I've read a lot of fluffy chick lit books and I threw this down in disgust. I didn't even get through 50 pages. Stupid, vapid, poorly written and just not fun. Very ho-hum. Just like the 'celebrity' credentials of the "authors".

This book is so catchy. It makes you want to sneak to the bathroom at work to see what's going to happen next. It's a very light read and can definately capture all of your attention. I would recommend this book to anyone who would love to just get consumed by a novel, but not feel like they fried their brain along the way.

even as a throwaway type of beach read, this book doesn't quite work. it has aspirations that are way too high for the talent of the writers and rather than playing off of their strengths (their intimate knowledge of the high society entertainment world and the type of people who inhabit it), they try to make too many social critiques of their peers. the result is a book that is uneven and unsure, with characters who are not quite relatable on any level (either as a guilty pleasure train wreck or a person with whom you can actually imagine inhabiting your world).

there are parts of it that offer some voyeuristic fun but on the whole this novel does not deliver. i put it as much on the editor as the writers though. that person should have worked this into a more clear sighted story.

even as a throwaway type of beach read, this book doesn't quite work. it has aspirations that are way too high for the talent of the writers and rather than playing off of their strengths (their intimate knowledge of the high society entertainment world and the type of people who inhabit it), they try to make too many social critiques of their peers. the result is a book that is uneven and unsure, with characters who are not quite relatable on any level (either as a guilty pleasure train wreck or a person with whom you can actually imagine inhabiting your world).

there are parts of it that offer some voyeuristic fun but on the whole this novel does not deliver. i put it as much on the editor as the writers though. that person should have worked this into a more clear sighted story.

Lola comes from a very famous family, her father a hot-shot director, her brother a sought after music producer. She, however, at twenty-five is still trying to find her niche, something that will make her famous in her own right, not just a daughter of.

She has tried many careers, after graduating from high school she went to art school for a year and created some interesting pieces, but she just couldn't stay committed to it. She also tried fashion design, but was not able to come up with anything superb enough to warrant a full fledged career. Part of the trouble is partly because she has an addiction, one that not many know about, but to her can be just as devastating as any illegal substance. Lola is an Actorholic. This means that every boyfriend she has had to the present has been an actor, all of which having broken her heart into a trillion pieces, but she just can't get enough!

He longest and most devastating was with SMITH (read it and you will figure out why there is a need for caps) a veritable nobody whom, (thanks to the leading lady having to go to rehab) she did a movie with and consequently fell for. Everything with them was great until the reviews came out and brutally ripped apart Lola's performance, after which he breaks up with her because who in there right mind would want to be seen as such a failure? What a loser he is.

After some pretty literal soul searching she decides to make one last valiant effort in the working world by becoming a PR person for her BAF (best gay forever) Julian and try and get a few high ranking celebs to wear some dresses he has designed to get his name out there come Oscar night. Coming from a famous family, however, does not guarantee success, as she runs into one problem after another. Never has Hollywood seemed like such a zoo!

I enjoyed this book, Lola is funny and accident prone and you can't help but root for her throughout the book. This title is a definite pick up, though panned by some other reviewers it has potential and is the perfect partner for your towel in that beach bag!

Reading this book was like reading the script for an episode of TMZ, lots of name dropping and brand references, but little character or plot development.

I was pretty excited to read/listen to this book, however it got a little boring and the person that narrated the book was horrible which ruined it a little bit I'm sure. It was ok, slightly entertaining but definitely not great.

This book is so full of clichés that it's embarrassing. After reading several great reviews, I couldn't wait to start reading it, but as the old saying goes, don't judge this book by it's awesome cover. I forced myself to finish it, in hopes that it would get better, but it only gets worse as it goes on. The authors seem to think that endless namedropping makes up for a ridiculous plot and characters that are not believable. Save your money.

This book was just okay. It took me a while to get into the characters and the book overall. It did pick up in the middle, but I definitely do not consider this book to be a page turner!

This book was painful to get through. I was hoping it was going to be all it was cracked up to be-but realized shortly into the book(chapter two)that it was a joke. First off, you can tell when the authors are switching off writing, and it is poorly written. The chapters are too long, that you are almost forcing yourself to finish one. I kept reading it, hoping for it to get better, and it did not. It is not worth your time or money...so please just do not buy it.

Loved this book!!! A quick read that gives you an inside look at Hollywood the week leading up to the Oscars!! A great beach read!

This book was not as good of a read as I expected. It was very hard to get into because every other minute a name was dropped. I thought it was too much. I would not recommend this book.

There's an absolute avalanche of name dropping in this book that starts off at a ferocious intensity and never lets up, which irritated me so much it almost distracted me from the story. Once I adjusted to it I actually enjoyed the book, though. It's a good light silly read.

One great book! A real page turner if you are into celebrity gossip! Could not put it down! Can't wait till the sequel comes out. One great beach read!

If you've read "The Devil Wears Prada," "Bergdorf Blonds," "The Nanny Diaries," "The Second Assistant," or any book of that kind then you've essentially read this book, only it was probably better because those books I actually finished. I love a good beach read book, but this is so badly written that I had to keep telling myself "just read five more pages and see." On page 56 a drugged-out, aging British rock star starts shaving her bikini area using a disposable razor and a cup of Diet Coke . . . what the??? The final paragraph on that page literally starts with the words "Could it get any worse than this?". . . this is where I decided that I really didn't care to find out.

This book is absolutely hilarious! It is definitly one of the best reads in a long time!

Super cute hollywood entertainment. An insider's view of what life as a celebrity really is.

I typically enjoy the fun, glitzy, witty chick-lit, but this book was unbearable and painful to get through. So many times I wanted to just STOP reading it altogether. It just didn't do anything for me. The characters were boring and unrelatable. The name dropping was silly... I would rather read a copy of Us Weekly.

Bought this book at an airport as I was about to board a plane for a 12 hour flight. Loved the book, kept me completely entertained for the long flight. Light, fun read.

When two writers collaborate to produce a novel, it's rarely a labor of love. But "Celebutantes" is a new low in sycophantic opportunism. How did Amazon choose this as a "special feature." Obvious, contrived, self-indulgent, and stupid, with prose so amateurish even these women's ghost writers should be ashamed, i can't help but wonder who paid whom to get this out in the public eye. I understand their parents are well-connected and rich, although Dennis Hopper's credentials went south ever since he sued his "collaborator" Peter Fonda over "Easy Rider" dvd profits... can't wait for these two "writers' to get in court and make their charges. Should be better than the book.

Celebutantes is everything you would expect it to be. It is fun, salacious, entertaining, predictable, and formulaic. In short, it is fun fluff filled with TONS of name-dropping. Celebutantes gives an insider's look into the madness and weirdness that is life in Hollywood.

Celebutantes centers on the trials and tribulations of Hollywood royalty spawn, Lola Santisi during Oscar Week in Los Angeles. Lola is a mid-twenties failed actress who happens to be the daughter of one of Hollywood's biggest directors. Lola is suffering from a malady that could only be diagnosed by an LA psychotherapist: Career Deficit Disorder, or as Lola calls it, CDD. Lola is also a recovering "Actoraholic". Her penchant for affairs with Tinsletown's hottest actors has left her heartbroken and bitter. Thank goodness for Lola she has the support of her BAF (Best Actress Forever), Cricket, who is waiting for her big break; her BFF, Kate, an upcoming Hollywood agent desperate to work for CAA and whose ungrateful bratty client has just been nominated for his first Oscar; and her BGF (Best Gay Forever), Julian.

Lola is finally given the chance to turn her life around when her best friend, hot new designer Julian Tennant, hires her to be his "ambassador". Ambassadors are the people hired by designers to whoo and cajole actresses into wearing their designs on the red carpet on Oscar night. This job is easier said than done when dealing with actresses who want their dogs dyed to match their dresses, speak in the third person, and take "bathroom" breaks every five minutes.

Of course, Celebutantes wraps up in the last few pages with Lola and her entourage having a true Hollywood ending and everything ending perfectly. For thoroughness' sake, I should mention that Celebutantes is filled with mentions of every brand of makeup, hair product, shoe, bag and designer; as well as the names of almost every major Hollywood star. It is THAT kind of book. It is also the kind of book that will have you laughing out loud and flipping pages faster than Julia Roberts can rip open the envelope containing the name of this year's Best Actress award.

Mary McNamara's, "Oscar Season", is another engaging read revolving around the Oscar's. This novel focuses on the behind-the-scenes goings on of an upscale hotel in Beverly Hills with a little bit of a murder mystery thrown in.

I admit it, I read and watch too much tabloid gossip. I picked up Celebutantes hoping to distract myself from a much dreaded plane flight. I also enjoy books by Hollywood "insiders" hoping to match fictional characters with thier real-life counterparts. It didn't take too many pages to make me forget the matching game, and just concentrate on Lola Santisi's attempt to secure a "star" to wear her best friend Julian's designs on the Oscar's red carpet. Liberally populated with real names and over the top characters, the book focuses on Lola's attempt to not only to help Julian, but her struggle to get over her addiction to disasterous relationships with actors. Aided by her friends Kate and Cricket, both seeking thier own Hollywood dream, Lola plunges headfirst into the scramble to procure a star for Julian. She is also trying to cope with her family's near hysteria driven by her father's nomination for a Best Directing Oscar and hopes to once regain his place as a force in the industry. Filled with inside, good natured pokes at Hollywood's obsession with the next big thing and self importance, Celebutantes is a fun, fun read. By the end of the book I was trying in vain to stifle my snorts of laughter as I tried to finish this impossible to put down book at work. A rolicking good read.

You'll need to smoke a cigarette after reading this book. Orgasmically laugh-out-loud funny, it's soooo easy to believe that these characters are those attractive morons you see "gracing" the cover of the Enquirer and Star! (I knew they were like this all along!)

How wonderful to know that this was written by people really "in the know," daughters of Hollywood "royalty," That just helps me legitimize the smug sense of disgust I feel when I see them begging for celebrity while running from the photographers.

I love it! I read it, and I don't feel one bit guilty for gulping down this amazing bit of brain candy.

It was delicious!

Enough about Manhattan - it's HOLLYOOD'S turn! Even if the Oscars go on this year, The Vanity Fair Party (the Real Oscars) is off. And who needs US Weekly's coverage anyway, when you can get the real scoop from Amanda and Ruthanna!

This book is witty and well-written... and, as it should be, deeply, deeply superficial! How the story is told is part of the story - which is totally brilliant! The girls capture this world's heart and soul(less)! I loved it!

The East Coast had "The Devil Wears Prada." Now the West Coast has "Celebutantes". This is such a terrifically fun, in-the-know read. You just know these women have seen the inside of every swag bag and Fred Segal dressing room. I'd call reading this hilarious novel the best guilty pleasure I've had in months, except that I don't feel remotely guilty for getting to laugh out loud so much. If you've ever cheered Kathy Griffin on as she snarks on the celebs on the red carpet, smirked along with the Gofugyourself girls, or wondered along with the tabs "Would You Be Caught Wearing This?", you're gonna LOVE this novel!

When I received a copy of this book (which, thankfully, I did not buy) I wondered why Amanda Goldberg and Ruthanna Hopper felt the need to tell the reader that they are the "daughters of." True, it shows they have knowledge of Hollywood, but it's kind of pathetic for two grown women to use their fathers' credentials in their book. After reading Celebutantes, I understand why: when you've got no talent, you really need to name-drop.

Celebutantes follows three friends: Lola, the daughter of a self-absorbed director, who's trying to carve her own niche in Hollywood; and her three friends, an aspiring actress, an agent, and a fashion designer. None of them is particularly interesting and their attempts to make it in Hollywood are about as entertaining as the best sound award three hours into the Oscars ceremony.

If you're in the mood for Oscar-related fiction, you'd be better off reading Oscar Season. The mystery on that novel is disappointing, but most of the story is interesting and well-written. Unlike Hopper and Goldberg, Mary McNamara has talent -- and she doesn't need to name-drop.

If you're a fan of The Devil Wears so and so, or Bergdorf whatevers, then you must check out Celebutantes, a stand-out classic in the red hot book of the moment genre. Delightfully insightful, only two chicks who know the red-carpet life from inside of the velvet rope (Goldberg and Hopper) could describe things with such audacious verisimilitude. Pages breeze by like minutes of an Entourage episode. Take note, however. If you're considering cooking for your boyfriend the night you start Celebutantes, don't forget to prepare it beforehand (that half eaten hard-boiled egg you didn't finish for breakfast probably won't do). Nothing's gonna get in the way of finding out how things wind up with Lola Santisi and her Hollyweird crew, certainly not your boyfriend's romantic dinner. And if you do forget? Don't worry. He'll get over it.

I love stories about Hollywood in general. Well, this book is that and so much more. It's got juicy insight into the Oscars and reads like a good girlfriend whispering in your ear about the latest gossip! A must, must read. I also liked and would recommend Take Your Shirt Off: A Novel of Hollywood.

There's very little more fun than hearing a story focusing on the lives of the rich and famous with painterly descriptions of people most of us will never party with and places we'll never visit. Take large portions of glitz and glamour, toss them with the Hollywood scene and you have the highly entertaining Celebutantes given a sprightly, can't-stop-listening-to reading by actress Gigi Bermingham.

Lola Santisi is a gal who should have it all. She's on the A-list in Hollywood, daughter of an Oscar winning director (who desperately wants a second golden statue) and a mom who is one of the ladies who lunch (only at the best places, of course.) Lola's 26, gorgeous, and an alcoholic. She hasn't quite found her place in the world (although much of the universe has been given to her on a silver platter).

Nonetheless, she's now engaged in trying to convince stars to wear her designer's gowns to the all-important, deal making, career breaking Oscars. That's a tough battle and when engaged in heavy combat one needs to have pals by your side. For support Lola has press agent Kate Woods who wants to charge up the ladder of success and Cricket Curtis, an actress who has to her credit the role of a coma victim on a television hospital drama.

Not to worry about never receiving an invite to Barry Diller's and Diane von Furstenberg's fabulous picnic, the Gagosian dinner at Mr. Chow or the ultimate - the Vanity Fair Oscar party. The authors of this comedic take on cinema citizens and their chicanery will take you to those spots and more. Plus, you don't even have to worry about what you're going to wear.

Enjoy!

- Gail Cooke