Part one was much better--lighter and more fun.

Well, this book was far better than the first. I guess the duo writers got their writing class on. The heroin was much more realistic and we didn't break up the beginning of the book with many short stories in the first few chapters. All-in-all I recommend the series (because in my book, you can't read one without the other).

It would have helped if I had read the title more closely before I started reading this book. On hindsight it's fairly obvious that there is another book that I should have read prior to starting this one, but I got my numbers confused and figured the FIRST ASSISTANT was the FIRST BOOK. oops.

I was expecting some brilliant "devil wears prada" moments in this book. The scheming second assistant ticks those boxes. Snooty English accent and air of superiority? check!

The main issue that I had with this book was Lizzie. She was equal parts stupid and laissez faire ambivalence, and then had the cheek to complain about "oh why does this happen to me?" Honey, if you live your life like a hot mess then you need to freaking pick up the pieces and get on with it. Show some balls!

I loved Emerald. She was the most realistic character in the book, and the Vietnam vignettes as well as the airport fiasco were particularly on point. These chapters just gelled with what I would imagine a Hollywood starlet to act like, but unlike stupid, dimwitted Lizzie, Emerald is true to herself with more perception than you would usually imagine a teen star as owning and has the "little girl lost" vibe working in her favour so that instead of rolling your eyes and thinking "how typical, what a diva" you understand and feel for her when she realises that however stupid Lizzie may be, she's perhaps the one real person in her life.

The various men that Lizzie comes across in the story are all described as screamingly attractive and in love with Lizzie. I can't picture up an image of Lizzie in my mind, because I don't know if I skipped over descriptions of her appearance or what, but her personality (or lack thereof) makes me wonder if this is entirely realistic.

The one character that really rubs me the wrong way her her frenemy, Justin, Julian? Jason? I can't remember his name but he was so completely morally corrupt that in the end I continued hoping that he would screw Lizzie over and leave her with nothing because if she was that blind to his evil methods, she deserved to suffer her own idiocies.

Overall, there's a lot to complain about, and as such it took me a while to read because I was just continuously feeling annoyed with many of the characters that I just couldn't stand to read another page. Unfortunately it didn't deliver the wittiness that I was expecting from such an expose into the Hollywood machine.

Not a good sequel. She didn't learn anything or become a better person, apparently.

Clare Naylor and Mimi Hare have come together to create a great chick-lit read set in the glamorous world of the Red Carpet, where not everything is as beautiful and glittering as it appears. Lizzie comes across many pitfalls and roadblocks on her journey, that are met with enough humour to balance out the rubbish luck she seems to be experiencing, but in true, chick-lit fashion everything seems to fall into place for her. It was an okay book, a generic chick-lit read but I did enjoy it and it kept me turning the pages.

If you liked the Devil wears Prada, you'll love this book. I laughed out loud, it is a quick, fun read.

I enjoyed the sequel to this Hollywood drama more than the first book, but I wonder if it's more because I listened to the book rather than the first one, I read. The narration was really well done...kind of similar to The Devil Wears Prada with the main character having that blase-don't-really-care-for-all-this entertainment drama tone of voice. It was nice that the story truly continued where the first book left off and came back full circle to end the stories of the interwintining lives of Lizzie, Jason, "Sex Addicts in Love", Lara and Scott and some new characters that made for more fun too. I'd definitely recommend checking out the audio version of this book and look forward to checking out some of Clare Naylor's other books (I learned on the back of the disc that Mimi hare was more on this book as a consultant to the drama behind the scenes of a Hollywood life and probably why these are the only two books they corroborated on).

Come on... You have to find out what happens after the first book ends!

I enjoyed this book just as much as the first one, The Second Assistant: A Tale from the Bottom of the Hollywood Ladder. They are both "fluff" books, so they are great when you need a light book. Apparently a lot of people compare these books to The Devil Wears Prada, but I personally enjoyed these books much more than I did The Devil Wears Prada. If you enjoy fluffy, light chick lit and stories of Hollywood, then give these books a shot. Just keep in mind that the titles are backward - the Second Assistant is the first book, and the First Assistant is the second book.

Not much substance, but a fun and easy chick-lit quick read.

Quick read, very entertaining!

Fun, light-hearted story-- perfect for beach/vacation read. Being from LA it's hard to overlook the Hollywood stereotypes in the story, but overall it's a decent read.