Official Review: Second Skin by Clare de Lune

[bookowlie]

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Second Skin" by Clare de Lune.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Second Skin by Clare de Lune is a novelette about a young woman dealing with the dark side of the Los Angeles modeling industry. In case you’re wondering, a novelette is shorter than a novella and longer than a short story. It is categorized in the General Fiction genre.

Louisiana-bred Brooke had dreams of becoming a writer and living in California, preferably Malibu. She would own an expensive car, live in a fancy house, and have a great guy. Well, she did move to California and became a writer, but the reality is not so sparkling. She lives in a small apartment in Venice and drives a hatchback. To make ends meet, she models on the side and takes freelance sex writing assignments. Most of the modeling jobs don’t involve wearing swimsuits for Sports Illustrated or posing for the cover of Vogue, if you catch my drift. As for the boyfriend, he’s nothing special. It’s not exactly the stuff dreams are made of.

Things spin out of control when Brooke discovers the dangers of the modeling scene. She turns to drugs to cope with her growing unhappiness and disillusionment. Things go downhill from there.

This short book packs a powerful punch. The author paints a vivid picture of Brooke as she deteriorates - unpaid bills, sending completed writing assignments to the wrong people, eating less, etc. There is excellent imagery of the immediate effects of shooting up heroin. The slimy, dangerous side of the L.A. modeling industry is described well. The models are treated as sexual, disposable objects and are routinely propositioned to have sex for money.

Told in the first person, the writing has an intimate, matter-of-fact style. It felt like the main character was telling her story underwater as she was slowly drowning. The author effectively conveys the disconnected perspective of a person who is addicted to drugs. The slow pace is a good fit with the main character who feels stuck in her situation. The rest of the characters are viewed almost in soft focus as Brooke’s decline from drugs and depression takes center stage. Brooke’s father and boyfriend are fairly forgettable, but Neil is well drawn as a photographer immersed in the modeling scene of sex and drugs.

I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. It is a raw look at a character’s crumbling psyche. The writing is top-notch and I became absorbed in Brooke’s world right from the first page. The story is not for the faint-hearted; it includes harsh subject matter and a sprinkling of foul language. I would recommend it to readers who enjoy intense, dark fiction.

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Second Skin
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[gali]

Sounds good! Thank you for the great review.

[PashaRu]

Wow, sounds intense. I think I would find this both fascinating and disturbing. Thanks for a good review.

Oh, and the sentence "It felt like the main character was telling her story underwater as she was slowly drowning." Yeah, I wish I had written that.

[bookowlie]

Sounds good! Thank you for the great review.

Thanks Gali! I thought this book was in the General Fiction genre, but I just looked it up on Amazon to confirm - it's actually listed in the Horror genre. Although there is not what I would consider a traditional Horror theme, it's certainly dark subject matter.

-- 18 Feb 2016, 19:20 --

Wow, sounds intense. I think I would find this both fascinating and disturbing. Thanks for a good review.

Oh, and the sentence "It felt like the main character was telling her story underwater as she was slowly drowning." Yeah, I wish I had written that.

Thanks PashaRu for the compliment! It means a lot coming from you since you are such an excellent writer. By the way, the Kindle book is free on Amazon at the moment.

[PashaRu]

Thanks! Just downloaded it.

[bookowlie]

Hope you enjoy it. It's a short book, but it actually took me longer to read than I expected.

[chytach18-]

Bookowlie, thanks for your review. I have placed the book on my reading list. Regarding a novelette - I think in Europe there is no big difference between novella and novelette (we generally call them novella). The genre was and still is quite popular in France, Poland and Russia. I love reading novelette (or novella).

[bookowlie]

Thanks Chytach! I had never heard of the term novelette beforel reading this book. That's interesting that novellas/novelettes are popular in France, Poland, and Russia!

[TrishaAnn92]

Sounds like a really good book to read bookowlie! Great review!

[anonanemone]

Love your descriptions, bookowlie! Bang up job as usual Sounds a little too dark for my taste but I congratulate the author on what is obviously a well written book!

[bookowlie]

Thanks TrishaAnn and Anonanemone. The book was a little dark for my taste, too. Still it's a very absorbing read.

[kimmyschemy06]

Wow! Sounds interesting. Normally I'm not into 'dark fiction' but I got so intrigued by the 'slimy, dangerous side of the L.A. modeling industry'. Great review. Congratulations to Clare de Lune for such a well-written book.

[moosiedoiley]

Great review! I have heard about this book before and it sounds quite good.

[bookowlie]

Thanks and welcome to the forums! The book is an intense, absorbing read. By the way, the Kindle version is free today on Amazon.

-- 21 Feb 2016, 11:50 --

Wow! Sounds interesting. Normally I'm not into 'dark fiction' but I got so intrigued by the 'slimy, dangerous side of the L.A. modeling industry'. Great review. Congratulations to Clare de Lune for such a well-written book.

Thanks Kimmyschemy! The backdrop of the modeling world was very interesting. People always think of modeling as glitz and glamour...not the case here.

[Jojowrites4All]

Great review, but a sad reality.