Family Affairs (Secrets of My Hollywood Life) by Jen Calonita

After a hectic summer, teen TV star Kaitlin Burke is happy to be back on the set of Family Affairs - the long running prime time soap she has worked on since she was four - even if that means that she has to be around her co-star Sky. But this year, things aren't as they used to be in the FA set.

There is a new girl in town, Alexis Holden, who's two faced as they come and likes to look good by making everyone else look bad, particularly Sky and Kaitlin. Soon enough, Kaitlin finds herself running around trying to juggle keeping her job, outing Alexis as the witch she is and dealing with all the changes that look in the horizon.

Ok, confession time, whenever I read a Secrets of my HollywoodLife book , I find myself thinking I'm going to drop this series, and wishing and hoping for Katlin to have/get/grow some backbone; and Family Affairs was no exception.

I like Kaitlin, she's a nice person, fun, and I even like her bouts of jealousy because they make her seem more human, but she always lets everyone walk all over her. And I DEEPLY dislike her parents - particularly her Mom - who seem more interested in the Business of Kaitlin Burke than in Kaitlin herself, often pushing her to do things she doesn't want to do, objecting her boyfriend (because he's not famous, really, that's the only thing Kate's Mom has against Austin), and not letting her do anything. And Kaitlin either takes it and misses on doing something, or does something rash that ends up landing her on more trouble.

She always does grow a little at the end of the book, but each book I feel like I've read this story before, and I have (by now, tree times from Calonita, already!). But again, I do find myself picking the next book, and reading it. Only that this time I sort of wished the next book was on Sky rather than on Kaitlin.

Other than non-stop name dropping (which gets annoying after a while), this is a fun read overall, though.
1/2

Secrets of My Hollywood LIfe: On Location by Jen Calonita

WARNING (possible spoilers from Secrets of My Hollywood Life)When we last saw Kaitlin Burke she had just made a comeback, landed the role to die for in a highly anticipated movie, and gotten hottie Austin Meyers for a boyfriend.

Things should be going pretty well for her but, as production starts she has less time to be with Austin, has to deal with her Family Affairs co-star, the scheming Sky, and her jerky ex-boyfriend Drew both of whom are co-staring in the movie as well, there is also a Darth Vader like studio publicist and a moody director.

Soon Kaitlin is being pulled in many different directions at once, and her relationship with Austin is suffering, because in Hollywood not everything that shines is gold and if Kaitlin wants to keep those things that matte the most to her, she must learn to put them first.

I actually enjoyed this book quite a bit, but I also sort of grew annoyed with Kaitlin, mostly because she falls back into the same mistake that landed her in trouble in the first book: she always lets herself be pulled every which way and ends up miserable for it. I hoped a little more from her, and she does eventually take a stand, but meanwhile she annoyed me a little bit.

Other than that I found the book funny and entertaining; a light, quick and easy read and I'm glad I already got the sequel Family Affairs in my TBR pile.

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Secrets of My Hollywood Life by Jen Calonita

Kaitlin Burke has fame and fortune as one of Hollywood's rising starlets, she has been in the business since she snagged the role of Sam in the prime time soap Family Affairs at the age of four. And, sure, being TVs favorite Teen has it's perks like living in a mammoth of a McMansion, having tons of designer clothes and being fabulous; but the truth is that she's has an insane work schedule, no personal life and she has never gotten along with her on-screen fraternal twin Sky (who might be starting rumors about Kaitlin in the tabloids), and she's tired.

In an effort to gain some sanity, Kaitlin hatches a quite insane plan: to go to Clark Hall (the high school her best friend Liz attends) in disguise and under the assumed name of Rachel and experience what it's like to be a Normal Teen. No one in Kaitlin's entourage - which includes her Mom, Dad and little brother Matt; her personal assistant Nadine, her driver Rodney and her publicist Laney - understands Kaitlin's fascination with normal people but in the end Kaitlin prevails and is allowed to enroll at school with mixed results.

As Kaitlin learns that there are mean girls everywhere, that school work is harder than she thought it would be and that friends and cute guys can be found even if you're not a TV super star; she also comes to realize how much she really does like acting, and that at times she took for granted the perks of being famous.

As usual I'm trying to restrain with the spoilers, but I can say that I was surprised at this book, Kaitlin is genuinely likable, and you truly get the feeling that she's grateful for everything she has even if she's tired and wants a break. I also loved the fact that she was a big Star Wars fan - which I am too - and that she did act like a teen.

Also, I think the book was actually quite tasteful when it came to Hollywood dealings, it told the story without being judgmental and it didn't go to any extreme, it didn't say everything in Hollywood is fabulous and perfect; and it also didn't say Hollywood is evil (EVIL I TELL YOU!) and that was a nice and welcome surprise.

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