Henri Higgins is bored with his successful life as a high-profile magazine editor, so his friend suggests a challenge: two weeks to turn a protégé into the next big thing. Henry meets Elizabeta, a cleaner at his office – and the rest is history.
I enjoyed this book. It is a low-key love letter to Canberra, dropping names and places all over the place, though not the name of the Prime Minister (I guess they change too quickly for that). The cast is diverse; Elizabeta is Peruvian and she corrects Ree pretty sharply for assuming she is Colombian and can cook, her daughter has Downs and this is a major plot point. I can’t comment on the author’s portrayal of Angie as accurate or not, but I felt she handled it with sensitivity and sympathy. The descriptions of both clothes and decorations are sumptuous, until you feel you can picture everything the characters see and talk about. Best of all, it was a really interesting look at fame – how to achieve it, how to handle it, and what happens afterwards
I did have a few minor quibbles with the book. Some of the pop culture references felt a little forced, and dialogue in other languages (French and Aimara) was not always translated or clear from the context. The title is not terribly accurate either, as the story is more about Elizabeta and her journey to fame, or even about Ree and Elizabeta’s relationship.
The fame competition seemed to overshadow the romance; which was perfectly fine with me, as it was by far the more interesting part of the book for me. In fact, the insta-lust and sudden jolts of desire were sometimes off-putting and pulled me out of the narrative. Ree and Elizabeta also had a big problem with miscommunication, but there was sufficient grovelling to satisfy by the end.
Four fashionable stars
I received a copy of this story from the author through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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