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Hollywood Dynasty #1
The Other Woman
THE LATEST FROM THE TABLOIDS... SOAP STAR SNARES MOVIE MOGUL
Tara Charming-TV's sexiest seductress and star of the new movie The Promise-has hooked her claws into Gage Kingston of the legendary moviemaking family. Insiders reveal the studio is irate that the movie's behind schedule. . .all because the lovers spend more time in each other's trailer than on the set!
Is this a match made in Hollywood heaven? A close friend reveals, "Gage vowed to avoid actresses ever since his ex-wife. It's hard to believe he's fallen for Tara. She's got a reputation for doing whatever it takes to get ahead." Of course, Tara has had her share of heartache, too. Pregnant at seventeen, she was left to cope on her own. But her track record proves she's no pushover now.
Can these two tinsel-town heartbreakers possibly be in love--or is it mutual use and abuse? Turn to our inside story for the full scoop.
Hollywood Dynasty
Tara Charming-TV's sexiest seductress and star of the new movie The Promise-has hooked her claws into Gage Kingston of the legendary moviemaking family. Insiders reveal the studio is irate that the movie's behind schedule. . .all because the lovers spend more time in each other's trailer than on the set!
Is this a match made in Hollywood heaven? A close friend reveals, "Gage vowed to avoid actresses ever since his ex-wife. It's hard to believe he's fallen for Tara. She's got a reputation for doing whatever it takes to get ahead." Of course, Tara has had her share of heartache, too. Pregnant at seventeen, she was left to cope on her own. But her track record proves she's no pushover now.
Can these two tinsel-town heartbreakers possibly be in love--or is it mutual use and abuse? Turn to our inside story for the full scoop.
Hollywood Dynasty
217 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published June 1, 1993
2 people are currently reading
40 people want to read
About the author
Candace Schuler
63 books23 followersCandace Schuler is a writer with a multiple personalities. In her 30+ year career, she has written software user guides, various types of instruction manuals, marketing collateral, grant proposals, case statements, case studies, business profiles, newsletters, press releases, white papers, speeches, scripts, short stories, a cookbook—and 26 (to date) romance novels.
Candace credits her husband Joe and her love of travel with starting her career as a romance writer. It was his comments on a letter describing a trip to New Orleans that prompted her to try writing romance fiction.
She wrote her first novel Desire’s Child by hand on 12 yellow legal pads. It was published by Harlequin in September, 1984 (after she typed it into a computer, of course). Her second book A Cherished Account was published by New American Library under the pen name Jeanette Darwin just one month later. She is also published under the name Candace Spencer.
Her books have appeared on the B. Dalton’s and Waldenbooks bestseller lists and have twice been nominated by the Romance Writers of America for a RITA award in the Best Short Contemporary Romance category—in 1996 for Passion and Scandal and in 2003 for Good Time Girl. Good Time Girl also received the 2003 Scarlett Letter Award, presented by the Tampa Bay Romance Writers for excellence in sensual romance writing. Candace’s books have also received three Reviewers’ Choice Awards from Romantic Times magazine. In 1992, she was awarded the Career Achievement Award as Series Story Teller of the Year by RT.
Because romance is truly universal, most of her books have been published in at least 20 languages, including Mandarin, Japanese, Greek, and most recently, Russian.
She is currently in the process of digitizing her backlist for e-book publication.
Other stuff:
•Married almost 40 years to Joe, who recently retired from the IT industry to become a golf bum
•“Mom” to two 75-pound Dobermans who think they are lap dogs
•Plants a garden every year in hopes of producing the perfect tomato
•Bakes a to-die-for chocolate cheesecake
•Is a Big Brother Big Sister volunteer
•Buys way too many shoes
•Holds the Grant Professional Certified credential
•Is a member of Novelists, Inc.
Candace credits her husband Joe and her love of travel with starting her career as a romance writer. It was his comments on a letter describing a trip to New Orleans that prompted her to try writing romance fiction.
She wrote her first novel Desire’s Child by hand on 12 yellow legal pads. It was published by Harlequin in September, 1984 (after she typed it into a computer, of course). Her second book A Cherished Account was published by New American Library under the pen name Jeanette Darwin just one month later. She is also published under the name Candace Spencer.
