The Liar, the Bitch, and the Wardrobe
by Allie Kingsley
Published on September 2012 by Berkley Trade
Copy provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review
If you’re going to step on people on your way to the top, you might as well do it in stilettos . . .Â. . . Or so she’s been told. Lucy Butler, former wallflower, lands her dream job working for her idol, world-famous fashion photographer Stefano Lepres. But in a world where getting doused in coffee for not getting the order right is the new normal, she isn’t getting any closer to her ideal of being behind the camera herself.Then a superstar actress generously takes Lucy under her wing and teaches her the ways of the rich and famous—treating her to racks of designer clothes and introducing her to a life of private planes and penthouse suites. Soon Lucy is dating a rock star, attending the hottest Hollywood parties, and dressing the part.Lost in the luxury, she loses sight of the things that once mattered most. It’s going to take a hard blow from the high life to send Lucy back to the real life she always wanted.From an industry insider—and featuring wardrobes personally selected by celebrity stylist Robert Verdi—this is a novel that will keep you guessing and introduce you to a world you know exists; you’ve just never seen it unretouched.
My Thoughts:
Fresh out of college and dead set on working for her fashion photographer idol, Lucy Butler sets off from Seattle and lands in Los Angeles with her best friend (who wants to live out her own acting dreams). After finding a way to get her foot in the door as an intern for the infamous Stefano Lepres, Lucy soon finds out just how unglamorous fetching coffee, corralling unruly celebrities for photo shoots, making sure Stefano is on time and doesn’t blow off all of his responsibilities, and even picking up his slack when he’s too drugged out to function can be. But there’s another side to this stressful job–one that she’s introduced to when Stefano lends Abby out as an assistant to an actress in her upper thirties who’s known more for her wild behavior and man-eating behavior than her acting these days.
Bella introduces Lucy to a whole new world–one of designer clothes, never having to fly on commercial airlines, or waiting in line to get into the hottest night spots. And this is where Lucy thinks she’s on the right path to make it as the photographer that she’s meant to be, but she hasn’t even hit bottom yet.
Bella comes to Seattle as a shy pushover. While she’s willing to bide her time as an intern and work hard to move up within Stefano’s photography studio, it’s hard for her to be noticed since she blends into the background with her drab clothes and equally drab personality. Once she’s met and befriended Bella, Lucy begins to change in a big way–in both her appearance and behavior. In a lot of ways, this is a classic girl moves to California to make it and gets caught up in the Hollywood life story, but what sets this book apart is the details. Since Allie Kingsley has been apart of this scene, the little details she adds in are so authentic and out there, you have little doubt that a good chunk of that stuff has actually happened. You feel for Lucy as she goes through her paces as Stefano’s assistant, takes her licks until she can’t take anymore. And once she’s under starlet Bella’s wing, Lucy finds that the alternative isn’t exactly better either.
The fashion in this book was perfect, thanks to celebrity stylist Robert Verdi. I’ve been a big fan of his since his Surprise by Design days, and Allie Kingsley does a great job of including all of the couture of the Hollywood elite without it being distracting or taking you out of the book.
The Liar, the Bitch, and the Wardrobe is a fun and exciting look into inner workings of the Hollywood elite. While the ending was wrapped up a bit too neat and tidy to be completely realistic, this book was engaging,fast paced, smart, and it had just the right amount of humor sprinkled throughout to even out the parts where you couldn’t believe some of the outrageous things that had just happened! I give this one a four out of five. I really loved the title too with the play on a classic literature title. There is gratuitous drug use throughout the novel, but this is Hollywood, so what’d you expect?
And now : Enter The Fall Clearing
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Oh I love these types of books with the diva lifestyle and riches. It’s so foreign to me in nowehere, Canada haha. I don’t think I ever heard of this one but I’ll be adding it to my list! Great review!
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That type of lifestyle is foreign to me too, Giselle! I’m rarely out of jeans, t-shirts, and hoodies. And that’s why I like reading this kind of book every now and then–it reminds me of my younger fashionista days 🙂
Heather recently posted..Review: The Liar, the Bitch, and the Wardrobe by Allie Kingsley
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Great review! I think I would read this just because of the title 🙂
Sugar & Snark recently posted..Review: Poison Princess
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This book was definitely a case where the book title actually made me want to read it too!
Heather recently posted..Review: The Liar, the Bitch, and the Wardrobe by Allie Kingsley
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I can’t decide whether or not this would appeal to me, Part of me is interested and the other half fears I would be disgusted at the inner workings of Hollywood. I am glad though that it isn’t a fluff read and that is has some substance!
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I was definitely disgusted with the way that Stefano Lepres treated his employees, and sometimes how Lucy acted–especiallly towards her friends from home. But that’s what made this a great book and not just some fluff piece, you actually feel some real emotional connection to the characters to care enough to be disturbed by what’s happening to them.
Heather recently posted..Review: The Liar, the Bitch, and the Wardrobe by Allie Kingsley
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I love this one for the title alone! Sounds like a very eye opening look at the not so glamorous Hollywood lifestyle. I always knew there was a poor overworked wanna be behind every star. Great review! I have no idea who that designer is, can you tell I’m a stay at home mom who doesn’t get out much? LOL
Heather
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I know, Heather! I love the title of this book! Lucy was definitely the poor overworked schlub in this one, and even when she hooked up with the mega-superstar actress, life still wasn’t as awesome as she thought it would be.
You’ve never heard of Robert Verdi? I know him from the home makeover show he did with some girl called Surprise by Design. It was on the Discovery Channel in the early 2000’s, and they’d surprise someone with a room makeover in one day. It was pretty funny, and the room redo’s were really good. He’s gone on to be a celebrity stylist and hosts some other stuff now too. You should check out some clips on Youtube to see what I mean. It was really good!
Heather recently posted..Review: The Liar, the Bitch, and the Wardrobe by Allie Kingsley
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This sounds kinda like your typical chick lit story. Nothing super original, but sometimes the same story is just as fun as the last time you read it.
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I rarely read chick lit anymore, so this was refreshing. And frankly, the peak into Hollywood life was a bit disturbing at times, so that made this read even better.
Heather recently posted..Review: The Liar, the Bitch, and the Wardrobe by Allie Kingsley
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I do remember hearing of this one and it sounds like a lot of fun! I don’t read books like this often (or ever really) so it would be a nice change of pace. I’m happy to hear it was an enjoyable read, I may check it out in the future!
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I don’t read books like this that much any more either, and I really enjoyed every page of this one. It was definitely a nice break from my usual paranormal fare.
Heather recently posted..Review: The Liar, the Bitch, and the Wardrobe by Allie Kingsley
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This wasn’t a fave for me but I did enjoy it. The MC drove me up the wall a bit too much at times but I did love the crazy LA-la land world!
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