I finally got through a novel this week! And I really tore through it.

Tiana Tomlinson is America's Sweetheart, let into homes across the nation every evening as she fills in all about the goings on in Hollywood. The cameras love her, the viewers love her, the only ones who don't love her it seems are the studio execs she's angering by refusing to go under the knife to reverse the aging process. At thirty eight, she's noticed subtle changes to her face, but nothing that bothers her or is increasingly noticeable. However, the studio wants to alter the format of the show, bring in a new young vibrant face, and Tiana knows she's being edged out. On one hand, she's tired of the reformatting of the show, she used to be a serious journalist, and when she was given this show, she was able to keep human interest stories, that touched people, that could do good in the world if it swept away the viewers. Now it's all about who's dating who in Hollywood, and when Brangelina will have another baby. She's feeling adrift and knows it's not just her career that's creating the anxiety and amplifying the wounds in her heart. Orphaned at fourteen and widowed at thirty, she's afraid of love. Of what happens to those who love her. But still she craves love and a family.

Sparring with her at every turn is Michael O'Sullivan, a plastic surgeon to the stars. She finds him vain and shallow, mainly because of his career. But when she finally gets her chance to create another human interest story, this time in Africa featuring women trying to make the world a better place, Michael offers her a chance to go with him to Africa and see Rx Smile in action. Suddenly she realizes how wrong about him she was, and her physical attraction to him turns into something very much deeper.

I loved this story! What could have been just a fun quick read had serious undertones that brought attention to heartwrenching topics, without coming across as an admonishment or making the book too heavy. There's also a twist in the last quarter of the book that I did not see coming at all! While this was definitely a fluffy novel, I ended it feeling satiated and looking forward to the rest of the books on my shelf from Ms. Porter! I would love to see this turned into a tv movie as well! ( She wrote Flirting with Forty, which was turned into a Lifetime Movie featuring Heather Locklear)