Her books have appeared on the B. Dalton’s and Waldenbooks bestseller lists and have twice been nominated by the Romance Writers of America for a RITA award in the Best Short Contemporary Romance category—in 1996 for Passion and Scandal and in 2003 for Good Time Girl. Good Time Girl also received the 2003 Scarlett Letter Award, presented by the Tampa Bay Romance Writers for excellence in sensual romance writing. Candace’s books have also received three Reviewers’ Choice Awards from Romantic Times magazine. In 1992, she was awarded the Career Achievement Award as Series Story Teller of the Year by RT.
Because romance is truly universal, most of her books have been published in at least 20 languages, including Mandarin, Japanese, Greek, and most recently, Russian.
She is currently in the process of digitizing her backlist for e-book publication.
Other stuff:
•Married almost 40 years to Joe, who recently retired from the IT industry to become a golf bum
•“Mom” to two 75-pound Dobermans who think they are lap dogs
•Plants a garden every year in hopes of producing the perfect tomato
•Bakes a to-die-for chocolate cheesecake
•Is a Big Brother Big Sister volunteer
•Buys way too many shoes
•Holds the Grant Professional Certified credential
•Is a member of Novelists, Inc.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
June 19, 2021
This was terrible. 180 pages of slut shaming a beautiful actress that ended with an accidental pregnancy and a less-than-convincing declaration of ‘love’ by the hero.
Uh. I should have known from the first paragraph that describes the heroine’s freckled-covered breasts in tortuous detail. This is the horny male gaze of the cinematographer hero that everyone notices on the set.
For some reason, the long-celibate heroine, who decides to live up to her undeserved tabloid reputation and have a no-strings affair so hero can concentrate at work. *rolls eyes*
Hero reciprocates by comparing her to his evil ex-wife and breaking it off twice because he can’t handle it. *rolls eyes again*
To add insult to my reader injury, half the narrative was repetitious inner monologues. Boring - the cardinal sin of romance.
Not even the name dropping of early 90’s actors (Demi Moore and Bruce Willis!) could save this.
Uh. I should have known from the first paragraph that describes the heroine’s freckled-covered breasts in tortuous detail. This is the horny male gaze of the cinematographer hero that everyone notices on the set.
For some reason, the long-celibate heroine, who decides to live up to her undeserved tabloid reputation and have a no-strings affair so hero can concentrate at work. *rolls eyes*
Hero reciprocates by comparing her to his evil ex-wife and breaking it off twice because he can’t handle it. *rolls eyes again*
To add insult to my reader injury, half the narrative was repetitious inner monologues. Boring - the cardinal sin of romance.
Not even the name dropping of early 90’s actors (Demi Moore and Bruce Willis!) could save this.
March 16, 2023
2 stars ⭐️⭐️
Every interaction between Gage and Tara would have been perceived as a straight up harassment case—by every person with as little as two brain cells—had Gage not been rich and handsome.
The book literally started with Gage perversely micro analyzing Tara’s lush naked body from behind his camera since he is a cinematographer, and Tara is an actress. Tbh if I were an actress and if I’d known that the cinematographer was having such disgustingly depraved thoughts about my body I would have quit right that second. The author didn’t hold back in letting the readers know the true extent of the filth pervading Gage’s brain and unleashed it all on her readers in the first few pages of the first chapter.
