Review: "Hollywood Ending" by Lucy Simone & Giveaway

Trina Stewart is in need of a real job- and fast. Her $100,000 in film school debt isn't paying itself, and her job teaching English as a second language is barely paying the bills. Trina loves Hollywood, but apparently Hollywood is not loving her. Complicating things is the fact that she's distracted by her hunky upstairs neighbor, Maitu Wulf, here taking classes on set design so that he can get more recognition in his native New Zealand. If only Maitu didn't seem so disgusted by her mere presence.

Maitu is appalled by Los Angeles, but he's definitely attracted to his downstairs neighbor, Trina. Falling in love with her will certainly interfere with his plans to finish taking his classes and hightail it back to New Zealand. Or will it?

Hollywood Endings was fun and interesting, and thankfully short on the "froth factor" that makes me roll my eyes when reading some chick lit. It's fantastic to see so many women's fiction authors realizing that yes, we want something fun and not overly heavy, but we don't want our books dumbed down either. I appreciated the blossoming romance between Trina and Maitu, and was especially happy when she doesn't turn into a swooning female, forgetting her own dreams and goals, in his presence.

The supporting characters in Hollywood Endings, kick-butt female Juliet (who I'm excited to see may be getting her own novel) and the obnoxious but well-meaning Todd, were a welcome addition to the story, adding depth beyond your typical boy-meets-girl plot. Overall this is a well-written and enjoyable story, and I look forward to reading more by Lucy Simone.

Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Recommended to: Fans of women's fiction
Challenges: 2010 100+ Reading Challenge, New Author Challenge 2010

Thanks to BooksSparks PR I have one copy of Hollywood Endings to give away. To enter:

1. *Mandatory Entry* Tell me: have you ever been to Hollywood? If not, do you plan to go someday? Please include your e-mail address so that I can contact you if you win. No e-mail= no entry.

2. *Bonus Entry* Become a follower of this blog through Google Friend Connect and leave me a separate comment letting me know that you now follow. Already a follower? Great! Just leave me a separate comment letting me know that you already follow.

3. *Bonus Entry* Spread the word about this contest in some way. Facebook about it, Tweet about it, blog about it, or add it to your sidebar. Leave me a separate comment letting me know how you spread the word (maximum one bonus entry for this option).

This contest runs until December 6, 2010 at midnight. Winners will be notified by e-mail and will have 48 hours to respond. Due to publisher's restrictions, this contest is open to US addresses only.