Eons back there was a concept of pocket books. Simple but
forgettable stories meant to appeal to the largest number of people. This is
something that belongs to that genre. (There should be a term for this.)
Amelia works in a day job that she hates and designs clothes
in her free time. She is a good, nay, great designer but suffers from serious
self-worth issues. Her best friend Cecile fixes an interview for Amelia in the
design house she (Cecile) works for – Styles. Styles is a hugely successful
brand that any fledgling designer would be thrilled to work for. Unbeknownst to
the world, Styles is floundering, practically on the edge of shutting down. The
owner, Vogue, is putting everything on line to save her precious company. Vogue’s
friends and partner, Bev, had passed off a student’s designs as her own and
Vogue paid a million pounds to cover the controversy before it became public. Amelia’s
designs seem to be the lifeline to rescue Vogue and Styles. Except that there
is a dark force working tirelessly to destroy Vogue. A dark force that has made
itself cosy right in Vogue’s inner circle.
There are a plethora of possibilities that could’ve made
this book rise above being just adequate but it remains strictly in the ‘maybe-okay’
space. There are a lot of plot holes and inconsistencies (what is Cecile’s role
in Styles? Why did she get Amelia an interview and then warn her off
immediately? For all its success, a payout of a million pounds is enough to
make Styles almost fold – aren’t top design houses much more solvent?...these
are just a few questions that pop). The writing just skims the surface of
everything including characters, characterisations, ideas and plot. Worse are
mistakes like Melissa’s adoptive parents’ names just changing at will and
incorrect language (for instance ‘trustworthy’ instead of ‘trusting’).
This is a book that doesn’t evoke strong enough negativity
to DNF it but is eminently forgettable and leaves a regret of unrealised
possibilities.
⭐⭐☆
