In vein of Daisy Jones & The Six and Everything I Never Told You, this debut novel probes the dark side of fame after a former pop star ends her own life.
Cassidy Holmes isn't just a celebrity.
She is “Sassy Gloss,” the fourth member of the hottest pop group America has ever seen. Hotter than Britney dancing with a snake, hotter than Christina getting dirrty, Gloss was the pop act that everyone idolized. Fans couldn't get enough of them, their music, and the drama that followed them like moths to a flame—until the group’s sudden implosion in 2002. And at the center of it all was Sassy Cassy, the Texan with a signature smirk that had everyone falling for her.
But now she's dead. Suicide.
The world is reeling from this unexpected news, but no one is more shocked than the three remaining Glossies. Fifteen years ago, Rose, Merry, and Yumi had been the closest to Cassidy, and this loss is hitting them hard. Before the group split, they each had a special bond with Cassidy—truths they told, secrets they shared. But after years apart, each of them is wondering: what could they have done?
Told in multiple perspectives—including Cassidy herself—and different timelines, this is a behind-the-scenes look into the rise and fall of a pop icon, and a penetrating examination of the dark side of celebrity and the industry that profits from it.
Double Exposure
Elissa R. Sloan
Elissa R. Sloan, author of The Unraveling of Cassidy Holmes, returns with a sweeping drama about two A-list stars—a former star couple—as they cross each other's paths over and over again through the years, in a story that examines the work we have to do in order to grow into the people we want to become.
Maiko Fox and Adrian Hightower were young, beautiful, in love…and famous. The latest model to grace the Valentina Posh runway show and the hottest new superhero actor were Hollywood’s breakout couple. They were in every magazine, all over the most popular celebrity-blogs, and on countless E! News stories.
They starred in a blockbuster film together, reaping box-office gold. Fans were at a fever pitch. No one could get enough of Madrian, the couple that printed money for the studios, for the paparazzi, for themselves.
But then, their relationship crumbled.
Years later, with Adrian topping the Hollywood A-list as a writer and director, dating the country’s biggest pop star, and Maiko starring in movies for her celebrated producer-director husband, they live totally different lives. But they can never be too far apart. Madrian is still a box office draw, and the studios keep throwing them together.
As the two grow more and more entangled again professionally, Maiko and Adrian have to reckon with themselves: are they happy with their current lives? Or have they grown to be better people when with each other?
Hayley Aldridge Is Still Here
Elissa R. Sloan
From the author of The Unraveling of Cassidy Holmes comes yet another sharp, page-turning novel about a forgotten child star and former Hollywood "It" Girl who is now fighting back against the conservatorship that has controlled her life for the past decade.
It's been years since anyone really thought about Hayley Aldridge. A child star turned television royalty, Hayley spent years in Hollywood partying and being plastered across the front page of all the tabloids before quietly disappearing after a whirlwind marriage and divorce and very public breakdown. Once the tabloids wrung every last drop out of the drama, they moved on to the next It Girl. But Hayley is still here.
For over a decade, she's been trapped in a conservatorship and had every aspect of her life controlled by her parents. She goes nowhere, does nothing without their approval, which is rarely granted. Her visits with her kids are monitored, her fan mail is censored, and she's a prisoner in her own home. She thought things might change once she was well enough to work, but the restrictions got even tighter as she continued to bring money in--the only thing her parents ever really cared about. Hayley is beginning to realize that this nightmare is her actual life. And she's sick of it.
When the hashtag #helphayley starts to emerge on social media, and the public starts thinking critically about what happened to her all those years ago, there's finally some momentum on her side. With an upcoming court date to review the status of the conservatorship, Hayley might finally have a chance to break free.
But how can she go up against her parents when they're aware of her every move? It's time for Hayley Aldridge to remind the world who she is, this time on her own terms.