Mark Taylor's Checkered Past

by Angelina Assanti

Mark Taylor is a huge success. He's a rising star in Hollywood and has just landed the lead role in his first feature film. However, life in Miami hasn't turned out how he planned. Encouraged by his friend to live a life of excess, Mark now has to keep a dirty little secret that could destroy everything. Will Mark's past prevent him from achieving his dreams? Find out when Mark decides to take on the biggest fight of his life but not everyone wants him to win!

254 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2014

About the author

I am from a small town in Massachusetts. I have three books on the market. My latest one is a humorous book, based on my life when I was diagnosed with cancer in July of 2015. I kept a journal through the treatments and wrote about it after I went into remission. It has won two national awards and an international award. It is a funny book. "Thank God I Got Cancer...I'm Not a Hypochondriac Anymore!" is the name. It definitely shows my New England sense of humor. Filled with sarcasm and commentary about the whole cancer journey, it's a must-read for anyone going through cancer. My other works are fiction. That's what I prefer to write. I hated writing something true about myself - especially cancer. It's not something I wanted to talk about. But the letters I get from my readers makes it worth it.

Reviews

[Michelle Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yay! I've never been the first to write a review before. This is the second book I've read by this author. I loved her other book, "The Lottery Heiress." I read that over Thanksgiving and wanted to see what she did with Mark's character! This is the story of the male lead from her last book. I didn't know what to expect since the other one was so funny, even though it had some serious parts but this was just as funny. The main character is a movie star and in Miami shooting a movie but he has a drinking problem. He accidently is involved in something that he has to deal with throughout the remainder of the book. Even though it deals with alcoholism, it's done in a funny way and anyone who has been touched by addiction will appreciate the way it was handled. I love this book and am posting comments on social media about it. I hope this gets turned into a TV show. I would definitely watch it. It had several points where I laughed out loud. My boyfriend also read this and liked it too. This may be more for the guys than the last one because it is not a romance novel and there is a lot of male friendships in this while Mark is trying to get clean. There is NO romance in this book! It a little grittier than the last one but I loved it! You don't need to read the other book before you read this. The stories are independent even though you will want to read both so you can see how the author brings the stories together. I did notice that the dedication was to Betty Ford & Hazelden so I don't know what the author's relationship is to them. Can't wait for the next one!

[Antoinette Famiano · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book although it started off a little slow. After I started to get into it I wanted to continue reading to see if Mark changed his attitude and turned his life around. I liked the ending.

[Brenda Schneider · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun read!! I won this book in a goodreads giveaway

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

A story of addiction. Can't really feel sorry for Mark, even though he had a rough start in life. he had so many things going for him, and he still took the weak route. I feel for all those who have addictions, but have no path out. Maybe if we as a society didn't glorify so much of the drinking and drugs that celebrities get involved with, we might see the addictions as the diseases and cries for help that they are. Good for Mark in finding his way out.
(It was a little confusing in how the book jumped back and forth between first and third person, at least till you figured it out.)