Adored - Tilly Bagshawe

Adored
Tilly Bagshawe
Warner Books

Fiction

Looking for the perfect beach/heat-wave read? This is it. Glamour, wealth, back-stabbing, a dysfunctional multi-generational family, ruthless climbs to the top, fashion, jet-setting, it’s all here in one great summer read.

Siena McMahon seems to have it all. Her grandfather is the legendary screen icon Duke McMahon; her father is his ultra-successful producer son. So what’s Siena doing in a convent boarding school? Mostly being bored, and counting the days until she can leave. She dreams of her triumphant return to Hollywood, and taking up her ‘rightful’ place as a superstar. When she manages to leaves school and begins to work as a model, her outraged father makes the mistake of threatening to disown her if she doesn’t get her derriere to college. Naturally, this only encourages her in her ambitions.

Meanwhile, back in Los Angeles, there’s plenty of family angst brewing when Duke’s pregnant mistress, poor little formerly rich girl Caroline, arrives. Duke has the bad taste to die of a heart attack soon after, leaving the family to pick up the pieces, each in his or her own way. The author introduces a large cast of characters, including good-guy half-brother Hunter, user Randall, and oft-wronged boyfriend Max, in addition to the legion of characters in the modeling and movie industries.

This novel will certainly appeal to fans of Jackie Collins and Judith Krantz. The term “mind candy” fits, and I submit that “mind candy” is not a bad thing at all. In fact, sometimes, ‘Rich People Behaving Horribly’ is exactly what I want. This is a big, fun, sprawling book. There’s scandal and dish; sturm und drang; catfights and multimillion dollar deals. Just entertaining from beginning to end. Readers who enjoy this one should check out the authors latest, “Showdown,” currently available from Warner Books.

Rating: 8
May 2006
ISBN# 0-446-61753-9 (paperback)

Rating Scale = 1-10