Last Night At Chateau Marmont
Author: Lauren Weisberger
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For years, Brooke has stood by her musician husband Julian’s side as he played gig after gig in dark, dingy New York City bars. She works two jobs with a smile on her face because she knows that Julian’s music makes him happy, and that someday he’ll make it. But when Julian finally hits the big time, it isn’t what either of them expected.

Suddenly, paparazzi are staked out in front of Brooke and Julian’s apartment and all of the time off Brooke has been taking to support Julian’s new-found success is taking its toll on her career. Then, the rumors begin. When Brooke reads about her husband cheating on her in a tabloid magazine, that’s the final straw. Is fame too much for Brooke and Julian?

I absolutely love Lauren Weisberger’s books, and I can’t believe it’s taken me an entire year to pick up this one. I read it on the beach, and believe me when I say, this is a fantastic beach read.

From the very beginning, I absolutely loved Brooke. She was 100 percent relatable and I identified with her early on in the book. I admired Brooke for how hard she worked, to support both herself, as well as Julian. Her dedication to her husband and his career was certainly impressive. While some reviews I’ve read bashed Brooke for not up and quitting her job to travel with her husband, but I actually admired her. Working  as a nutritionist and helping her patients gave Brooke a sense of purpose- much like music gave Julian a sense of purpose. I like that Brooke continued to do what made her feel good about herself.

Speaking of Brooke’s job, I loved the scenes of her working at a private school for teenagers. It gave this book a little more depth and feeling. I enjoyed Brooke’s encounters with the girls and I liked that the book discussed body image, especially when paralleled with the stick-thin Hollywood perceptions many young girls have. It was an interesting tie-in to the larger story.

Weisberger expertly weaves in enough back story to allow readers to understand how Brooke and Julian met. These were some of my absolute favorite chapters. I really enjoyed learning about how Brooke loyally went to the bar Julian sang at week after week to hear him perform. I especially love the moment Julian and Brooke finally talked and Julian told her that he always noticed her sitting in the back of the bar. What a perfect way to begin a love story.

If I had to describe this book in one word, I’d describe it as fun. Who hasn’t dreamed of being famous or hanging out with celebrities? In this book, readers get to put themselves inside Julian and Brooke’s shoes and actually do all of these things. It was especially fun to read about actual celebrities whom Julian and Brooke encountered throughout the book. These real life people definitely made the story come alive. I especially loved that Julian opened for Maroon 5 (one of my favorite bands!). I also enjoyed Brooke’s commentary about attending the Grammy’s and walking the red carpet. At several points in the book, I could perfectly picture the scene, almost as if it were a movie (which by the way, wouldn’t this make an awesome movie?).

While the book moved a little slowly, the second half of the book certainly picked up the pace as we dove into the main conflict. I went from adoring Julian to absolutely detesting him in a matter of pages. I love how Weisberger made my opinion of him flip on a dime. While it was painful to read about what Julian did to Brooke, I found myself completely engrossed and kept on turning the pages. I’m not sure how I feel about the ending of this book. While I of course wanted Brooke to get her happy ending, I’m not sure how realistic this book was. If I had gone through what Brooke had gone through, I’m not sure I’d be handling it as well as she did. The ending felt a little too neat for me. Life is messy, and I don’t think this book realistically portrayed this.

4/5