Lorraine has one of those voices which makes you stop whatever you're doing so that you can listen properly. She has some disadvantages though. She's a checkout operator for Fresh & Co and frankly it's not the best place to be if you're hoping to be the next big superstar. Her manager is her mother, but that's not quite as much of a disadvantage as you might think as Natalie definitely has Lorraine's best interests at heart and she's street smart. But Lorraine (actually, it's Lolly to her Mum) has one really big advantage too: she sounds just like the superstar she idolises and that lady has been indulging in some illegal substances and needs a body/voice double at pretty short notice. It's the perfect opportunity for Lorraine.

And - of course - Lorraine's determined to make the most of it and if this was your run-of-the-mill chick-lit book she'd be destined for stardom and be unable to make up her mind between two very suitable, rich young men. There's a snag though: real life isn't like that. Lorraine does meet a very handsome young man, by the name of Danny... Well, that's one of the names he uses. And he could be quite rich, if his latest scam comes off. He might just have involved Lorraine in the scam, but not under her real name, of course. Natalie is horrified, as you might expect and there's another bit of news which she's going to be even less pleased about.

One of the delights of the book is the way that we see Lorraine develop. When we first meet her she's about to go on her first holiday abroad - to Ibiza with her girlfriends - but within a matter of weeks she's been to Amsterdam and the USA and it was good to see that she really was determined to pursue her career no matter what obstacles might be put in her way, and the young man who was definitely commitment phobic when we first met him begins to see that he might have to settle for just one name.

Natalie is another delight. She's anxious that Lolly doesn't end up in the same boat as she did - the one that has 'single parent without any money' in big letters on the bow. There's a love interest for her too, but will she acknowledge it when she's so determined to put Lolly's career before everything else?

It's a feel-good book with a strong dash of realism: no one is going to get the idea that becoming the next big superstar is easy and you definitely can't do it on your own. It was a good read and I'd like to thank the publisher for sending a copy to the Bookbag.

⭐️⭐️

2 stars for me sorry. I just couldn’t gel with this book.

The writing was a bit vague and chapters felt like they needed a bit more depth.

It felt at times like an old school romance but at others like a YA vibe.

Overall it felt like a debut book that needed a better proof read and with some targeted advice and pointers from a good editor could have been so much better.

Sorry.

Lorraine has a phenomenal voice, but little faith that superstardom will beckon whilst working as a checkout assistant in her local supermarket. Her luck changes when, unbeknownst to Lorraine, rather dubious circumstances create an opportunity for her to become her idol's stand in. Lorraine not only gets an entree into the life she could have, but also an introduction to Danny, who is handsome, rich and very interested. But all is not what it seems. This opportunity sets in motion a chain of events that bring her closer to achieving her dream, but further away from reality and the truth. Lorraine learns very quickly that there's no such thing as a lucky break.

It takes a few chapters to work out who's who and get to grips with the characters but after that the story moves on at quite a pace. I enjoyed the story, it would make a decent holiday read.

I found this book very difficult to follow, the author jumps frequently between characters and it was tricky to figure out who was who. Other than that the story wasn't brilliant but ok and I wasn't keen on the characters.

I just couldn't like this book. I had to force myself to finish it. It just wasn't enjoyable to me. I didn't really care about the characters or anything going in at all.

I really wanted to enjoy this book. The premise seemed enjoyable, but the author's writing style made me reread things to make sure that I wasn't missing something.

Not really sure what I felt about this book. I didn't particularly like thhe characters in the book, so wasn't really that bothered what happened to them.
A fast paced novel which had quite a few twists and turns in the plot.

I'm not sure how detailed a review I should actually write here. This was not my genre so I knew I wasn't going to love it. That having been said, I enjoyed the pacing and most of the plot. It moved quickly and held my attention even though there were giant holes in the character motivations and essences. So much of this felt slapdash and corny.

A lot of the names feel lazy or wrong. "Paige" as a character name always makes me think that the author is referring meta-textually to the page... I guess that's reading too much into this one? Still, I don't like the name.
Two different characters are referred to as "D" in the space of one page, this is distracting and lazy.

I think the story would be more powerful if we didn't head hop so much. It seems like we're in one person's head and all of a sudden we're reading another character's thoughts. This novel is not aiming at literary brilliance, but this is just lazy. For example, we meet a character only identified as "Stork eyes" and yet somehow we see from his perspective??? Perhaps if this was a movie this would work but it does not work in a novel.
Also, we see from a variety of perspectives and yet, the "voice" doesn't seem to change... except for heavy-handed attempts at accents.

Also lazy is all the telling. We are told how each character feels about each development. I noted "spoon feeding" at least 10 times. It seems that the author does not trust the reader to get to the conclusions she hopes so instead she "beams" us there.

The opening scene is weird. Perhaps before she overdoses, Paige should be seen as more bratty and undeserving of loyal fan worship in this scene? On the plus side, the pacing is fantastic and the end of the chapter is quite a cliff.

First Impressions:
Lorraine is such a fuddly duddly name and Natalie is a much more dynamic and stardom worthy name. They should be swapped.
Natalie's past is too weird to ignore... The guy just died? Really? Not believable. Lorraine dips into her thoughts about her dad later but it's too little too late. I don't know how to fix it but this doesn't work.
Lorraine and Natalie come across as cheap, low class and scheming. There's nothing elegant or desirable about how they are introduced. Natalie is trying to get her lazy, unambitious daughter to help her steal from her place of work. Then she starts shmoozing Lorraine's boss an getting all suggestive. It's gross and distasteful. There's even a flashback of Lorraine seeing her mother having sex with some pale bummed nobody when she accidentally walked into the room. Ugh. This image makes it difficult to root for her and Dwayne later.
Lorraine: "There was no thought or finesse to her voicemail message." Character summary.
"She would be repeating a new, more sordid cycle." This is the opportunity for real character development!!!!
"The dreams were totally random, with nothing prophetic to them." Why not???? Come on! This story could have been so much more than it was!

There were some spelling and grammar issues. "They feel asleep". I'm pretty sure that's wrong. This is not a line edit, however, there were a few places where the grammar felt awkward and unrefined but that's a general comment. The author uses the word "whole" 3 times in 3 sentences!!!!!!!!!!! (at 57% into the story) It's so incredibly lazy! How can an editor let that slip passed until this point???

Lorraine and Danny/James/Andrew
Ugh, I don't buy it. She is gummy and unambitious, he's a super good looking failed actor turned con-man and yet somehow he is transfixed by her??? I think she needs to be described better, she needs to be on a similar level as him physically because the image I have of her is not an attractive one. If I can't buy their chemistry, the whole story is a bust.

"He was like an onion". I think I vomited in my mouth a little when I read this. NO! Seriously, no! This is so ridiculously lame I nearly gave up on the story altogether. All the author had going for her at this point was plot and pacing. But honestly, I had decided at this point already that it was a 2 star for me.

The plot is the only thing this story has going for it and then things start to happen coincidentally. The word "handy" is even used to describe an escape route!!! That is so lazy.
There are a few references to faith and even a Pastor at a church who offers Dwayne and Natalie safety/asylum. However, this providence is never specifically addressed and seems to be an unimportant piece in the coincidental plot of Lorraine and James' love story. I feel like the "spiritual" or 'religious' imagery could have had a bigger impact if it had amounted to something meaningful. The ultimate meaning seems to be that "love" conquers all. This is a letdown. God is love. Give him his due.
Later Dwayne says "I'm not your dad and this ain't no altar call." Do you see why I think these themes could have been explored further?

"Bruv" and "Gov" are just too ridiculous to even comment on. Ugh.

Around 65% of the way through the story, Lorraine suddenly grows a pair and has an idea (for the first time) and she tells everyone what to do. There is NO character development to account for this. It is so lame and unbelievable. I don't buy her as the double-crossing, fool-you-at-your-own-game type!

"iPod"? Seriously? It's 2018.

The sex is so stupid. Lorraine and "Danny" have sex and Natalie and Dwayne have sex within pages of each other. There is NO sexual tension for the rest of the story. Perhaps Natalie and Dwayne could abstain. They have the experience to know it probably pays to wait. Their 'tension' is not believable after they sleep together so I would recommend that they don't. At least not as early as they do. Perhaps it happens while she is in the US looking for Lorraine and it can add to the tension between them?
When Lorraine has made her plan and still has sex with Danny I felt it was really lame and does not show her as a strong and decisive woman but rather a helpless swoony Dickens-style girl.
And also, how does she get the zolpidem to drug Danny? It is not explained how she gets the idea or how she gets the drug.

Natalie's family drama is dropped out of nowhere about 73% in and does not add to the story. It is distracting and useless. Dwayne sees her bag's contents at around 75% and he describes it as "immaculate". That is literally the LAST word I would think to use to describe her up until this point. She stole a drug dealer's cash JUST after they had been shot at!!!!!!! I can not emphasise this enough. It does not follow on from the character we have known.

James' experience at the accident is telling all the way.

This could have had a much more meaningful ending but ultimately it was lazy characters driven by a fast-paced and sometimes confusing plot that was not satisfying.

And one last gripe, I really don't like the title. It is so disjointed from the story and sets up expectations that are not met. Please consider changing it!

"After all, the world was circular, so what went around always came back around in some shape or form."

This story follows Lorraine, who has a phenomenal singing voice, and wishes nothing more than to be a celebrity, she is managed by her 'mumager', Natalie, who is highly driven to do anything - okay, almost anything - to see to it that her daughter rises to fame. The plot is thick with romance, suspense, and a little bit of mystery.

One thing I will say right off the bat is that this novel is a little sparse on the details and depth. We are thrown into chapter one a little abruptly, with little to no background information on what was actually going on. This theme carried on for around three quarters of the novel, where the narrative seemed to be an unapologetic account of what the plot involved rather than a novel. Regardless, I was still very intrigued to see where it would go and what would happen.

Although the detail wasn't there for me I definitely found myself nursing a soft spot for Danny, especially towards the end. It was definitely his story that I was more curious about than the actual leading character. He was probably the only character that was described well.

Lorraine to me was a bit standoffish. I've convinced myself that it's because although she has a lot of dialogue in the novel, there was just no depth to her. There was barely any mention of how she was feeling unless it involved Danny which I found a little generic. And I don't think she's ever physically described in the novel, which is something I'm big on as I like to imagine scenes from books in my head.

I found Natalie, Lorraine's mother, to be the same as well, however when the storyline really kicked in to its peak I definitely found her more relatable and funny. Just a tad lacking.

Unfortunately, because I am a sucker for details, and even with a film I can't help but notice plot flaws, I did note that the rehab centre mention at the beginning of the novel as 'Willow Pines' became 'Meadow Pines' in the second half of the book. I'm unsure as to whether the author changed it or if it was meant to be a different place altogether as it was unclear.

I also found the setting a bit ambiguous, when the author first starts mentioning accents I was a bit, 'huh, why would they have an accent?' I had assumed that it was just set in the USA, so when there were mentions of London I was extremely confused and had to keep reading over everything twice. Although it does become more clear towards the end of the book.

The storyline in itself is definitely intriguing, and the synopsis is what made me want to read this book in the first place as there's nothing quite like a tense romance for me. I found that the author was really in her depth when it came to the romance as the general narrative in the novel was definitely much more suited to the whole bad-boy-falls-for-good-girl-and-vice-versa situation. The action seemed a little out of place, although written well. I genuinely wish I had enjoyed this book more as the storyline was admittedly attractive.