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Beautiful People

3.19 of 5 stars 3.19 · rating details · 481 ratings · 84 reviews

"When she's good, she's very, very good, and Beautiful People finds Holden on steroids. Unmissable."
-Daily Mirror A witty, utterly addictive novel from bestselling author Wendy Holden, Beautiful People is a tale wicked in its observations yet buoyant at its heart: an irresistible confection you'll want to devour immediately.

Darcy-a struggling English rose actress when The...more

Paperback, 420 pages

Published April 1st 2010 by Sourcebooks Landmark (first published January 1st 2009)

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May 09, 2010 Angelc rated it 4 of 5 stars

I wouldn't even begin to a do a detailed summary of "Beautiful People", because I want this review to be spoiler-free. But this story is about a handful of strangers all mixed together in some juicy Hollywood scandals. Some are already divas fully immersed in the Hollywood culture, others are reluctant newcomers to this dazzling world. There's never a dull moment in this one and I flew through all 400 pages!

There are so many characters and all of their lives become intertwined in the most unexpl...more

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Apr 06, 2010 Kristina rated it 3 of 5 stars

wooh* OK, let's get going on this review. I for one thought that the beginning was a little bit slow going and had too many characters. If you're one of those people that put down a book after 100 pages because you aren't liking it then I encourage you to keep reading on this one.
Now remember, I'm being totally honest here! I was confused at the start; trying to figure out the whirlwind of characters were going to relate to each other was not happening for me. Oh...but Wendy Holden surprises yo...more

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Apr 05, 2010 Sabrina rated it 1 of 5 stars

The back-cover description pretty much covers it all. The story doesn’t go much deeper than that and you can probably guess the answers to those questions.

Holden weaves a story in which each of her many characters cross-paths and get unexpectedly involved in each others lives’. The problem is there is nothing unexpected about the plot for the reader. It’s highly clichéd and full of stereotyped characters.

There is Orlando, the teenager who was once awkward and pimply, but almost overnight turns...more

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Sep 19, 2010 Lesley rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: british, fame

This was one behemoth Love Actually of a book, but not in a good way. Remember the movie Valentine's Day? The movie sagged under the weight of too many stars, yes, but it also suffered from extreme shallowness by way of not enough time spent fleshing out its thousands of characters. I'm a fast reader, but it took me weeks to finish off this one. Beautiful People has maybe two somewhat multidimensional characters: Mitch, the fat agent, and Niall/Graham, the burly Scottish "serious actor" phony wh...more

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Dec 11, 2009 Leah rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-read-2009

Belle Murphy was supposed to be Hollywood’s hottest young star, but it all fell apart when her latest movie flopped spectacularly. To try and get herself back into the media’s good books, Belle heads off to London, via an African adoption agency, to star in Shakespeare. Can she claw her way back to the top of the Hollywood pile again? Darcy Prince is a beautiful English rose, who has her heart set on being a “proper” actress, when the call comes from Hollywood – LA’s hottest director wants her i...more Belle Murphy was supposed to be Hollywood’s hottest young star, but it all fell apart when her latest movie flopped spectacularly. To try and get herself back into the media’s good books, Belle heads off to London, via an African adoption agency, to star in Shakespeare. Can she claw her way back to the top of the Hollywood pile again? Darcy Prince is a beautiful English rose, who has her heart set on being a “proper” actress, when the call comes from Hollywood – LA’s hottest director wants her in his new movie. A movie that will rival Star Wars. It’s everything an actress should ever want, so why is Darcy so reluctant to go? Via a lot of mix-ups, the two girls eventually lock horns over men, dieting and just which one of them is the bigger star. Throw in a nanny, a chef, and a boy so beautiful he could be a model, and you have a fiery encounter just waiting to happen.

I’ve never read any of Wendy Holden’s novels but I covet her book covers. They’re really beautiful. I saw Beautiful People on offer for a euro and decided to give it a read. It was well worth my euro as it’s a thick chunk of a book – just short of 700 pages, in fact. The quotes on the front cover compare Wendy to Jilly Cooper which I wouldn’t say is accurate, bar the fact they both seem to write ridiculously long books. Although having never read a Jilly Cooper book, who knows? Maybe they are the same, although I doubt it.

