I thought the story and plot were both pretty good! The characters had real life qualities that weren’t predictable. When a Hollywood Star (Adrian) comes to do a play with the queen of Johnson, Ohio (Eileen) there is a mad dash to make him welcome. Eileen goes to such extremes to get the correct vodka (he loves to drink and note to publisher it’s Stoli – Stolichnaya not Stoly) and the trendy food that looks pretty. Eileen is the local theater maven and her attorney husband Danton, together they have a son Kyle. Kyle is not sure what he wants to do with life and who he loves, man or woman.
The small town of Johnson has secrets and mayhem. While Adrian is annoyed he is stuck staying with Eileen and her family while they rehearse, this is the hi-point of her life. Her antics and the way her family carried out her bizarre requests were at times hilarious.
What was not appealing and took a star off was the language. (example:” With an expression that was part incredulous but mostly crestfallen” ) There were far too many phrases that were at a graduate school level. I actually looked something up because I was stumped. I did enjoy it and I would recommend it to the older readers (over 40) because there were quiet a few references to musicals and old time Hollywood actors that the younger audience wouldn’t appreciate.
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Reading Renee 