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Alice in La La Land
A series of disasters in her home town causes Australian actress Alice Evans to flee to Hollywood where she finds life is not the glittery stuff of dreams. It's the Hollywood nightmare. She is forced to navigate her way round the city in a cheap Japanese rental car lurching from one audition to the next. She has no money in the bank, no friends, and her auditions aren't exactly setting the town on fire. She shares an apartment in the decidedly non-glamorous Miracle Mile district with an out of work swimsuit model and two bellicose cats who have a habit of invading her suitcase when she's not looking.Alice begins to suspect she's come to the worst place on earth to turn her luck around but she's hell bent on her mission to succeed. One day she has a chance meeting with an Irishman called Nick who encourages her to think carefully about holding onto long-held dreams when life could open up many new possibilities.
- GenresChick LitContemporary
Paperback
First published April 2, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
March 20, 2025
Terrible… just godawful story telling… unlikeable character, and her treatment of the cats within the book was appalling! Waste of time
May 10, 2013
This is probably more of a 2.5 stars than a full 3 stars. I quickly glanced at some other reviews. I certainly thought it was a lot better than other people did, but it wasn't spectacular.
The story follows Australian aspiring actress Alice Evans and her struggles to find a job, ANY acting job, in LA. She's having terribly rotten luck, getting mixed feedback from her auditions, all the while struggling with the fact that she thinks she is too old and overweight to land any acting gigs at all.
By the end of the story, I really didn't feel like I knew Alice that well at all. Apart from her aspirations to make it big as an actress, we never got to know too much else about her, except for a quick back story on how her parents invested in a theatre production that flopped and her boyfriend ditching her to pursue his career in Europe.
She meets Nick, an Irishmen who works in publishing. The two hit it off okay, but there was zero chemistry and Alice always was a little self-centred and too interested in herself to pay him all that much attention.
The pros:
- It was a pretty fast-paced read and strangely engrossing
- The writing wasn't half-bad
- You actually felt sorry for Alice those times where she was trying so very hard and losing out to 'younger' talent.
The cons:
- Alice was self-centred and a little snobby. She kept putting herself down but then building herself up by criticising other actresses auditioning for the same roles
- In the end, the overall feel of the book was quite bland, even though it was interesting to read.
- You never knew much else about Alice other than what made her move to LA and what she was doing in LA.
- The book lacked personality and a bit of jazz
Overall; a pretty quick read. I found nothing particularly offensive or bad about this book, it just lacked a bit of sparkle. Nick and Alice had no chemistry and she didn't exactly put him first anyhow. Could have been better with a little more character development and a bit more personality injected into Alice. She felt a bit like an empty shell.
The story follows Australian aspiring actress Alice Evans and her struggles to find a job, ANY acting job, in LA. She's having terribly rotten luck, getting mixed feedback from her auditions, all the while struggling with the fact that she thinks she is too old and overweight to land any acting gigs at all.
By the end of the story, I really didn't feel like I knew Alice that well at all. Apart from her aspirations to make it big as an actress, we never got to know too much else about her, except for a quick back story on how her parents invested in a theatre production that flopped and her boyfriend ditching her to pursue his career in Europe.
She meets Nick, an Irishmen who works in publishing. The two hit it off okay, but there was zero chemistry and Alice always was a little self-centred and too interested in herself to pay him all that much attention.
The pros:
- It was a pretty fast-paced read and strangely engrossing
- The writing wasn't half-bad
- You actually felt sorry for Alice those times where she was trying so very hard and losing out to 'younger' talent.
The cons:
- Alice was self-centred and a little snobby. She kept putting herself down but then building herself up by criticising other actresses auditioning for the same roles
- In the end, the overall feel of the book was quite bland, even though it was interesting to read.
- You never knew much else about Alice other than what made her move to LA and what she was doing in LA.
- The book lacked personality and a bit of jazz
Overall; a pretty quick read. I found nothing particularly offensive or bad about this book, it just lacked a bit of sparkle. Nick and Alice had no chemistry and she didn't exactly put him first anyhow. Could have been better with a little more character development and a bit more personality injected into Alice. She felt a bit like an empty shell.
June 8, 2008
I think this book is crap.
The book consists mainly of Alice's observation of her auditions and are written in a mocking and slightly condescending way. Although it's written from Alice's point of view, Alice still feels distant by the end of the book. She is also a very unsympathetic character (there are many times when I curse her for being idiotic).
There is a sense that the book was written only to mock the auditions and the movie/TV industry. The main characters are one-dimensional (perhaps this is the author's vengeance on the industry for not acknowledging her). The supporting characters are written in a detached and shallow fashion that you wonder if they were nothing more than plot devices.