This book in a nutshell:
🎥Gage lusting after Tara and seeking her out, Tara saying she doesn’t want to get involved with anyone she works with and then walking off with Gage’s actor brother (and her costar in the movie she’s shooting), Pierce, the same instant smiling and laughing
🎥Gage thinking of her as a ten dollar whore (my new favorite insult) after seeing her snuggled up to his brother
🎥Tara getting hurt while filming a scene, Gage getting all worried about her and checking up on her and then in the same breath slut shaming her in not so many words just for smiling at a young boy
🎥Gage regretting his actions and deciding to apologize to her by going to her trailer where they end up making out and while they’re in the middle of their make out session he accuses her of being involved with his brother 😃😃😃 and then promising that he’d soon get her into his bed before leaving
🎥 Gage then he makes good on his promise and takes Tara to his bed and in the heat of the moment forgets to use protection, and asks her to tell him when she knew for certain if she was pregnant or not pregnant
🎥 in the meanwhile they continue to sleep together and some 3-4 weeks later when their affair is published all over the tabloids, he suddenly gets cold feet and disappears for 4 days because the situation is too reminiscent of his previous marriage
🎥 he comes back after 4 days and tells Tara quote, “Having my private life dissected
for public consumption, every little thing gist for the national gossip mill,
putting up with all the speculation and innuendo about your latest love affair
every time you even smile at another man. Call it pride or male vanity, but I
just can't do it. I can't be the man in the 'other woman's' life.”, unquote.
🎥 By now Tara has realized she is pregnant and doesn’t tell him and runs away to build a safe and secure life for her and her child. Gage reads in the tabloids (🙄) that she is pregnant, chases her down, and they live HEA.
I heavily skimmed the last few chapters because there wasn’t much chemistry or angst between the MCs and I was furious at Tara for not telling Gage she was carrying his child when he found a baby’s sweater and questioned if she was pregnant. HE WAS ALL GENTLE AND UNDERSTANDING but she just lied and refused to tell him and for what?
The author wrote Gage in a really egotistical, sexist, immature way that made me think he wanted to hurl the insult slut at Tara every time she refused his advances. He was a better man than me because I would have done just that, stuck my tongue out at herand ran.
Every interaction between Gage and Tara would have been perceived as a straight up harassment case—by every person with as little as two brain cells—had Gage not been rich and handsome.
The book literally started with Gage perversely micro analyzing Tara’s lush naked body from behind his camera since he is a cinematographer, and Tara is an actress. Tbh if I were an actress and if I’d known that the cinematographer was having such disgustingly depraved thoughts about my body I would have quit right that second. The author didn’t hold back in letting the readers know the true extent of the filth pervading Gage’s brain and unleashed it all on her readers in the first few pages of the first chapter.
This book in a nutshell:
🎥Gage lusting after Tara and seeking her out, Tara saying she doesn’t want to get involved with anyone she works with and then walking off with Gage’s actor brother (and her costar in the movie she’s shooting), Pierce, the same instant smiling and laughing
🎥Gage thinking of her as a ten dollar whore (my new favorite insult) after seeing her snuggled up to his brother
🎥Tara getting hurt while filming a scene, Gage getting all worried about her and checking up on her and then in the same breath slut shaming her in not so many words just for smiling at a young boy
🎥Gage regretting his actions and deciding to apologize to her by going to her trailer where they end up making out and while they’re in the middle of their make out session he accuses her of being involved with his brother 😃😃😃 and then promising that he’d soon get her into his bed before leaving
🎥 Gage then he makes good on his promise and takes Tara to his bed and in the heat of the moment forgets to use protection, and asks her to tell him when she knew for certain if she was pregnant or not pregnant
🎥 in the meanwhile they continue to sleep together and some 3-4 weeks later when their affair is published all over the tabloids, he suddenly gets cold feet and disappears for 4 days because the situation is too reminiscent of his previous marriage
🎥 he comes back after 4 days and tells Tara quote, “Having my private life dissected
for public consumption, every little thing gist for the national gossip mill,
putting up with all the speculation and innuendo about your latest love affair
every time you even smile at another man. Call it pride or male vanity, but I
just can't do it. I can't be the man in the 'other woman's' life.”, unquote.
🎥 By now Tara has realized she is pregnant and doesn’t tell him and runs away to build a safe and secure life for her and her child. Gage reads in the tabloids (🙄) that she is pregnant, chases her down, and they live HEA.
I heavily skimmed the last few chapters because there wasn’t much chemistry or angst between the MCs and I was furious at Tara for not telling Gage she was carrying his child when he found a baby’s sweater and questioned if she was pregnant. HE WAS ALL GENTLE AND UNDERSTANDING but she just lied and refused to tell him and for what?
