Spotlight by Ilana Fox

A fallen star. A runaway bride. They're about to be pitted against each other by a very powerful man.

Madison Miller has everything - beautiful, talented and just a little bit naïve; she's the small-town girl who swept to victory on America's hottest talent show to become the nation's sweetheart.

She's also head-over-heels in love with the man who's masterminded her career - the head-spinningly powerful, lethally attractive Beau Silverman. But there's trouble in paradise...

Jess has bolted from her approaching wedding and a dead-end job in London to chase dreams of being a fashion designer in New York. But she's finding life in the Big Apple tough, until she meets a man who makes her an offer she can't refuse. It means a taste of a life she's never had - glamorous parties, paparazzi, haute couture - but at what price?

Sweeping from the hotspots of LA to the coolest bars of New York, SPOTLIGHT cuts a gloriously fun swathe through the world of celebrity and glamour, with a page-turning story at its heart.

Recently I was invited by Elle from Trashionista to get involved with their new book group, our first read was Spotlight by Ilana Fox.    I reviewed Ilana's first book The Making of Mia for Waterstone's quite some time ago and remembered enjoying it, however, it's quite a while since I've read anything quite so girly, so wasn't sure what I would make of this one.


A bright pink cover, with sparkly silver stars and a pair of never-ending legs could be off putting, how many of us judge a book by it's cover?  Plenty, I'd say.  Don't be put off!  This is a great read that pulled me in from page one.

Two leading female characters; Madison Miller - America's latest sweetheart and the winner of the hottest TV talent show and Jessica Piper - an English wannabe fashion designer who has fled to New York after 'not quite' getting married.  Both Madison and Jess become involved with Beau Silverman - one of the most powerful men in American TV, handsome, smooth talking, wealthy, but also unscrupulous, mean and totally rotten.
The plot is fast and well thought out, if a little OTT in places.   Madison approaches meltdown and Jess is thrust into the whirlwind that is show business, both of them controlled by Beau and his entourage.
There is plenty of celebrity, glamour, champagne and designer clothes but Spotlight also touches some really serious problems - drugs, alcohol, eating disorders and domestic violence are all dealt with sensitively and realistically.

This is a really entertaining read, I raced through it in a couple of days and really cared about Madison and Jess and really despised the awful Beau.

With thanks again to Elle from Trashionista and Sophie from Orion Books for including me in the book group.