In Development by Rachel Spangler

In Development by Rachel Spangler

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This is one of those celebrity stories – though unlike many I’ve read, it is a mixed story. As in, if the story involves an actress, the other party tends to be an actress as well (or actor), a background person (an assistant, or an up and coming writer who isn’t famous yet, or a stunt person), or someone completely outside celebrity-ville. Well, here, we have an award winning actress (teen awards), and an award winning and popular pop star who end up circling each other.

Cobie Galloway is somewhere around 28 (or was it 26?), but still tends to play teenagers or people close enough to that age in films. She has been doing so since she was a teenager. But now she wants to move on to more mature work, and has a specific script she wants to work on. A script she has some control over. A script based on a lesbian fiction novel. Oh, forgot that part – she’s been out as a lesbian, Cobie I mean, for eons. So that part isn’t an issue with doing the film. No, the problem her manager, as he explains it to her, is that she might in many ways be perfect for the role (not words he used but whatever), but that no one would believe her for that role.

Well, that paragraph got away from me. Started off just mentioning one of the point of view characters. I assumed I was going to say something like ‘Cobie was in to see her manager about a new project that would turn her career in a new direction; while leaving the meeting she literally stumbled across the other main point of view character in the book, Lila Wilder, a pop star.’ But alas, the paragraph got away from me.

Well, as noted, there are two points of views in this book – a pop star, Lila, and an actress – Cobie. They both are represented by the same management agency, though by different managers – Stan for Cobie, and . . . it was Mimi, right? For Lila. Lila had also been at the agency for a meeting, and like Cobie, she was there for a new direction type of thing. Though, in her case, it is a constant in her career that ‘new stuff’ would occur – and by that, I mean, she’d date some hunky guy to drive up press attention in between album releases, then move on to some other new hunk. And that’s one of the reasons she’s at her manager’s place that day – though the story, at this point, was more centered on Cobie.

Stan and Mimi put their heads together and come up with a plan – Cobie and Lila would pretend-date. Why? Lila’s only dated men up to this point, and that’s actually why – because people are actually becoming bored with Lila’s flings. No longer edgy and stuff. But a relationship with a woman? Back to being edgy. Why do they want Cobie to do it? Because Cobie wanted to transition from being thought of as a ‘sweet’ teen like person, to a person who could play the much more rough, edgy, player-like Vale (I forget if that’s the name or not) character from the movie she wanted to do.

So, that’s what they do. Cobie and Lila pretend date. Feelings are found; feelings are suppressed; sex is had; feelings are suppressed; some hard conversations are had . . . and stuff.

Long and short – I rather enjoyed the book. Something like loved it. I’m still toying with whether to give this book a 5 star or 5+ star rating.

Rating: 5

May 27 2018




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