Cole Masten. Abandoned by his superstar wife, Hollywood’s Perfect Husband is now Hollywood’s Sexiest Bachelor: partying hard and screwing even harder. Watch out Los Angeles, there’s a new bad boy in town. Summer Jenkins. That’s me, a small town girl stuck in Quincy, Georgia. I cook some mean chicken and dumplins, can bluff a grown man out of his savings in poker, and was voted Most Friendly my … Friendly my senior year.
We were from different worlds. Our lives shouldn’t have collided. But then Cole Masten read a book about my small town. And six months later, his jet landed on our dusty airstrip, and he brought Hollywood with him.
From the start, I knew he was trouble.
For our town. And for me.
Sometimes, opposites just aren’t meant to attract.
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I bought this book after watching the movie on Amazon. Although I prefer third person to first person, I have to say I highly enjoyed this book!! Would definitely recommend.
Question of the Week on Buzz: What’s a good book to read during a snowstorm? I can tell you from personal experience. Hollywood Dirt!! I recently had the lovely opportunity to meet the goddess that is Alessandra Torre so my signed copy of this gem accompanied me on a trip to Colorado. While I was there…yep, a snowstorm. Hollywood Dirt kept me nice and warm though with the small-town country setting and continuous references to the outdoor heat. In this book, completely opposite worlds collide and angst, banter, and sun-sizzling tension results. Hollywood Dirt is a winner and I for one can hardly wait for the film adaptation (set for 2017). Check it out!
My favorite quote:
“Southern women are unique; there is no disputing that. We are women born of conflict, our pasts littered with battles and chaos, self-preservation, and protection. We’ve run plantations during wars, served Union soldiers tea before watching them burn our homes, hidden slaves from prosecution, and endured centuries of watching and learning from our men’s mistakes. It is not easy to survive life in the South. It is even more difficult to do it with a smile on your face. We have held these states together, held our dignity and graciousness, held our head high when it was smeared with blood and soot. We are strong. We are Southern. We have secrets and lives you will never imagine.”
I love Alessandra Torre.. this book was no different.. I liked how the characters changed throughout this book! Fun read
When you first begin a book by a new (to you) author, you usually don’t expect to start reading paragraphs out loud to whomever is around you as well as highlighting passages as you read on, but that’s exactly what I did. I will read this book over and over and find and read Ms Torre’s other works with the highest of expectations.
This book just drug me in. The writing was different but phenomenal. It read as of if the book itself was a stereotypical southerner. And the connection between Cole and Summer was amazing.
Winning the Country girls heart one script at a time. When Hollywood and Quincy collide. Summer is the Southern girl who meets Cole the City boy. She was authentic Quincy and he was authentic Hollywood.
The story takes you on a mesmerizing journey of Cole and Summer acting in a movie where they play the main characters of Ida and Royce. These roles tend to carry over into personal territory. The movie was filmed in the sleepy town of Quincy.
They had a lust/hate relationship. Summer wasn’t swooning over the celebrity status of Cole in her town. Rather than fan girl over Cole’s movie star status she glowered at him.
Overall:
I got when I read scenes with Brad DeLuca from Blindfolded Innocence. My memories of him continued to stray to that book everytime I read his scenes.
I’m not sure of the relevance of those Vanity Fair magazine articles. I guess they were par for the course since Cole was an actor working with a non-actor.
I’m a third of the way into Hollywood Dirt waiting for the story and its characters to connect. In my opinion, the story took too long to set up. It shouldn’t take this long for two characters to meet.
I’m not feeling the chemistry between them only the hatred. I’m bored waiting for the connection begin. I thought maybe once they began filming then I’d feel something. I just saw moments of weakness and temptation.. There was no denying Cole’s sexuality. It’s Summers appeal I struggled to understand.
I did appreciate in this small town that Alessandra didn’t write about the gossip that follows a small town.
The sex scenes were pure sex only as Alessandra does best with her graphic display of arousal and confidence.
Narrator:
Rachel F. Hirsh was the solo female performer of Hollywood Dirt. Her voice had the perfect Southern bell charm for Summer’s character. Unfortunately, her voice wasn’t up to par for the male characters. She still sounded like a woman. I was disappointed that Rachel didn’t attempt to alter her voice to make it more suitable for her male characters. The voice of Ben was way too girly even for a gay guy.
This is an unabridged audiobook. If your like me and enjoy following along with your ebook then an unabridged copy is the perfect companion.
While I enjoyed her performance, her performance however wasn’t convincing enough to convey a connection other than weakness and temptation.
