Opportunity Knocks: A Novel - Alison Swe... Dollycas’s Thoughts

Again Alison Sweeney takes us behind the scenes, this time we follow make-up artist Alex Cleary as she tries to kick start her career. She is in the right place at the right time and lands a job with Hillary P. (I would say her empire is striving to be live Oprah Winfrey.) Hillary is not an easy woman to work for, she has a quick temper, demands a lot from her employees and has no problem raging at you when others are present. These traits can cause trouble not only for Hillary but everyone that works for her. Alex is called on the carpet for breaking the terms of her non-disclosure agreement and is on the hook for 5 million dollars! How is Alex going to come up with that kind of money? Is there another way out of this mess?

This was a fast entertaining read. Alex is very personable and very engaging. Her parents had different plans for her life but she is following her dream. Hillary P., is a woman with a rising career and quite a dictator. She rules her life and her employees with an iron fist and steps on or over anyone to advance her career. So of course we readers are rooting for Alex from the get go.

Sweeney has created several other great characters in this story. Alex’s best friend Emma, Billy Fox, an actor Alex meets when he guests on Hillary’s show, her boyfriend, Sean, and her family, plus others Alex meets when she follows Hillary’s show to New York. One who ends up turning Alex’s life inside out.

I enjoyed the way the author brings the madness of Hollywood/New York to life within these pages. I also liked seeing New York through Alex’s eyes. I have never been there myself and think my reactions would be quite the same.

Great characters, a flowing plot, romance, and humor all come together to make this a perfect escape!

Opportunity Knocks: A Novel - Alison Swe... Dollycas’s Thoughts

Again Alison Sweeney takes us behind the scenes, this time we follow make-up artist Alex Cleary as she tries to kick start her career. She is in the right place at the right time and lands a job with Hillary P. (I would say her empire is striving to be live Oprah Winfrey.) Hillary is not an easy woman to work for, she has a quick temper, demands a lot from her employees and has no problem raging at you when others are present. These traits can cause trouble not only for Hillary but everyone that works for her. Alex is called on the carpet for breaking the terms of her non-disclosure agreement and is on the hook for 5 million dollars! How is Alex going to come up with that kind of money? Is there another way out of this mess?

This was a fast entertaining read. Alex is very personable and very engaging. Her parents had different plans for her life but she is following her dream. Hillary P., is a woman with a rising career and quite a dictator. She rules her life and her employees with an iron fist and steps on or over anyone to advance her career. So of course we readers are rooting for Alex from the get go.

Sweeney has created several other great characters in this story. Alex’s best friend Emma, Billy Fox, an actor Alex meets when he guests on Hillary’s show, her boyfriend, Sean, and her family, plus others Alex meets when she follows Hillary’s show to New York. One who ends up turning Alex’s life inside out.

I enjoyed the way the author brings the madness of Hollywood/New York to life within these pages. I also liked seeing New York through Alex’s eyes. I have never been there myself and think my reactions would be quite the same.

Great characters, a flowing plot, romance, and humor all come together to make this a perfect escape!

I picked up this book for two reasons:
1. The cover
2. Alison Sweeney
More about this on the full review on my blog.

Scared Scriptless is the story of Maddy Carson, a 35 year-old talented script supervisor at the hit prime time show The Wrong Doctor. She is very organized and dedicated to her job. She grew up in a small town in Wolf County, in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. After high school, following a family friend’s suggestion, she moved to LA to what she thought was just going to be a sort of internship to get the hang of TV production. But it turned out to be a good career which she has enjoyed for the past 10 years.

Maddy’s life revolves around her job. She hadn’t had a serious relationship since she broke up with her high school sweetheart. We meet Maddy as she starts dating an executive at her job but we also see how an actor is trying hard to sweep her off her feet. Maddy is still unsure if dating her boss is a good idea and on the other hand she has a dating rule: No actors. Will she break her rule and find real love? Well, that’s for you to find out. ;)

But this book is not only about the love triangle. On a trip to her hometown, Maddy finds out that everything is not running so great back home. So we follow her as she comes up with a brilliant idea on how she can save the day and keep everything in town running as smoothly and charming as she remembers it to be.

