Terri Clark (1)

I won this book through a giveaway from Library Girl Reads.

This is a cute, funny, fluffy light, easy quick read. The blurb tells it all. Paranormal romance comedy - a genre I haven't heard of until now. Hell, maybe this author just invented it for all I know. It's not hard to see where the story is going but that doesn't really matter. Don't think about it much, just enjoy the ride like a good movie simply for the entertainment factor. I really do recommend this book it's just fun. The soundtrack is through ring tones that leads to the most hilarious literally laugh out loud moment of the book:

"Maybe Zeppelin was a little obvious?"

I could see this transferring well to the big screen. Please, please though for the love of God do the casting right.

If there's a sequel, I'll be checking it out and hoping it lives up to this book.

I think Des was my favorite character. She dress punk/goth but isn't the stereotypical depressed loner who abhors "normal" people who conform. She's the dark humor and I love that since I tend to use that kind of humor as well. I didn't find her made up words annoying. It makes me smirk since living language evolves through time and usage hence calling it "living". I find it funny when people complain about new slang being just made up words that aren't really words. Uh, hello isn't that all language? While Des has a dictionary full of her own lingo I can see how the cliquey-gimmicky feel of it can annoy people. I just don't see it the same way.

Jameson hit the right line for protective but respectful so he didn't come off as a controlling creepy type. I hate that so much and how that's so "in" right now. (Hint:Twilight) I also like the fact his and Aly's forbidden love isn't the most important thing in the thing book. That's just so fake and melodramatic. Jameson is all smirks and sarcastic but he's a good guy that could have gone wrong but didn't.

Aly was nice. I liked her perspective and her insights from her not wanting to be all fan-girly, not wanting to be disillusioned and her caring for those around her. She's the sweet home town girl and she's mostly defined in this book through her pain and relationship with others. I'm hoping she'll come more to life for me in the next book. She's not bad as is, she just felt a bit overshadowed to me. She is smart and not in the habit of doing dangerous stuff head first stupidly. She struggles but not in the classic useless damsel in distress way.

Missy, the dramatic diva sister of Aly is not left to be a 2-D character and has surprising depth to her. It's nice that she wasn't just left to be the antagonistic sister. She grows, or at least her character beneath the glam is revealed and it's a nice touching family moment.

Also, it was so nice for a group to come up with a plan that made sense and that actually worked for a change.

As far as the devil being in the details, I love how Aly and Jameson's names were like the font of the cover in the beginning of their chapters. Aly's font being the "Holly" part and Jameson's font being the "Weird" part.… (mer)

The cover for Hollyweird makes the book look like a fun story and that is exactly what you get. Terri Clark writes believable teen characters who interact with snappy dialogue. Aly and Des may appear to be complete opposites - preppy and rule-following, goth and rule-breaking - but they work together. I love Aly's description of their friendship on the second page of the book, "She is yin, I am yang. Together we are taijitu, the balance of yin and yang." It is this balance of personalities that allows Aly and Des to face evil in Hollywood with both the logic and passion needed to overcome it.

Chapters in the book alternate between Aly and Jameson telling the story. I enjoyed this technique because it allows the reader to see more than either Aly or Jameson can see in the moment. It also gives the reader a chance to know each character on a deeper level and understand more of why they react to each other they way they do based on their individual backgrounds. This gives the romantic aspect of the book a realistic feeling as the characters must sort through a variety of emotions.

Hollyweird is a fast read both because it isn't a long book and because of the quick pacing of the story. The dialogue is peppered with references to contemporary Hollywood shows and stars. Des also invents new words by combining others. It is pretty easy to figure most of these out in context, although Aly also explains some of them to Jameson along the way. Terri Clark offers us the classic battle of good versus evil but she presents it with a personal brand of humor and contemporary style.… (mer)

When I started reading Hollweird I was a bit put off by the overwhelming amount of pop culture references and the odd 'dialect' Aly and her friend Des have going on, but the story quickly grew on me.

The book is fast paced and a very quick read. The dialogue between Des and Aly is funny and feels like a real friendship. They may be opposites, but they understand each other so well, it makes sense that they are friends, almost like Shawn and Gus on Psych :) (See, I can do pop culture references, too!) And after a few of their weird words, I realized the cuteness of them and have been tempted into using a couple.

Although Aly is the main character, we also get to see from Jameson's perspective and I liked how this slowed the story down a bit and gave me time to catch up. Both of them are likeable and I really appreciated that Clark didn't try to add in those overused scenarios of love triangles or mistaken intentions. Clark sticks to the plot and gradually builds the relationship between Aly and Jameson in a way that, strangely enough, didn't make me doubt the likelihood of it after only a few days together.

I don't know if this is categorized as Christian fiction, although there are of course references to God and discussions of believing, but then again, it's hard to write an angel book without doing that! I don't think there is anything about the references that would make non-Christians uncomfortable, especially those who are reading angel books, because honestly, if you're offended by God, then what are you doing reading a book about angels?!… (mer)

I picked this up in search of humor, and I found it. Aly and Des are your typical teenage girls who watch shows for the swoonworthy boys. When Aly wins a trip to meet hot sensation Dakota Danvers, the two girls freak out. Their dream trip to Hollywood turns into a nightmare when they find out that Dakota is the son of Satan on a mission to wreck lives. Told through the alternating perspectives of Aly and Jameson, Hollyweird follows their lives as they work to figure out Dakota's big plot.

While it was fun seeing Hollywood through the girls' worshipping eyes, I did find many of their actions and reactions naïve and without thought. They act based off pure emotion and don't think about their lack of special abilities when they push Jameson into accepting their help. If events didn't conveniently work in their favor, they could have easily lost their lives. Jameson was easily my favorite character. He's new to his work, but he acts with experience and reason.

What I did like about this story is easily the humor. Hollyweird is a quirky supernatural read filled with laughs and giggles. The characters are pretty generic, groomed for their roles in poking fun at Hollywood. Because of the humor, I found it funny how events conveniently worked in the characters' favor, and the girls' naïeveness made the story all the more interesting. The book is short and can be easily finished in one sitting. Recommended if you're looking for a quick, generic read and laughs.… (mer)