It seems lately that Poppy Lively is invisible to everyone but the IRS.
After her accountant absconded with her life savings, newly bankrupt Poppy is on the verge of losing her home when an old flame, now a hotshot producer, gives her a surprising way out: a job in costumes on a Hollywood film set. It’s a bold move to pack her bags, keep secrets from her daughter, and head to Los Angeles, but Poppy's a capable person—how hard can a job in wardrobe be? It's not like she has a choice; her life couldn't get any worse. Even so, this midwesterner has a lot to learn about the fast and loose world of movie stars, iconic costumes, and back-lot intrigue.
As a single mom, she's rarely had time for watching movies, she doesn't sew, and she doesn't know a thing about dressing the biggest names in the business. Floundering and overlooked, Poppy has one ally: Allen Carol, an ill-tempered movie star taken with Poppy’s unfiltered candor and general indifference to stardom.
When Poppy stumbles upon corruption, she relies on everyone underestimating her to discover who’s at the center of it, a revelation that shakes her belief in humanity. What she thought was a way to secure a future for her daughter becomes a spotlight illuminating the facts: Poppy is out of her league among the divas of Tinseltown.
Poppy must decide whether to keep her mouth shut, as she's always done, or with the help of a scruffy dog, show the moviemakers that they need her unglamorous ways, whether the superstars like it or not.
4 STARS
How in the world am I going to be able to rate this book? In one word it was Unusual. I was on a seesaw for a while. I went from kind of liking it, to not really liking it, back to liking it in the end.
A lot of Poppy's problems stem from her inability to say No. Something that she does recognize early on in the story. It's interesting to see her work out how her people pleasing ways kept biting her in the butt. Of course when you see how she was raised that also explained a lot. She's a caregiver, a problem solver but usually for other people's problems not her own. It was interesting to see her growth when it came to that. Also of interest was her relationship with her daughter, Robyn who showed up in snippets. Kevin is also a smile-worthy character who Poppy was stuck with at first. Kevin made me smile and so did the relationship between the two of them, as it grew. Just to be clear, Kevin is not a person but did have a personality of sorts.
It also had really good world-building with some humorous inner conversations that Poppy had. She was genuinely funny even if most people didn't get her humor.
I like a good overcoming story but Poppy had me worried about that and she had to go through a lot of humiliation along the way.
I was hoping that the evil the evil thief of an accountant, Dawna Klmp gets pinched and made to pay.
There was a question or two that kept running through my mind. It was about her former lover, Herman Blatterman who she called Three. "Is he really as good as he appears to be? Is he now more reliable than he was in his younger years when Poppy knew him? That question does get answered to my satisfaction.
I really like it when the reason for a title is made clear. And towards the end the reason is made crystal clear.
Did I like how the story ended? Yes. That's what also helped get me back to liking it again.
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