Stars in Their Eyes

Stars in Their Eyes is a good, short historical by Pema Donyo. It deals with the early years of Hollywood, which I found fascinating. It was interesting to see the struggles the performers went through back then. The story was rather slow at times but did pick up quickly. I think I would have liked the story better if it was longer and I would have gotten to know the characters better. Maybe it would flowed more for me. I did like what I had read, just would have liked more. I hope to read a full length novel by this author in the future.

3 1/2 stars - worth a read.

I received this book from the publisher. This review is 100% my own honest opinion.

3.5 stars

I liked this story. I appreciated the details of the historical setting; setting was one of the strengths of this short novel. It's got this lovely mix of expat culture in Paris and early Hollywood. We even get to meet Gertrude Stein and Alice B Toklas! I love the moments with Gertrude especially.

I liked the way that it held the realities of racism in Hollywood, and the difficulties of being a Chinese American actress at a time where there were so few Asian American actors playing Asian roles. It holds the complexities well.

It may partly be a length issue, or the fact that I dislike romance arcs driven by jealousy and a love triangle, but I never really connected with the romance aspect of the story. I didn't feel with the main characters, or root for them as a couple. I wanted to care more about the characters than I did; they were a bit thinly drawn, especially the hero. I wanted more depth and detail about their feelings and motivations. I would have liked more detail about the daily aspects of their work, as well. I would have loved to sink into details about the everyday aspects of life on set as an actress, for example. I struggled with the moment of big conflict between the MCs; I thought him blocking the door was a bigger deal than the text did, and I didn't get why what she said to him in that moment was especially hurtful.

This is a romance with one fade to black sex scene. The fade to black really suited this story, I thought. The story was much more about romantic feeling than sexual desire.

Trigger Warnings: Casting couch sexual harassment elements. Descriptions of structural racism in Hollywood. Interpersonal racism and use of a racial slur, which are challenged textually and somewhat by characters directly. Hero blocks the doorway and refuses to let the heroine leave at one point; this is minimized in the text.