Catch a Rising Star

Tracey Bateman did a great job writing this book. I read this book in one sitting. I tried to pace myself, but it was just too good!

Tabby Brockman is a rabbit working in a bookstore. Ok well she's a dressed up rabbit because her former job as a soap opera actress came to an end with her character's death. This can be blamed on jealousy by the head writer's husband being attracted to Tabby. She's getting by in life with her two best friends Dancy and Laini when she gets the call that she's been invited to rejoin the soap opera again. Now a Christian, Tabby has to make sure her character doesn't tread into dangerous waters, fend off unwanted suitors and try to stay on her toes with the hunky dad of her two soap opera kids. All in a day's work for an actress! Reading this book introduced a first for me. Tabby is a soap opera actress. I have never read in a Christian fiction book about a Christian acting in a soap opera AND still being a Christian. Normally the character will be a non Christian who's an actor, then converts and drops out of acting all together. So this was a welcome relief to see how one can be a Christian and act at the same time. This was a really fun book to read. I enjoyed learning about the soap opera world especially since I was a closet All My Children fan back in the day. It was interesting learning about what goes on in the makings of a show and reading about the backstage lives of the actors. Tabby is a great character who made me laugh a lot with her antics. I do love how there are characters you can love to hate in this book and that Tabby equally shares the reader's dislike in them. It makes the characters more relatable when they are acting the way you would act in that sort of situation. And I loved her relationship with Dave. Loved reading all the drama that happened between the two! It's just really cool to read about people who are around my age doing things they love, having great shoes and clothes but still be really adamant about their faith. I loved all the characters in this book and I'm looking forward to reading about Dancy and Laini's stories as well. If you are a soap opera fan or a chick lit gal, pick up this book!

Former soap opera diva Tabby Brockman feels she has hit bottom. Fired from the number one soap "Legacy of Life" for a misunderstanding with the writer (she caught her husband making a move on Tabby during a party and blamed Tabby), she's forced to work at a bookstore wearing costumes to read to kids which she can't get along with as one of her best friends and roommate Laini puts it "Putting Tabby with kids is like ... asking the garbage man to cook without washing his hands"- so needless to say she's been fired again. Than out of the blue she hears from Freddie her old friend and fitness trainer, from "Legacy of Life". That man always seems to know all the latest gossip about the show and now he knows the show wants her back! And to top it off Kyle Preston, everyone's dream agent, with good looks and great negotiation skills wants her as a client! After all her agent dropped her after she was fired from the soap and according to Freddie it seems her agent is friends with Julie, the show's writer, who fired her so now she's starting to understand everything. She can't believe God has opened the door for her to go back. But not everyone shares her enthusiasm Laini and Dancy (the other roommate and friend) and her Mom voice their opinions and they are not too keen on the idea. Back at the set Tabby wonders if they were right. She still has to deal with Julie, the writer that killed her off in the first place who makes her wear bandages for the first week and gives her lousy lines and the "precious" five year old twins that play her kids on the show that she wants to strangle and their dreamy dad that she finds she's falling for despite the kids and the fact their not hitting it off at all. Meanwhile her Mother keeps pushing David at her, which she has no interest in and won't take the hint. Her sister is unmarried and pregnant and her brother's new girlfriend drives her Mom up the wall. Her Dad suffers a heart attack and her friends have their own problems. All in all it's not your typical family life! What an awesome book, this reviewer could not put it down! The author Tracey Bateman does an awesome job in pulling you into Tabby's, Laini's and Dancy's lives and her sense of humor will have you in stitches. The characters are amazing in this first book of the Drama Queens Series. This reviewer is new to the world of Chick Lit but Bateman has given me an amazing introduction and I am definitely hooked not only on Tracey Bateman but on Chick Lit!

Reviewed by Cherie Fisher for Reader Views (8/07) "Catch a Rising Star" is the first of three in the "Drama Queen "series by Tracey Bateman. Bateman is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and it reflects throughout this well-written novel. I sat down to read a few pages of this novel and found myself turning page after page until I was done. Tabitha Brockman has hit rock bottom. She is a former soap opera star whose character was unfairly killed off when the lead writer found out that her husband had an interest in Tabby. Now she earns a living dressing up in costumes like Peter Cotton Tail and reading to children that she cannot stand. After getting fired from her animal gig for fighting with the children, Tabby ends up with appendicitis and lands in the hospital. This was not what she had in mind when she made a deal with God to surrender her life to him. Things start looking up almost immediately following Tabby's surgery. It seems that the soap opera where she used to work, Legacy of Life, has decided to resurrect her character, Felicia. Tabby is very grateful for the second opportunity that she has been given. Among the many challenges that face her as she returns to work is the biggest - being a Christian and good example on the set. She finds that she has to put her foot down to protect Felicia's morals so her fans will not lose confidence in her as a Christian. At the same time, Tabby is having trouble losing the guy that her mom has picked out for her and with being forced to work with her nemesis Rachel. To top it all off she finds herself completely attracted to David Gray, the father of her TV twins with whom she is having trouble bonding with. Whew! There is a lot of activity going on, but the author manages to bring it all together and make it work nicely. I highly recommend "Catch a Rising Star" to people who enjoy a light comedy drama and to those who have Christian ideals. The author does an excellent job of catching Christian ideals without being preachy, so I would not limit this book to Christian readers. The reading group guide makes it a good candidate for book clubs too. I really enjoyed reading this book and am looking forward to Tracey Bateman's next installment in the "Drama Queen" series.

I meant to pace myself. Really, I did, but Catch a Rising Star turned out to be one of those rare single-sitting reads--a witty, page-turning story of family, friendship, and faith. Oh! And did I mention "romance"? Yep, it's all there!