Rowena’s review of The Accidental Bestseller by Wendy Wax.
Grade: 4.5 out of 5
Once upon a time four aspiring authors met at their very first writers’ conference. Ten years later they’re still friends, survivors of the ultra-competitive New York publishing world. Mallory St. James is a workaholic whose bestsellers support a lavish lifestyle. Tanya Mason is a single mother juggling two jobs, two kids, and too many deadlines. Faye Truett is the wife of a famous televangelist and the author of inspirational romances: no one would ever guess her explosive secret. Kendall Aims’s once-promising career is on the skids—and so is her marriage. Her sales are dismal, her new editor detests her work—and her husband is cheating. Barely able to think, let alone meet her final deadline, Kendall holes up in a mountain cabin to confront a blank page and a blanker future. But her friends won’t let her face this trial alone. Together they collaborate on a novel using their own lives as fodder, assuming no one will ever discover the truth behind their words.
No one is more surprised than they are when the book becomes a runaway bestseller. But with success comes scrutiny and scandal…as these four best friends suddenly realize how little they’ve truly known each other.
This book was one of those books that when I first saw the cover, I got a little excited. I like pretty covers and I think the book cover for this one is so pretty and perfect for the summer. I popped this book open and didn’t think that I would be getting the story that I got. I was expecting something light and fluffy and what I got was an emotional story about friendship and courage.
The story follows four author friends who met at a writer’s conference at the beginning of their careers and it’s interesting to see the different roads their lives/writing careers take. We have Mallory St. James, the most successful of the bunch who is a bestselling author who works really hard at what she does, so hard that she sacrifices family time just so that she can write those 20 pages each day then there’s Tanya Mason who is a single mother living with her controlling mother and working two jobs to stay afloat and Fay Truett is an inspirational writer who is married to a televangelist who has a pretty big secret herself and finally there’s Kendall Aim’s. Kendall Aim’s writing career is being shot down the toilet but before she can leave her publishing house, she owes them another story and her friends all come together to help Kendall get this book written. They all collaborate on the book and use bits and pieces from their personal lives to write the book and when Kendall turns it in and it becomes a national bestseller, each of their lives are changed forever.
I enjoyed this book, I thought it was extremely well written and I thought it was a book that I could sink my teeth into time after time. This is definitely going on my keeper bookshelf because I really enjoyed getting to know each of the authors and Ms. Wax did a great job of keeping me engrossed in the story. When the shit hits the fan, you don’t really know what’s going to happen but you can’t help but keep reading to find out. My heart was heavy for these guys because their friendship was tested and they each realized how much they don’t know about each other. I mean, it made me think about my own friendships with my friends. The friends that I’m the closest with, the ones that I think I know so well can truly be different people than I actually think and this book made me want to fix that.
Out of all of them, I think my heart hurt the most for Kendall. I mean, even though I sympathized with them all, it was Kendall’s storyline that I related to the most which doesn’t make any sense since I’m the single mother working everyday to support my kid so you would think I’d relate or connect with Tanya the most but for me, it was Kendall. I really enjoyed getting to know her and I really felt for her with finding out about her writing career then her husband and then with the fallout from Sticks and Stones, I could the frustation that she felt and I thought Ms. Wax did a fantastic job fleshing her character out, she wasn’t perfect but that’s why I liked her. She felt real to me and I liked that.
I thought this was a great book, there were times when it dragged a bit in the middle of the book but for the most part, it was a very engaging story, one that I enjoyed and one that I’m glad that I read. I enjoyed all of the characters and I enjoyed the storyline, it was a refreshing read from what I normally read and I just flat out enjoyed it.
This book is available from Berkley Trade. You can buy it here in print, here in e-format or here for your Kindle.
This sounds very interesting, and it’s fun that it’s about writers. This is sort of a departure from the usual books I’ve been reading, but it does sound enthralling.
I haven’t read Wendy Wax in a while but I recall her writing some contemp romance. I haven’t read a woman’s fiction book in a long time tho. But like you said its different than you normally read, and it would be for me too. Thanks on the review!