Hollywood Dirt by Alessandra Torre
Released: September 7, 2015
Contemporary Romance
Self Published

Reviewed by Mandi

The girls from Fiction Vixen recommend this one to me – and I’m really glad they did. I usually shy away from Hollywood characters – something about them just don’t appeal to me. But, with a strong recommendation, I dove in and very much enjoyed.

Summer Jenkins lives in Quincy, Georgia – a very southern, rich town. Back in the 1950’s, many of the town members invested in a new company called, Coca-Cola, and in present day, their stock is worth millions. By the size of the houses you might guess people are wealthy, but as in every proper southern town, money is not spoken of.

In our small town, we have forty-five millionaires and three billionaires. That’s a rough guess, the best estimate our whispered calculations can attest.

There are many rules to polite society in Quincy, and Summer has most of them down. Summer and her mother have not always lived in Quincy – her mother moved Summer there many years ago to get away from an abusive marriage. They are outcasts, and while people are civil to them, they have never quite belonged. Summer lives with her mother in one of the cottage buildings of a large plantation, as a keeper of the grounds of sorts. Her one dream is to one day have enough money to leave the town and start life somewhere else – especially after a failed engagement a few years ago. When rumors hit that a famous hollywood actor is going to film his new movie in Quincy, everyone in the town perks up.

Cole was a teen heart-throb at the age of seventeen, and now as an adult he is a huge movie star, and a sex god on and off the screen.

Cole Masten. The man women thing about in the dark of night.

Married to a former co-star, he has loved her – but when he catches her with another man, he can’t believe his marriage is over. All of Cole’s focus has been on preparing for the new movie he is acting in and producing. This movie is abased off a book, telling the story of the town of Quincy, and although filming hasn’t started, he is very proud of this project. Reeling from his wife having an affair, he heads to Quincy to let his divorce lawyer handle things in California. Summer has been helping the location scout get permission from some of the more stubborn Quincy residents for filming, so when Cole blows into town, they meet and their lives are about to change.

Cole is your typical privileged grossly wealthy actor. When this book starts, he is so arrogant and cocky. Demanding things from interns and his assistant. Appalled by the house he has to stay in Quincy. When his assistant, Justin, gets into a car accident in California, unable to now meet him in Quincy, Cole almost can’t handle it.

He’d send flowers, maybe a strippergram, would have Justi- his brain hiccuped on the realization that his right hand was suddenly gone, the man who did everything, greased all joints, made all arrangements. Gone. In a hospital three thousand miles away with his focus on his own life, no longer on Cole’s. He staggered a little in place, DeLuca’s hand reaching out and gripping his shoulder, holding him up.

He is very used to getting his luxurious way, and when he meets Summer – she doesn’t fall at his feet and worship him – and he is curious about this. She actually ogles his lawyer more than him – which offends him greatly! She stands up to him the first time they meet, and actually throws him out of her house (Cole was meeting the location scout and he happened to be in Summer’s house at the time) for bad manners. He loves her spunk and spirit so much, he decides she needs a role in the movie. Her southern “charm” is unique and genuine and he knows it will play off amazing on-screen. Summer is dying for money to get out of town, so she agrees.

They butt heads constantly. They have that fun “I hate you but I lust after you” vibe going for a while. I feel like Summer steals the show in the book. She is confident but still gets nervous and flustered around Cole. She is independent and head strong. Funny and doesn’t put up with Cole’s macho attitude.

For all of Cole’s jerky behavior, he comes around to be a genuinely nice guy. Between caring for his rooster named “Cocky” to learning that life doesn’t begin and end in Hollywood, he is pretty dreamy. Maybe a little too perfect – but hey – I’m not complaining.

I do think the end is a little rushed. They go from a very fragile truce and new relationship to – we are in love forever and ever quite fast.

The supporting characters are great as well. Ben, the location scout is adorable and the town itself plays a big role. This is my first time reading this author and I liked her voice a lot.

Grade: B

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