I once again find myself at a disadvantage with my revisit of a book I read in the past, thinking since I loved it the first time that an audiobook purchase will enhance my experience, when in fact it didn’t.
The entire time I’m listening to this narrator perform Hollywood Dirt I’m reminded of a movie called “Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!”. It seems so similar with both characters attracted to each other, yet denying that attraction because of the personality traits they each have. She’s a Southern Bell with attitude and sass. He’s a Hollywood Star with pompous arrogance and cockiness. I wasn’t impressed with my audiobook purchase. I’ve changed my review to reflect this change of heart.
This was a beast of a book. Over 100 chapters! Alessandra made it worth it though. It’s a little slow at the beginning but again, Alessandra made the wait just that more satisfying. I loved the Hollywood aspect. I loved Summer. She was sassy, confident, and doesn’t let someone push her around. Cole was a flawed character but that just made me like him that much more. The concept of the whole book was unique to read about. I loved that it was made into a movie as well! I’ll have to watch it someday.
Hollywood Dirt felt raw and real. It felt gritty like the dust in Georgia. It was full of passion, slow burn, sexual tension, and witty banter between the two main characters. Add in Alessandra’s great writing and you have a great book to read!
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Winding down a dirt road…..Hollywood fame and small town life collide. It’s a path that will lead two lives to cross in unusual ways. The outcome will change the future for a Hollywood superstar and the southern girl with sass.
Welcome to Quincy, Georgia….a sleepy southern town. Home to some of the Coca-Cola investors who now enjoy the life of a millionaire. Well, as far as their bank accounts are concerned. Most want to lead a simple life where neighbors know their neighbors. No flashy showing of their wealth. Just the comforts of life in this peaceful small town.
What no one could expect was the way their town would be shaken when a Hollywood actor decides to film his next movie in Quincy. Shunning the limelight will not be easy with the mass of production crews, filming sets, and staff that flood the town. Bringing with it the fame that most have tried to avoid.
Summer Jenkins has lived a life in the shadow of a failed relationship. With true southern sass, Summer finds herself the fodder for gossip in Quincy. Discovering that the friendships that she held dear were nothing more that a false façade, Summer focuses on living life at the farm with her mother.
With the arrival of Cole and his movie, Summer devises a plan to hitch herself to the project. Any type of work she can secure will lead her one step closer to escaping life in Quincy. Nothing could have prepared Summer for the way her life would change once Cole came to town. A love/hate relationship would lead her down a road of uncertainty, attraction, and most of all hope. The dirt road leading to Quincy just became full of ‘forks in the road’. The question is….where does the road lead for Cole and Summer??
Hollywood Dirt…….Totally Loved It!!! This book is unlike ANYTHING that Alessandra Torre has ever written before. Trust me when I tell you….you need to read this book! Every page was a journey into the lives of two damaged souls that meet in an unusual way.
This story pulls the reader into the lives of two characters that are not only in a love-hate relationship, but the duo pulls no punches when fighting the sparks that ignite whenever they are around one another. It’s a dance that so unpredictable when Summer and Cole are in charge. Witty banter and antics that have you laughing out loud lace this story from beginning to end.
Everything about Quincy reflects life in a small southern town…..from the Piggly Wiggly on the corner, to the often times unreliable cell service, and the pot-lucks that one finds at church socials. Where strangers stand out like a sore thumb and a movie production would bring chaos to the daily routine of many. Alessandra captured every nuance of living in a southern town to perfection!! Seriously….I couldn’t get enough!!
That one little dirt road…..it is the focus of this story. After all – it leads Cole into Quincy. It’s the road that Summer dreams will lead her right out of the pull of this small town. Away from a past that she cannot escape. It’s the path that the glitz and glam of Hollywood will arrive on…with all the chaos that surrounds a movie production. A path that few venture away from….but a path none the less. A dirt road that brings a Hollywood star into the path of a southern gal full off wit and charm.
I freaking loved Hollywood Dirt! I have wanted to read it for awhile and decided a long road trip was the perfect time. Six hours later I was reading the epilogue and I was almost home. I couldn’t put the dang book down. Summer and Cole were so funny and angsty with their back and forth, love hate chemistry that it was addictive to read. Hollywood Dirt is funny, you will laugh as the shenanigans these characters get themselves in, you will feel those tugs on the heart as they navigate their feelings for each other and you will feel the heat!! Holy lord! I thought the pages were gonna burst into flames at times.
Long story short.
LOVED THIS BOOK!
Ya’ll need to read this asap!
-Mackenzie
Why fiddle dee dee, what a great book.
