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Stars Over Sunset Boulevard
Summary
In this new novel from the acclaimed author of Secrets of a Charmed Life, two women working in Hollywood during its golden age discover the joy and heartbreak of true friendship.
Los Angeles, present day: When an iconic hat worn by Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind ends up in Christine McAllister's vintage clothing boutique by mistake, her efforts to return it to its owner take her on a journey more enchanting than any classic movie...
Los Angeles, 1938: Violet Mayfield sets out to reinvent herself in Hollywood after her dream of becoming a wife and mother falls apart, and she lands a job on the film set of Gone with the Wind. There, she meets enigmatic Audrey Duvall, a once-rising film star who is now a fellow secretary. Audrey's zest for life and their adventures together among Hollywood's glitterati enthrall Violet...until each woman's deepest desires collide.
What Audrey and Violet are willing to risk, for themselves and for each other, to ensure their own happy endings will shape their friendship, and their lives, far into the future.
An EChristian, Inc. production.
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Reviews
To what lengths would you go to make your deepest desires come true? For Audrey Duvall and Violet Mayfield, the lines of reason are blurred. Will the bond of true friendship be enough to hold them together? A hat is found in a vintage boutique in Los Angeles 2012. It is unmistakably Scarlett's green curtain hat from Gone With the Wind. But how did it end up there? In 1938 Violet leaves home and travels to California and gets a job as a secretary at a movie studio. With high hopes of starting a new life she meets Audrey Duvall, a fellow secretary who was once rising star in Hollywood. As the filming for Gone With the Wind commences both Audrey and Violet find themselves in places they never thought imaginable. And when the infamous curtain hat goes missing, more than one person's future is at stake. Will Violet finally get the family that she dreamed about for so long? Will Audrey finally make her big break? And what will they sacrifice to see it all come to pass? Through the joys and the heartbreak, they are always there for each other. We know that love comes in many forms, and that ultimately, love conquerors all.There is something about Susan Meissner's books that have me completely enraptured from the start. Her ability to paint pictures in my mind is outstanding. The history and colorful detail is captivating. Gone With the Wind has always been a favorite of mine, and I enjoyed the creative liberties of the setting! This story is a wonderful reminder to us that even when we do things to protect others, there are consequences to face. In my opinion, truth and honesty are always the best route to take. A quote from my High School Drama teacher that has always stuck with me is: "Can we be brave? Will we be brave? We MUST be brave for life requires it." It doesn't matter if we are making curtains into a dress to beg a man for money. Or your child undergoing a bone marrow transplant at 9 weeks old. Or speaking the truth to someone you love. Life requires us to be brave on a daily basis. But we are never alone. We never have to walk through the shadows on our own. Whether it is a friend, sister, mother or auntie, reach out for support. Because they most likely need you, just as much as you need them. I highly recommend Stars Over Sunset Boulevard!It will make you cry, laugh out loud and be truly thankful for the loved ones that surround you. Now I am off to curl up in a warm blanket, drink some tea and watch Gone With the Wind.I received a free digital copy of Stars Over Sunset Boulevard from Penguin Group through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
Violet, the Southern Belle, and Audry, the aspiring actress met by chance, became roommates, and worked at the same secretarial pool at Selznick International.The stages of Gone With The Wind were the feature of the book along with Violet and Audry's personal lives.STARS OVER SUNSET BOULEVARD has the glitter of Hollywood, the disappointments of Hollywood, behind-the-scenes fun, and the wonderful, amazing friendship between Violet and Audry.I really enjoyed STARS OVER SUNSET BOULEVARD because of the warmth of the characters. It wasn't as much about Hollywood, as it was about friends, lives, and choices.STARS OVER SUNSET BOULEVARD will enchant and delight all women's fiction fans and of course fans of Hollywood and Gone With the Wind. Don't miss reading this beautifully written, touching book. You will not be disappointed with the love and tenderness along with some jealousy that oozes off the pages with Violet and Audry's enduring friendship.A lovely, heartwarming read that will have you thinking about your friendships. ENJOY....I definitely did. 5/5 This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher in return for an honest review.
I can't help but compare this novel to one I read last year - A Touch of Stardust - which also fictionalized the filming of Gone with the Wind. Unfortunately, the comparison isn't all that favorable, especially when I consider the writing and how easy the characters were to relate to. That said, I did enjoy how the story tied together at the end, even if I felt the span between the present and past wasn't necessary - the tale would have been complete without the interludes in the present. I would suggest this novel to those interested in Hollywood of the 1940s and the film Gone with the Wind.
Thank you to Bookreporter.com for the opportunity to read this wonderful historical fiction. I love anything that has to do with movie/film and old Hollywood.
The two main characters, Violet and Audrey, form an interesting and complicated friendship. Susan Meissner takes us back to Hollywood during the filming of Gone With the Wind. She weaves two story lines — one present day, one during the late 1930’s era — with a hat worn by Scarlett O’Hara as the common link.
Highly Recommend!
The two main characters, Violet and Audrey, form an interesting and complicated friendship. Susan Meissner takes us back to Hollywood during the filming of Gone With the Wind. She weaves two story lines — one present day, one during the late 1930’s era — with a hat worn by Scarlett O’Hara as the common link.
Highly Recommend!
