L.A. Candy (L.A. Candy, #1) by Lauren Conrad

Published: June 2009
Published by: HarperCollins
Format Read: Hardcover
Genre: YA Lit, Contemporary, Romance

Rating: 2.5/5

Synopsis

Los Angeles is all about the sweet life: hot clubs, cute guys, designer…everything. Nineteen-year-old Jane Roberts can’t wait to start living it up. She may be in L.A. for an internship, but Jane plans to play as hard as she works, and has enlisted her BFF Scarlett to join in the fun.

When Jane and Scarlett are approached by a producer who wants them to be on his new series, a “reality version of Sex and the City,” they can hardly believe their luck. Their own show? Yes, please!

Soon Jane is TV’s hottest star. Fame brings more than she ever imagined possible for a girl from Santa Barbara-free designer clothes, the choicest tables at the most exclusive clubs, invites to Hollywood premieres-and she’s lapping up the VIP treatment with her eclectic entourage of new pals. But those same friends who are always up for a wild night are also out for a piece of Jane’s spotlight.

In a city filled with people chasing after their dreams, it’s not long before Jane wakes up to the reality that everyone wants something from her, and nothing is what it seems to be.

-Goodreads

My Thoughts

Well.. you know what they say “write what you know”. And former reality television darling, Lauren Conrad did just that. Pulling from her own experiences on the MTV hit series Laguna Beach and The Hills, Lauren writes a “fictional” tale of being plucked from obscurity and put in the spotlight in front of millions of viewers.

As I was a fan of both of those shows in their hay-day, I remember being excited to hear that L.C. (as she was often referred to) had wrote her own book. Unfortunately I didn’t pick it up until ten years after it was released. And that greatly affected my reading experience and in turn resulted in my low rating. Because truth be told, my interests have changed a lot since then. I am no longer captivated by the lifestyles of the rich and famous, like I used to be. Although I once enjoyed watching reality television shows like the fictional L.A. Candy, now I wouldn’t call it my cup of tea. In fact I haven’t even watched a single episode of the recently re-vamped Hills series, nor do I plan to.

Had I read this book back when it was released in 2009, I guarantee that I would have enjoyed it much more. However 32 year old me found it boring. What should have been a quick read was dragged out because I fought to keep myself interested in the story.

L.A. Candy did give a behind the scenes peek into reality T.V, which was informative. Knowing Lauren’s story and how her life was depicted on the shows, it was easy to tell who had influenced her characters and the direction she took the book. Due to a somewhat cliffhanger of an ending, I feel curious to read the second novel in this series.

Even though the writing wasn’t fantastic and it didn’t hold my interest as much as I would have hoped, I would still recommend it to fans of Laguna Beach, The Hills and Lauren Conrad.

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