The Sunset Crowd by Karin Tanabe
Narrated by Sarah Mollo-Christensen
I was in love with the description of this story, 1970’s the glitz and sunshine of Hollywood that follows the “IT crowd” who easily fit the bohemian life of LA, NYC’s Studio 54, or the European jet set. The major players: Evra Scott a child of Hollywood and the reigning queen of fashion at Sunset on Sunset. Kai de la Faire the gorgeous Hawaiian heartthrob experiencing the high of being a successful screenwriter while leaving a trail of broken hearts. Theodora Leigh the exquisite and yet duplicitous go-getter that will let nothing stand in her way to fame and fortune. And Bea Dupont who is behind the lens capturing it all whilst making friendships with Hollywood’s elite and rekindling past connections. All the major players are present for an epic novel and I did very much enjoy the unraveling of it all with a few minor exceptions.
The novel builds incredibly slowly, if you find yourself bored throughout the character development of Bea, Kai, and Evra you are not alone. The story does pick up with the introduction of Theodora. From the beginning the reader is very keyed into the possibility that she is more…or possibly a lot less than she seems. As the Sunset Crowd flit around Hollywood parties, booze, and drugs there are various monotonous lulls. The final plot pickup comes with the group’s trip to Cannes and this is well worth waiting for. Here the true ingenuity of Theodora is on full display and even the ever-observant Bea is caught fully unprepared.
Surprisingly there are a few twists in the end that I will not reveal, but increased my estimation. Bea is a mostly likeable protagonist though sometimes boring. This is most likely due to her Upper East Side old money upbringing, but I did feel a connection to her by the conclusion. There are a few minor characters that flit in and out and are hard to remember and keep in order. The real drawback for me was the audio production of the novel. The sound had a slight echo or hollow resonance that was grating and led me to speed up the narration to 2.0. I do believe I would have enjoyed the reading of this novel and will not let the audio impact my final review. Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio of this ARC in return for an honest review.
Narrated by Sarah Mollo-Christensen
I was in love with the description of this story, 1970’s the glitz and sunshine of Hollywood that follows the “IT crowd” who easily fit the bohemian life of LA, NYC’s Studio 54, or the European jet set. The major players: Evra Scott a child of Hollywood and the reigning queen of fashion at Sunset on Sunset. Kai de la Faire the gorgeous Hawaiian heartthrob experiencing the high of being a successful screenwriter while leaving a trail of broken hearts. Theodora Leigh the exquisite and yet duplicitous go-getter that will let nothing stand in her way to fame and fortune. And Bea Dupont who is behind the lens capturing it all whilst making friendships with Hollywood’s elite and rekindling past connections. All the major players are present for an epic novel and I did very much enjoy the unraveling of it all with a few minor exceptions.
The novel builds incredibly slowly, if you find yourself bored throughout the character development of Bea, Kai, and Evra you are not alone. The story does pick up with the introduction of Theodora. From the beginning the reader is very keyed into the possibility that she is more…or possibly a lot less than she seems. As the Sunset Crowd flit around Hollywood parties, booze, and drugs there are various monotonous lulls. The final plot pickup comes with the group’s trip to Cannes and this is well worth waiting for. Here the true ingenuity of Theodora is on full display and even the ever-observant Bea is caught fully unprepared.
Surprisingly there are a few twists in the end that I will not reveal, but increased my estimation. Bea is a mostly likeable protagonist though sometimes boring. This is most likely due to her Upper East Side old money upbringing, but I did feel a connection to her by the conclusion. There are a few minor characters that flit in and out and are hard to remember and keep in order. The real drawback for me was the audio production of the novel. The sound had a slight echo or hollow resonance that was grating and led me to speed up the narration to 2.0. I do believe I would have enjoyed the reading of this novel and will not let the audio impact my final review. Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio of this ARC in return for an honest review.
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