Okay, I’m back…
I really enjoyed the idea of a fictional actress, Dee, from Liz’s “Cleopatra” movie. I enjoyed how JW came up with the story and tied it to the movie being filmed in Italy, adding Pasquale to the mix. I have seen Cleopatra several times, and I always enjoy it. Liz & Richard’s relationship and that whole film was such big scandalous news back in the day. My Mom says she remembers hearing about it all the time. I’m a Liz fan, so kind of wish she had made at least one appearance in the book. Richard, oh boy! I can totally picture him acting the way he did in the book. He just struggled with alcohol so much, it’s amazing that he was able to put out the films he did. An old-Hollywood hot mess!
I enjoyed the book overall. I thought it was fast and easy to read. I did not love the time-jumping. I am not a fan of time-jumping in books unless it absolutely adds the feel and plot of the book. It seems like so many books nowadays employ this technique, and I think I’m just kind of tired of it. Call it time-jumping fatigue 🙂
Character-wise, I enjoyed Pasquale most of all. He felt the most developed and interesting to me. I love when he stands up to the hotel mafia guy. Loved that!
The ending, oh boy, was a hot mess! I did not like it at all. It was wonky and choppy and cheesy. The rhythm of the book completely fell off for me at the end. When I read Jess’s story for how he wrote the book, and how long it took him, and how many times he re-worked sections, including the ending, then I understood why the ending was such a mess. All of the behind the scenes reasons show in the end.
