114. The Stand In by Lily Chu

listened on Audible

2021

300 pgs.- estimate, audio only, 10+ hrs. listening time
AdRomCom
Finished  12/17/2021
Goodreads rating: 3.94
My rating: 3.5/4
Setting: Contemporary Toronto

My comments: Very cute, predictable-ish story about a girl that looks so much like a burnt-out famous Chinese actress that she stands in for her during evening events and activities.  For money, a large amount of money.  Because her mother has Alzheimer's and she wants to ensure that her accommodations are topnotch.  Of course there's a handsome, sexy actor named Sam in the picture.  Setting is contemporary Toronto and the three protagonists are all Chinese, although Gracie is half white American.  I enjoyed listening to this.

Goodreads synopsis:  How to upend your life:

–Get fired by gross, handsy boss
–Fail to do laundry (again)
–Be mistaken for famous Chinese actress
–Fall head-first into glitzy new world

Gracie Reed is doing just fine. Sure, she was fired by her overly “friendly” boss, and yes, she still hasn’t gotten her mother into the nursing home of their dreams, but she’s healthy, she’s (somewhat) happy, and she’s (mostly) holding it all together.

But when a mysterious SUV pulls up beside her, revealing Chinese cinema's golden couple Wei Fangli and Sam Yao, Gracie’s world is turned on its head. The famous actress has a proposition: Due to their uncanny resemblance, Fangli wants Gracie to be her stand-in. The catch? Gracie will have to be escorted by Sam, the most attractive—and infuriating—man Gracie’s ever met.

If it means getting the money she needs for her mother, Gracie’s in. Soon Gracie moves into a world of luxury she never knew existed. But resisting Sam, and playing the role of an elegant movie star, proves more difficult than she ever imagined—especially when she learns the real reason Fangli so desperately needs her help. In the end, all the lists in the world won’t be able to help Gracie keep up this elaborate ruse without losing herself... and her heart. 

68. The Pretending Plot by Lauren Blakely

listened on Audible Escape
narrated by Joe Arden and Vanessa Edwin
Unabridged audio (4:33)
2020 Little Dog Press
202 pgs.
Adult romance
Finished 4/25/20
Goodreads rating:  3.91 - 422 ratings
My rating:  3

First line/s:  "The handcuffs snapped closed."

My comments:  I do enjoy these fake fiance/boyfriend/girlfriend/mail order bride tomes, no matter how bad they are, and most of them are pretty bad....  This was apparently one of Lauren Blakely's first, originally a novella, and she has recently rewritten and added to.  It's still pretty short.  I was put off by the female narrator.  I think perhaps she's American trying to speak with a British accent, but it just didn't work for me at all.  And there was was too much about her stupid chihuahua that she called The Artful Dodger. Glad it was a quick read because I don't think I would have finished it if it had been much longer than four hours.  Also hard to believe that a 28-year-old woman would be in the casting director position of authority as was Sutton.  Sutton and Reeve...a little pretentious much?

Goodreads synopsis:  A delicious and all new reimagining of Lauren Blakely's original fake fiancé romance!  All preorder proceeds go to Australian fire relief!
          I don't mean to just blurt it out. "Why, yes I'm engaged!"
          But once I say it to a potential client, there's only one logical thing to do -- cast the role of my fake fiancé.
          Easy enough. As a casting director, my job is to find the most talented players for every part, so I choose dreamy, edgy, sexy, sarcastic Reeve.And I sign him up for one week in the role of mine.
          It's not as if I'll fall for him in five nights even if we get a little cozy one night at theater. It's not as if I'll want more even after a scorching afternoon in the stacks of the New York Public Library.
        I can't let myself fall because on Friday at midnight the curtain drops on our fake romance . . .

The Pretending Plot is a reimagining of the 2013 story Pretending He's Mine (no longer available for sale). The Pretending Plot has been rewritten in first person and expanded from a novella to novel length!

MOVIE - LA LA Land

PG-13 (2:08)

Limited release 12/9/16

Viewed Tuesday, 1/17/17 at RC Carlisle
IMBd: 8.8/10

RT Critic: 93   Audience:  88
Critic's Consensus:  La La Land breathes new life into a bygone genre with thrillingly assured direction, powerful performances, and an irresistible excess of heart.

Cag:  3.5 Liked it, but don't get the hype

Directed by Damien Chazelle

Liongate Films

Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone

My comments: Well, I'm really not sure what everyone is raving about.  The first third of the movie was really slow and I might even say boring.  Some of the singing and dancing were pretty random, some were perfect.  Performances were good...but Academy Award worthy?  It was certainly an homage to Hollywood and its roots.  And an interesting story, but nothing profound.  I was anticipating something really great, but, unfortunately, for me it wasn't.

RT/ IMDb Summary: The story of Mia, an aspiring actress, and Sebastian, a dedicated jazz musician, struggling to make ends meet while pursuing their dreams in a city known for destroying hopes and breaking hearts. With modern day Los Angeles as the backdrop, this musical about everyday life explores what is more important: a once-in-a-lifetime love or the spotlight.

PICTURE BOOK - I am Lucille Ball by Brad Meltzer

Ordinary People Change the World Series
Illustrated by Christopher Eliopoulous

2015, Penguin Random House

40 pgs.

Goodreads rating:  4.37 - 223 ratings

My rating: 5 stars

Endpapers: Washed out red with white "stamps" of old fashioned tv camera

1^st line/s:  "I am Lucille Ball.  When I was a little girl, my mother tried to dress me in ribbons and bows.  But I was different from other girls.  My idea of fun was horsing around with my dad."

My comments:  Told in the first person, this telling of Lucy's childhood, perseverance, and positivity is inspiring!  It includes actual historical facts - giving young kids access to information that is rarely rendered at their level.  I really applaud this biography for young 'uns.  Top notch!
     It looks like this is the beginning of a series, all with the same author and illustrator.  Bravo!

Goodreads:  “Kids always search for heroes, so we might as well have a say in it,” Brad Meltzer realized, and so he envisioned this friendly, fun approach to biography—for his own kids, and for yours. Each book tells the story of one of America’s icons in a vivacious, conversational way that works well for the youngest nonfiction readers, those who aren’t quite ready for the Who Was biography series. Each book focuses on a particular character trait that made that role model heroic. For example, Lucille Ball could make any situation funny. By making people around the world laugh, she proved that humor can take on anything.
          This engaging series is the perfect way to bring American history to life for young children, providing them with the right role models, supplementing Common Core learning in the classroom, and best of all, inspiring them to strive and dream.

Other books in the series:

Helen Keller

Jane Goodall

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Jackie Robinson

Amelia Earhart

George Washington

Rosa Parks

Albert Einstein

Abraham Lincoln

Jim Henson

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