Beyond the Blonde

by Kathleen Flynn-Hui

A fictionalized account of the rise of one of New York's hottest salon stars finds Georgia Watkins dreaming of a better life from her single-parent childhood home, earning a job as a colorist after attending Wilfred Academy, and attending to the styling needs of celebrities before finding unexpected love with a handsome colleague. 60,000 first printing.

Genres: Chick Lit, Fiction, Romance, Roman, Book Club

277 pages, Hardcover

First published August 18, 1994

Reviews

[Alice · Rating 2 out of 5]

Why do I keep reading this crap? Mildly diverting trashy chicklit. The worst part about this book was the constant moving between time periods. The main character has Farrah Fawcett hair in high school and dreams of visiting Studio 54, which would put it at about 1977-1979. Then, less than five years later, she is talking about botox (not approved for cosmetic use until 2002) and the new Marc Jacobs collection. I suppose MJ was making clothes in the mid-80s, but he's associated primarily with the 90s. Anyway, it's a hot mess. But it didn't actively make me angry, so two stars.

[aPriL does feral sometimes · Rating 3 out of 5]

‘Beyond the Blonde’ by Kathleen Flynn-Hue is a breezy chic-lit suitable for a lighthearted weekend read. It also is a disguised autobiography which had people guessing who the author’s ‘fictional’ characters were really in real life when published in 2005. The author is a hair colorist who works at real New York Salons patronized by movie stars and wealthy socialites.

There is nothing scandalous in this tale of a small town girl, Georgia Watkins, from Weepeekeemie, New Hampshire who follows her dream to become a hair colorist in New York City. Against the wishes of her mother, she goes to Wilfred Academy, a New York City beauty school instead of University. Her mother owns and runs a beauty parlor in Weepeekeemie. Georgia watched her mother and worked in the parlor after school. She loved it! But the real appeal came from the realization a beauty salon is a women’s social club - full of comradeship and support. At least, that is how a small-town beauty parlor worked.

Uncertain how her career as a hair colorist would happen after graduation, Georgia is lucky. She and some of her Academy friends become employees of a new salon in Manhattan. It becomes a Mecca for important women, and some children, in public media, and for socialite women in the world of the extremely wealthy Manhattanites.

Over time, Georgia makes some discoveries. The wealthy customers truly live in a world apart from the rest of humanity, one intentionally made separate by them, and Georgia will never be able to fit in it. She can visit, she can enjoy their company, but in her opinion, these wealthy people who are constantly in the public eye and who have extreme wealth keep up a walled garden surrounding their lives, even if they originally were born to people like her mother.

But Georgia makes friends and becomes known as THE essential person to color their hair. Her customers are interesting and some are very demanding. Eventually, she and her friends divide up the customers into categories:

-The Manhattan (socialite)
-The Manhattan (working woman)
-The Bedford
-The Greenwich
-The Five Towns
-The Short Hills
-The Beverly Hills

The women in each category are easily identified by the clothes they wear and their mannerisms. While amusing, this also caused me to stop and think about my clothes and manner of speech and assumed physical stances....how am I being assessed? I am very much still the liberal and still poor bohemian which was predominant in 1960’s baby-boomer culture...but I wear my hair cut short instead of long. I get it cut at a beauty school for $5.

[Gayle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Is there a genre called gossip lit? There should be. All you need to know is that author Kathleen Flynn-Hui is "the star colorist at Salon AKS, [and:] the wife of acclaimed stylist Kao Hui." Certainly her inside story of a small-town girl that becomes a top-flight colorist at a celebrity salon resonates with authenticity. But her deftly-penned sketches of the employees and the clientele make you wonder who she's really talking about.

The story line is not complicated: Georgia Watkins, daughter of the owner-operator of the number-one salon in Weepeekeemie, New Hampshire, wants to follow in her mother's footsteps. She leaps from beauty school to the bottom rung at a hot new salon in Manhattan, and never looks back--or does she?

But as I said, it's not so much the story as the milieu and the personalities. And despite the inside-scoop gossipy flavor, it is remarkably discreet. An occasional burst of language, a brief and not-too-explicit bedroom scene, but probably not more than a strong PG-13.

So if you've ever wondered what it's like on the other side of the stylist's chair, take a seat. Georgia will be with you in a moment.

[Femke · Rating 2 out of 5]

This some typical, easy-reading kind of chicklit, perfect to shut your brain off. The story is about Georgia, a small-town girl who ends up working as a colorist at a over-the-top hair salon in New York. The place for the rich and famous. Not surprisingly, the author is also a colorist in a New York hair salon. A lot of times this book was very anekdotal, with lots of namedropping of supposedly important names that were often irrelevant to the story. At times it felt like I was reading the autobiography of a person that isn’t that interesting.

So, definitely not the best book in its genre, but if you want some very light reading that feels like reading a 180-page women’s gossip magazine, well then this is the one you should pick.

