Secrets of a South Beach Princess

by Mary Kennedy

From the author of Tales of a Hollywood Gossip Queen comes the story of the newest it girl in Miami and how she discovers that not all publicity is good publicity.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0425211967
• ISBN13: 9780425211960
• Release Date: November 2006
• Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group
• Length: 245 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.9" x 6.9"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Fun chick lit for teens

Mary Kennedy kicks off a new teen series set in South Beach, Miami. Secrets of a South Beach Princess chronicles the life of rich-girl-turned-model Amber Fielding. Her father is the owner of one of the most recognized, posh hotels in South Beach, The Fielding Hotel, and with the penthouse as her address, Amber is the princess in residence. It's the start of the summer and Amber has grand plans for how to spend her time, but when she meets Nick Crawford, son of an actress who lives in the hotel, Amber considers rearranging her plans to include him! Unfortunately for Amber, however, Nick seems to run hot and cold, one night inviting her to dinner, the next hitting on her best friend. Furthermore, Nick has a camera that never leaves his side, but is he a budding filmmaker as he claims, or something else? Secrets of a South Beach Princess had the potential to be a fun summer read. Unfortunately, the characters Kennedy has drawn never become anything more than two-dimensional. From the drunken rock star, to the eccentric movie star living in the hotel, the characters are caricatures of their real-life counterparts. Likewise, the dialogue didn't ring true at times. I'm ten years older than Amber and her friends and I've never used words like "yikes" and "pooch," I can't imagine that they would either. For all of the flaws I found in the book, I still believe that readers in the intended age bracket would enjoy Secrets. The book is filled with name-dropping and fashion references that appeal to the MTV crowd. It's chick lit for teens and that seems to be a very popular genre. Fans will have to check Kennedy's website www.marykennedy.net for information on upcoming novels in this series. Armchair Interviews says: Fun chick lit for young adults.

Courtesy of Teens Read Too

Amber Fielding is a very rich girl who lives in South Beach, Florida. Her father owns the hotel The Fielding, which is a very elite hotel in South Beach. She and her family live on the very top floor of the hotel and Amber has the life that she wants. She also has three very good friends that reminded me, in some ways, of the relationship between friends in the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants / Second Summer of the Sisterhood / Girls in Pants (3 Book Set). One day, she is hanging out at the hotel pool and she meets Nick Crawford. She really begins to like him but then he does something awful to her. (You will have to read the book to find out exactly what, though!) SECRETS OF A SOUTH BEACH PRINCESS moves kind of fast because there aren't always a lot of details, but then there are some parts of the book that feel as if they could have been cut out. Overall, it has a very good storyline and a great, entertaining idea behind it. I would only recommend this book to mature teens, however, because there are some alcohol references, inappropriate scenes for younger readers, and one of the characters has an eating disorder. Reviewed by: Taylor Rector

More complexity than she's ready for.

Mary Kennedy's SECRETS OF A SOUTH BEACH PRINCESS tells of a rich blond girl who is Miami's newest 'it girl' find. When a handsome boy checks into her hotel for the summer she anticipates romance - but discovers more complexity than she's ready for.

fine teen angst tale

On the surface teenager Amber Fielding is the golden girl who has everything going for her. Her father owns the Fielding Hotel in South Beach, Florida and they live in the Penthouse. She is a part-time model with a publicity agent who is getting endorsements for her and she recently had a two page spread in a magazine where she was dubbed the new "It Girl". She is not snobby and has a good work ethic, helping her father insure the hotel runs smoothly. By the pool she meets Nick, a handsome sturdy young man who is staying with his mother, the reclusive retired movie star Ellen Crawford, at the Fielding Hotel. They immediately click but he keeps sending her mixed signals, talking flirtatiously to her friend and sending her other friend who he doesn't even know an expensive bouquet to cheer her up when she is hospitalized. When Amber learns that Nick betrayed her, she wants nothing more to do with him but he isn't willing to let their relationship die before it begins. Mary Kennedy writes entertaining novels around the teen-age audience. Beyond telling a good story, she explores teen angst, the pressure teens feel and the mistakes they make by giving in to the pressure. The protagonist may be fooled by people pretending to be nice but she is nobody's fool and she quickly learns from her mistakes. Readers would be proud to call her their daughter. Harriet Klausner