Stars Over Sunset Boulevard takes the reader on a journey from its opening in 2012 back to the year of 1939 where the story actual starts. Violet is a somewhat shy Southern girl who has decided to reconstruct her life in California after a life-altering medical problem. She accepts a secretarial position at Selznick Studios and meets Audrey who is looking for a roommate. Audrey is an almost-star who works in the secretary pool and knows everyone and everything. A good person to have as a friend. Add into the mix a shy man named Bert, Audrey’s best friend. Bert has a crush on Audrey but her feelings are very different from his. Audrey still has hopes of being a star; Bert harbors a secret desire to be an ornithologist; Violet’s dream of a husband, children, and a white picket fenced house seems just beyond her reach. Together the three form an odd sort of friendship. Add to this the fact that Gone With The Wind has just started filming and the three are kept busy at all hours of the day and night, and you have the sort of book that grabs your attention and won’t let go. The story starts with the discovery by a young woman named Christine who owns a vintage-clothing store and receives by mistake the green and gold hat that Scarlett creates from the drapes at Tara. How did this hat come to Christine? And why does she remember seeing this exact hat as a child and trying it on? The story will have you turning the pages and burning the midnight oil.I’m a huge fan of Gone With The Wind as well of 1930s and 1940s Hollywood. I love the glamour of it all. This story is rich in detail and it is obvious that Ms. Meissner has done her research on this one. I was captivated by the life of the two secretaries who lived on the fringe of the movie sets for months; and following their lives after Selznick Studios was just as captivating. By the third chapter I felt like these two were old friends of mine. The contrasts between Scarlett and Melanie from GWTW and Audrey and Violet were well drawn and it was easy to see how the bonds of friendship can form in the most unlikely ways.I thoroughly enjoyed this book and give it an easy five stars. Looking forward to reading more by this author.
After moving to Hollywood, Violet finds a roommate, Audrey. Audrey and Violet both work as secretaries in the movie industry. When Gone With the Wind begins filming, Violet begins to come into her own. She finds a boyfriend, Audrey’s best friend, and quickly does anything and everything to win him over. Once they marry and move away, Violet adopts Audrey’s child. I enjoyed the scenes revolving around Gone With the Wind. It was an interesting glimpse into the movie world. However, I really disliked Violet. She was so insecure and a rotten friend. Overall, well written and engaging. 4 out of 5 stars.
Stars Over Sunset Boulevard is the latest book by Susan Meissner. The novel starts out in 2012 with Christine McAllister discovering a beautiful green Robin Hood style hat in her latest acquisitions for her vintage clothing boutique. There is a tag inside that reads Scarlett #13. Could this be an actual hat from Gone with the Wind? This hat is supposed to be at the University of Texas. How did it get in the box of items they just acquired? We then join Violet Mayfield in 1938. Violet is the newest secretary in the secretarial pool at Selznick International. Violet heard that Audrey Duvall is looking for a roommate. Violet is originally from Alabama, but she needed a change (she was in the right place at the right time). Audrey wants to be an actress. She almost got her big break when she was a teenager (before talkies), but then the movie industry changed. Audrey’s voice is too deep many feel for the movies. Bert Redmond works in the wardrobe department and is involved in the costumes for Gone with the Wind. Violet is lucky enough to be picked to be the secretary to Miss Susan Myrick (technical advisor for the film). These three have adventures around the city after they finish work (especially at parties where Audrey tries to network). Bert likes Audrey, but Audrey is not interested in Bert (except as a friend). Violet is interested in Bert, but she is scared to tell him her big secret. We follow these three through the filming of Gone with the Wind and their lives following the film. Audrey and Violet both have secrets that will continue to affect their lives for many years to come.I am a fan of Susan Meissner, but I did not feel that Stars Over Sunset Boulevard was her best work. It was an interesting book, and I loved the behind the scenes information on Gone with the Wind that Ms. Meissner worked into the book. I just felt the book was lacking (hard to explain). I think I wanted more spark, but it was more ordinary especially after they finished working on Gone with The Wind at Selznick International. I really did not like what happened to the hat at the end of the book (it was a big disappointment). I give Stars Over Sunset Boulevard 3.75 out of 5 stars. The book has some good moments and some very slow parts (I skimmed through these sections). This does not put me off Ms. Meissner’s books. I will definitely continue to read her stories.I received a complimentary copy of Stars Over Sunset Boulevard from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Violet, Audrey, and Bert are three young people with dreams in 1938 Hollywood, all working at Selznick International studio. Violet wants a husband. Audrey wants to be a film star. Bert wants to go back to college and become an ornithologist. Bert also dreams of Audrey; he has such a massive crush on her he can’t see anything but her. And Audrey and Violet have secrets as well as dreams; secrets that could easily destroy those dreams. Their lives play out as ‘Gone With the Wind’ gets filmed at the studio, starting with the massive burning of Atlanta scenes. After the movie finishes, Audrey and Bert leave Selznick Studio, but the three remain close friends. The story takes us through WW II and after. Audrey and Violet have times when their friendship threatens to implode, but somehow things work out. The story is framed with short chapters set in 2012, when Violet’s family is cleaning out the bungalow where she and Audrey lived, and a vintage hat accidently gets sent to the consignment store. The hat is one anyone would recognize: it’s the green velvet hat Scarlet O’Hara made out of her mother’s drapes. How did this come to be in Violet’s possession? I was disappointed. I couldn’t manage to like Violet; she came across as sweet and innocent at first but turned out to be very manipulative. Audrey was okay, but kind of flat. Bert is just a prop for the women to use. They just didn’t seem real and the dialogue is stilted. It’s almost like the book was a first draft, and the author needed to go back and flesh out the people. Not unreadable but only 3 out of 5 stars. I did really enjoy the parts about the filming of GWTW.