Book Review: Limelight (Contemporary Chick Lit Novel)

Could you love someone who seems unlovable? Even when they spurn your care? What about if they’re young, rich, and famous yet have no one who loves them?

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Synopsis (Spoiler-Free)

Book cover for Limelight by Amy Poeppel, a book review.
Title: Limelight | Author: Amy Poeppel | Genre: Women’s Fiction, Contemporary Fiction | Published: 2018

Allison, a woman, wife, and mother of three relocates from Texas to New York after her husband gets a promotion.

Soon after she arrives, she hits a car while dropping her son off at school, but the owner is nowhere to be found.

She leaves her contact information instead.

Days later, Allison receives a call, the voice on the other line demanding she drop off her insurance information to an address on Central Park West.

When she gets there, she discovers it’s the home of young, famous, pop-star: Carter Reid (her daughters’ favorite heartthrob).

But Carter isn’t all bubblegum and sunshine. He’s a mess who’s lacking love and guidance, as those around him take advantage. This concerns Allison.

Soon thereafter, she takes a job as his Personal Assistant.

Can Allison and her family make the adjustment to New York living? Can she help Carter get on a better path? Make better decisions? Not ruin his career? Trust again?

Here’s the official synopsis…

What I Liked About It

Strong characterization. Take Carter, for instance. He was so expertly portrayed that I forgot he wasn’t a real person. His thoughts, actions, and motivations were so spot-on given his backstory. I felt like I knew him, and eventually felt an affinity towards him.

Things I Didn’t Like

The plot took forever to start. I’m talking at least 100 pages before the story even remotely began to resemble the synopsis. That’s way too long for me, guys.

A.nony.ing. This is so a matter of interpretation, so take this with a grain of salt BUT, I found Allison so obnoxious at times. Even overbearing. And smothering. What annoyed me even more was her lack of personal boundaries (in my opinion) with the teenagers. It irked me so much that I wanted to yank out my hair.

And let’s not get started on Carter, he was a big ol’ jerk (though, understandably so).

They had some redeeming qualities but these two really tried my patience.

I wasn’t invested. This novel was 406 pages, and took 4 weeks for me to finish. I wasn’t compelled to continue it, though it wasn’t a drudge either.

Final Thoughts

My Final Rating: 3.25 out of 5 stars.

I liked this book OK, but I think I read it at the wrong time. I’m going to try for a re-read sometime in the future; I think I’ll love it a lot more at that point in time.

The story-line was good. And the characters were believable. It’s definitely a matter of perspective how you view the characters and their actions.

You can read a few pages here.

Happy Reading!

All the Best,
♥ Ash

P.S. This would be a good choice for a buddy-read. There’s lots to chat about here. 🙂