she "needed" to ask Seamus about himself- his story. I thought that was a bit rude. Everyone has a story, and it's common decency to ask and get it from the horse's mouth. Celebrities are people too, and everything we read online, find on newsstands, or hear on tv or from our best friend's-counsin's-god sister is not their lives gospel. But overall, I enjoyed the entire "cast", their banter, their problem solving, and the stories. I was a bit lost during a moment in the girl's trip- I didn't understand the slight rift that seemed to suddenly appear between Nico and Kara- I know they had a small argument, but I thought they walked away with an understanding. So I didn't understand the exchange at the table. Anyway, apart from that and Nico's borderline holier-than-thou-I'm-from-Ohio-and-a-"real"-person attitude, it was simply a fun read.

**I must also note, I LISTENED to this on audio. The narrator's accents were horrible. That was another factor in this not being as enjoyable as it could have possibly been for me.

[Samantha March · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m a huge fan of celebrity-lit, so when I was asking to review Blind Item, I jumped at the chance. I loved the sparkly cover, the synopsis, and the fact that the book was written by “two Hollywood insiders” – who better to tell this story? Wow is there a lot happening between the pages. What I always find so intriguing about celebrity inspired books, especially when they are coming from celebrities or Hollywood insiders, is that you know everything involves the truth in some way. So even though some situations or scenes seemed so unreal to me, I had to remember that in the world of celebrity, anything goes. Fascinating. This is a very racy read so keep that in mind if that isn’t your style. The pacing actually was a little slow to me so at times it was challenging to hold my interest, even with all that was packed into the story, but I still thought overall it was fun and very interesting to read. If you like Hollywood or celebrity-lit, I would say give it a read.
I received a review copy

[Danielle Flynn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this since I hold a torch for all things LA ...but it was so very mehhhh. Most of the characters, including the main Nicola, are really unlikeable. She says early on that it's important to her to be kind above anything else, except, she doesn't seem to be a very nice person. Sure, she hates drugs and is your beautiful-down-to-earth-Midwestern girl being "real" in Hollywood, but that doesn't make her nice or kind. I had to skim through the last 1/3 of the book just to get to the ending. The writing isn't terrible, but it's not great ...it's slow and the dialogue is, a lot of the time, just a filler and doesn't advance any of the not-really-there plot. I get that it's supposed to be a whole bunch of "real" hollywood stories interlaced into these main three charcters lives, but in the end, it didn't feel like their was any real substance and it wasn't particularly jaw-dropping dramatic and scandelous either. A disappointment for sure.

[Holly Phillips · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m going to be honest here, I judged this book by its cover. I saw it on an end cap at the library with its sparkles and odd banana… and when I picked it up, I saw the quote on the cover from Kristin Cavallari. SOLD!

I’m so glad I saw it because it was a fun read, in the same way that Jackie Collins’ novels are fun. There’s money, fame, and scandal — what more do you need?

“ WE ARE PUBLICISTS. WE GET OUR HANDS FILTHY AND WE ROLL AROUND IN DIRTY LAUNDRY ALL DAY, EVERY DAY. AND WHEN WE DO A GOOD JOB, WE GET REWARDED. WHETHER IT’S A PRESS RELEASE, A SMOKE SCREEN, OR A BLOW JOB, IT DOESN’T MATTER. WE KEEP OUR CLIENTS HAPPY, AND WE KEEP THEIR SCANDALS OUT OF THE TABLOIDS AND OUT OF THE COURTROOMS AT ALL COSTS.”
— BLIND ITEM

When I finished reading the book, I was Googling the authors just to see if they had written anything else. And, there is a SEQUEL! I’m excited to add it to my list and see what happens with these characters.

[Samantha · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's always interesting to get a glimpse into this side of the entertainment industry, and the shallowness and fakery and how it manifests as stuff we see in magazines. I didn't fully get why Nicola just cut off Seamus at the end though. I just didn't buy it. An A-list celebrity, albeit one with issues, has what appears to be a genuine and prolonged interest in romancing her and she's just like "nahhh." Anyone who thinks he was supposed to come out and be like "by the way, I have some addiction issues...." in their early stages of dating doesn't understand addiction. Most people with an addiction try to hide that shit. Maybe the authors know this, but the character doesn't. But maybe she's supposed to prove to us in the end that Hollywood is shitty and she's a smart person by walking away. It just seemed like no decision that a real person would make, so it coloured my impression of the whole book.

[Viktoria · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would have loved to read the book with one of the side characters as the main as they had a far more interesting plot lines, and a personality. The bland everygirl from Ohio lead and the fifty-shades meets Outlander romantic lead were both boring and awful. This is someone’s power fantasy but it’s not mine — it had a paint by numbers not I’m not shallow like everyone and a insecure controlling but I’m rich so it’s ok romance. I wanted another escapist rich people first world problems book, because what’s the point of a book like this otherwise if you can’t escape into a fantasy, but the main character kept on wrenching me out.

[Paul Amirault · Rating 5 out of 5]

Los Angeles finally gets the “Tales of the City” treatment

With echoes of “Notting Hill,” “The Devil Wears Prada” (movie version), and “Wag the Dog”—as well as Armistead Maupin’s beloved “Tales of the City” books—Kevin Dickson and Jack Ketsoyan’s new novel, "Blind Item," is a hilarious insider look at the Hollywood scene—with all its glittering and garish parts.

The plot follows three twentysomething friends trying to make it in the entertainment capital of the world—without destroying their moral compasses. This gives the writers an opportunity to shine a spotlight on Tinseltown’s underbelly—and the outrageous parties, secret fetishes, celebrity coddling and strange alliances that routinely play out behind the scenes.

But the book really hits its delicious stride when it focuses on the thrilling game of one-upsmanship waged by savvy industry publicists against their adversaries (both paparazzi and competitor), as they struggle for power and the right to control “the story.”

The writing is intelligent, incisive, and often, laugh out loud funny. The characters are well-drawn and likable—even the most roguish among them. And while settling for a straight-up "Cinderella" tale might have been an easier path for Dickson and Ketsoyan to take, happily, they opted for realism instead—which makes "Blind Item" an engaging page-turner until the very end.

Five stars!

[Julie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is not my usual type of book. But it was a little fun and engaging. I don't follow all the entertainment and reality shows, but I could see how this novel could be pulled from real events. None of the characters was incredibly likable, in my opinion, but I am a little older than the target market for this book I imagine. They all have their own code of ethics, although Billy's is pointed out several times.
This repetition is one of the problems. The writing is also melodramatic at times, even for being about these so-called stars/publicists.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

A juicy, behind the scenes look at the Hollywood of publicists and those scrambling for items to sell to the tabloids. A fictional look into the lives of 3 friends - Nicola, an assistant publicist, Kara, a stylist and reality tv wanna be, and Billy, a seller of seedy tips to the tabloids. As the friends try to survive and thrive in Hollywood they struggle between what is protected by the friendship and what is far game for the tabloids.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC for my review.