Author:           Jane Porter

Publisher:        5 Spot/Hachette

ISBN:             978-0-446-50940-4

Website:          www.janeporter.com

Type:             Fiction:Women’s Fiction/ChickLit

Release Date:  July 22, 2009

Pages:            352 Trade Paperback

Purchase:       $10.97 @ Amazon.com (HERE)

The “Skinny”

“At 38, Tiana Tomlinson has made it. America adores her as one of the anchors of America Tonight, a top-rated nightly entertainment and news program. But even with the trappings that come with her elite lifestyle, she feels empty. Tiana desperately misses her late husband Keith, who died several years before. And in a business that thrives on youth, Tiana is getting the message that her age is starting to show and certain measures must be taken if she wants to remain in the spotlight. It doesn’t help that at every turn she has to deal with her adversary—the devilishly handsome, plastic surgeon to the stars, Michael O’Sullivan. But a trip away from the Hollywood madness has consequences that could affect the rest of her life.“

(Above excerpt is from www.janeporter.com)

More On The Story & My Review

In Jane’s latest Chick Lit novel, we get to read the story of Tiana’s life.   For those of you who read Odd Mom Out, you may remember this character.  Tiana is 38 years old and at the height of her career as the host of a national television show called America Tonight.  Tiana developed this show to be more of a special interest and current topics show rather than the glossy Hollywood Gossip show (i.e. Entertainment Tonight).  Although Tiana has experienced significant loss in her past, her current career keeps her charged and she remains focused on it.

Tiana’s love, that perfect career, is threatened when the executives of her show inform her that her ratings are down and that the 28-year-old host of their weekend edition show is slated to become her new co-host.  Another topic that is raised is that in order to appear young and fresh, she may need to consider getting “work done.”  For Tiana, who has spent the better part of her adult life building her career, is faced with losing it due to her age.  That has got to suck!

Each one of Jane Porter’s heroines has a different obstacle to face and for Tiana it is being challenged with a reinvention in her life just as she’s settled into her success.  When a woman has based her identity on her career accomplishments, watching them careen is the equivalent of losing her identity.   For Tiana, was all of that hard work just disposable to her network executives because there’s always somebody younger and “more fresh” to replace you?  Perhaps if Tiana had a husband and/or kids that gave her a balance to her work-life, she could have handled this disappointment better.  She considers this concept however realizes that this is a topic of major loss in her life.  The man of her dreams, her husband Keith, died in Afghanistan before they could reach their one-year anniversary.  She remains in love with his ghost.

As Tiana navigates her way through her social commitments and work-related appearances, she continues to run into Michael O’Sullivan aka Dr. Hollywood.  You guessed it, he’s a plastic surgeon who once had a television show.  Being generally opposed to cosmetic surgery for unnessecary means, she views Dr. Sullivan as something that represents everything that she doesn’t.  Their bickering and bantering causes considerable sexual tension between them and she can no longer deny that there that unexplainable force pulling her towards him.  But, he’s all wrong for her and nothing like Keith, so she resists the temptation.

After doing her damnest to bring up her ratings and revive her career, she discovers that it’s too late to avoid the fate that the executives have determined for her.  This is coupled with the fact that her famous actor, long-distance boyfriend is not what she expected.  She needs change in her life and the means to find her true path to happiness.

Tiana’s suffering from her past and it repeatedly haunts her to the point that she’s hit her low.  In ways, I could connect with that.  In other aspects, I wanted to shake her and say, “Girl, you got options and you’re beautiful, single and financially secure!”  I mean, how bad is that?  Not!  Her tears are sometimes met with my dismay throughout the story.  However, when she begins her path to self-discovery, my emotional attachment to her character strengthens. 

I believe that Porter provides her reader with a great summer read and a continuation of a character that we’d like a glimpse into the life of.  Of course, Porter is a great Chick Lit writer and she doesn’t disappoint in this novel.  She does add those layers to Tiana that we need to relate to her.   A woman’s past can be the remaining darkness of her heart and I understand that, despite my wish for Tiana to release it and live more for the moment.  For Tiana, letting go of loss is something that is tremendously difficult to achieve and starting her new life is not easy.  Porter reminds women of these truths in this novel and reminds the reader to be grateful for the love and support that do surround you in your life, exactly the way it sits today. 