Nick, the romantic interest, doesn't even seem to have any chemistry with Alice and their whole romance (if you can call it that) feels contrived. The ending feels rushed and quite unbelievable.
This book makes you wonder why publishers choose rubbish to be printed.
The book consists mainly of Alice's observation of her auditions and are written in a mocking and slightly condescending way. Although it's written from Alice's point of view, Alice still feels distant by the end of the book. She is also a very unsympathetic character (there are many times when I curse her for being idiotic).
There is a sense that the book was written only to mock the auditions and the movie/TV industry. The main characters are one-dimensional (perhaps this is the author's vengeance on the industry for not acknowledging her). The supporting characters are written in a detached and shallow fashion that you wonder if they were nothing more than plot devices.
Nick, the romantic interest, doesn't even seem to have any chemistry with Alice and their whole romance (if you can call it that) feels contrived. The ending feels rushed and quite unbelievable.
This book makes you wonder why publishers choose rubbish to be printed.
December 16, 2012
wasn't for me, couldn't bring myself to continue reading after the first 3 chapters.. was just like a typical chick flick film no entertainment value, but probably will appeal to others, well written though.
February 16, 2012
Not terrible but nothing extraordinary.. Typical chick lit with an anticlimatic ending
January 19, 2021
The cruelty to the cats in this story was intolerable.
February 9, 2017
Not really a huge fan of this one. It read as though the author was just trying to show their knowledge of LA, name dropping streets and restaurants with no real purpose. The storyline was uninteresting and unbelievable. Alice herself was unlikeable (what kind of person hates cats?!). The romance that never really happened was a let down (and what kind of people try to plan a future together when they haven't even kissed? Weird.)
Probably not a bad book if you are looking for a decent light holiday read, but other than that it's not really worth it.
Probably not a bad book if you are looking for a decent light holiday read, but other than that it's not really worth it.
September 9, 2017
Title: Alice in La La Land
Series: -
Author: Sophie Lee
Genre: Chick Lit
Rating: 2.5 stars
I didn't really know what to expect when I started reading this book, so I had very low expectations to begin with. Maybe that helped, because this book really wasn't all that exciting. It was very bland.
An Australian actress goes to L.A. to try to land an acting job in practically anything, but isn't having much luck. It carries on much the same way throughout the entire book, without twists or turns to make it more interesting for the reader.
But it did have some minor comic elements which helped carry the reader through the book ultimately.
Series: -
Author: Sophie Lee
Genre: Chick Lit
Rating: 2.5 stars
I didn't really know what to expect when I started reading this book, so I had very low expectations to begin with. Maybe that helped, because this book really wasn't all that exciting. It was very bland.
An Australian actress goes to L.A. to try to land an acting job in practically anything, but isn't having much luck. It carries on much the same way throughout the entire book, without twists or turns to make it more interesting for the reader.
But it did have some minor comic elements which helped carry the reader through the book ultimately.
May 25, 2013
I found this book very hard to get through due to it's rather repetitive format, lack of chemistry between the main characters and annoying use of Australian lingo. I originally chose to read this book to support an Australian writer and my interest in the journey behind pursuing a creative career, but I was disappointed by the main character Alice and her lack of personality. I felt I couldn't relate to her at all, and also didn't care how things would end for her. It was a struggle to finish the book and the ending was unexpected and not very believable.
September 2, 2012
Not the worst of books but definitely far from the best of books. Given Sophie Lee's UTS mentors, I definitely was expecting something much better. While Alice is a reasonably amiable character, I wasn't overly invested in her story and actually kept wishing she would just pack up and go back to Australia. In the end, this novel was a pleasant enough distraction for a two-hour flight.
July 21, 2022
This book has been in my too read pile for a while. It’s a pity Sophie Lee didn’t write more books as this wasn’t bad. The trials and tribulations of trying to make it as an actress in Hollywood and the people you meet. It’s not an original concept but it is an entertaining one with an Aussie perspective. I enjoyed this very much and would recommend it.
September 24, 2008
It's OK- kind of repetitive in the way that Alice goes to auditions, something happens and then she goes to eat at some L.A. cafe (which is probably well known). The ending was interesting and wasn't what I expected. Kind of depressing.
August 23, 2011
ugh, this was just the never ending casting call. Then with 10 pages to go there's some action! oh I'm really a BAD actress? maybe I should do something else? oh my STORY is amazing, you want to pay me 10 grand for it? ok!
February 11, 2015
Didn't really enjoy it all that much. Alice herself was a bland, vapid character who I didn't really feel anything for. The story felt incomplete, but not in a way that would make me want to read more.
April 6, 2012
I don't know why I bothered finishing it
February 24, 2012
Terrible :(
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews