Blog Tour: Hard Glamour by Maggie Marr, Review + Giveaways!

Released On: January 14, 2014

Hard Glamour

by Maggie Marr

Book 1 of the Glamour Series

4.5 stars

I absolutely loved reading Hard Glamour! It was like I was brought back to the days of reading Love Unscripted and Love Unrehearsed by Tina Reber. They have the same story backdrop and several similar conflicts, but rest assured that Hard Glamour doesn't attempt to imitate Love Series at all! 

This one is pure fun and romance. Many books today have main characters that get hot and heavy early on in the story. This one is not like that. Not that getting the sexy early on is bad, but I think it takes away the opportunity to build on the romance and get readers to anticipate that magical moment when the main characters will finally tear down their walls and just come clean with their feelings and attraction to each other. That's precisely what happened in this book!

Lane Channing aspires to be part of the movie-making business, not as an actor but as someone who's part of the team that runs things behind the camera. She has hit a lonely stage in her life and it has given her a sudden burst of courage to drive from Kansas all the way to LA. Unfortunately, luck is not on her side the moment she arrives in the city. In just a few days, she's broke and practically homeless. 

Enter Dillon McAvoy. He is the next up-and-coming movie star, kind of like Shailene Woodley. He hasn't released any films yet but the media and the studios are all confident--and they never cease to tell him--that he is the next big thing. All that needs to happen is for his current film to be done, released on theaters, and rack up the sales. But until that time comes, he needs to keep booking more movies. Unfortunately he hates reading scripts himself, and if you're an in-demand actor apparently you get about 70 scripts at one time to read and decide if you want to do them or not. Now this is where Lane comes in.

I really like how these two characters were brought together in Hard Glamour. I got all that I wanted out of a romance story: the buildup, the chemistry (I'm happy to say that these two have that in massive doses!), that tingly feeling when you read about him being apeshit jealous about one thing or another, her feeling the same way, him being terrified at the thought of her leaving, those little things they do for each other that imply they're sorry... =D Oh, all those kinds of lovely feels! It doesn't hurt that Hard Glamour has its sexy moments too! 

The book might come across as sweet and bright right now because of my words (I'm just really happy and pleased with this one, I couldn't stop grinning after!), but actually there are a few things here that's quite likely the reality in Hollywood. And they're not pretty at all. Those cliches and stereotypes we have about the world of celebrities exist for a reason. Some of them feature in this book.

The secondary characters are also very likable. The good ones, anyway! Maggie Marr did an excellent job of creating characters that you'd want to become your real life best friends (enter Chook and Kiley) as well as characters that you want to hit so hard, their heads will spin with teeth flying in all directions. There is also a teaser for the next one in the series. When you read it it becomes very obvious who the next couple will be. I'm really looking forward to it as early as now because I am skeptical about the "he". "He" needs to redeem himself so damn much because honestly, he is not the most impressive person in Hard Glamour!

So, what else can I say without spoiling you guys... oh what the heck, just click the buy links below! I got quite highlighter-happy while reading, but I realized most of those quotes would give away parts of the story. So just go out and buy it already so that you'll see what I mean! LOL If you want to giggle and feel a little bit of heartache that will later make an HEA so much better, Hard Glamour is the perfect read for you!

Buy links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Synopsis:

A promise to keep….

Honoring her mother’s last wish, Lane Channing vows to follow her dreams. She takes the ‘big risk’ and leaves her small Kansas town behind and heads to LA, the city of dreams. She’s got a stellar job lined up, an old jeep, and 20 bucks to last her to her first paycheck. Her hopes shatter when she arrives to find her job’s been given to someone else.  Now she’s broke and will soon be living on the streets if she doesn’t do something fast. Welcome to cutthroat – Lane is most certainly not in Kansas anymore.

On the cusp of success…

Dillon MacAvoy has one goal–to become a star–whatever it takes. Even if it means honing his bad-boy can’t-be-tamed-and-forever-single image. Besides the image isn’t far from the truth. Dillon cares only about his younger brother and his career. He’s on the brink of superstardom if he can just decide on the next right script. But for that, he needs a script reader he can trust.

In a strange twist of fate…

Lane Channing is Dillon’s last chance. If Lane lasts the summer without becoming MacAvoy’s latest conquest, she’s guaranteed a job in entertainment. No problem, as long as she can ignore the heat that pulses through her every time Dillon is in the room. After all, love and commitment with a sweet, hometown girl would only ruin the Dillon MacAvoy brand.

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