A jaw-dropping, 5-star read which is automatically making it into my top reads of the year, meet Ruthless Women by Melanie Blake.
The plot:
Broadcast to millions from its picturesque location off the coast of Jersey, Falcon Bay was once the world’s most popular soap opera. But with ratings at an all-time low, a new network owner, the malevolent Madeline Kane, arrives on the private island determined to do whatever it takes to get the show back to the number 1 slot.
Director Farrah, leading lady Catherine and producer Amanda are the driven, ambitious women who’ve been trying to hold the production together. But thanks to their handsome but corrupt boss, Jake Monroe, Farrah is losing episodes to male colleagues, seventy-year-old Catherine is terrified of losing the public’s adoration, and Amanda is battling her desire for a forbidden affair with a handsome new employee.
As Madeline’s pressure to revive the show intensifies, she unleashes a true battle of the sexes where the women will do anything to stay in the jobs they love and on the island they call home. One thing is for certain: only the most ruthless woman will survive…
I’m tempted to break my 5/5 star rule to give this more stars
At the beginning, this book was good. Then it was really, really good. Then it was just utterly amazing and a fantastic reading experience.
The first 250 pages definitely hit the 4-star mark – it had a few small plot twists which kept you engaged and lots of bitchiness and dark humour, which just meant I couldn’t put it down. I’m talking ‘lunch burning’ type of vibe. And then blimey, do things get intense in the second half.
The setting of it being based around the entertainment industry – YES. When this brings over topics such as sexism and the lifestyle – DOUBLE YES. Take strong women who are fighting it out to make it to the top, and you’ve got yourself a perfect combination.
It’s incredibly fast-paced with lots of conversation to keep those pages turning. There are a fair amount of steamy scenes, especially in the first half when you’re just getting into the book; they helped to build the atmosphere of the plot, and build those character connections, but a pre-warning that it does hit you in the face, if that’s not your thang.
Plot twists after plot twists, and some which you absolutely wont see coming. At one point, my jaw genuinely dropped and I had my hand over my mouth for a solid 5 minutes before I could move on to the next page. They are so brilliantly done.
Near the end had my biggest fear in it, so I won’t lie and tell you I did skim over a few paragraphs as I definitely couldn’t hack it, but I read around this and can still tell you it was expertly done.
My only minor fault would be how many characters there were – although it isn’t difficult to keep up, and you are given descriptions of the key players, by the end, I couldn’t paint you a picture of what certain people looked like. There are also a lot of minor characters who are easily forgotten until they’re next mentioned. Saying this, I really enjoyed the characters, as you had a mix of personalities and sooooo much sassiness.
This book offers more than I expected – I really thought it was going to be a few women just tearing each other down and steamy scenes to make it an easy read, but it’s not. Absolutely fantastic. I’m tempted to break my 5/5 star rule to give this more stars. A guaranteed bestseller.
Ruthless Women, Melanie Blake, RRP £12.99 (hardback); Book Depository
Pages: 456
Publisher: Head of Zeus
Genre: Fiction
