An English rose with American dreams
Audrey Wade longs to escape her domineering father and the bleak streets of post-war Yorkshire.
Hollywood glitters with glamour, freedom, and the promise of a life with her best friend Freddie. But when Freddie abandons her, Audrey is left to chase her dreams alone.
A Heartthrob with secrets
Rex Trent is more than Hollywood’s leading man. Charismatic and dangerously handsome, he’s adored by millions and watched by powerful enemies in a paranoid 1950s America. One wrong move
could destroy him.
A romance born of ambition and betrayal
When Rex proposes, Audrey is swept into Hollywood’s glamour and high-stakes secrets. But she soon discovers Rex’s dark side and faces a choice: cling to a man who may never love her, or risk everything to forge her own path?
A gripping new historical novel from a wonderful new voice. Perfect for fans of Taylor Jenkins-Reid, Wendy Holden and Allison Pataki.
Alexandra Weston writes historical fiction. She has a MA in Creative Writing from York St John University. She has a lifelong passion for history and loves visiting stately homes, museums and old churches. She also writes fantasy as Alys West. She lives with her partner and a ginger cat called Wilf in East Yorkshire. She sings with her local community choir and loves live music, hanging out in bookshops and eating cake.
Facebook: Alex Weston Historical Fiction Writer
Twitter: AlexWeston46
Instagram: @alex_l_weston
Newsletter Bookbub
My thoughts: I recently watched the mini series about Cary Grant’s life, and this reminded me of that, with the setting and the look inside a Hollywood marriage. Obviously, Grant wasn’t gay and hiding, and the author was inspired by Rock Hudson’s marriage to his agent’s secretary, but Grant’s marriage wasn’t happy.
Swept up in the magic of Hollywood, Audrey agrees to a “lavender marriage”, usually entered into by two people hoping to hide their true sexuality, during a time when being out could destroy your career and your life, but doesn’t understand what she’s really getting into.
Her new husband is drinking too much, throwing parties that the press would love to know about and treats her appallingly. He’s deeply unhappy and missing the man he loves, and soon so is she. Especially when she falls for prop builder Jack, but can they ever build a life together while she’s tied to her heartthrob husband?
Life isn’t as glamorous as the movies, and even though Hollywood is a lot better than being miserable in dreary post-war England, there’s a dark underbelly and Audrey is deeply naive about how things really work. She’ll need to be strong and brave to weather this.
Bringing the reality of 50s Tinsel Town during Mccarthyism and the HUAC trials, when keeping your secrets was everything, to life, this is an interesting and enjoyable read.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
ramblingmads 