This is the fifth of five books by Jane Porter which I have read and reviewed.  If you’re a fan of ChickLit, check out these reviews for other memorable reads by Jane Porter:  The Frog Prince, Mrs. Perfect, Odd Mom Out and Flirting With Forty.          

It’s Time for A Hollywood Giveaway!

I think every gal needs some Jane Porter fiction in her life!  Oh, yes I do!  Therefore, Hachette and I are hosting an Easy On The Eyes- Hollywood Nights giveaway.

Here’s What You Can Win:

* One of 3 Copies of Easy On The Eyes *

OR

* The Hollywood Nights ChickLit Extravaganza Grand Prize!!!! *

I can hear you thinking… “hmm… what’s in the Extravaganza Grand Prize?”

It’s THE GLITZ AND GLAMOUR of Hollywood along with a 5-Pack of Jane Porter’s Books!  That’s right, you will get a copy of:

Easy on the Eyes

The Frog Prince

Odd Mom Out

Mrs. Perfect

Flirting With Forty

Curious about the other goodies?  You will get a Hollywood Nights Extravaganza Totebag… care of A Novel Menagerie!  What Hollywood Goodies Will You Get?

A Map of The Homes of the Stars

Personalized Oscar Statue (Best Blogger… Best Reader… Whatever You’d Like)

A Sleeping Mask (for your beauty rest)

A DVD… (*surprise*)

A Secret Goodie!

I KNOW YOU WANT TO ENTER, SO HERE ARE THE RULES!

• Contest is Open Through July 15th, 2009, 5:00pm PST

• Contest is Open to US Residents Only (Sorry, my international friends) on the Hollywood Nights Totebag.  However, the books are available to US & Canada.

• For 1 Entry:  Leave me a comment with your name & email address.

• For 2 Entries:  Leave me a comment and tell me WHY you’d like to read Jane Porter’s Easy On The Eyes.  -OR- You can also leave me a comment and tell me which one of Jane Porter’s books you have read and what you liked about it the most.

• For 3 Entries: Find my Flirting With Forty book review post on A Novel Menagerie.  Leave me a comment there as well as one here. -OR- Visit Jane Porter’s Blog HERE.  Say “hi” and let her know that you’re visiting as a part of the ANM’s Easy On The Eyes: Hollywood Nights Chicklit Extravaganza Contest.

• For 1 Additional Entry:  Subscribe to my blog.  Please let me know how you subscribe.  If you’re a new subscriber, there’s a friendly little widget in the right sidebar that will help you along!

   

• For 1 Additional Entry:  Tweet about my contest on Twitter. 

• For 1 Additional Entry:  Become my friend on Facebook (link is on upper right sidebar).

• For 1 Additional Entry:  Blog about it on your site!

• For 1 Additional Entry:  SEND A FRIEND!  Have them let me know you sent them.

On Sher’s “Out of Ten Scale:”

I was very excited to read this book and held a high level of expectations for it.  I know that Jane Porter really put her heart and soul into providing us her next novel.  The difficult part for me is that I find myself comparing Easy on The Eyes to her 4 other books that I’ve reviewed.  In thinking about it, I realize that it really is the heroine that I most connect to that determines my favorite.  To explain, for me I found that the more I related to the heroine, the more I loved the story.  I most related to Mara in Odd Mom Out and Jackie in Flirting With Forty.  Therefore, those two books remain my “Jane Porter Favorites.”  I actually hate that I feel this way because it’s comparable to picking a favorite child; they are all so different and each one has something unique to offer.

So, taking off my “preferential glasses” and looking at this book as it stands on its own, for the genre Fiction:Women’s Fiction/ChickLit, I am going to rate this book an 8.5 OUT OF 10.

A Fun Video About Easy On The Eyes…

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