Ruthless Women by Melanie Blake

From Goodreads

Ambition can be deadly... A sizzling thriller set behind the scenes of a glamorous TV soap, from a Sunday Times bestselling author. Falcon Bay is the UK's favorite TV soap, beamed to millions three days a week from its beautiful location in the Channel Islands. But the show has a new owner, and ratings are falling. The cast and crew used to be 'one big family,' but now they've turned against each other in the battle to impress their new boss and survive the downturn. Writer Farrah, lead actor Catherine, and producer Amanda are the driven, ambitious women who keep the show on the road. But Farrah is losing episodes to her less experienced male rival, Catherine is terrified of the public falling out of love with her, and Amanda's evil husband Jake, vice president of the network, is plotting to get his wife kicked 

off the show. Can these women team up to bring down their rivals? Only if they are prepared for a battle of the sexes—where they'll need to be as ruthless as the men to come out on top... 

My thoughts

Thanks to the Author and Publisher for the opportunity to read this book in order to take part in the Blog tour of the book organised by Bei Guo of MidasPR.

I gave this a 4 stars or 8/10. 

This story took me back to my teens as it was very reminiscent in style and content to the great bonkbuster reads that I devoured back in the 1980's. Melanie Blake's story would most certainly have sat nicely on the bookshelves among the likes of Jilly Cooper, Shirley Conran and the many other Authors that I read back then. I still have copies of books by some of these Authors, the stories have stood the test of time. Her book though is also very current being set among the cut throat world of long running TV dramas or soap operas if that's what you prefer to call them.

In Ruthless Women, Melanie Blake has woven a story with a cast of very strong women who are not afraid of treading on people as they set their focus on achievement and the hunger to succeed at all costs.  For some of them they will not know the costs until the soap opera has played out!

This book and others by her (if they are as good as this one) are most definitely not to be missed if the bonkbuster is the genre that you enjoy. My copy of her previous book The Thunder Girls is already sat patiently waiting to be read and I look forward to reading it.

Bring on the bonkbuster ....

Ruthless Women is available to buy now in various formats, go grab yourself a copy and immerse yourself in the world of Ruthless Women.

About the Author

At fifteen years old Melanie Blake was told by her high school career advisers that her decision to do work experience at a local record shop was an ‘embarrassment and a clear example that she wouldn’t go far in life or her career’. They were wrong. By twenty-one she was working at the BBC’s iconic Top of the Pops show and by twenty-seven she had built a reputation as one of the UK’s leading music and entertainment managers, with her own agency and a roster of award-winning artists who had sold more than 100 million records.

After a decade at the top, Melanie decided to manage a smaller client list and concentrate on her other passion, writing – first as a columnist for a national newspaper, then as a playwright and now as a novelist. They say write about what you know, and having lived and breathed every aspect of the music and entertainment industry, in The Thunder Girls she certainly has.