[Susana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Este libro cuando lo cogí para leerlo sabía a lo que iba. Libro fácil de leer, entretenido, ameno, muchos diálogos. Llevaba mucho tiempo en mis estanterías y quería leerme un libro ligero ...
Lo que más me ha gustado es que la protagonista hasta que no consigue lo que quiere, su sueño, no para; se forma, trabaja a destajo... sin que nadie le regale nada.. y sobre todo me ha gustado la temática, porque una hija mía le encanta y le gustaría dedicarse profesionalmente a esa maravillosa profesión. Lo recomiendo. 29/06/2022.

[Shayna Stancil · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this entire book in one sitting. I absolutely loved it. It was funny in exactly the right way, with some high fashion and cattiness thrown in. What a great way to spend an afternoon! As soon as I finished it I went straight to my laptop to see what else this author has written and was so disappointed to see that this appears to her only novel. In any case, this was a super fun book.

[Maaike · Rating 1 out of 5]

Na twee hoofdstukken ben ik gestopt met het boek. Ik kwam er niet doorheen.
Het is een soort van dagboek denk ik? Het heeft niet echt een doel o.i.d. en sommige dingen worden tot in - voor mij- te veel details besproken waardoor het geen vlot verhaal is.

[Salma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too easy to read, funny and sassy.

"If you've ever wondered what it's like on the other side of the stylist's chair, take a seat. Georgia will be with you in a moment."

[Berni · Rating 3 out of 5]

mmmm esta buena pero me parece q se me hizo bastante lento de leer para historia tan corta

[Iwona · Rating 3 out of 5]

° was sehr leichtes für zwischendurch mit einem obligatorischen happy-end
° ein ironisches Bild über die Arbeit im noblen New-Yorker-Friseursalon und über die High-Society-Kundinnen

[tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

m’encanten aquestes merdes :)

[Imma Oña · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un libro muy entretenido y muy fácil de leer.
Muchas gracias por el libro.

[Natàlia · Rating 5 out of 5]

perfecte

[Juliana Zavala · Rating 4 out of 5]

Es como si estuvieras viendo una comedia romántica, un libro divertidísimo y ligero que no podrás soltar, muy ameno para pasar una tarde de verano agradable.

[Christel Peeters · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't like much about this book. A boring and annoying read.

[PurplyCookie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Young, witty, bitchy read of behind-the-scenes glamour as small-town girl Georgia Watkins climbs the ladder of hairdressing success in New York. I liked that the main focus wasn't finding love like many other chick lit books I've read before, but more of becoming a success no matter one's humble beginnings.

And of course, you can't beat the sharing of inner trade secrets by the author (a celebrity colorist herself of the well-known Salon AKS) of the habits and eccentrities of the coddled clientele. While Georgia's challenges are real, her clients can be just plain ridiculous -- from the clients who bring in the children to match their hair color to the client who needs her hand held while a small strand of her hair is highlighted. Some clients will bring laughter to the reader, while some will just disgust or annoy. Georgia categorizes her clients by neighborhoods they live in:
- The Manhattan (socialite)
- The Manhattan (working woman)
- The Bedford
- The Greenwich
- The Five Towns
- The Short Hills
- The Beverly Hills

But like the best dye jobs, the salon's artifice of amity conceals the darkness beneath. Ups and downs ensue—from workplace romance to blithe betrayal—all hidden behind the glamour. A surprisingly good read which went beyond my expectations.


Book Details:

Title Beyond The Blonde
Author Kathleen Flynn-Hui
Reviewed By Purplycookie

[Leonel · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first, Kathleen Flynn Hui's Beyond The Blonde seems like a Devil-Wears-Prada for the hair color industry, but honestly, I didn't think there were any huge and scandalous revelations here. The main character, Georgia, is named "best colorist in New York City" and has an enviable character, but for me the strength of the book is in its good storytelling. Georgia comes from new Hampshire, where she grows up helping out at her mother's salon. Forsaking a college education, she instead goes to beauty school and upon graduating, moves to New York City with her friend Patrick. They get a job at Jean Luc, and well the rest, as you say is history. Even though this sounds like a familiar tale, Hui infuses it with a lot of down-to-earth humour and I never found it slow or draggy. I felt that at the end, I really got to know her character. And even though the characters around her all filled certain stereotypical parts, I believed them for the most part. The book may not be the most original read, but it is still an authentic one, and I found it engrossing enough to finish in three sittings.

http://luhathoughts.blogspot.com/2014...

[Krystal · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an odd book for me. The beginning was so trite I almost gave up on it..it was painful in the way it followed formula. And then somthing strange happened. The middle of the book, when she's talking about the past, how she got "here", it was a great story, well written. I loved the middle and couldn't believe the same person wrote both parts. The we came to the end, and it reverted back to form, and I was annoyed. It was for the enjoyment I got out of the "middle" portion of the story that this book gets as many stars. There was just something magical about the author bringing you into Georgias past. You knew who Georgia was, and her mother. That was a great story. The speed bumps of the begining and end being poorly written are an annoyance when you discover what the author is capable of all along.

