When Grace Sheridan returns to Los Angeles to become a working actress, it’s a second shot at a life-long dream. With some help from her best-friend agent, will that dream become a reality—or at thirty-three, has Grace missed her chance at the big time? And when an unexpected sizzling romance with Jack Hamilton, the entertainment industry's newest “it” boy, threatens to shine an uncomfortable spotlight on her life, how will that affect her career…and his?
Funny, borderline neurotic Grace is perfect in her imperfections, and the sexual chemistry between her and charming yet blissfully unaware Jack is off the charts. With laugh-out-loud dialogue and a super-steamy romance that will get your heart racing, sneaking around in L.A. and dodging the paparazzi has never been so fun.
Where to Find The Unidentified Redhead:
Where to Find Alice Clayton:
***4 1/2 Stars***
I first fell in love with Alice Clayton's writing with Wallbanger (you can see our review for Wallbanger here) . Once I read that one, I was hooked and inhaled both books in the Redhead series. When Courtney decided to read the series I wanted to see if I loved them as much the second time as I did the first. Turns out that I do!
1) Grace. There are so many things I adore about this character but I'm going to start with the one that makes me really happy. I love that she's in her 30's and that she falls for a man in his 20's. In my opinion, you just don't see that as often as you should...or maybe I just think that because I'm in my 30's and I like the idea of us thirty-somethings being as hot and amazing as Grace is. Besides being awesomely thirty-something, Grace is hilarious, blunt, and exudes confidence. She's worked hard to get back to L.A. and not give up her dreams of acting and she's lucky enough to get the opportunity of a lifetime. Does she think about passing on that opportunity because she's in a new and potentially fragile relationship? Well, I'm not going to say (NOT GONNA SPOIL IT!) but what I will say is that I totally respect and admire her decision.
2) Jack AKA George. OMG, I love, love, love that Alice Clayton made him British; the idea of hearing his sexy British accent was delicious to my ears. Jack is the new up and coming HOT THING in L.A. He meets Grace before the media explodes and overtakes him and and they completely hit it off. He's funny, confident, and mature for his age--he's definitely got the old soul vibe going for him. He takes their age difference in stride..barely blinks at it and moves on. He can match her wit quip for quip and calls her on her crap all of the time. I also love that he's able to read her so well and seems to have just the right words to soothe or reassure her.
3) Their romance. They flirt. They banter. They have epic sexual escapades wherein they do everything BUT have sex. They create a Gracie and Jack bubble filled with The Golden Girls, Chex mix, awesome music mixes, long drives, and lots of no-sex, sex. There were a few little angsty speed bumps thrown in the mix but nothing too earth-shattering. Their little love bubble is filled with fun and sexy and clever but it's when they arrive in Santa Barbara that I had that deep sigh of satisfaction. What he surprised her with was just...sigh...swoony swoonfest and perfect.
4) The ensemble cast. Holly and Nick--I want them as my best friends. Please? The rapport they have with each other and with Grace and Jack is laugh out loud funny. They give each other crap about everything and some of their lines are hilarious. Jack's cast-mates, Rebecca and Lane, round out the funny with their comments and observations on the burgeoning Jack/Grace relationship. What makes them all so great is not just their snark but also their obvious love and care they have for each other.
I really really enjoyed this book. Grace's character addressed and confronted issues that I think many women in their thirties are working through. While she isn't perfect, I think she handled so many things with courage and honesty and humor and I found her so refreshing.
*3.5 Stars*
So, I have to say that my expectations snowed me on this one. I blame Wallbanger. I absolutely adored Wallbanger. I still so many months later am still talking about and remembering Wallbanger. And while I liked The Unidentified Redhead, I didn't love it like I thought I would. I was stumped when I got finished. But on the other hand, I am a teeny bit excited that we don't quite agree on it!
1) Grace. I really, really liked her. She was confident, most of the time, and funny. There is not much better than a comedy to bring us out of a book hangover, and truthfully I can imagine it being a little bit difficult to write. Not everyone will get your jokes or think you are as funny as you do (trust me, I know) so I appreciate a good comedy when I find one. (Yes, we're back to Wallbanger again, sorry). I also liked that she is following her dreams, and being independent, and making decisions for herself. But....I'm sorry....their love story was too fast for me. By any book with steam standard, yes they went really slow with some of that, but their feelings for one another, I wasn't always buying.
2) Jack. George. Johnny Bite Down. Jack by far is my favorite part of this book. He's British, and hot, and a great actor. Mostly though he seems, so far, to be a genuinely good person. He wants honesty, and trust in his relationship with Grace, and for a guy about to explode like Robert Pattinson in the book he probably will be finding this hard to come by. He made me swoon a lot with his Brit speak. Bloody hell...yep...s-w-o-o-n. *faints* Their inside jokes were cute, but maybe I was in a mood and not fully appreciating their "nuts" nicknames. I didn't mind their age difference per se, but I did mind how much Grace focused on it sometimes, even when he reassured her that he didn't care.
3) Their Romance. I loved the romance from the beginning. Their dates, and the awkwardness that I could totally relate to because some of that would and could totally happen to me. The bird poop? Yeah, that is my kind of luck right there. Real and funny and great. Then....I was so glad when they finally went to Santa Barbara and he planned the best surprises ever, because if there was another 15+ O night in my future I was going to throw my iPad across the room. And that my friends, would be devastating, to my iPad, to me, and to the HUGE kindle library I have on there! Okay, I will stop being melodramatic, but seriously. C'mon. Really? That many orgasms described in one book...
4) Their friends. I loved their friends. Holly and Nick sitting on the stairs listening to them *ahem* while eating popcorn and keeping a commentary was too funny. Holly and Grace's relationship and openness with each other was fantastic. Good friends able to talk through anything and call you out on your crap are hard to come by and always lovely to read. No jealousy or ill intent to be found here, and more than anything just a perfect want for the other to succeed. Maybe the fact that they are 33 helped with this, but this wisdom could be appreciated by a lot more people!
I love Alice's writing (Yep, Wallbanger again..see it won't go away) and honestly am excited to read the next book in the series. I am no quitter, okay...maybe a little bit of a quitter, but I am not giving up on this yet. This was my first experience with not completely falling for a book that all of my friends who have read it (which are 2, still being honest here, remember) absolutely adored. I am going to get back to psyching myself up for the angst that seems to await me in The Redhead Revealed now, so later lovelies.
I think I am going to introduce myself to this author via Wallbanger based on your recommendation : ) Added it to my TBR bsket
ReplyDeleteWallbanger is my favorite of hers!! I think you'll really like it!
ReplyDelete