Although my synopsis above mentions Darcy and Belle, they don’t even appear at the beginning of the book. Belle comes in around about 20 pages in, whilst Darcy doesn’t arrive until maybe 100-ish pages. I found that peculiar, but not off-putting. The book actually starts by introducing us to Sam Wild, who runs Wild, a modelling agency. After scouring the streets for any talent, she bumps into a bollard and comes face-to-face with the beautiful Orlando. After asking him if he would like to be a model, he scarpers, leaving Sam feeling frustrated. We then meet Emma, who it turns out, is a nanny, who has just left her parents’ home up North and is looking for a job in London. We then go on to meet a whole array of characters throughout the book, who all seem to lead separate lives to each other. And for near-on 500 pages, that’s the way it stays. Sure, a few of their lives intertwine but to all intents and purposes they’re all leading their own life with no connection to anyone else we read about. It took a long long time for Belle and Darcy to lock horns and even then, it wasn’t as if they were clawing each others eyes’ out.

The book’s title of Beautiful People is, of course, ironic. They may all be beautiful people on the outside but they’re ugly as sin on the inside. I can’t say I particularly liked Belle, or most of the characters really. She was amusing in an aren’t-you-stupid kind of way but on the whole she was pretty unlikeable and rather diva-ish. I quite liked Darcy at the beginning but even she had a bit of an ugly side, she really didn’t strike me as the type to fall for Christian Harlow’s charms (if that’s what I’m meant to call them) but she did, somehow. My favourite two characters were Orlando and Emma as they were the only relatively real characters throughout the entire book. I enjoyed learning more about those two and how they each dealt with the obstacles thrown in their way. Orlando had to deal with a pushy mother, whilst Emma had to deal with Belle. Both were struggles, as you could imagine! Even though he was rather vapid, I quite liked Mitch Masterson, agent of Belle and Darcy. Holden portrayed him very well and I really liked him. There were other characters in the book – Sam Wild, who owns Wild, the modelling agency, Orlando’s parents, Emma’s employers before Belle, the fiery chef, Marco, who doesn’t appear until right near the end of the book. Then there’s the even minor characters. They all add to the story and the book does eventually connect everyone together but there are so many of them that I wondered how I would keep up but I managed it with relative ease.

Coming it at under 700 pages, you’re in for a long slog of reading to really get anywhere in the book. For the first 500 pages, the book is all about the separate lives of all of these characters. There’s little action yet I still found myself reading away, eager to know which stupid thing would happen next. All of the major action begins when all of the characters leave, en masse, for Italy. You could say it was convenient they all, near enough, ended up in the same place but it all made perfect sense when we learnt why they were all there. As I mentioned above, Darcy and Belle barely lock horns, and I think the synopsis on the back of the book wildly exaggerated that fact, but nonetheless I found the book an enjoyable read. I will admit that it’s probably only a book you could read once and enjoy. I think if you try and read it again you’d probably end up a bit bored. Holden’s writing is good though her take on the celebrity lifestyle borders on satire. The book is like one huge parody of the lifestyle we all would like to live. It’s certainly not a beautiful life, that’s for sure, if this book is anything to go by!

Beautiful People is well worth reading, and I found it hugely enjoyable, and I know I’ll definitely be looking out for more books by Wendy Holden. Her take on the celebrity lifestyle is refreshing and it’s hugely exaggerated but it’s also hilarious and enjoyable. It’s as if she’s taken all of the recent celebrity headlines – ie. adopting a child from Africa – and has put them all together into one huge melting pot of a novel and let the chips fall where they may. Very clever and I truly recommend it.(less)

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Mar 12, 2011 Elvia rated it 4 of 5 stars

Thoroughly enjoyable and well written. I know I use the word entertaining A LOT, but hey, it's fitting and it is one of my top requirements in reading. But enough about me and more about Wendy Holden.

It reminded me of a Robert Altman movie and as such, you have to keep reading in order to get involved in the plot. At first it was rough because there was a matter of introducing the characters. After that, it was a smooth ride into good reading.