“You don't have to be afraid to tell me if you're pregnant," he said gently,
feeling tenderness and something suspiciously like happiness well up inside him. If she was pregnant ...
"I said we'd work it out together and we will,"
"There's nothing to work out.”
The author wrote Gage in a really egotistical, sexist, immature way that made me think he wanted to hurl the insult slut at Tara every time she refused his advances. He was a better man than me because I would have done just that, stuck my tongue out at her
December 20, 2022
re-read 2022
From 2 stars to 1. DNF.
I prefer romance heroines who are stunningly gorgeous, but a book needs drama and a good plot.
There is nothing going on in this book but how beautiful she is. This girls so well endowed and beautiful that it always caused her problems….and that’s the plot. Just shut up.
🙄🙄🙄🙄
Ps. The title is misleading. She’s not the ow, but people thinks she’s a fem fatale because of how stunning she is.
From 2 stars to 1. DNF.
I prefer romance heroines who are stunningly gorgeous, but a book needs drama and a good plot.
There is nothing going on in this book but how beautiful she is. This girls so well endowed and beautiful that it always caused her problems….and that’s the plot. Just shut up.
🙄🙄🙄🙄
Ps. The title is misleading. She’s not the ow, but people thinks she’s a fem fatale because of how stunning she is.
December 29, 2021
This review is of “The Other Woman”, book #1 in the “Hollywood Dynasty” series by Candace Schuler. (Harlequin Temptation #451, July 1993).
Series overview: “Hollywood Dynasty” focuses on three siblings, children of a legendary Hollywood couple, as they make their names in the same industry that made their parents famous.
The book begins in Montana, on the set of a movie, The Promise. A love scene is being filmed featuring two of Hollywood’s top sex symbols, actress Tara Channing, the heroine of the book, and actor Pierce Kingston. Also in attendance is Pierce’s brother, cinematographer Gage Kingston, the hero of the book.
Tara and Gage become lovers, but both are unwilling to share more than their bodies. They later learn, however, that passion without protection has consequences. Gage gets Tara pregnant, and they break up.
In the end, Tara and Gage realize they truly do love each other. Tara has her baby-a son-and gives up her acting career. She and Gage marry and have their Happily Ever After.
Upside: The best part of the book for me by far is Tara. She is blessed-or cursed, depending on your point of view, with a Playboy Playmate’s looks and body. Looking like that, however, means that males-I can’t call them men-only view Tara as a sex object. She is, however, a woman of depth and character shaped by her life, which we learn about. Tara is a very easy heroine to like and root for.
Downside: Although Gage is not the actor in the family-his siblings are and were-he is a player here in three parts. In the first part of the book, he is a horn dog. In the second, he is Tara’s lover and an angry man. In the third part, he finally realizes he truly loves Tara and wants her for his wife and forever love. While I understood Gage’s reasons for being a jerk in the first two-thirds of the book, that doesn’t make it okay or him completely likable. Beyond Tara, there isn’t a whole lot of depth.
Sex: A few love scenes between Tara and Gage. They generate some heat, but not an inferno.
Violence: The only violence is “movie violence”, which is described in the book.
Bottom Line: Readers who like to know what goes on behind the scenes of television and movies and were fans of early 1990’s entertainment may find a lot to like here, but “The Other Woman” and “Hollywood Dynasty” as a whole may not appeal to readers who don’t fall into those categories. 2.84 stars.
Heroine: Tara Channing, 25. Strawberry blonde hair, blue eyes. Actress.
Hero: Gage Kingston. 30. Dark brown hair, amber eyes. Cinematographer.
Locations: A movie set in Montana. Los Angeles, California.
Tropes: Actress. Cinematographer. Movie making.
Series overview: “Hollywood Dynasty” focuses on three siblings, children of a legendary Hollywood couple, as they make their names in the same industry that made their parents famous.
The book begins in Montana, on the set of a movie, The Promise. A love scene is being filmed featuring two of Hollywood’s top sex symbols, actress Tara Channing, the heroine of the book, and actor Pierce Kingston. Also in attendance is Pierce’s brother, cinematographer Gage Kingston, the hero of the book.
