Damaged Beauty: Joey Superstar - Margaret Gardiner

Welcome to the world of model Joey Superstar - a whirlwind of cocaine, sex, and money.

Josaphina Brinkley seems to have it all: she’s a superstar model in 1980s America, a cover girl plastered naked on fashion billboards above Sunset Blvd. Women want to be her. Men simply want her.

But underneath the glossy veneer she hides a traumatic past. The end of her marriage to Italian Aristocracy led to a stint in rehab. As she returns to parties, premiers and modeling, she’s hoping a life of designer clothes and beautiful people won’t take her back to blow. If only she could be truly seen, heard and understood, perhaps she wouldn't self-destruct again?

Joey sets out to confront the roots of her wildness – but must admit to a youthful act that haunts her. As Joey fights from addiction to redemption, can she change the course of her life, deal with her dark past and become the superstar she was always destined to be? 

Former Miss Universe Margaret Gardiner gives readers the key to a secret world of supermodels, sex, style and scandal in her deliciously intoxicating debut, Joey Superstar, the first in an exciting Damaged Beauty series.

 

What did I think?

The world of fashion and modelling is not a subject I would usually read about but one of the great things about book blogging is that my attention is drawn to fabulous books that I might have otherwise missed.  Although it's often dark and disturbing, I really enjoyed my glimpse into the world of a supermodel in Damaged Beauty: Joey Superstar. 

Joey is not a character I instantly warmed to as she seems to care little about other people's feelings (including her own), but there is a very good reason for that.  I have to admit that I actually disliked her at first but that soon changed as her story progressed and I could see that Joey has been shaped, and continues to be haunted, by past events that understandably dulled her emotions and taught her that it's better to feel nothing at all than hurt and pain.

There are a lot of dark and disturbing elements to the story but Margaret Gardiner portrays these delicately and sensitively.  I think it goes a long way to describe character development when my dislike for Joey at the start turned into admiration and respect at the end.  It also reminded me to never judge a book by its cover as those of us who are aesthetically challenged may envy beautiful people but what is perceived as a blessing may actually be a curse.

Honest, raw and powerful, Damaged Beauty: Joey Superstar is an eyeopening glimpse into the world of beauty and it's an important and courageous book in the #MeToo movement.

Many thanks to Hannah Hargrave for the gifted ARC.  I chose to read Damaged Beauty: Joey Superstar and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon

About the author:

Margaret Gardiner became an international cover girl at 16, Miss Universe at 18, and ultimately, the fashion editor at GoldenGlobes.com. She’s worked with A-list stars from Angelina Jolie to Zendaya. She knows what it is like to be on the red carpet, in the spotlight - and what goes on behind the scenes. With a degree in psychology, and a focus on diversity, equity and inclusion, her debut novel is for every woman who has ever been made to feel less.

Social Media Links

Website: https://www.margaretgardiner.com/

Instagram: @margaret_gardiner

Facebook: @MargaretGardinerOfficial

Beauty (Tales from the Kingdoms #3) - Sarah Pinborough

BEAUTY is a beautifully illustrated re-telling of the BEAUTY AND THE BEAST story which takes all the elements of the classic fairytale that we love (the handsome prince, the ancient curse, the beautiful girl and, of course, the haunting castle) and puts a modern spin on the characters, their motives and their desires. 

It's fun, contemporary, sexy, and perfect for fans of ONCE UPON A TIME, GRIMM, SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN and more.

What did I think?

It took me a while to move on to this final book of the Tales from the Kingdoms, but knowing me this would be down to my Cinderella moment when as a 3 year old child I was crying my eyes out at the end as 'I didn't want it to finish'.   I just have to say it one more time: these books published by Gollancz must be the most beautiful hardback books I have ever seen.  Just look at them:

Although ultimately a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, Beauty has a proper mixed bag of fairytales in it.  So whichever was your favourite as a child, and you didn't read about them in Poison and Charm, chances are your favourite fairytale character will appear in Beauty.  

I do love the TV show Once Upon A Time, so I was thrilled to find Rumpelstiltskin (dearie) appearing unexpectedly in Beauty.  I loved how Sarah Pinborough brought a little bit extra to his character but I'll not say any more as it will spoil the story.  This is my definitely my favourite of the three Tales from the Kingdoms, it's an absolutely genius characterisation of 'the beast' - so simple yet so clever.

I love reading adult fairytales - although loosely based on our childhood favourites, they remind us of happier innocent times when anything was possible and our imagination could run wild.  With the addition of 'adult' to 'fairytales', you do get a more risqué version of your favourite childhood classic so any demure readers should be prepared to be shocked and slightly uncomfortable.

Beauty is fabulous escapism fiction that will awaken your inner child and allow your imagination to have free reign while you escape from the real world and visit a faraway kingdom from once upon a time.

My rating:

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Beauty - Louise Mensch

Blend it. Sculpt it. Shape it. Use it...

There isn't a woman on earth who doesn't have her beauty secrets. But for Dina Kane, beauty is more than just business. It's power. And it is the secret. She's dragged herself up from poverty to Park Avenue. She's rolled with the punches. And she's learned how to win.

Now someone is out to destroy her, and all she's built. They've underestimated Dina Kane. She's staying at the top - and she's happy to wait for the perfect moment to exact her revenge..

What did I think?

My god-sister posted a photo of this on Twitter and I was like one of the ladies in the store where Dina worked, rushing to get my hands on a jar of Meadow cream - I just had to read it, so I raced to the library to pick up a copy.

I absolutely raced through this book, it was so fast paced and full of life that I didn't want to put it down.  From the beginning when Dina is born and is unwanted and unloved by her parents I was hooked.  She has a very good relationship with her brother, Johnny, despite him getting all the love and opportunities from her parents.  So Dina grows up, leaves home and makes her own opportunities!

Dina has a difficult time in Manhattan as she has no college education and because of her natural beauty, people try to take advantage of her.  She works her way up from being a waitress to a coffee shop manager and it is here that she meets Edward.  Edward is with a group of friends who are taunting Dina and Edward apologises for their actions, so Dina agrees to go out on a date with him. Unfortunately for Dina, Edward is not all that he seems but even more unfortunate for Edward, Dina is not afraid to take her revenge.

This incident only makes Dina grow stronger, as she makes money by flipping property and using her knowledge of beauty products to expand quiet dingy stores into heaving places to be.  Simmering away in the background is Edward, in the style of Chuck Bass from Gossip Girl, seething at Dina's success and plotting his own revenge, with devastatingly tragic consequences.

What a brilliant book, I can't believe I haven't read any Louise Bagshawe/Louise Mensch books before but if they are all of this standard then Beauty won't be my last!  If you loved Gossip Girl, you'll love this book, although be warned that Edward is way nastier than Chuck! I was transported to Manhattan, browsed in the Green Apothecary, and queued in Times Square enjoying every moment with the fabulous Dina Kane!

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon