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Thursday, August 13, 2020

Review: The Wig, The Bitch & The Meltdown by Jay Manuel @mrjaymanuel

The Wig, The Bitch & The Meltdown 
by Jay Manuel

Thank you to the author for this copy!


Publisher: Wordeee
Publish Date: August 1, 2020
Paperback
350 Pages
Standalone
Genre: Satirical Fiction

The Wig, The Bitch & The Meltdown is a satirical look behind the scenes of Model Muse, a fictional reality model competition show and global phenomenon. Seen through the eyes of our moral compass Pablo Michaels-the heart of production in the helter-skelter world of Model Muse-we see behind the scenes and backstage shenanigans of the fashion/reality TV world. As "The Fixer," Pablo is the man everyone turns to in crisis. Struggling to hold the fledgling production together, he juggles his duties to his "BFF," the ruthless and vulnerable antihero Keisha Kash, his Supermodel boss while trying to hold on to his own soul.When the show is renewed after its sensational first season, this satire takes up where The Devil Wears Prada left us, only now we're on the runway, itself. Think Crazy Rich Asians meets Ladies Who Punch and a dish of Dulce de Leche.

My Review:



OMG, this book is just too much!  Y'all probably know Jay Manuel from his fashion correspondence and from America's Next Top Model.  Who else is better qualified to write a satirical fiction novel about the behind the scenes act of a reality modeling competition? Exactly.

If you've ever wondered what it might be like to be behind the scenes of a reality show, here's your very big story.  Every character is so very extra and I was here for every single sip of tea.  Manuel gives us the story of Pablo... who has a chance meeting with Keisha Kash that propels him into the reality world, the struggles of being a jack of all trades without the accolades of being the master of most, and a whirlwind of responsibility ... now where's the damn glory?

Fans of ANTM will notice parallels in Model Muse.  While you can't help but notice SO many similarities, keep in mind... this is SATIRE and FICTIONAL.  There are some truly hilarious and cringe worthy that had my face doing expression gymnastics (in the very best way).  For pure entertainment alone, if you like this subject matter, this is absolutely worth the read.  One of my favorite moments was the article included about the book within a book mention of Planet Fierce - a sci-fi adventure about alien models with superpowers who save Earth.  The critique had me rolling!

And while this is a very humorous read through and through, at the end of the day, it's a story about the reconciliation of your own past and recognizing your deeper self in a world where everything can seem extremely shallow.  And that was an unexpected lesson can appreciate.

★★★★

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