It is about a bunch of people, some beautiful in the...more

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Feb 18, 2013 Leslie rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Whew - finished - 695 pages - HATED several of the characters - liked three or four - so reading the stories from the dreadful, selfish ones was really tough slugging - but I made it. Predictable happy ending - very glad the way it turned out ... would have been upset had it not. All good characters lived 'happily' ever after. All nasty characters - not so much. I don't know anything about celebrities and the Hollywood scene - and if it is anything like this book portrays it and them ... I'm so...more

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Oct 22, 2010 Megan rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Wendy Holden is a brilliant writer, however I found this romp rather long in view of its essential lack of emotional substance. Yes, it is funny, witty, slick and she sends up both Hollywood and British values to hilarious effect, but, for me, it is too light for a novel of nearly 700 pages in length.
The plot follows the escapades of two prominent characters - Darcy and Belle - both actresses - one a reluctantly rising star, the other addicted to sex and stardom, but whose career is on the wane....more

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Aug 03, 2012 Tiffany rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I've been a Wendy Holden fan for years now having read several of her earlier works. Ms. Holden's latest book, Beautiful People, is delightful and I'd dare to say her best book to date! Beautiful People intricately weaves the lives of several characters in the U.K. and L.A. together through a series of unexpected events. Holden lays the foundation of each character's mindset, relationships, and circumstances early in the novel and builds on them as they all somehow ebb, flow, and swap places wit...more

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Jan 16, 2012 Hsiau Wei rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The book remind me so much of Jackie Collin's writing ;) Obsession over money, fame and size zero surpasses their own needs and those of the close ones. It was rather absurd to see the extent one can goes to as in the case of Bella who went ahead an adopt a little boy in the hope of maintaining a compassionate front and gaining back the popularity votes that she is losing. Random (?!) sleeping or sleeping around in the hope of getting notice by the media has become a norm in the story where one...more

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Sep 19, 2010 Shanda rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Holden has created a trifecta of very different but fun characters. We have Darcy, the serious British theater actress who has just been offered the chance of a lifetime; to play the lead in a Hollywood movie. Belle, an actress whose career has has some serious ups and downs the last year. She is shallow, blond, made of plastic parts and a bit slutty. Then there is Emma, the sweet and capable nanny that has somehow gotten into a situation that really sucks for her.

Kind of trashy, highly entertai...more

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Nov 28, 2009 Stephanie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I always find Wendy Holden's books good for few hours entertainment, and this is no exception. That said, I felt like I had already met the characters in previous books. The most obvious was Belle, who was clearly an American version of Champagne. Darcy and Emma seemed very similar to previous heroines in their outlook and behaviour, if not their back stories.

The peripheral characters endeared themselves to me more, like Orlando, the boy running away from attention and the paparazzo walking away...more

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Sep 13, 2009 IronyOnHighHeels rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A book where I was constantly asking myself why the heck I was reading it. I was more then once tempted to put it aside and let it dust away only the curiosity of how it will end for 2-3 of the characters kept me going. Though in the end it wasn't worth it anyway cause it was too predictable. And what really offended me several times was the language it was written in. My English isn't the best - but the writing was on such a low level that it was an insult even to my knowledge. If you have in y...more

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Nov 26, 2012 Tatiana Lammers rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

For the first 200 pages of this book I kept asking myself why in the world I kept reading it. I was more then once tempted to put it aside and forget about it, but my curiosity kept me going. And, oh goodness!, all of a sudden I started to enjoy it immensely! Once all the action moved to Italy I got completely enthralled with the description of all the places and the food. Add to the mix a Hollywood scandal, some very likable characters and some very nasty ones that I just wanted to see punished...more

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Oct 09, 2011 Lane rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: library

For more reviews check out my blog, Thoughts of a Fashionista!

