According to a Source

A Novel

By: Abby Stern

Narrated by: Thérèse Plummer

Ella Warren loves her job working for celebrity news magazine The Life as an undercover reporter. Her evenings are spent using her alias to discreetly attend red carpet events, nightclubs, and Hollywood hotspots like the fabulous Chateau Marmont, where her eyes are always peeled for the next big celebrity story.

When Ella's new Devil Wears Prada-type boss starts a not-so-friendly competition among the reporters to find an exclusive story or be fired, the stakes are higher than ever. But is being in Hollywood's elite inner circle worth jeopardizing her friendship with budding actress Holiday Hall and her relationships with her boyfriend and her family? As the competition grows fiercer, her life becomes intertwined in a public scandal that may cost her everything.

A juicy, bighearted audiobook about a young woman who loses herself in a fast-paced, glamorous world where finding your authentic self isn't easy.

©2017 Abby Stern (P)2017 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

"I had so much fun with this hysterical novel about Hollywood, and I can almost guess who the stars (in disguise) are! Abby Stern shows how Los Angeles is as dangerous as Rikers Island, yet how celebrities truly can be as superficial as Kardashians and glamorous as magic, all at once." (Lucy Sykes, author of Fitness Junkie and The Knockoff)

"Ella is an undercover celebrity gossip writer who loves her job. That shows in narrator Thérèse Plummer’s lively tone, which also fills with attitude when Ella has to fight for her place among other Hollywood writers. Plummer seamlessly switches from voicing Ella to portraying her British celebrity bestie whose voice oozes 'darling' with languid affection just as easily as it can threaten with clipped tones." (AudioFile)

It's a summer listen.

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Maybe it would be less annoying in print, but the long descriptive names of the celebrities became very tiresome to listen too.

Was According to a Source worth the listening time?

I listen to make my commute more enjoyable. This was a fun summer listen. It was what I expected so I did enjoy it.

light and fun

nice light fun read. good drama to get sucked into. I enjoyed the names of the celebs!

Ugh

Chick lit is a major guilty pleasure for me, so my tolerance for vapid fluff is pretty impressive. This particular book was pretty well-narrated, but the plot itself was far too unrealistic. Not only was it entirely unconvincing (e.g. the events resolving the story line were incredibly far-fetched and would never happen), but the characters were poorly drawn. They were essentially caricatures with super primitive motivations, making all of the relationships feel immature. You may find this listen more irritating than fun. I give it 2 stars because 1 star designations are reserved for Twilight-level quality.

I want more!

I WANT MORE! I WANT MORE! The performance was one of the BEST I've listened to! The story was charming, compelling and and a delightful peak on the inside of Hollywood.

Confusing

By not giving the celebs names the author makes the story difficult to follow. It was a cute story. Ella’s cognitive dissonance was well presented. A good lazy day read, if you can follow.