Tara and Gage become lovers, but both are unwilling to share more than their bodies. They later learn, however, that passion without protection has consequences. Gage gets Tara pregnant, and they break up.
In the end, Tara and Gage realize they truly do love each other. Tara has her baby-a son-and gives up her acting career. She and Gage marry and have their Happily Ever After.
Upside: The best part of the book for me by far is Tara. She is blessed-or cursed, depending on your point of view, with a Playboy Playmate’s looks and body. Looking like that, however, means that males-I can’t call them men-only view Tara as a sex object. She is, however, a woman of depth and character shaped by her life, which we learn about. Tara is a very easy heroine to like and root for.
Downside: Although Gage is not the actor in the family-his siblings are and were-he is a player here in three parts. In the first part of the book, he is a horn dog. In the second, he is Tara’s lover and an angry man. In the third part, he finally realizes he truly loves Tara and wants her for his wife and forever love. While I understood Gage’s reasons for being a jerk in the first two-thirds of the book, that doesn’t make it okay or him completely likable. Beyond Tara, there isn’t a whole lot of depth.
Sex: A few love scenes between Tara and Gage. They generate some heat, but not an inferno.
Violence: The only violence is “movie violence”, which is described in the book.
Bottom Line: Readers who like to know what goes on behind the scenes of television and movies and were fans of early 1990’s entertainment may find a lot to like here, but “The Other Woman” and “Hollywood Dynasty” as a whole may not appeal to readers who don’t fall into those categories. 2.84 stars.
Heroine: Tara Channing, 25. Strawberry blonde hair, blue eyes. Actress.
Hero: Gage Kingston. 30. Dark brown hair, amber eyes. Cinematographer.
Locations: A movie set in Montana. Los Angeles, California.
Tropes: Actress. Cinematographer. Movie making.
March 22, 2013
The problem with books set during a particular moment of popular culture is how quickly they become out of date. All three books were published in 1993- while I’m old enough to remember the celebrities of the day, several of the movie stars mentioned have passed away in the 20 years since.
All of the books follow a specific variation of the romance novel formula, common for the 1990s. Traditionally, the extremely macho, dominant man must win over the shy, young, sexually inexperienced girl, who will then marry him and quit any job she has to raise children. In this variation, while the man is still handsome and macho, he is sensitive to the woman’s needs, but also reluctant to allow himself to be vulnerable to her by being in love. The woman, now with a thriving modern career, has had some sort of relationship or sexual experience in the past but it was not fulfilling and she suffered for it in some way. She needs a Real Man ™ to awaken the Real Woman ™ in her.
The Kingstons are a good example of their kind and time period. The romance novel formula has changed slightly over time- while boy and girl must always end up together, and must be perfectly, ludicrously beautiful, the personalities and backgrounds are now a little more in line with modern views. For example, in more current romance novels, it is permissible for the woman to have had satisfying past sexual relationships, even if they weren’t her True Love. Careers and children from past relationships are more common. But the romance novel convention of using absurd euphemisms for body parts and sex acts will never stop being hilarious.
All of the books follow a specific variation of the romance novel formula, common for the 1990s. Traditionally, the extremely macho, dominant man must win over the shy, young, sexually inexperienced girl, who will then marry him and quit any job she has to raise children. In this variation, while the man is still handsome and macho, he is sensitive to the woman’s needs, but also reluctant to allow himself to be vulnerable to her by being in love. The woman, now with a thriving modern career, has had some sort of relationship or sexual experience in the past but it was not fulfilling and she suffered for it in some way. She needs a Real Man ™ to awaken the Real Woman ™ in her.
The Kingstons are a good example of their kind and time period. The romance novel formula has changed slightly over time- while boy and girl must always end up together, and must be perfectly, ludicrously beautiful, the personalities and backgrounds are now a little more in line with modern views. For example, in more current romance novels, it is permissible for the woman to have had satisfying past sexual relationships, even if they weren’t her True Love. Careers and children from past relationships are more common. But the romance novel convention of using absurd euphemisms for body parts and sex acts will never stop being hilarious.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews