📖 Blog Tour ~ Ruthless Women by Melanie Blake

 

📖  Delighted to host today's blog tour stop 📖

Head of Zeus
18 February 2021

My thanks to the publishers for my ecopy of this book
and the invitation to the blog tour

Ruthless Women takes readers on a wild ride behind the scenes of beloved TV drama Falcon Bay, beamed globally to millions three days a week from its picturesque location in the Channel Islands. But even in this beautiful coastal spot, tensions swirl. Once one of the world's most popular soap operas, but now with ratings and syndication at an all-time low, the production has been sold to an American business woman, beautiful and malevolent Madeline Kane, the new network owner who arrives on the tiny island just off Jersey, determined to do whatever it takes to get the show back to number one.

Writer Farrah, star Catherine and producer Amanda are the driven, ambitious women who keep the show on the road. But Farrah is losing episodes to the network's lead male rival, Catherine is terrified of the public falling out of love with her and Amanda's evil husband Jake, vice president of the network, is plotting to get his own wife kicked off the show.

As the dawn of a new era begins, cast and crew turn against each other with loyalty, decency, and trust, replaced by scandal, betrayal, and an outrageous ambition to survive.

In a true battle of the sexes, these women will do anything to stay on top. But can they team up to bring down their male rivals? Or will jealousy, betrayal and revenge tear their long held friendships apart?

As the story reaches a climax so shocking readers will be talking about it for decades, one thing is certain: only the most ruthless woman will survive...

 📖 My thoughts..

Serial drama, Falcon Bay was once riding high in the TV ratings with its main stars regularly receiving prestigious awards but times have changed and a succession of new owners have seen the show plunge dramatically in the global ratings. With a new network owner, Falcon Bay, is once again the centre of controversy, and with a special anniversary looming the hunt is on for an explosive story line which will fire the imagination of the viewing public.

The cut-throat world of television is laid bare to scrutiny, and as we hover like flies on the wall we are privy to all the back room shenanigans in which careers are made and broken. However, we know that difficult times call for difficult measures and only the tough and ruthless are going to survive, and for writer and director, Farrah Adams, soap star, Catherine Belle, executive producer, Amanda King and Head of Casting, Helen Gold, life is about to get very complicated indeed. 

Ruthless Women is a sexy and sassy romp through the vagaries of TV production. All those added extra little titbits, which the author shares with such glee, are what make this such an entertaining read. I read the book in one sitting on a cold and grey day and was instantly transported to the beautiful Channel Island setting of Falcon Bay and became lost in the ruthless TV world which has been so passionately recreated. 

Ruthless Women made me laugh out loud in places, whilst at other times I was amazed by all the bitchiness that went on behind closed doors. The level of bed hopping reminded me of those glorious bonkbusters I devoured in the 1980s but in Ruthless Women this has all been brought marvellously up to date by an author who knows this industry like the back of her well manicured hand. The final denouement, when it comes, is every bit as good as I wanted it to be, deliciously different, and genuinely edge of seat stuff. I can’t wait to see what this talented writer will give us next time.

Ruthless Women is published by Head of Zeus on the 18 February and will available to buy from all good book retailers.

About the Author

As one as the UK’s most successful agents, managers and publicists for music stars and TV actresses, Melanie Blake has represented some of the most famous faces on British television and international screens.

Where her debut novel, the No. 1 bestseller The Thunder Girls, was inspired by the early years of her career spent working in the music industry, her follow up novel Ruthless Women is heavily influenced by the last 15 years Melanie has spent representing more female actresses than any other agent in her genre. Her clients have included Patsy Kensit, Beverley Callard, Michelle Collins, Stephanie Beacham, Emily Lloyd, Denise Welch, Jennie McAlpine, Claire King, Gaynor Faye, Laila Morse, Danniella Westbrook, Sherrie Hewson, Amanda Barrie, Gillian Taylforth and Nadia Sawalha, to name just a few. Nicknamed The Queen Of Soaps, there is no one better placed to write a novel based around a continuing drama and its leading ladies.

Website

Twitter @MelanieBlakeUK 

@HOZ_Books

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