Scared Scriptless is Sweeney’s second book. Having not read the first one, I can’t say if this is a sequel. Even if it is, it is written as a standalone, you don’t get the feeling that you are missing details or info from the previous story.

The characters in this book feel real and that’s what makes this story believable. But what also makes this book credible, are all the details on how a TV show is made. More about this on the full review on my blog.

Scared Scriptless is a nice read, not so fast paced but an enjoyable story. A story about love, friendship, treason, family bonds, perseverance and happily ever afters. I would recommend this book as a “transition read”, i.e. a cute light story after reading a long and heavy book. Definitely a book that all Days of Our Lives fans shouldn’t miss. If you really, really, really miss Samantha get the audiobook narrated by Alison herself! ;) A book for those who want to be in the reality show or day time drama industry, it gives you an idea of how that sort of environment works. A good summer read that would also look cute in your beach/tote/vacation/summer bag. ;)

Samantha Brady may have left Salem for good, but Alison Sweeney is still around and I’m going to check out her next books in the future.

 

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DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

I received an Electronic copy of this book but was not financially compensated in any way nor obliged to review. The opinions expressed are my own and are based on my personal experience while reading it. This post contains affiliate links.

 

 

Like many people here, I watched Alison Sweeney grow up on TV. Though I don't follow Days of Our Lives anymore, I had heard of her plans to leave, and I'm sad to see her go. Her character shook things up in Salem, but her new career as a novelist intrigued me. 

It's a wise move to set the story in Hollywood with a likable heroine, Maddy, who works as a script supervisor for a popular drama. Sweeney's knowledge/experience of the business sets the stage well - you can enjoy the exposition without feeling as though you've gone to school. Anyway, Maddy is the type who prefers working behind the scenes. Her list of dating rules adds to her charm, and while she won't consider actors she takes a chance with another insider who wants to break into reality television. As it happens, Maddy has an idea that could make for good TV and help out her hometown.

Sweeney had a great concept with Scared Scriptless. I liked many of her characters and the angle that brought her real life together with her work. That said, I do wish Sweeney had done more with Maddy's hometown - shown more interactions with these colorful characters as she prepares the demo reel to sell her show. We spend more time with Maddy battling for control of a show that isn't yet sold.

There's also a tepid romance that Maddy readily acknowledges, but one look at her boyfriend and you know his actions and motives before they happen. I read through this book and imagine how he could have been made more sinister to add conflict to this story.

Scared Scriptless starts strong but levels out halfway through. If you're looking for a sweet, funny Hollywood-set story it's worth the read. 

 

ARC received from NetGalley

Who knew Alison Sweeney wrote books? Because I didn't! I remember my mom watching Days of our Lives religiously when I was a kid and I always remember thinking how beautiful Alison was. It feels strange now so many years later to receive an ARC of her book to review.

Scared Scriptless was a light hearted, entertaining read. It's obvious that Alison's background aided her in writing this novel, as the majority of it circulates around the behind-the-scenes aspect and making of a television show.

Maddy Carson is a script supervisor for a popular nighttime drama (think Scandal or Grey's Anatomy). She's an extremely organized, schedule-oriented, list-making, planner. Nobody could accuse her of being a person who can go with the flow. Most of the books is her work life, and it was a lot of fun to experience that aspect with her. This book makes you feel like you are Maddy's girlfriend, getting to tag along to quietly watch all of the excitement and ogle the hunky stars.

When she decides to take the plunge to create a reality show in hopes of helping out her family and hometown full of friends, you really get into the challenges she faces and the stress that she feels. It really makes you root for her and want her to come out on top.

There's also a love story and some turmoil surrounding that aspect of her life. She casually dates Craig, her boss (who I felt was a slimeball from the get-go), all while Adam Devin, hotshot new actor on the show, tries to sweep her off her feet.

While the love story and Maddy's personal transformation are meant to be the main focus of this book with the hollywood aspect being sort of a backdrop, it was really kind of reversed. I felt like so much of the book focused on her job and the behind-the-scenes that the relationships were a bit forced and glazed over. I really liked Maddy, and could connect with her on a certain level but I never really felt a strong connection with the guys, or anyone else in the book for that matter.

Her work life was enjoyable, but the rest I could kind of just take it or leave it. If you need a break from reading some heavier subject matter, this is a fun and quick read to break up the tension.

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