This book starts out strong. It is filled with interesting characters--a reluctant male model, a self-centered golden boy of Hollywood, an actress whose sparkling career is behind her, and a English rose who is plucked from obscurity when offered a role in a major film. But the more time spent with these characters, the less interesting they become. The writing is snappy and at times clever and cheeky. The chapters are the perfect le...more

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Jun 18, 2012 Jenny rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This could have been an interesting book if there just weren't so many characters and too many points of view (especially when the reader would suddenly be jarred into someone else's point of view within the same sentence). I liked some of the characters though only a few with any consistency (namely Emma and Orlando because, unlike Darcy, they didn't suddenly turn from intelligent people to blithering idiots because of some big Hollywood star). Also, it seemed that very little happened in the b...more

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Jan 29, 2012 Emily rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: chick-lit, reviewed

I loved and hated this book at the same time for some reason. It follows a collection of characters. Focusing on three females Bella (think Britney Spears with her updownupdown career), Darcy (a stage actress who has to decide if she is going to answer hollywood's call) and Emma (a nanny who kind of keeps us all grounded with the simpler people). Then there is the cast of characters that keep these characters moving, interweaving all of their lives. The characters move to different parts of thei...more

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Apr 26, 2010 Alison rated it 3 of 5 stars

To Win a copy of Beautiful People, visit Alison's Book Marks:
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If you looking for Hollywood drama and characters you love to hate, you'll have a great time reading Beautiful People by Wendy Holden.

First things first. I know I shouldn't judge a book by the cover, but that doesn't mean I can't judge the cover, right? I am grateful that Sourcebooks sent me this book, but I don't think the cover would have attracted my attention in a book store. I actually like...more To Win a copy of Beautiful People, visit Alison's Book Marks:
http://www.alisonsbookmarks.com/2010/...

If you looking for Hollywood drama and characters you love to hate, you'll have a great time reading Beautiful People by Wendy Holden.

First things first. I know I shouldn't judge a book by the cover, but that doesn't mean I can't judge the cover, right? I am grateful that Sourcebooks sent me this book, but I don't think the cover would have attracted my attention in a book store. I actually like the original cover, the UK edition, better (below right). The pink and blue poke fun at the content, which I'm sure is on purpose, but unless you've read the book, you're not going to understand the irony. The US cover doesn't do Beautiful People justice. Now for the good stuff!

Beautiful People is the story of two actresses, each vastly opposite from the other, two equally opposite men, and two drastically different nannies -- all colliding in this light, fun story of movies sets, relationships, fad diets, and day care.

Darcy Prince is a London-born serious actress whose integrity and art form are properly secure. She comes from a family of serious actors, lives in a flat and gets by on her minimal theater wages. Niall, also known as Grahm MacDonald, is her insecure British actor-boyfriend, who criticizes her trip to Los Angeles to meet with a famous Hollywood director. Serious actors don't go to Hollywood, they suffer on the stages of London and New York!

Belle Murphy, on the other hand, is a plastic Hollywood actress, whose fortune was made by good DPs and plastic surgery. Her career is spiraling down the tubes, and her tabloid presence has her falling toward the gutter reminiscent of Lindsay Lohan or Brittany Spears. In other words, she is the kind of celebrity you love to hate, and you hate to look away from.

Surrounding these two characters is a cast of many, but few we actually like. Don't worry, it's clear upon first meeting which are the "good guys" and which are the "bad guys". Holden gives us Hollywood, London, and finally, Tuscany, where all the actors, and company, come together to film a big budget film called Galaxia (it's ok to giggle).

There's sex, drugs, scandals, and even an exercise thinstructor to the stars. We certainly do love to hate the cliché beautiful people, who are ugly on the inside, and love to love the so-called ugly people, who are beautiful on the inside. I guess the only exception to that rule is Orlando, who is a beautiful boy whom everyone wants a piece of - for a magazine, a photo shoot, a film, a romp - but all he wants is a humble life with a nice girl (cue the "Awww"). It is satisfying to finally read a book where the good people are rewarded and the ugly people are given their just deserts.

I only had one problem with the book. First chapter, first page, we meet Sam Sherman, head of the Wild Modeling Agency. Strangely, she is forgotten until Chapter 27, Page 191. I found it strange to spend so much time introducing a character in the beginning of a book who doesn't mean much to the development of the story as a whole and is a loose end at the end of the novel. I'll get over it, but Sam left me scratching my head.

