Mandi Leigh's debut novel "The Cat Club: Welcome to Hollywood" NOW AVAILABLE! Click here to purchase through her publisher. It will be available at Amazon, Google Books and other retailers April 2011. 

Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Book Review: "The Cat Club" by Mandi Leigh
Title: The Cat Club: Welcome to Hollywood
Author: Mandi Leigh
Publisher: Lulu Publishing
ISBN, PUB Date: 978-0-557-49036-3, February 22, 2011
Reviewed by: Tiffany Schlarman for Author Exposure

Ronnie Brooks has made it to the top! Her career as a pop star has never been better. She has a supportive family, friends among her dance team, and the best manager in the world. Though Ronnie has everything she could ever want and more, she feels empty. As the pressure of her career builds and the tension mounts, Ronnie decides to take an unscheduled break after meeting the man of her dreams. When her career starts going downhill and her number one rival moves her way to the top, Ronnie gets a dose of reality: She is in danger of losing everything she has worked so hard to get. Soon she begins to wonder if she will ever be able to have love and a career. Will she survive the Hollywood cats or fall beneath their claws that sink into her every chance they get?

I really enjoyed The Cat Club! I expected nothing from it and ended up completely surprised with the enjoyment I received from it. Leigh writes in a way that makes Ronnie seem completely normal—aside from her obvious fame. Instead of being an annoying, want it all, never satisfied celebrity, Ronnie was someone I pictured being friends with. I really rooted for her to find a happy medium between her life and her career. In addition to a strong main character, the novel has many supporting characters that each bring their own flair to the novel. I enjoyed this well developed group. I hope to learn more about each of them in the novel to follow.

I was quite surprised to find out this book has a sequel! When I arrived at the end and was left with a cliffhanger (of sorts), I was excited! I can’t wait for book two to be available. Aside from being a short read, the novel was great! I actually enjoyed the length. It was a well written, satisfying read that left me anticipating book two. I would recommend this book to a variety of readers. It’s a great piece of fiction. Those who like YA, entertainment, romance, drama or general fiction will enjoy this title.

My latest novel I have finished is The Cat Club Welcome To Hollywood by Mandi Leigh. This is Mandi Leigh’s first novel. Taking a different direction in her career as a pop singer, the question in my mind was I wonder if her novel is as good as her songs?

Plot
Veronica Brooks, or Ronnie as we get to know her is a 19 year old singer and is at the top of her career. Life in the public eye is not all it is cracked up to be and one of the big problems is,  “The Cat Club”, the group of jealous girls clawing for the spotlight. As Ronnie is living every girls dream and living the life of luxury, she soon finds herself wanting to take a step back in her career and have a taste of the real world when she meets a mysterious man who can offer her all she wants. With Ronnie out of the way this gives her rival, Ashlyn, a clear path to step up and try and take Ronnie’s place as the “Golden Girl” in the spot light. Thing is, will Ronnie be able to face seeing Ashlyn in her place?

My opinion
I found the first part of the book a little slow to start but I am glad I persevered with the book, as by the time I was half way through, the book was flowing at a nice pace. The main character of this book was the lovely Ronnie Brooks, I found I warmed to her character from pretty early on in this book. In my opinion she did seem a little grown up for a 19 year old girl but I assume this is because of the lonely but demanding job she has had for the past 3 years. I did find that I felt a little sorry for Ronnie all the way through this book as she seems to be surrounded by people but is actually very alone, this made me warm to the character even more. I felt in parts of the book it felt like I was reading a biography and part of me wonders if the author is putting some of her previous experience into the character of Ronnie as these parts where very believable to read which made the book enjoyable and not too far fetched. I do think there could have been a little more added to the storyline but I think this is something we will see in the next book that comes out. This book is an easy read not to challenging and I think is border line on adult novel and young adult novel. I found it an enjoyable read and the book is left at the right moment leaving you wanting more so I will definitely be reading the next book in the series when it comes out early next year. I feel this Author is going to grow with each book she rights and we can already see from her first novel that there is a great deal of talent there. You will find this little hidden gem of a book on Amazon or direct from LuLu.com **Special Thanks For the copy sent to me by Mandi Leigh** Rea Sinfield, The Rea Book Review 


One word: Addicting. Miss Leigh keeps you intrigued as she tells the story of a young popstar trying to balance her life in the glitz and glam of Hollywood. Ronnie's life captivates your attention from the first page and keeps you guessing what may happen next. The end leaves you wanting more and anticipating the next in the series. - Karly Brentlinger, Fearless Public Relations