Beautiful People

 

By Wendy Holden

Belle Murphy is only 25, blonde, wealthy and beautiful. But it's been a year since she had a hit movie, and Hollywood considers her a has-been. As does her current lover, Christian, your typical Hollywood hunk. But since he doesn't really love Belle, or anyone other than himself, it isn't a struggle for him to walk away and find some other woman to help him on his way to becoming a star.

Belle has fallen so low, given her wild ways and drunken displays, that in order to rehabilitate her image, she has adopted an orphan baby from Africa and has moved to England to star in a Shakespeare play, a role she got mainly for her star power and her willingness to perform nude. She meets an aspiring actor who quickly latches on to her, Niall. Niall is all about the classics and about the working class struggle and yet he finds himself quite enamored of Belle and her wild ways. 

Which is bad news for his girl friend, fellow actor Darcy Prince. Darcy has been with Niall for quite some time and both have been failing to achieve the success they both desire. But Darcy has suddenly been offered a starring role in a new science fiction epic and is off first to Hollywood and then to Italy to prepare for the role, with all that entails: dieting, exercising, publicity shoots, product endorsements and the usual folderol. While in Hollywood, she notices Christian and instantly falls for him. And he knows she has landed a big role and he is not adverse to wooing someone who is set to become the next big thing. Then he also gets a part in the new epic and will be in Italy with his his new girlfriend, Darcy. 

Things become even more complicated when Belle also lands a co-starring role in the movie and she too is going to be in Italy. Indeed, she and Darcy are staying at the same villa. Although neither of them know that they are both involved with Christian who "reconnected" with Belle on the set while he was wearing an alien costume that disguised his face. 

And then there is Emma. Who ends tangled up in this drama simply because she is a nanny and is taking care of Belle's adopted orphan. Emma is probably the only regular person in the bunch, the only one who is just doing her job and who actually loves doing her job, taking care of children.

This was a fun and fast read and I liked it a lot. It's pretty silly and but it is fun and lively and I was well pleased with it. 

Here is a review by Kirkus Reviews.

Farm Fatale

By Wendy Holden

Rosie has always dreamed of living in the country. She has been bugging her live-in boyfriend, Mark, to leave London and move to a small rural community but he is not interested. That is until it occurs to Mark that rural doings might make an interesting newspaper column and Mark's boss agrees to the idea. So Rosie and Mark start scouring the countryside for a small house in their very limited price range. After much fruitless searching they find one in the village of Eight Mile Bottom.
Meanwhile, Samantha, the wife of wealthy businessman Guy, has decided that she too wants to leave the big city for the charms of small town living. Samantha, who is socially ambitious, sees herself becoming the grand dame of the rural set but is unable to budge Guy, until Guy has a nearly fatal heart attack and is forced into semi-retirement. As Samantha argues, the quiet of a rural village is just what Guy needs during his recovery.
So two urban couples both end up, at opposite ends of the economic strata, in the small town of Eight Mile Bottom. And their lives will never be the same.

This was an OK story. Like most romances, it was pretty predictable. It quickly become apparent that our two couples are both mismatched. Samantha is selfish, ambitious and uncaring and Mark is self-indulgent and whiny. Both Guy and Rosie will figure out that they are better off without their current partners. Both Samantha and Mark are in for rude awakenings. And quiet, self-effacing Rosie ends up on top.