Absolutely loved this totally different to what I’ve been reading recently & this had me engrossed! Delighted it’s part of a series.

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for my honest review*

A decent thriller - I would recommend it!

I’m not sure how I feel about this one still. I liked it while I was reading it but I found it very forgettable. I did really like the characters and the story line.

Mirren McClean, Davie Johnston and Zander Leith are three Hollywood superstars who grew up together on a tough Glasgow housing estate. They all know how hard it is to stay at the top. The friends used to be inseparable until a big secret they shared ripped their friendship apart.

As the story unfolds we get a glimpse into each of the characters and what the price of fame has done to them.

A great gripping read that swept me along on a twisty yet thrilling ride.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

When I first came across the book, the cover and the book blurb held my attention. I had last read about Hollywood in a Paul Coelho novel, titled A Winner Stands Alone. I have enjoyed Hollywood based novels in the past, and took this up primarily due to my past experiences with the setting.

The story has mystery, drama, suspense, and tragedy. It is not a hard core thriller, and if you are comfortable with that, this is a good book to pick up. I enjoy Shari’s writing, and have read few of her books in the past. I like that the story was well-paced. It wasn’t a page turner, but I did enjoy it for sure.

When I started reading the Rise I had some difficulty getting into the story. Maybe this was because I expected a different kind of genre from Ross King. After I put down the book I returned to it a couple of months later and discovered that I loved the book.

The Rise is the story about 3 young people from Glasgow who score a big hit in Hollywood and get an Oscar for a film they produce together. When the book progresses it turns out however that their lives are no bed of roses and they share a secret that was at the base of their success and flight from Glasgow and that has a profound influence on their current lives. It also broke their friendship.
Although they individually have a lot of success in the next 20 years they also experience a lot of hardship and grieve.

I loved the differences between the ways they reacted to how their lives developed and the way they handled how fame and riches influenced their lives. Really enjoyed this book in the end.

I want to thank Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Loved this book. So twisty and I couldnt stop reading it. It was full of drama and was a bit of a mixed bag really. I remember reading Jackie Collins books as a youngster and it reminded me of her books.

'The Rise' starts with Mirren, Davie and Zander winning an Oscar for their film in 1993. It then skips forwards to 2013 and they are no longer speaking and slowly as their lives start to unravel the secret they tried to keep buried is revealed. This book is really exciting and fun to read and I was utterly absorbed in their story. The characters are self absorbed but that is the Hollywood way and it works. The ending is really nice and although a Hollywood ending in a way it also works. I would completely recommend this as a fantastic read.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy.

Jackie Collins fans will love Shari Low and Ross King’s captivating Hollywood saga: The Rise.

Mirren, Zander and Davie had once been three friends from Glasgow trying their best to escape their humble beginnings and make a name from themselves in Hollywood. Their rise to stardom had been nothing short of meteoric and the three of them had soon gone from total obscurity to the Academy Awards stage where they had accepted their Oscar in front of the whole world one night in 1993. Mirren, Zander and Davie had the world at their feet, however, little did they realise that their Oscar win would also end up marking the end of their friendship forever…

Over the past two decades, their stars continued to rise and rise. Mirren became one of Hollywood’s most successful and prominent writers while Zander became box-office gold as Tinseltown’s most bankable action hero. Davie ruled the small screen by becoming one of television’s most sought-after producers. The three of them haven’t spoken in twenty years having been driven apart by a terrible secret, however, when old ghosts come back to haunt them, the three of them realise that they can no longer outrun their pasts.

Will they give in and let everything they’ve spent years building up slip through their fingers? Or will they join forces and fight to stay at the top of their game?

A compulsively readable blockbuster full of sin, seduction, power and ambition, Shari Low and Ross King lift the lid on what really happens in Hollywood when the cameras stop rolling, the studio lights are switched off and devastating secrets and dangerous lies get a starring role in The Rise.

Juicy, action-packed and over the top, Shari Low and Ross King’s The Rise is so addictive, it’s crying out for a big-screen adaptation!

I enjoyed this book about three friends who grew up poor in the UK, and made it big in Hollywood. It started a little slowly for me, but I'm glad I kept reading because I found it very enjoyable. The narrative flips back and forth from the trio's teen years to their current lives. It reads like a behind the scenes of Hollywood's elite, a bit sudsy, but fun.

Thank you Netgalley and Boldwood Books for the ARC!

The Rise by Ross King and Shari Low was a book I really wanted to love but sadly it wasn’t for me.

This book highlights the celebrity lifestyle. I found it to be told as if I was reading a memoir/biography of real life celebrities. It was hard to distinguish what was fiction or if it was based on true facts. For this matter I didn’t like the book.

Thank you to both the authors, Netgalley and Boldwood Books for the digital copy of The Rise for reviewing purposes.

Oh god! I just LOVE all the glitz, glamour & backstabbing this book has which is the norm in Hollywood circles as we all know, this story reads like you are getting backstage access to all the biggest stars that you know & love.
I enjoyed all the different view points of the characters and the back and forth between 2013 and 20 years earlier back in Glasgow when the trio are just teenagers.
The story goes from strength to strength as you’re reading, it gives you little teasers/tasters as what’s to come further on in the story, you’ll be hooked just like i was.

