Harper Gray is an actress down on her luck when a call from an old university friend gives her a chance at a new life. She heads to New York to play understudy to the lead actress in a new Broadway play. Chances are, she’ll never see the stage, because the lead actress has never missed a show in a very long career, but it’s a job and a new city and a reunion with an old friend. Since she’s starting out new, she decides to take a chance with internet dating as well, hoping to find romance just like her friend has.
Then the lead actress is fired and Harper is in the spotlight. As rave reviews come in about her performance and she gets to know Luke, the Alaskan pilot from the dating website, her life seems like a dream come true. When the play ends, offers flood in from Hollywood for more work. Harper gives the credit to God for his work in her life, but when disaster strikes Luke and she realizes the depth of her love for him, her faith is tested to the limit.
Screenplay caught my attention because of the acting theme. Acting is in many ways similar to writing; something not always considered a “real job” (unless you’re John Grisham or Brad Pitt), requiring a lot of work and a bit of luck and the passion and persistence to stick with it until you find your place, whether that’s Broadway and the New York Times bestselling list or the local theatre and a small-town newspaper.
However, I was disappointed with the novel. Everything is too perfect. The story felt like it ended when the Broadway play did, except that was halfway through the novel; there was another hundred pages left of Harper becoming more famous and rich and falling in love with an awesome guy. No conflict. No problems. I felt like just putting the book down, except that I hate not finishing a book I’ve started. Even the “big crisis” at the end of the book in Harper’s love life left me feeling like, “C’mon, get real.”
Overall, Screenplay was a quick easy read, but not one that I’ll be keeping on my bookshelf.
This book was provided for review courtesy of the publisher or publicist.
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