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She Sins at Midnight
Lila Montgomery, thirty-two-year-old Hollywood assistant extraordinaire, has a secret. On the outside, she’s a hard-working dedicated employee, a good friend, and a loving daughter. But above all else, she’s been raised to be a lady, which of course is why she’s determined to conceal her secret life. If her straight-laced friends and family back home ever discover that she is really the smashing new author of a steamy romance novel, their disapproval would shame her forever! That’s why Lila has chosen to publish her sexy narrative under the nom de plume, Jasmine Sheath.
With her fifteenth high school class reunion on the horizon, Lila finds herself at a crossroads. More than anything she wants to go home and see her childhood friends but is embarrassed that she hasn’t accomplished the things she feels she should have by this time in her life; mainly marriage and children.
After another brutal run-in with Melinda Forrester, Oscar nominated actress and client of her boss, Josh Furber, Lila decides that fleeing Hollywood for a month is the best thing for her. Lila packs her bags for her childhood home of Bentley Hills, sure that her friends and family will be the touchstone of normalcy that she so desperately needs. What she doesn't expect is that Melinda will follow her and a tabloid media circus will ensue!
Not only does Lila discover that her home is nothing like she remembers, but she meets and falls in love with the very man that inspired the hero in her novel.
She Sins at Midnight is full of laugh out loud hi-jinks that will make you never look at Hollywood the same way again!
Author, Whitney Dineen, swears that this novel is based purely on fiction and that any characters bearing any resemblance to any celebrities you know are completely and totally fictitious; even though she spent eighteen years in La La Land, with a celebrity client base for her real job…
With her fifteenth high school class reunion on the horizon, Lila finds herself at a crossroads. More than anything she wants to go home and see her childhood friends but is embarrassed that she hasn’t accomplished the things she feels she should have by this time in her life; mainly marriage and children.
After another brutal run-in with Melinda Forrester, Oscar nominated actress and client of her boss, Josh Furber, Lila decides that fleeing Hollywood for a month is the best thing for her. Lila packs her bags for her childhood home of Bentley Hills, sure that her friends and family will be the touchstone of normalcy that she so desperately needs. What she doesn't expect is that Melinda will follow her and a tabloid media circus will ensue!
Not only does Lila discover that her home is nothing like she remembers, but she meets and falls in love with the very man that inspired the hero in her novel.
She Sins at Midnight is full of laugh out loud hi-jinks that will make you never look at Hollywood the same way again!
Author, Whitney Dineen, swears that this novel is based purely on fiction and that any characters bearing any resemblance to any celebrities you know are completely and totally fictitious; even though she spent eighteen years in La La Land, with a celebrity client base for her real job…
314 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 4, 2014
1044 people are currently reading
1693 people want to read
About the author
Whitney Dineen
66 books808 followersWhitney loves to laugh, play with her kids, bake, and eat french fries -- not always in that order.
She's a USA Today Bestselling & multi-award-winning author of romantic comedies, non-fiction humor, thrillers, and middle reader fiction. Basically, she writes whatever the voices in her head tell her to.
She lives in the beautiful Pacific Northwest with her husband, Jimmy, where they raise children, chickens, and organic vegetables.
Gold Medal winner at the International Readers' Favorite Awards 2017.
Silver medal winner at the International Readers' Favorite Awards, 2015, 2016, 2019.
Finalist RONE Awards, 2016.
Finalist at the IRFA 2016, 2017, 2019
Finalist at the Book Excellence Awards and Top Shelf Book Awards, 2017
She's a USA Today Bestselling & multi-award-winning author of romantic comedies, non-fiction humor, thrillers, and middle reader fiction. Basically, she writes whatever the voices in her head tell her to.
She lives in the beautiful Pacific Northwest with her husband, Jimmy, where they raise children, chickens, and organic vegetables.
Gold Medal winner at the International Readers' Favorite Awards 2017.
Silver medal winner at the International Readers' Favorite Awards, 2015, 2016, 2019.
Finalist RONE Awards, 2016.
Finalist at the IRFA 2016, 2017, 2019
Finalist at the Book Excellence Awards and Top Shelf Book Awards, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 273 reviews
December 27, 2016
That was actually very satisfying! I enjoyed that way more than I was expecting! And so funny too! Multiple times I found myself smiling or laughing :D
I loved how Lila's erotic novel tied the whole story together :D
Again I should have written a review for this a looooooong time ago.
I can tell you now that I enjoyed it more than I was expecting I would.
The main bad thing that I remember stuck out to me was the way the author would describe Lila's eating of grilled cheese sandwiches.
Grilled cheese is Lila's favorite food/comfort food. So she eats it multiple times throughout the story, but in an attempt to make it delicious, it seems, the author uses excessive description of grease dribbling down Lila's chin.
That is disgusting!
Where are her manners? I found that rather gross :/
But other than that, the story was light and humorous!
I loved how Lila's erotic novel tied the whole story together :D
Again I should have written a review for this a looooooong time ago.
I can tell you now that I enjoyed it more than I was expecting I would.
The main bad thing that I remember stuck out to me was the way the author would describe Lila's eating of grilled cheese sandwiches.
Grilled cheese is Lila's favorite food/comfort food. So she eats it multiple times throughout the story, but in an attempt to make it delicious, it seems, the author uses excessive description of grease dribbling down Lila's chin.
That is disgusting!
Where are her manners? I found that rather gross :/
But other than that, the story was light and humorous!
March 8, 2017
This was somewhere between I liked and it was ok. It started good. A fun story about Lila who secretly writes steamy romance novels. Throw in a class reunion, snooty movie star, and a secret crush, and it sounds like a lot of fun. Which it was but then it got dragged down a bit.
I could have done with less of the excerpts from the steamy novel, it felt like filler. And less of all the side couple get-togethers. Why not let some of them to have their own books?
The biggest thing for me though, was the revenge plot against the snooty movie star- which normally it's fun to see those characters get their comeuppance, but this got to where Melinda's villainy was a bit over the top. And the revenge against her was a bit too close to the line of mean-spirited enough to make the other characters a little less likable.
Other than those few things, the writing was good and the author had a nice balance of humor interspersed in the story which not everyone can pull off. I will probably check out other things by her in the future, to see how she's grown as an author.
I could have done with less of the excerpts from the steamy novel, it felt like filler. And less of all the side couple get-togethers. Why not let some of them to have their own books?
The biggest thing for me though, was the revenge plot against the snooty movie star- which normally it's fun to see those characters get their comeuppance, but this got to where Melinda's villainy was a bit over the top. And the revenge against her was a bit too close to the line of mean-spirited enough to make the other characters a little less likable.
Other than those few things, the writing was good and the author had a nice balance of humor interspersed in the story which not everyone can pull off. I will probably check out other things by her in the future, to see how she's grown as an author.
June 22, 2016
(Edited to add this part here: Also - probably just skip my review. I just looked at all 1 star, 2 star, and 3 star reviews. Not a single one of them mentioned two of my three negatives. So, obviously, I read a different book, or more likely, just read it 'wrongly'. Therefore I'm just going to spoiler all the rest since obviously I didn't read this 'correctly'.)
April 23, 2017
I found this book pretty horrifying from the first page. I'd say it's pretty common knowledge that young starlets generally get taken advantage of in Hollywood. Certainly I know of several actresses who have admitted to being victims of sexual assault early on in their careers, by men who were much more successful and powerful than they were. This author has decided that the young starlet in this book has it coming (she WANTS to sleep with all these gross, older men, because she's a SLUT obviously). She then exhausts this theme several times throughout the book.
There are two steamy scenes that made me feel very uncomfortable. I would go so far as to say that the male character rapes the female character in one of the scenes. The other scene featured sexual assault as the female character was accosted whilst sleeping.
I would not recommend this to anyone, that's how much I disagree with the authors depiction of all the female characters in this story.
There are two steamy scenes that made me feel very uncomfortable. I would go so far as to say that the male character rapes the female character in one of the scenes. The other scene featured sexual assault as the female character was accosted whilst sleeping.
I would not recommend this to anyone, that's how much I disagree with the authors depiction of all the female characters in this story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 2, 2021
I am seriously questioning my life choices. Why have I studied and worked hard to achieve what I have achieved if I could simply have found a rich man to marry me? Ethical choices in this novel are few and far between. Women jumping on men and kissing them, because they can't help themselves, overcome by lust. A married woman falling in love with a movie mogul whose reasoning is so faulty, you wonder whether he slept his way to the top. Another woman who has no problem with a guy - who she had a crush on way back in primary school - climbing through her bedroom window. All things I used to consider questionable choices, but apparently they are not. Then there are the countless bizarre situations the women find themselves in. It all reminds me too much of a 90s advert in which women were instructed to 'look like a girl, act like a lady, think like a man, be the boss'. Or something like that.
Oh, and don't get me started on the book-within-a-book trope. Unless that second book is really well-written and makes sense as an actual published book with an agent and a publishing house, winning prizes, it should not be there.
Which makes me question my choices in reading matter. I think I need to stick to UK based authors. They have, on average, I believe, less dangly bits and juicy orifices.
Oh, and don't get me started on the book-within-a-book trope. Unless that second book is really well-written and makes sense as an actual published book with an agent and a publishing house, winning prizes, it should not be there.
Which makes me question my choices in reading matter. I think I need to stick to UK based authors. They have, on average, I believe, less dangly bits and juicy orifices.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 23, 2016
***Spoilers******
Please beware of possible triggers in this novel due to sexual harassment/assault. It is not a comedy.
Misogynistic in tone, slut shaming abounds in this abysmal novel. The main goal for all of these woefully undeveloped female characters is to marry and have children. Disregarding often successful careers, they feel no self worth without a husband or children to validate them.
The plot is so ridiculously thin, I could sieve water through it. Highly improbable, overly romanticized 1950's values cast a gag-inducing pall over the entire work. This does not even touch on the highly offensive sexual assault endured by the villain, with no consequences whatsoever for the perpetrator. In fact he gets a 'happy ending' and the reader is left with the impression that victim deserved it.
All around the so called romances were highly unbelievable as none of the characters actually spent any significant time together. Yet within a three week period, often less, most declared undying love for their partners, and agreed to marry them. The protagonists treated the villain so terribly I felt sorry for her by the end of the novel.
Suffice it to say I will never read another novel of hers again.
Please beware of possible triggers in this novel due to sexual harassment/assault. It is not a comedy.
Misogynistic in tone, slut shaming abounds in this abysmal novel. The main goal for all of these woefully undeveloped female characters is to marry and have children. Disregarding often successful careers, they feel no self worth without a husband or children to validate them.
The plot is so ridiculously thin, I could sieve water through it. Highly improbable, overly romanticized 1950's values cast a gag-inducing pall over the entire work. This does not even touch on the highly offensive sexual assault endured by the villain, with no consequences whatsoever for the perpetrator. In fact he gets a 'happy ending' and the reader is left with the impression that victim deserved it.
All around the so called romances were highly unbelievable as none of the characters actually spent any significant time together. Yet within a three week period, often less, most declared undying love for their partners, and agreed to marry them. The protagonists treated the villain so terribly I felt sorry for her by the end of the novel.
Suffice it to say I will never read another novel of hers again.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 17, 2022
I was really bothered by the Melinda character. I have a problem in the year 2015 with a woman being repeatedly called a slut and a whore by nearly every character in the book. She's a rude spoiled actress, we get it, but I thought that Lila and the other women in the book were incredibly nasty to her as well. She was just one-dimensional. My theory is the writer based her on a real actress that she had to work with during her Hollywood days that she obviously hated. Melinda is slut shamed and essentially raped in the book and we're supposed to laugh and think it's okay because she's a "whore?" What year is this? I have this writer's next book in my queue ready to go but I'm returning it.
September 24, 2018
She sins all the time
This writer is hilarious her sense of humor dry & sarcastic, very witty. The story is well written and it's about a romance writer who uses a pen name , and works a full time as an assistant to a talent agent in Hollywood. When it all turns tits up, let the games begin. Whitney is fast becoming my favourite romance comedy author. Highly recommended it will make you 😃 ajm
This writer is hilarious her sense of humor dry & sarcastic, very witty. The story is well written and it's about a romance writer who uses a pen name , and works a full time as an assistant to a talent agent in Hollywood. When it all turns tits up, let the games begin. Whitney is fast becoming my favourite romance comedy author. Highly recommended it will make you 😃 ajm
July 18, 2014
**** Review for Chick Lit Central http://www.chicklitcentral.com/****
Lila Montgomery is living a double life. By day she’s a kick-ass assistant in Hollywood. On her off hours she’s Jasmine Sheath, romance novelist. Who can blame her? She wants to settle down, find the perfect man and bear his children. Raising a family is the dream of a lifetime. Her options in the husband department are slim to none, however, so those who can’t live the life they want can write about it. Right? It doesn't matter anyway. No one knows that she writes sensual novels for women. It’s her deep, dark secret, and she fully intends to keep it that way.
Her breakthrough novel is a huge success, though. So much so, that’s she’s up for a prestigious award. It’s still not the image she wants to present to the outside world. Her fifteen year high school class reunion is coming up, and while she really wants to go, the last thing she needs is to showcase her dark secret, fearing the implications of her goody two shoes image turned dirty.
The day job is getting to Lila. Melinda Forrester, famous actress and sexual play thing to the stars seems to have a major malfunction where Lila is concerned, and this propels our heroine to Bentley Hills, her old stompin’ grounds and the impending high school reunion. Who knew that catching up with old friends would mean running into the guy she crushed on for years, the prototype for the dashing, handsome hero in her novel? Or that a few negative comments said about Melinda would backfire in such a way that it might threaten Lila’s career and let the cat (or in this case, novel) out of the bag?
I thoroughly enjoyed She Sins at Midnight. Whitney Dineen made sure to include plenty of laughs in this book, along with romantic encounters written in pure romance-novel fashion. I can’t forget the cat fight scenes between Lila and Melinda, either. I think Dineen needs to write a follow up; a "Where Are They Now?" novel. Maybe for the twenty year reunion?
Lila Montgomery is living a double life. By day she’s a kick-ass assistant in Hollywood. On her off hours she’s Jasmine Sheath, romance novelist. Who can blame her? She wants to settle down, find the perfect man and bear his children. Raising a family is the dream of a lifetime. Her options in the husband department are slim to none, however, so those who can’t live the life they want can write about it. Right? It doesn't matter anyway. No one knows that she writes sensual novels for women. It’s her deep, dark secret, and she fully intends to keep it that way.
Her breakthrough novel is a huge success, though. So much so, that’s she’s up for a prestigious award. It’s still not the image she wants to present to the outside world. Her fifteen year high school class reunion is coming up, and while she really wants to go, the last thing she needs is to showcase her dark secret, fearing the implications of her goody two shoes image turned dirty.
The day job is getting to Lila. Melinda Forrester, famous actress and sexual play thing to the stars seems to have a major malfunction where Lila is concerned, and this propels our heroine to Bentley Hills, her old stompin’ grounds and the impending high school reunion. Who knew that catching up with old friends would mean running into the guy she crushed on for years, the prototype for the dashing, handsome hero in her novel? Or that a few negative comments said about Melinda would backfire in such a way that it might threaten Lila’s career and let the cat (or in this case, novel) out of the bag?
I thoroughly enjoyed She Sins at Midnight. Whitney Dineen made sure to include plenty of laughs in this book, along with romantic encounters written in pure romance-novel fashion. I can’t forget the cat fight scenes between Lila and Melinda, either. I think Dineen needs to write a follow up; a "Where Are They Now?" novel. Maybe for the twenty year reunion?
August 29, 2016
This was a really fun book! Lila gets herself into all kinds of predicaments that had me laughing out loud. It was also surprisingly clean. Okay, I'd give it a PG-13 rating because Melinda has no qualms about walking around naked. And, Lila writes erotica, but we never see that. There is a fade to black scene, but nothing that I'd be embarrassed for my teen daughters to see.
I kept laughing at how Lila was embarrassed for everyone to know she wrote a book, and yet everyone is reading it. It's also funny how even Melinda reads it and thinks the Countess is the heroine of the story.
Seriously, this was just a fun read. I give this a 4.5.
1-5 scale and what it means:
1: I couldn’t even finish it / just plain bad
2: I hope I didn’t pay for this / disappointing
3: I didn’t hate it, but it was still missing something / forgettable but inoffensive
3.5: On the line between good and ok / like, not love
4: Solid mind candy / worth reading
4.5: So very close to perfection! / must read
5: I could not put it down and I’m still thinking about it! / a true treasure
I kept laughing at how Lila was embarrassed for everyone to know she wrote a book, and yet everyone is reading it. It's also funny how even Melinda reads it and thinks the Countess is the heroine of the story.
Seriously, this was just a fun read. I give this a 4.5.
1-5 scale and what it means:
1: I couldn’t even finish it / just plain bad
2: I hope I didn’t pay for this / disappointing
3: I didn’t hate it, but it was still missing something / forgettable but inoffensive
3.5: On the line between good and ok / like, not love
4: Solid mind candy / worth reading
4.5: So very close to perfection! / must read
5: I could not put it down and I’m still thinking about it! / a true treasure
June 3, 2015
It's not funny
I chose this book because it was designated as a comedy. It wasn't that.
This is a romance within a romance with all telling earmarks of the genre: stilted dialog; preachy, one dimensional characters; and an actual designation of which characters are good and bad instead of letting the reader come to their own conclusions. The romance within the romance is worse--look at the character names. If this was supposed to be satire it failed. And could someone tell me what the difference is between the good girl and the slut? Both had the same amoral proclivities--one was just more successful at accomplishing their sexual goals. Count the contacts between the hero and heroine before they ended up in bed together. Pot...kettle.
The Cynthia character's romance was obviously an afterthought.
The introduction of the romance inside the romance was clever--using the characters in the main story and their reactions.
I chose this book because it was designated as a comedy. It wasn't that.
This is a romance within a romance with all telling earmarks of the genre: stilted dialog; preachy, one dimensional characters; and an actual designation of which characters are good and bad instead of letting the reader come to their own conclusions. The romance within the romance is worse--look at the character names. If this was supposed to be satire it failed. And could someone tell me what the difference is between the good girl and the slut? Both had the same amoral proclivities--one was just more successful at accomplishing their sexual goals. Count the contacts between the hero and heroine before they ended up in bed together. Pot...kettle.
The Cynthia character's romance was obviously an afterthought.
The introduction of the romance inside the romance was clever--using the characters in the main story and their reactions.
January 12, 2015
This book was so entertaining. I laughed so hard throughout this book. I enjoyed the look into the scandalous life of Hollywood..I love that Lila, she was smart, sassy, fun, loving, and I feel in love with her from the get go. I love that she was hiding this fun sexy secret.
I loved this funny and LOL second chance romance. I loved every character, even the not so good ones... I enjoyed watching this group reunite. Absolutely so funny. I really enjoyed the bits and pieces of the second "story".. You will know what I mean when you read it.
This was such a great story, such a funny read. Completely enjoyed this book. I am still thinking cow udders...lol..... hahaha..
Great writing. Loved this book!
I loved this funny and LOL second chance romance. I loved every character, even the not so good ones... I enjoyed watching this group reunite. Absolutely so funny. I really enjoyed the bits and pieces of the second "story".. You will know what I mean when you read it.
This was such a great story, such a funny read. Completely enjoyed this book. I am still thinking cow udders...lol..... hahaha..
Great writing. Loved this book!
May 14, 2015
This book had so much potential, but the delivery was just not there.
July 29, 2015
Hilarious, fun, sexy... enjoyed every minute of it. I was laughing so hard at one point I had to stop to catch my breath.
July 10, 2022
I just couldn't take this one any more and DNF'ed it around 50% in and it was a battle to get that far. I kept reading hoping that it would get better and I just DNF'ed the book right before this one so I wanted to make sure I didn't throw in the towel too hastily. If anything, I should have cut my losses sooner.
It started off well - we have our heroine Lila who works for a sleazy LA agent who sexually harasses women in the workplace and also has his own casting couch. Lila is appropriately contemptuous of this man. But then we meet the "villain" and that's where the problems started for me. Melinda is an actress who has built her career partially on doing sexual favors for powerful men in the industry but also she seems to sometimes enjoy a sexual conquest or two.
The degree to which this woman is villainized and criticized by just about every other character in this book based on her sexual activity was frankly misogynistic and disgusting. Other characters routinely used terms like slut, whore, hussy, jezebel, etc etc as slurs against her. In other words, the slut-shaming was incessant and came from all corners. She is of course also a bleached blonde with "fake boobs" and at one point, she is even negatively portrayed because nothing "jiggles" while she was running naked and this was deemed to be gross and unnatural.
Now, one could argue that Melinda was also not a nice person, but I actually felt sorry for her because so many people in this book were completely shitty to her based on her sexual activity. Not much word count or effort was spent criticizing the men who traded her sexual favors for advancing her career.
Nope, all hate was reserved for Melinda. And we're supposed to feel like Lila is the good guy for calling her the Queen of Oral Pleasure and for lying to her replacement and telling her that Melinda demanded to be called Your Highness. And don't forget Lila's work buddy Cynthia who spread rumors that Melinda was sleeping with the janitor (because what could be more debasing than sleeping with a {gasp!!} *janitor*??)
Aside from that, it seemed like the other main female characters spent most of the 50% of the book I read complaining about their lives - the single one was unfulfilled and unhappy because she was 30 (or whatever) and had no husband or kids. The married with kids one was unhappy because her kids were too much work and she had no life. The married with no kids one was unhappy because her husband was a piece of crap serial adulterer.
I did not stick around obviously for the other half of the story but this became rather repetitive.
Now let's talk about Lila's mother. Super cringe! For some reason that I now forget, her therapist advised her to embrace vulgarity as some sort of personal growth exercise which means that she routinely swears like a sailor at any given opportunity. Look, there's nothing wrong with that per se but when it's some sort of weird gimmick, it's just dumb. Her character reminds me of the trend of including some sort of quota "sassy old lady" in so many books - the old ladies who swear a blue streak, talk about their vibrators at the dinner table, throw out sexual references in mixed company etc. I don't find these sorts of characters funny - they are just awkward, like someone is trying too hard to be funny or edgy and failing at both.
Here's a nice quote from Lila's mother, which sums up the cringe and slut-shaming all in one go:
As for Creighton, I had a really hard time getting past his name since in my mind, I kept hearing Cretin. Lila apparently had a massive crush on him when she was a kid despite their 8 year age difference but then doesn't have any contact for more than 10 years (not even 2nd hand - doesn't even ask her parents about him despite the fact that they were good friends of his mom) until she goes home to Bentley after the Melinda issue blows up. I found this to be very unrealistic - he never even came up in casual conversation with her parents who continued to hang out with his mom this whole time? Lila never asked about the guy she had a huge crush on for years?
She runs into him at the airport but doesn't recognize him at all and completely ignores his attempts to start a conversation with her - this despite the fact that she had such a huge crush on him that she modeled her romance novel's MMC after him. She won't give him the time of day but once they board the plane, she's all judgey that a beautiful woman is seated next to him...and *still* doesn't recognize him? At all? I call BS.
She exchanges about 5 minutes' worth of conversation with him once they meet again in the country club in Bentley. At this point, she finally is told who he is. The next day, he comes to her house and she answers the door in some tiny little robe that magically unfastens itself, leading to a make-out session that he stops since he's representing the woman who is suing Lila (talk about a conflict of interest!) and based on that, she has this wtf thought:
Yes, this is just the situation that leads to someone thinking "hey there could be a real future here, let me move halfway back across the country to find out..." /s
The novel-within-a-novel thing with snippets of Lila's romance novel didn't work for me - I started skimming over them (and also wondered how this could lead to a RITA award nomination). Speaking of which, she acts like the awards ceremony is going to be live-streamed on network television and will automatically out her as the person behind the pseudonymous author.
And last but not least, Lila's friend Jilly allowing her infant daughter Betina to be nicknamed
Titty was just too much. That poor kid.
Just gah - pretty much nothing here worked for me. I could have gotten over some of the other issues if not for the OTT amount of slut shaming in this book. But after reading some other reviews about how Mean Girls Lila and her friends turned into against Melinda, I'm overall glad I didn't spend any more time on it.
It started off well - we have our heroine Lila who works for a sleazy LA agent who sexually harasses women in the workplace and also has his own casting couch. Lila is appropriately contemptuous of this man. But then we meet the "villain" and that's where the problems started for me. Melinda is an actress who has built her career partially on doing sexual favors for powerful men in the industry but also she seems to sometimes enjoy a sexual conquest or two.
The degree to which this woman is villainized and criticized by just about every other character in this book based on her sexual activity was frankly misogynistic and disgusting. Other characters routinely used terms like slut, whore, hussy, jezebel, etc etc as slurs against her. In other words, the slut-shaming was incessant and came from all corners. She is of course also a bleached blonde with "fake boobs" and at one point, she is even negatively portrayed because nothing "jiggles" while she was running naked and this was deemed to be gross and unnatural.
Now, one could argue that Melinda was also not a nice person, but I actually felt sorry for her because so many people in this book were completely shitty to her based on her sexual activity. Not much word count or effort was spent criticizing the men who traded her sexual favors for advancing her career.
Nope, all hate was reserved for Melinda. And we're supposed to feel like Lila is the good guy for calling her the Queen of Oral Pleasure and for lying to her replacement and telling her that Melinda demanded to be called Your Highness. And don't forget Lila's work buddy Cynthia who spread rumors that Melinda was sleeping with the janitor (because what could be more debasing than sleeping with a {gasp!!} *janitor*??)
Aside from that, it seemed like the other main female characters spent most of the 50% of the book I read complaining about their lives - the single one was unfulfilled and unhappy because she was 30 (or whatever) and had no husband or kids. The married with kids one was unhappy because her kids were too much work and she had no life. The married with no kids one was unhappy because her husband was a piece of crap serial adulterer.
I did not stick around obviously for the other half of the story but this became rather repetitive.
Now let's talk about Lila's mother. Super cringe! For some reason that I now forget, her therapist advised her to embrace vulgarity as some sort of personal growth exercise which means that she routinely swears like a sailor at any given opportunity. Look, there's nothing wrong with that per se but when it's some sort of weird gimmick, it's just dumb. Her character reminds me of the trend of including some sort of quota "sassy old lady" in so many books - the old ladies who swear a blue streak, talk about their vibrators at the dinner table, throw out sexual references in mixed company etc. I don't find these sorts of characters funny - they are just awkward, like someone is trying too hard to be funny or edgy and failing at both.
Here's a nice quote from Lila's mother, which sums up the cringe and slut-shaming all in one go:
“Don’t you worry about Melinda Forrester. She’s nothing but a pathetic slut, a veritable whore, if you will.” For good measure she added, “And I’m sure she’s a bitch as well.”
As for Creighton, I had a really hard time getting past his name since in my mind, I kept hearing Cretin. Lila apparently had a massive crush on him when she was a kid despite their 8 year age difference but then doesn't have any contact for more than 10 years (not even 2nd hand - doesn't even ask her parents about him despite the fact that they were good friends of his mom) until she goes home to Bentley after the Melinda issue blows up. I found this to be very unrealistic - he never even came up in casual conversation with her parents who continued to hang out with his mom this whole time? Lila never asked about the guy she had a huge crush on for years?
She runs into him at the airport but doesn't recognize him at all and completely ignores his attempts to start a conversation with her - this despite the fact that she had such a huge crush on him that she modeled her romance novel's MMC after him. She won't give him the time of day but once they board the plane, she's all judgey that a beautiful woman is seated next to him...and *still* doesn't recognize him? At all? I call BS.
She exchanges about 5 minutes' worth of conversation with him once they meet again in the country club in Bentley. At this point, she finally is told who he is. The next day, he comes to her house and she answers the door in some tiny little robe that magically unfastens itself, leading to a make-out session that he stops since he's representing the woman who is suing Lila (talk about a conflict of interest!) and based on that, she has this wtf thought:
After spending time with Creigh that morning, Lila realized she did want to go back to California. If that’s where he lived, then that’s where she wanted to be, at least until she discovered whether or not they had a future together.
Yes, this is just the situation that leads to someone thinking "hey there could be a real future here, let me move halfway back across the country to find out..." /s
The novel-within-a-novel thing with snippets of Lila's romance novel didn't work for me - I started skimming over them (and also wondered how this could lead to a RITA award nomination). Speaking of which, she acts like the awards ceremony is going to be live-streamed on network television and will automatically out her as the person behind the pseudonymous author.
And last but not least, Lila's friend Jilly allowing her infant daughter Betina to be nicknamed
Titty was just too much. That poor kid.
Just gah - pretty much nothing here worked for me. I could have gotten over some of the other issues if not for the OTT amount of slut shaming in this book. But after reading some other reviews about how Mean Girls Lila and her friends turned into against Melinda, I'm overall glad I didn't spend any more time on it.
August 5, 2018
The last few chapters really poured on the cheese factor. This book was definitely not funny. The plot was meh. The number of spelling and grammatical errors is ridiculous for an ebook that easily could have been fixed. It felt like there was no editor because of the number of errors. The writing was all over the place. The /only/ reason I finished it was to fulfill a reading challenge category. This was bad. And that's not even mentioning the sudden and completely inappropriate sex scene.
Read
November 7, 2017I am shamelessly binge reading romances and chick lit so I can make my Goodreads Yearly Reading Challenge Goal that I set not realizing I would end up going back to work full time and not get to read as much. 🤦🏻♀️
April 13, 2018
LOL funny
I truly enjoyed reading this novel! It was very good! Looking forward to reading the others! Great story Whitney! I enjoyed all of the humor!
I truly enjoyed reading this novel! It was very good! Looking forward to reading the others! Great story Whitney! I enjoyed all of the humor!
Read
April 7, 2018Smashing
Five starts. Could not, would not put this down! Yes fictional but you could imagine this is the way of things in hollywood etc. Cannot wait to read more from this author and hopefully meet these characters again
Five starts. Could not, would not put this down! Yes fictional but you could imagine this is the way of things in hollywood etc. Cannot wait to read more from this author and hopefully meet these characters again
September 19, 2018
A must read
I chose this rating just because I think everyone needs room to keep challenging themselves, I mean if we are perfect all the time, whats the point?
Absolutely hilarious! You cant help but feel sorry Melinda though. Perhaps write a romance book about new beginning for her "Her Sins are redeemed"? 😃 😉 ... only a suggestion, lol
I chose this rating just because I think everyone needs room to keep challenging themselves, I mean if we are perfect all the time, whats the point?
Absolutely hilarious! You cant help but feel sorry Melinda though. Perhaps write a romance book about new beginning for her "Her Sins are redeemed"? 😃 😉 ... only a suggestion, lol
October 3, 2014
Ms. Dineen's first novel, She Sins at Midnight, is a fresh and entertaining novel and a fabulous start to her career.
Lila Montgomery is a curvy size ten PA for one of Hollywood's more successful agents, Josh Furber. Originally leaving Illinois to pursue a career in acting herself, it becomes clear to Lila that both her brain and her body are too big for Tinsel Town.
Lila has covered for her boss time and again, saving his marriage and his career. When his client, Oscar nominated actress Melinda Forrester and Lila clash, (a particularly hilarious, snort and laugh-out-loud scene) it is decided that Lila should use her vacation time while the dust settles.
Heading home to Bentley Hills, Lila looks forward to relaxing in the small, quaint town where she was raised. Unexpectedly chaos and bedlam follow Lila, shaking the town and its residents upside down.
A fresh plot line is a novel within the novel. Ms. Dineen successfully writes a contemporary romance, while adding passages of a Regency romance. It's all part of a brilliantly crafted master plan that includes a high school reunion, finding true love, and embracing oneself.
Delightfully there are several surprises a long the way. This is a definite must read! Congrats Ms. Dineen.
Lila Montgomery is a curvy size ten PA for one of Hollywood's more successful agents, Josh Furber. Originally leaving Illinois to pursue a career in acting herself, it becomes clear to Lila that both her brain and her body are too big for Tinsel Town.
Lila has covered for her boss time and again, saving his marriage and his career. When his client, Oscar nominated actress Melinda Forrester and Lila clash, (a particularly hilarious, snort and laugh-out-loud scene) it is decided that Lila should use her vacation time while the dust settles.
Heading home to Bentley Hills, Lila looks forward to relaxing in the small, quaint town where she was raised. Unexpectedly chaos and bedlam follow Lila, shaking the town and its residents upside down.
A fresh plot line is a novel within the novel. Ms. Dineen successfully writes a contemporary romance, while adding passages of a Regency romance. It's all part of a brilliantly crafted master plan that includes a high school reunion, finding true love, and embracing oneself.
Delightfully there are several surprises a long the way. This is a definite must read! Congrats Ms. Dineen.
May 17, 2015
'She Sins at Midnight' had me glued to the pages laughing out loud and shaking my head. Once I started reading, I couldn't put it down. I loved the storyline. The way it was written was awesome. Some scenes were so hilarious that they seemed unbelievably true. The hot and steamy scenes were just that, hot and steamy. The characters were a great cast of personalities. I loved Lila. To me, she was as real as they get. She's not the stereotypical Hollywood size zero, ass-kissing woman. She has a great outlook and a sense of humor that never quit. And then there is her secret side, the erotic author. What a brilliant twist to Lila's life of being raised a 'lady'. Cynthia and her take-no-crap attitude was great. I absolutely adored her. Jilly was another friend of Lila's that truly valued friendship. Bitsy was another character that had me clutching my side with laughter. Being Lila's mother and a real lady, she cracked me up with her newfound type of therapy. Hilarious. Creigh is almost as perfect as a male lead could get. Sexy and smart are a great combo and he rocked them both. This book is well written and a must add to your tbr list. Whitney Dineen did an awesome job on writing a five star book. Definitely an author I'll read more of. Highly recommended.
January 29, 2016
There was certainly a lot going on in this book and it made for entertaining reading. There were a few aspects of the book that I thought were probably meant to be funny (the mother with voluntary Tourette Syndrome and the baby nicknamed Titty both spring to mind as examples), but they weren't the sort of thing that makes me, personally, laugh out loud. I may have smiled a couple of times, but that was all. However, humour is subjective, so I'll shrug my shoulders and move on.
I liked Lila's journey as a 'secret romance novelist,' and it was quite clever that the snippets from her novel were interspersed throughout the book as the various characters were reading it. I found it both amusing and believable that Melinda related to Isabella. I also liked that the book was told through various points of view.
I had a couple of issues with the extent to which Melinda was called a 'slut.' Yes, I know that she was the baddie, and that she'd slept her way to the top (or not quite the top), but that point was hammered home over and over again. For the entertainment news to be outright calling her a 'slut' seemed a little far fetched to me as well. Of course they are going to insinuate it, but would they actually use the word? I don't know, but I doubt it.
I liked Lila's journey as a 'secret romance novelist,' and it was quite clever that the snippets from her novel were interspersed throughout the book as the various characters were reading it. I found it both amusing and believable that Melinda related to Isabella. I also liked that the book was told through various points of view.
I had a couple of issues with the extent to which Melinda was called a 'slut.' Yes, I know that she was the baddie, and that she'd slept her way to the top (or not quite the top), but that point was hammered home over and over again. For the entertainment news to be outright calling her a 'slut' seemed a little far fetched to me as well. Of course they are going to insinuate it, but would they actually use the word? I don't know, but I doubt it.
February 16, 2022
This was painful to get through. I originally gave it two stars, as the set up was engaging and I was pulled in enough that I had to see how it ended, but as soon as I hit post I had to come back and correct the rating. The story line itself was fine, if a little predictable, but the characters... the characters were just awful. By the end of the book, I was wondering if it was supposed to be a parody and I just missed the clues. There's absolutely no character development, and quite frankly the entire cast are wild caricatures at best. There's rampant slut shaming and serious consent issues (one example of several: one of the men we're supposed to root for - I think - tells his admittedly horrible girlfriend that "I'm sorry you think I have to ask your permission, Melinda. After all, you are mine. Bought and paid for" before the fade-to-black covers up that she's essentially raped). Every confrontation is a huge screaming match, at minimum, and often devolves into a cat fight.
If you're on the fence about reading this, skip it and find something else.
If you're on the fence about reading this, skip it and find something else.
April 17, 2016
This was gym reading for me, aka free or cheap on the Kindle. I enjoyed this one well enough, but quite a few things bothered me. First off, I totally skipped all but the first instance of the erotica inserts. I do real regency romance, but none of it is THAT smutty. Not that I'm against it, it's just not what I think of when I think historical romance. Also, it wasn't what I was in the mood for when I'm reading a current romance-type book. Also, I just didn't care about the fictional romance story and the writing in it was horrid. Was it supposed to be parody? Okay, then maybe, but there was ENTIRELY too much of it stuck in there. I just didn't care, so I skipped all of it.
Also, without spoiling, I'll just say that everything was tied up ENTIRELY too neatly in the end. ENTIRELY, especially since this book takes place over the course of only 3 weeks.
Then, there's the rape. Seriously?
Also, without spoiling, I'll just say that everything was tied up ENTIRELY too neatly in the end. ENTIRELY, especially since this book takes place over the course of only 3 weeks.
Then, there's the rape. Seriously?
June 30, 2015
This book was adorable!
She Sins at Midnight was recommended to my by a friend. She told me it was the perfect mix of romantic comedy and chic lit. To be fair this friend doesn't always get my tastes right so it sat on my kindle for a bit before I got around to reading it.
Let me tell you, I giggled the entire way through the book. As the characters are going through their not so typical daily life they are reading a romance called "She Sins at Midnight" written by the books main character. At 4am and the urging of my darling husband I put the kindle down so I would stop giggling and let him get some sleep.
Here's the skinny you need to know. 1 curvy Hollywood assistant by day romance writer by night, 1 super rich hunk from her past, 1 bed hopping movie star, a cast of supporting characters that are like any girl's circle of besties.
She Sins at Midnight was recommended to my by a friend. She told me it was the perfect mix of romantic comedy and chic lit. To be fair this friend doesn't always get my tastes right so it sat on my kindle for a bit before I got around to reading it.
Let me tell you, I giggled the entire way through the book. As the characters are going through their not so typical daily life they are reading a romance called "She Sins at Midnight" written by the books main character. At 4am and the urging of my darling husband I put the kindle down so I would stop giggling and let him get some sleep.
Here's the skinny you need to know. 1 curvy Hollywood assistant by day romance writer by night, 1 super rich hunk from her past, 1 bed hopping movie star, a cast of supporting characters that are like any girl's circle of besties.
January 24, 2017
I enjoyed most of this book, but there were obvious editing errors and places where I wondered if the author had actually re-read her work.
The idea was interesting and some of the characters delightful, but I did get annoyed with the 'immature adolescent' levels of humour - the baby nicknamed 'Titty' was one of the more annoying ones.
There was, however, one moment that made me smile:
Recommended for anyone who likes cheap laughs and overblown characters.
The idea was interesting and some of the characters delightful, but I did get annoyed with the 'immature adolescent' levels of humour - the baby nicknamed 'Titty' was one of the more annoying ones.
There was, however, one moment that made me smile:
Recommended for anyone who likes cheap laughs and overblown characters.
June 5, 2015
This book. Seriously, LOVED it.
This was a laugh-out-loud, snort-laugh and almost-pee-my-pants laugh type of book.
Oh to be able to speak my mind freely like our main character, Lila! "Queen of Oral pleasure..." was seriously my favorite line in the book.
I loved Lila and Creighton, plus Jilly, Lila's BFF. Melinda was a MAJOR bi-ach and she just kept getting worse and worse.
Lila's parents were a bit wild and thank goodness my parents (especially mom) don't act that way as I would be mortified but it sure added more fun to the story!
Loved how the story played out and I wish I could have been Lila's friend.
The book kept my interest and I didn't want to put it down.
Perfect example of the type of book I love - highly recommend.
This was a laugh-out-loud, snort-laugh and almost-pee-my-pants laugh type of book.
Oh to be able to speak my mind freely like our main character, Lila! "Queen of Oral pleasure..." was seriously my favorite line in the book.
I loved Lila and Creighton, plus Jilly, Lila's BFF. Melinda was a MAJOR bi-ach and she just kept getting worse and worse.
Lila's parents were a bit wild and thank goodness my parents (especially mom) don't act that way as I would be mortified but it sure added more fun to the story!
Loved how the story played out and I wish I could have been Lila's friend.
The book kept my interest and I didn't want to put it down.
Perfect example of the type of book I love - highly recommend.
December 28, 2022
Hilarious! I could not stop reading! She sins at Midnight was a fun read, full of laughter, great characters, and witty forshadowing. i really enjoyed the parallels between the fiction that Lila wrote compared to her own life. Lila's growth was fun to watch, going from thinking she was a failure to realizing that everyone thinks they want something more, and becoming happy with her life.
The only problem I had was how quick they all admitted their love. It made it a little too convenient, but hey, it's chit lit! still a great read!
The only problem I had was how quick they all admitted their love. It made it a little too convenient, but hey, it's chit lit! still a great read!
December 16, 2014
I love strong characters, and this book is full of them! And it's funny! I especially enjoyed the multiple romance plotlines. The tangled web of love interests is as good as a soap opera, but without the overacting and ridiculous plot lines. This story is believable and offers a fun peak into Hollywood life, as well as big city suburb society life. And I have to say that the mother's language cracked me up - I was dying. looking forward to reading more from this author.
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