Review: "Just Like Me, Only Better" by Carol Snow

Veronica hasn't been the same since her husband walked out on her and her young son Ben for another woman, who's not only older but is "North Orange County's #1 Realtor!". She's renting a guesthouse from a woman who is more interested in pawning her spoiled children off on her than actually having a tenant, and her job as a substitute teacher is barely making ends meet. Making matters worse, Veronica is constantly being mistaken for Haley Rush, a young Hollywood starlet who is a favourite target of the paparazzi.

When Haley's manager, Jay, approaches her with a job offer- Veronica will pretend to be Haley doing everyday things to improve Haley's image, and she'll get paid $100 an hour- she's unable to resist. Finally she'll have a chance to move out of the guesthouse and move on with her life, plus she'll get to live the life of a glamorous Hollywood starlet at the same time! Things start getting complicated when her new job begins to interfere with her real life, and she starts to develop feelings for Brady Ellis, Haley's former boyfriend. Is this everything that Veronica has ever wanted, or will she be wishing for her old life before long?

Carol Snow has written an engaging, well-written story filled with endearing characters and fun plot twists. Once I picked it up, I had a difficult time putting it back down, reading through the entire book in less than two days (with lots of distractions!). The character of Veronica was so different from the single moms that we often read about. Despite the fact that she is only 28, already divorced, and a is single parent she doesn't spend her time whining or feeling sorry for herself, but rather spends her time searching for ways to move on. Other lovable characters included Stefano, the stereotypical Hollywood hairdresser and Jay, the manager looking for more.

Just Like Me, Only Better shows us that in Hollywood, things are not always as they appear, and that the truth is usually the most shocking story. It also tells us that life doesn't always need to be lived in a specific order, and that sometimes doing things backwards is the best way of all.

Snow has written chick lit that does the genre proud- well-written and intelligent, I will be looking up books from her backlist and devouring them as well. Thank-you to Joy at Joan Schulhafer Publishing & Media Consulting for this review copy, and be sure to check back tomorrow as Carol Snow will be guest posting and I will be giving away 2 copies of Just Like Me, Only Better.

Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Recommended to: Anyone who loves well-written chick lit or is interested in Hollywood (or who reads the gossip magazines as religiously as I do!)
If You Liked Spin by Catherine McKenzie, you will probably like this too.
Challenges: 2010 100+ Reading Challenge, New Author Challenge 2010, 2010 Chick Lit Challenge