From henceforth, I will forever say pie with a southern accent, just because Summer sounded so sexy.
Piiiiii – only it’s actually cobbler.
And what a pleasant surprise to meet a certain sexy lawyer again. My oh my, he is all man. More testosterone in his little finger than the whole of the male population of Yorkshire.
I loved that Summer’s chapters are written in first person and Cole’s are in third person. I don’t know why I liked it that way but it did work really well.
The essence of the book is based on a true story about the Coca Cola millionaires, I never knew the story. Cole has read the book and buys the rights to make the movie. Fresh out of the explosion of his marriage and with the advice of Brad he goes to Quincy.
Summer Jenkins, town outcast, desperate for escape befriends the location scout Ben and her life is turned on its head.
Cocky the rooster, totally stole the show.
I forever claim this book as mine. Cole plays the role of Royston Mitchell in the film The Fortune Bottle. My lovely dad, bless him was Roy Mitchell – his mum was called Ida!
Alessandra has written a witty, romantic book with great characters and an intriguing plot. The introduction of some old favourites is an added and unexpected bonus.
Loved it.
Hollywood Dirt by Alessandra Torre is a contemporary, small town, enemies to lovers, workplace romance told from the first person point of view of the heroine, Summer, and the third person point of view of the hero, Cole.
The story takes place in the fictional town of Quincy, Georgia which is inspired by the real town of Quincy, Florida home of seventy-six Coca-Cola millionaires. When Hollywood comes to Quincy to film a movie, Summer Jenkins meets movie star and producer, Cole Masten, and is not impressed. In fact, he makes a terrible first impression and she ends up telling him off. So you can imagine her surprise when Cole wants her to star in the film, opposite him as his leading lady. Summer is just a regular, small-town girl with no acting experience, but she could really use the money to finally get out of Quincy. What will happen between Cole and Summer as they work together? Will the irritation that makes for such great on-screen chemistry evolve into something more off-screen?
I loved this story! The characters were fantastic, well-developed, flawed, and likeable. The world building was top notch. I felt like I was right there in Quincy experiencing everything first hand. I enjoyed the author’s writing style, tone, and the underlying wit that weaved throughout the story. Completely captivated from beginning to end, I didn’t want to put it down. In fact, as soon as I finished reading, I watched the movie – which was just as enjoyable. The story was steamy, funny, charming, and endearing. It’s the first Alessandra Torre book that I’ve read, and it definitely will not be the last.
Slow start. Couldn’t get pass that
5 ’Quincy’ Stars
Yep, I’ve read this book years ago and I realized I’ve never done a review. *face palm* But now, as I’ve been rereading it in Hungarian, I just knew I had to do something about it, so here I am, expressing my love for Alessandra Torre, for Quincy and for Summer Jenkins. Because Summer is still one of my favorite heroines ever. And this book is my absolute favorite from Alessandra Torre – well, I’ve only read Moonshot (not a fan!) and the novella to Hollywood Dirt – so we can say this story really impressed me.
I totally despised Cole Masten for a while. He’s such a di… I mean, penis and he’s like totally full of himself but Summer! Hah, the girl can deal with his cockiness! I love, love, love this lady!
My love for this book is still hard.
A fun read with plenty of drama and steam.
Can’t wait to watch the movie version.
Loved, loved, loved this book. The characters interaction with each other was great. Couldn’t wait to turn the page and find out what next. Chicken was hilarious. Lol
One of my favorite books! Just read the book and you’ll find out why.
I did really like this book. I wasn’t sure where it was going a few chapters in but then started to turn around for me after a few more chapters. I liked the characters they both were complex in their own ways. Cole really had to learn how to take care of himself after Justin(his assistant) gets hit by a car. Summer is very independent even though she lives with her mother but does befriend Ben when she meets him. It does help that he is gay. Cole and Summer are like the definition of a love-hate relationship. I did not like Cole’s soon to be ex wife. The other background characters were good addition to the story. You can’t forget about Cocky the Rooster. Talk about a scene stealing character! I mean how can you not love the rooster:) Great book overall, I couldn’t read it faster once it really got ahold of my attention.
Had fun reading this story. Summer is a no nonsense type of girl and do it herself kind of lady. Shes a social outcast. She’s in love but she’s scared because of a past relationship. Cole is loveable loves pushing summers buttons. He wants her. I also watched the movie it’s why I read the book. Both great.
I really enjoyed this book. I downloaded it because it was free and was pleasantly surprised. The witty banter and sexy chemistry between Summer and Cole kept me intrigued. I’d recommend this book to someone looking for a fun, sexy, entertaining book.