The First Assistant, by Clare Naylor and Mimi Hare

Here, Kittens, is a sequel that oh so deliciously improves upon its predecessor. It is juicy, juicy, juicy reading that is impossible to put down--and you don't want to! I read 72 pages the first night and finished the book in three hours this morning. Oh, and I loved every minute of it!

The First Assistant is light, fluffy reading at its best. I can't give you too many details about it because I'd reveal many spoilers, but it is so wonderfully, wonderfully escapist. It is such perfect beach fare, you will probably get sunburn from finishing this book.

In this sequel to The Second Assistant, (find my review of that book here,) Lizzie Miller has been working for The Agency for almost two years and is learning very quickly that her promotion is only just a title. She is still working for Scott Wagner, who ousted ex-president Daniel Rosen in a major coup, and is still best friends with his wife, Lara, who is now the mother of their infant son, Lachlan.

However, Lizzie has some major career and personal challenges to face. Her boyfriend, producer Luke Lloyd, may be cheating on her with another actress who is starring in a movie he's shooting in Prague. She is, on a day's notice, whisked off to Thailand to be the personal assistant of tempermental teenage starlet Emerald Everhart, a Lindsay-Lohan-esque persona. She suddenly receives a producer credit for her friend Jason's movie, Sex Addicts in Love, only after Jason, who also directed, attends a preview screening and believes the movie is going to bomb at the box office.

Finally, there's Amber, a British woman with a degree in classics who is hired to replace Lizzie in her old job as second assistant. Amber is evil, conniving, manipulative, and ruthless. She will do anything to rise up the Hollywood ladder--especially take Lizzie's job away from her.

Lizzie still shows a lot of the naivete that she displayed in The Second Assistant, but not as much. She is older, wiser, and has learned a lot more about show business. But as the book shows, and as she continues to climb the Hollywood ladder, she's still got a lot to learn.

This is the latest entry in my 2009 100+ Reading Challenge, my 2009 Read Your Own Books Challenge, and my 2009 2nds Challenge. Click the buttons in the sidebar for all of the archived lists!