[Deborah Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is definitely a beach book. Fo a book that I paid two dollars for at a second hand book store, i was pleasantly surprised. It is not exactly enthralling, but is a pleasant read. On the plus side this book was easy to read chapter to chapter, without feeling as if you had to stop everything to keep reading.
The author did highlight the hair industry (admit it women, we are all vain) in a delightful and honest manner. There are enough character profiles to keep the plot from becoming stale. Essentially, small town girl Moves to the Big Apple and becomes wildly successful at upscale salon. She is caught up in whirlwind of activity and learns some hard lessons. There are sone good humorous moments, i especially enjoyed the way she categorizes her clients by their addresses. Enough said. I have so many other books to read and so little time.

[Sumaiya ✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Never judge a book by the cover (and synopsis) but that’s what I did and why I went in with the expectation that I’d be entertained for a few hours without heavy emotional investment. That’s what it delivered.

I liked the story and the way it was built up but I didn’t enjoy some of the rambling. There are elegant ways to incorporate information the reader doesn’t know, this book does not do that. What was the purpose of the section where the protagonist describes different types of clients when she barely used those descriptors later in the book? There is a lot of “this is what this situation means” like a textbook.

Those qualms aside if you’re looking for a very easy and breezy read, this is it.

[Kourtney · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the writing style of this book. It was engaging and had me wanting to find out what happened next. The thing that keeps me from rating this tale any higher than three stars was that the "wanting to find out what happened next" was me waiting for the story to begin. Over what felt like 90% of the story is the backstory to how Georgia got to where she was when the book begins. The true story doesn't begin until the end. And while the backstory was interesting and was a page-turner, when the true story began it felt rushed and incidental. If only that piece was fleshed out like the backstory was, I would have been over the moon!

[Shannon O’Neill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know nothing of the glamorous and pampered lifestyle described in this book, but I really liked it. It was fluffy, it was funny, it kept me interested and amused. I would have liked more focus on Patrick. I know he wasn't a central character, but I really liked him and would have enjoyed a bit more on his character. However, the descriptions of all the NYC salon clients and the behind the scenes environment of the salon, as well as Georgia's story arc were enough to keep me wanting to hear more.

[Rhiannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

First, let me say that I am not a huge fan of the 'chick lit' genre. I sometimes pick one up when I just want a light, quick read. I just tend to be sorely let down. That was definitely not the case with this book! I really could not find anything that disappointed me in this book. The story was fun, it had depth, I was interested in the woman's life. While it is partially about her looking for/finding love, it is not the sole point of the story, nor is it the biggest part.

[Elaine]

Started off a little slow, a little boring...but then the pace picked up and the read became pleasurable. I've read only 1 of Sophie Kinsella's books and this book reminds me of her writing. The content was light (easy to read), engaging, and something refreshing for me since it offers an inside perspective of a hair salon business. And it's nice how the expected romance doesn't overpower the storyline. It's there, it's sweet, but it's not in-your-face.

[~*Kim*~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this fun, light read, Georgia Watkins goes from middle of nowhere New Hampshire to colorist of the stars in the hottest salon in New York City. Not used to the over the topness of NYC, she finds herself holding the hand of one client while she highlights a single strip of hair and being asked by another to put highlights in her fur coat! The book is kept light and funny while Georgia stays down to earth just like her small town girl roots.

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

There is no frenzy.It looked good, but it came to half the book started to bore me, or even fall asleep. I put it back and continue to let go, but I was waiting for the action to develop. Unfortunately, it is funny how it is written on the back of the book, sometimes he was a "joke" but very rarely. There were also a lot of swearing, which do not tolerate, and I think it's very well put a damper on my reading since then disgusted.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a really fun story of the rise of an aspiring colorist at the uber-salon of the moment in Manhattan. The author, a star colorist in NYC, obviously knows that world well, and the details seemed accurate and entertaining. I especially loved her breakdown of the salon habits of the women of different NY/NJ neighborhoods. A good read for the pool!

[Andrea Ludwig · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me a while to get into this book, but near the end it moved me to tears. I could identify with the main character - her desire to do what is right, her appreciation for those who helped her get where she was.... I have a feeling much of this actually happened. If it wasn't real, it sure seemed real.

[Hamdooy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was the 1st book that I read! And I remember loving it as a teen! I've read it again and I still love it! I love this book! I must admit that the title is what caught my attention and even if it sounds very girly, which it is, I still love it and it's the 1st book that made me laugh, cry and curious about what will happen next.

[Rem · Rating 5 out of 5]

This books is absolutely hilarious. If you liked 'Dumping Billy' you would probably love this. Both of them are definitiely in the "chick lit" category. But I thouroughly enjoyed them. I would read it again if I still had it.