I was lucky to receive an advance copy of The Rise by Shari Low from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review and opinion. Two word - LOVED IT! Loved the cover and loved the book. Such a great read. I'm going to tell everyone I meet to read this ASAP as it's that good.

I love all of Shari’s books and this one has been no different. I have devoured this gem in just one sitting. This is a book that has been impossible to put down.

The characters in this one are intriguing. I have loved being transported to Scotland and LA in this one. I have felt as though I have been watching the events play out in front of me.

This is a book filled with glitz, glamour and a lot of backstabbing. I have loved it!! This is one that I could easily imagine watching on screen. This is a book which is perfectly paced with the right amount of suspense.

This is a book that hooked me very early on. I was completely addicted and loved how the events just kept on taking place. This has definitely been an unpredictable read.

Shari Low is an author who always delivers. Her and King make a mighty team and I’m excited to see what comes next.

The Rise is full of glitz. glamour, backstabbing and delicious gossip. Both authors’ knowledge of the cities they write about is evident. Makes the reader feel like they with a front-row seat watching the story unfold. It’s one of those books you want to read more of. We definitely cannot wait to read the next book!

I would definitely describe this as a slow burn to begin but the suspicion and intrigue is there from the beginning, to an extent. I wasn’t pulled into this one immediately like I uaually with Shari’s books, but maybe that’s a personal thing as it took me a while to get used to this different style of writing.

Once you’ve pinned down the characters, you are able to visualise them and get inside their head which makes the story much easier to follow and helps to pick up the pace.

There was definitely a switch in pace towards the second quarter of the book, however the dual timeline cleverly controls the pace so that you are able to understand how the past impacts the present, as well as carefully unravelling the storyline without revealing too much too quickly.

I liked that we got to see the story from the perspectives of all three of the main characteds, in order to understand each of their roles and feelings about the past.

Shari and Ross also use the celebrity lifestyle as a catalyst to explore some hard-hitting issues, whilst providing a constant reminder that darkenss and shame can hide behind the most perfect of veneers.

Overall, this was a complex, gritty and clever thriller.

I’ve read all of Jackie Collins’ books and this was like Jackie Collins plus serious. Some of it dragged but overall a quick and seedy in a fine way read. Thanks to Netgalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book reads like one of those old nighttime soaps, full high drama and even higher stakes. It gives us all of the glitz and glamor of Hollywood but also proves it’s a facade
Covering a much more mundane and troubling reality. The main characters are three friends from Glasgow who were inseparable as teens, helping each other through poverty and rough homes. They meant the world to one another back then, but something came between them. They accept an Oscar together then walk out of each other’s lives permanently. But why?

There are so many twists and turns, some you’ll see coming but others will blindside you. Their story is emotional and tough at times but the characters pulled me in from the beginning so I constantly wanted to see what would happen next. I liked them all but they all made me angry as well because the characters are very real. This is a tough review because it’s a complex plot with a lot of action so there’s a lot that I want to say but I keep deleting what I write so as not to be a spoiler. This isn’t a romance so not my usual fare but I really enjoyed it. And though there was no typical HEA like I’m used to, they got a version of it that fits perfectly for the story, which was the cherry on top for me. I received an ARC from Xpresso Book Tours in exchange for an honest review.

For fans of Jackie Collins comes this fictional drama of three friends from Ireland who make it big in Hollywood. However, for two decades after they become famous, they do not speak because of a horrible secret in their past. I enjoyed learning about their lives then and now as the story unfolds into interrelating plots until the point comes where they can no longer avoid each other.

The Rise by Shari Lowe and Ross King
When we bury our secrets, they always come back to haunt us...
Their Rise was meteoric.
They had been three friends from Glasgow only a few years before, just trying to survive tough lives of danger and dysfunction.
But on one Hollywood evening in 1993, they were on the world's biggest stage, accepting their Oscar in front of the watching world.
That night was the beginning of their careers. But it was also the end of their friendship.
Over the next twenty years, Mirren McLean would become one of the most influential writers in the movie industry.
Zander Leith would break box-office records as cinema's most in-demand action hero.
And Davie Johnson would rake in millions as a producer of some of the biggest shows on TV.
For two decades, they didn't speak, driven apart by a horrific secret.
Their past is coming back to bite them, and they must decide whether to run, hide, or fight.
Because when you rise to the top, there's always someone who wants to see you fall.
The Rise is a fascinating book that deals with some sensitive topics, alcoholism and drug addiction being just a couple. The storyline was exciting and engaging, and the characters were fantastic. Although distressing to read in places, the insight into the 'celebrity' lifestyle was terrific, and I particularly enjoyed the clever name-dropping in just the right places.
It's a bold, provocative, scandalous thriller and a dazzling page-turner; I thought it was fabulous.
I would love to think this collaboration might happen again.
I want to thank publishers Boldwood Books, authors Shari Lowe and Ross King and Rachels Random Resources for the tour invite and a copy to read and review