Adored: A Novel » (Abridged)

To the outside world, Siena McMahon’s life is a fairy tale. She’s the granddaughter of Hollywood legend Duke McMahon and the daughter of his billionaire producer son. She has beauty, brains, and wealth. And like her grandfather, Sienna has a rapacious appetite for the opposite sex, a love of high-living, and one all-consuming desire: to be the most dazzling star of her generation. From her success as a fashion model, to her early struggles as an actress, to her legendary affairs with the wrong men, this story of one woman’s journey to the top gives new meaning to larger-than-life power, glamour, and fame.

Publishers Weekly

With only one previous audiobook under her belt (Bergdorf Blondes, Hyperion Audio), Walger's sensational narration of Bagshawe's deliciously sinful novel proves she's a budding audio star. Walger (who appears on TV's CSI: NY) throws herself into this adaptation with giddy abandon and palpable enthusiasm. Narrating most of the book with her crisp, confident British accent, she effortless slips into American characters, giving each an individual cadence and personality. Bagshawe's decades-spanning Hollywood tale of glamour, greed, lust and revenge will remind listeners of the sweeping, high-caloric sagas by Jacqueline Susann or Lynda LaPlante. Like those two authors, Bagshawe excels at creating characters who are borderline unsympathetic but always compelling. While the big, juicy beach novel has been trimmed a bit, Jessica Kaye's excellent abridgment keeps the various story lines coherent while never slowing the pace below a gallop. Walger's remarkably adroit characterizations never let the multitude of characters become confusing. The only flaw in this production is that the musical cues sometimes play too loudly, threatening to drown out the narration rather than enhancing it. Simultaneous release with the Warner hardcover (Reviews, May 2). (July) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.