Sometimes I go through a period of reading kinda trashy books, and I thought Angel was going to be one of them. Angel is a young girl who gets discovered as a glamour model at the age of 17, and the story of her fairly meteoric rise to fame and love life. Angel goes from having vague desires to go into fashion design to being incredibly famous, going out with a member of a boy band and tabloids and gossip magazines watching her every move.
Katie Price (aka Jordan) is an incredibly famous glamour model who is also a shrewd businesswoman, and this was her first novel collaboration with her ghost writer Rebecca Farnworth. This was published shortly after Price’s first marriage, and gives me an insight into her life. The modelling experience, the requirement to be in the public eye and clubbing in order to gain notoriety for future jobs, and the ill-fated love affairs – all of these have the ring of truth, and seem somewhat autobiographical. Price’s heroine came from the same town as she did, got her breasts enhanced just as she did from the same size, and also loves horse-riding. The proposal at the end (spoiler, but are you surprised? It’s that kind of book) involves a pink engagement ring in a pink box. Anyone who has even seen photos of Price’s first wedding can see how this ties into her own life!
If this is somewhat inspired by Price’s life, then it gives me new respect for the woman. She has accepted the tabloid and press intrusion into her life, and turned them to her advantage. She’s mined her own life for romance and glamour, and got a co-author to turn it into a guilty-pleasure book, a beach read.
I can’t pretend this was the best book I’ve ever read, or even the best beach book. But Price and Farnworth keep the tale ticking over, and drop enough inside gossip to make a reader feel they’re being nosey as well as entertained.