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Overview
Tall, blond, and willowy, this twenty-two-year-old seems to have everything going for her—she’s rich and gorgeous, a talented singer, and has just returned to her Park Avenue penthouse after a year studying in Paris. But since her mother’s tragic death years ago, her father, an extremely successful financier, has been her only family—and if she’s being honest, her only true friend.
All that changes when Jacob Williams is arrested on charges of fraud, and the SEC freezes the family’s bank accounts. With her father in jail and her partying pals suddenly scarce, Charlotte escapes Manhattan and heads to the one place she doesn’t think anyone will come looking: New Orleans.
Determined to rebuild her life, Charlotte moves in with her beloved former nanny and finds a job in a local restaurant. Between trying to make ends meet and hiding from her past, she meets Kat, a fellow fashionista who introduces her to the best of the Big Easy’s bohemian style. With Kat by her side, Charlotte begins to haunt nightclubs, securing singing gigs that soon begin to heat up—as does her friendship with a local boy, Jackson.
But Charlotte’s being followed by an angry stalker who wants nothing more than to destroy her for her father’s crimes. And with Mardi Gras just around the corner, the masquerade has only just begun . . .
From the stylish avenues of Manhattan and dark clubs of the French Quarter to the bright lights of Los Angeles, the multitalented Nicole Richie’s scintillating tale shows that the very life you run from is the one that won’t let you hide.
Synopsis
Tall, blond, and willowy, this twenty-two-year-old seems to have everything going for her she s rich and gorgeous, a talented singer, and has just returned to her Park Avenue ...
Publishers Weekly
A spoiled brat finds her backbone when fate kicks her to the curb in tabloid staple Richie's decent follow-up to The Truth About Diamonds. Charlotte Williams goes from pampered princess to outcast after her adored father pleads guilty to a massive Wall Street fraud. To escape the wrath of cheated investors, an Internet smear campaign, and a creepy stalker, Charlotte heads to the New Orleans home of Millie, her beloved former nanny and the only mom she's known. What Charlotte finds, however, is far more than a safe harbor: a best friend in fashion maven Kat (their friendship may give readers Simple Life flashbacks); a handsome love interest in Millie's musician son, Jackson; and a chance to unleash the sensational singing voice inherited from a mom she only knows from a heartbreaking home movie. Richie, no stranger to celebrity and tabloid gossip, proves she's been there/done that in this celeb-savvy and disarmingly charming defense of the power of love and good genes. (Sept.)
Editorials
From the Publisher
"A celeb-savvy and disarmingly charming defense of the power of love and good genes" —Publishers Weekly"Pointedly witty and optimistic...Richie's got the ingredients" —Los Angeles Times
“The characters were well-written and made relatable...More books like this from Nicole Richie will definitely not be a bad thing.” —Chick Lit Plus (blog)
Publishers Weekly
A spoiled brat finds her backbone when fate kicks her to the curb in tabloid staple Richie's decent follow-up to The Truth About Diamonds. Charlotte Williams goes from pampered princess to outcast after her adored father pleads guilty to a massive Wall Street fraud. To escape the wrath of cheated investors, an Internet smear campaign, and a creepy stalker, Charlotte heads to the New Orleans home of Millie, her beloved former nanny and the only mom she's known. What Charlotte finds, however, is far more than a safe harbor: a best friend in fashion maven Kat (their friendship may give readers Simple Life flashbacks); a handsome love interest in Millie's musician son, Jackson; and a chance to unleash the sensational singing voice inherited from a mom she only knows from a heartbreaking home movie. Richie, no stranger to celebrity and tabloid gossip, proves she's been there/done that in this celeb-savvy and disarmingly charming defense of the power of love and good genes. (Sept.)Kirkus Reviews
Another riches-to-rags-to-riches tales from celebutante author Richie.
After tapping the seedier side of her personal life, Richie (The Truth About Diamonds, 2005) composes another avatar for herself, a spoiled heiress digging deep in a time of crisis. Charlotte Williams is a 22-year-old princess living the high life in New York City, thanks to the largesse of her father Jacob, a Wall Street tycoon. Charlotte's other inheritance, her looks, come from her late mother, a legendary supermodel who was killed in a car wreck. Her introduction is painfully formulaic. Here's Charlotte clubbing; gossiping with her catty girlfriends; and shopping, shopping, shopping as the author drops designer names like they paid for product placements. Tragedy strikes when father Jacob is arrested by the FBI and charged with embezzlement in a ripped-from-the-headlines case of fraud. Before long, Charlotte is assaulted by a stranger and starts receiving death threats by telephone. She doesn't have resources to fall back on, because her $10 million trust fund has been frozen by the Feds, forcing her to (gasp) pawn her jewelry collection. "She realized if she was going to get out of this situation, she was going to have to be resourceful," Richie writes. "Creative. Bold. But first? Shopping."Fortunately, the narrative picks up a little when Charlotte flees the city to stay with Millie Pearl, her former nanny, in New Orleans. There Charlotte meets a pair of kindred spirits in Kat Karraby, a lesbian force of nature who manages a hot vintage-clothing store, and Jackson Pearl, Millie's handsome son who introduces the debutante to the earthier side of society. Richie still manages to add both glam and friction to this latter section, guilelessly as ever. Naturally, Charlotte instantly becomes a famous singing star when Kat puts her performance on YouTube, while her creepy stalker continues to circle his noose around the rising diva.
A clichéd fairy tale, about as original as the TV movie it will inevitably become.