This is the kind of book that one should be reading on a beach somewhere (not during the middle of a snow storm in New Jersey, as I had read it). It's a light read, full of ridiculous characters and impossible plots, and chuckle-worthy at times. Beautiful People is not your serious winter novel, I can assure you, but one you should throw in your beach bag.
(less)

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May 02, 2010 Elizabeth rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: women-s-fiction, humor, arc

I gobbled up Beautiful People, a fun story of the acting industry on both sides of the pond, Hollywood and the London stage. Darcy, a young British actress is the daughter of an acting family where the stage is the ultimate form of their craft and film is a lower form of the art. Belle is a young Hollywood actress desperate for a come-back after her recent meteoric rise and then sudden crash-and-burn. The lives of these two extremely different young actresses intersect in Southern Italy, along w...more

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Apr 17, 2010 Susan rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: general-fiction

Some people are more beautiful on the outside than on the inside. Holden's title covers both, from some beautiful--but totally amoral--Hollywood stars, to Darcy, an aspiring actress who is lovely but sincere, to Orlando, who has no idea what to do with his new physical attractiveness. It takes Holden 200 pages to bring all her characters--some of whom are cast in a new movie--to Tuscany, where the good are rewarded, the bad are punished, and all the right people pair up. A delightful bit of esca...more

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Aug 01, 2012 Andrea rated it 2 of 5 stars

I feel badly giving this book only two starts because it was better than that. It just wasn't what I was expecting. The back cover indicates that the plot of this book will center around three women. Not so much...it was actually quite more than that. Around 12 maybe? It was difficult to keep track of all the different story lines even when I knew they would all intersect eventually. It was an okay book--good for an airplane/airport book or the beach.

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Oct 04, 2011 Kate rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: chick-lit, contemporary

This is one of those stories where there are half a dozen or so individual story lines that end up tying together in the end.

Over 100 pages in and only one of the two characters mentioned in the blurb had been refered to and I was starting to feel like maybe this wasn't the book for me.

But I kept reading and I'm glad that I did. I liked the characters and I liked the conflicting descriptions of the characters from the point of view of other characters. (view spoiler)...more

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Jun 02, 2010 Marcella rated it 4 of 5 stars

Perfect fluff read for a long weekend. It was entertaining all the way to the end. The plot moves along quickly and keeps the reader engaged.

Basic jist of the story: A family, a nanny, a reluctant actress and some over-priviledged celebrities lives become entertwined in a small Italian village. It's all fun, lighthearted and wonderfully gossipy.

I expected the ending to be alittle more explosive but it was more laidback. Still a good read.

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Dec 02, 2012 Pamela rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Took a long time to get going, with the massive cast of characters who, of course, are all ultimately intertwined à la Love Actually/Traffic. But once it did it was fairly diverting. Mostly I am amused that all the Italians that the characters encounter in the Tuscan hills all speak fluent and perfect English and that the Florence airport is festooned in marble. This is all news to me.

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Oct 16, 2010 Shawna rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I could not believe an editor approved this version of the book- there were many typos and sentences that did not make sense (i.e. missing a word here or there). The storyline was okay- it was hard for me to get into the writing style, but I plugged along and the book in the end was fairly predictable.

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Feb 26, 2011 Diana rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Usually her books are a little different from the regular "chick lit". They can be snarky and really funny. This one took me forever to get through. It had too many characters and none of them were engaging or interesting.

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Feb 05, 2012 Emily Jones rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Good fluffy romantic comedy. Love love love Darcy and Marco as well as Orlando and Emma! This book is funny and real. It's a great beach read or for when you just want a romantic comedy, or a new story!

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May 16, 2011 Anna rated it 3 of 5 stars

The first few chapters of the book was interesting but like many others have said there are just too many things going on within this story. I eventually became very bored with certain sections of it.

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Nov 12, 2012 Daisy White rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I really wanted to like this because I'm a huge Wendy Holden fan, but I just couldn't keep up with all the different threads. I like to lose myself in my books and this really didn't happen.

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Mar 15, 2012 Christie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: humour-satire

Wendy Holden's done it again! Read this book in two and a half days. What a lively little romp! Definitely a light, fun and witty little read. Now excuse me whilst I go find a replica of Orlando.....

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About Wendy Holden

Wendy Holden grew up in Yorkshire, and studied English at Girton College, Cambridge. She worked in magazines for many years before joining Tatler's in 1997 as deputy editor, and later moved to the Mail on Sunday’s You magazine, which she left in 2000 to concentrate on writing. She regularly writes features for newspapers and magazines on a range of social, topical and lifestyle subjects and is als...more

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