My edition: Ebook, published on 13 August 2015 by Pan Macmillan, 496 pages.Description: First class is about to get dangerous...
Pure Air's new LuxeLiner is flying from London to LA - its inaugural journey - with a first-class cabin packed with A List celebrities. As the feuding crew compete to impress their famous passengers, the handsome pilot tries to win the attention of a pretty young stewardess.
But one VIP singer is battling something seriously sinister: watching her every step is a very determined stalker, someone who will go to any lengths to get the star to satisfy their desires. At thirty thousand feet there is nowhere to run, and nowhere to hide...
Rating:
I've been in love with Rebecca Chance's bonkbuster thrillers ever since I read Bad Sisters back in 2011 and I have devoured all her books since, right down to last year's Bad Brides. With a combination of glitz and glamour, characters not-so-loosely based on real-life famous faces, twist-and-turn storylines and, of course, steamy sex scenes, they're the perfect guilty pleasure reads. So to say that I was excited to read her latest novel, Mile High, for the official blog tour is an understatement!
The story is for the most part set inside an airplane, on the inaugural flight of Pure Air's LuxeLiner from London to Los Angeles. Passengers would normally already bathe in luxury beyond anything offered by competitive aviation companies, but as this is their very first flight promoting the exorbitant services they're going a step further with the publicity campaign and they've roped in a group of celebrities to be the first to enjoy the full-sized sleeping pods, freshly steamed lobsters and the rest of the decadence offered in the air.
Catalina is a world famous pop star on her way to the Oscars to perform and unbeknownst to her she has not only her personal assistant in tow but also the stalker who made her life miserable some months prior. Heading for the same destination are Oscar-nominated actress Jane Browne, who has her own secrets to hide, as well as celebrity chef Danny Zasio, who can't go one flight without breaking his marriage vows. The three celebrities already bring plenty of excessive baggage on board with them to fill an entire novel, but the crew members too create plenty of entertainment, from the serial-cheating pilot, right down to drug smuggling cabin crew and a new recruit from the far inferior ReillyFly, who is forced to go more than an extra mile to prove her worth among the snobby Pure Air crew.
As a long-time fan of Rebecca Chance's novels I went into her latest book with high expectations and that may have been its downfall. Because while it was a perfectly enjoyable read, it didn't have that sparkle and sense of the unexpected I've come to love in her writing. Nor was it as absurd or sensual as her previous novels, which made it too much like other books within the women's fiction genre, rather than being a distinct Rebecca Chance read that with each turning page becomes more exciting and addictive; filled with characters that are bitchy and horrible yet you can't help but totally fall for in a love-to-hate kind of way.
Mile High didn't hit those extremes as the characters were for the most part likeable, or they redeemed themselves along the way, rather than outrageously horrible, and non of the sexy scenes felt quite as creative as they did in previous novels, making this book more middle-of-the road. Combined with too much time spend on flashbacks taking place outside of the close quarters of the airplane, it didn't grip me as much as Rebecca's other novels. Don't get me wrong, it's a well-written and well-plotted story, but it wasn't as amazing Killer Heels, Killer Queens or the aforementioned Bad Brides, all of which were solid 5-star reads that I absolutely adored from start to finish.
While unfortunately this wasn't my favourite of the author's novels there was still plenty to enjoy within its pages, from a very creative threesome in the air, through to some unexpected twists and turns in particular involving Catalina's storyline. And where Rebecca excels as ever was by weaving in references to celebrities and brands yet twisting the names and backgrounds a little bit to pretend that their scandalous escapades are purely fictional, when we all know that they're based on some very persistent rumours floating around in the real world. Those are some of the most delectable parts of her novels and in Mile High she has (not so secretly) hidden some real gems among the scandal and mystery set in the sky.
You can purchase the novel from Waterstones, Amazon.co.uk or your own preferred retailer.
Would you like to know more about the author? You can connect with her online at:
Website: www.rebeccachanceauthor.com
Twitter: @MsRebeccaChance
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