I'm working on my review - it's a good one. ( )

I was given this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was an exciting book about the roller coaster life of an actress. From the first page to the last you are immersed into the life of Mao Rose. I found it hard to put the book down. Look forward to reading more from this author. ( )

just finished Actress. Really liked the book. The story and writing flowed well. Mai Rose, a young up and coming actress, is an enjoyable character. She does what she feels is right for herself even though her friends and family might give her different advice. But in the end, Mai is on the road to being who she wants to be and does it all on her own. I'd definitely recommend the book. ( )

INCLUDES SPOILERS: Mai Rose is an up and coming young actress searching for her true self and not satisfied with her acting life. She has tried various media and is presently working on a play; however there is a part she absolutely craves to have that she knows she’d be the best person to play the part . We watch and feel what she feels as she goes through the ordeal of trying for the part. She came to acting early in life, her mother being an actress herself. She is an introvert, sensitive and doesn’t befriend people easily. So when her ex-boyfriend hangs himself she feels guilty that he may have been distraught from their break-up. When she talks with a chef on a private yacht and he gets fired by fraternizing with the guests she feels it extremely wrong and actually tells the owner of the yacht (a hugely successful and wealthy businessman) that he should not have done it--and in the process also insulted his mother. When her brother Jake almost kills himself with overdosing on drugs, she feels that she is somehow responsible. When she feels that her director for the play that she is in treats the actors and actresses cruelly, she reacts. In other words, she is an actress with a conscious and a heart.

This is a serious work and as the reader you feel the gut wrenching emotions that wrought the actress. She is young and being challenged by a wicked and conniving world, yet trying to do the right thing and finding it difficult to know what the right thing is. Her life as an actress is a minefield and we are taken down the path which is at times distressful.

I found the work well written--very believable and because of its seemingly authentic world, it made me sad. You feel that you have seen the insides of an ugly world. However, at the end of the story you are left with a feeling of hope for Mai Rose; that she will find her career in the entertainment world and do it with honor. ( )

Throughout history the actor has existed. From Plato to Shakespeare there has been a constant need to be entertained by these almost magical people. Once dominated by the male gender acting is now shared by both genders, each struggling for domination. Acting has not always been idolized. It has only been in the last 100 years or so that society has begun to accept it as a respectable career. No longer are actors looked upon as little more than whores or deviants for they are now worshipped from afar. An almost perverse transformation has taken place with acting. While actors struggle to maintain both dignity and income, people consider them almost godlike. The public does not seem to realize the brutality of the filming industry. Hollywood, Bollywood, and its sister companies can make or break a person's soul. It can build up a being and then smother it will little care. Whether or not the actors choose to rise above the destruction is of their own choosing, but it defines the rest of their lives. This book is about one such actress named Mai. A young woman barely out of her teens that has made a name for herself by acting in soaps. Wanting something different she chooses to leave this steady job and take a chance on a play. A play that family and agent feel is beneath her. In retaliation she decides to put her full self into the play and winds up being offered a spot in a competition. A competition that requires several actresses to go up against one another for the lead part in an upcoming movie. Will Mai get the part and will she succeed? How will her transition from soap screen time to real time acting in a play stand up? Is Mai a true actress in both her personal and professional life or is she on her way of becoming another train wreck like so many other young actors?

I was not sure if I was going to enjoy the book to be honest. I found it a little slow in the beginning, but found myself getting more and more into the story. I liked how the author showed Mai growing in character and developing a backbone to stand up to both family and competition. I enjoyed the realness of this book and the rawness that it sometimes showed. So often people make the filming industry out to be a wonderful place where dreams are made of. In reality it is a dog eat dog world where most are run home with their tails in between their legs. I have to thank the author for giving me this book in a give away on LibraryThing. I am glad he did and I strongly recommend this book. I have never been one to really get into anything Hollywood related, but I feel this book is for anyone. It is well written and the characters come alive easily for the reader. I have a feeling that the author is going to do quite well in the future with other projects. Thank you so much author and I wish you the best in your other work! :) ( )