This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
Reviewed by Kelly Allen
Clara Bishop is a celebrity reporter longing to live her dream as a screenwriter. Her husband Dean, a reality television producer looking for his lucky break in film production, leaves her for another woman; a gorgeous blonde waitress called Amber who is using Dean to further her career. Clara is left heartbroken, and she turns to her mother for help and advice. Marjorie encourages her daughter to get away for a while, and so Clara, armed with her grandmother’s suitcase full of 1950’s clothing, heads to London to stay with a friend. Of course there is only one reason Clara chose London; Dean is already there, promoting his new reality show, but he hasn’t travelled alone.
Whilst Clara is in London trying but failing to reconcile with Dean, Marjorie’s advice seems to have had an effect on Clara. She enlists the help of her friend Trinity, and together they transform Clara from a mousy brown, jeans and t-shirt wearing tomboy into a gorgeous feminine redhead with attitude to match. However, when she wakes from her slumber after her makeover, she has been thrown into the world of 1952 London, and to top it off, her world is now black and white.
When Clara realises it is not all a dream, she begins to wonder if it is possible to help change the fate of her grandmother, an actress who died in 1952, by working her magic with the hauntingly aggressive film producer Frederick Marshall. At the same time, her love for Dean is challenged by the handsome Niall, a fellow celebrity reporter. Clara must choose which man is worth the fight.
Can anyone rewrite history? Can you really alter fate?When I began reading this book, I was really intrigued by the transformation between the tomboy Clara and the new femme fatale version. I really enjoyed the story being told with snippets of the interview with the police officer in the present day. This allowed for a lot of intrigue and therefore I couldn’t put it down; I needed to know the outcome for Clara and her grandmother.
However, I did think that the dialogue was spoilt by having too much description and explanation about the person speaking, and there was a lot of ‘I scrambled to the…’ within the book which was a little tiring when reading a few chapters in one sitting. However, I did think that the general descriptions of clothing, characters and the world around Clara were well written. I especially enjoyed the creepy fog scenes and those at Frederick’s mansion.
The character development of Clara was also strong within the book; however I was really disappointed with the outcome at the police station. I wanted something juicier to have happened and it was a bit of an anti-climax. I did enjoy the ending to the book though, which gives hope and inspiration. It shows that things can and will work out, and that fate really is out of our hands.
I think this book would appeal to those who need strength to change, even just being a little braver in life, as well as movie buffs, particularly film noir. A fun read filled with mystery, love and emotion.
6/10
Kim Izzo's Website