A fictional account of Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise's relationship. Lizzie Pepper is the girl next door TV actress who falls for mega star Rob Mars. Swept in a whirlwind of romance, Lizzie wants to be a part of Rob's life and get into the heart and head of Rob, and knows the way completely into knowing the inner Rob is through One Cell (ie. Scientology).

A great interesting beach read. I don't care how good lucking Tom Cruise is, he scares the eff out of me. Recommended if you love celebrity gossip, Hollywood, and enjoy a read that requires no thought. ( )

This is a thinly-veiled telling of Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise's whirlwind romance then subsequent marriage and split. I suppose there are enough differences to prevent the author from legal issues, but we all know whose tale she is telling. And what a tale it is! Whatever amount of this story has basis in actual fact, it gave me renewed sympathy but mostly respect, for Katie ("Kate," as he called her, remember? Just like "Lizzie" becomes "Elizabeth" in this book) Holmes. It couldn't have been easy to extract oneself from that world. It's a good reality check to remember that those who are lucky enough to make it big in their field of acting actually give up huge amounts of normalcy in most other areas of their lives.

Worth a summer read, for sure. Fun, but not deep. ( )

Young actress Lizzie Pepper, a "girl next door" type, finds herself cast in the role of a lifetime when older Hollywood A-lister Rob Mars chooses her to be his real-life wife. Rob is known for his obsessive privacy and involvement in a shadowy self-help group known as One Cell Studio. For her part, Lizzie isn't after money or fame, although she winds up with plenty of both; rather, she wants nothing more than to understand who her husband is beneath his megastar persona. As is usual in stories like this one, everything isn't as it seems.

Movie Star by Lizzie Pepper doesn't hide the fact that it is a roman a clef about Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes's much-publicized marriage and subsequent divorce. Both of the lead characters are portrayed sympathetically. Rob in particular comes as a pathetic, emotionally limited man, rather than as an unhinged cult follower.

This novel is not great literature, but is recommended as an entertaining beach read. ( )

Lizzie Pepper became a famous actress as a teen -- growing up before America's eyes on her TV show. Eventually Lizzie meets America's most famous movie star, Rob Mars -- and quickly their courtship and marriage becomes tabloid fodder and her life changes forever. At first, Lizzie is head over heels in love with Rob and all that he brings: romance, lavish trips, and instant stardom. But soon, her life is taken over by Rob's wealth and fame -- his constant absences, a complete lack of privacy, and a world overshadowed by Rob's total commitment to One Cell Studio, a form of study and practice that nears cult status. Once they have children, Lizzie begins to doubt everything about their relationship -- and what her husband stands for.

This was a fun book. Written by Hilary Liftin, a celebrity ghostwriter, Lizzie is a really enjoyable and insightful character. The book is clearly supposed to be based on Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes. I kept imagining Rob Mars as a creepy twist between Tom Cruise and Rob Lowe, which was a little frightening. The One Cell piece is oddly disconcerting, as it's supposed to be, and made me want to delve more into the weirdness that is Scientology. Lizzie's evolution was fun to read about (I enjoyed, on a personal level, that she had twins) and she remained a realistic and relatable character, despite being elevated to movie star status. It truly makes you think about some of the insanity that movie stars have to go through, especially those that have children. It also gets you thinking about various religious cults and the power they have over people. In the end, probably a 3.5 star book, as it's a quick, fun read, but with a surprising depth behind it in places. After all, in the end, a marriage crumbling is a marriage crumbling, even in Hollywood. ( )

Chalk this up to an enjoyable speculation of the Tom Cruise/ Katie Holmes relationship. I don't know how much inside information the author had but the story makes you wonder. It all sounds very plausible. A cautionary tale of how fame and money really can't buy happiness. ( )