Review: Watching Willow Watts by Talli Roland

Talli Roland   - Watching Willow Watts  

When Was It Released?: 14th September 2011 (e book) and 30th November 2011 (paperback)
 Where Did I Get It From?: Talli Roland was kind enough to send me a copy for review
Who Published It?: Prospera
Number Of Pages:  352 pages


“No one could make you fulfilled and happy except yourself”, is the premise and message behind Talli Roland’s latest novel Watching Willow Watts. In today’s society so many people are desperate to become famous in anyway they can, especially with the introduction of You Tube. Fame, is not all that it is hyped up to be and it is great to see a novel that shows some of the pitfalls and what really happens once the fame takes hold. As soon as I read the synopsis of this novel I knew that I would be hooked and once I received this novel I was excited to get started.

Willow Watts, is a normal girl living in a predictably dull routine. She spends her days working in her dads antique shop and her nights staying in watching TV. Willow lives in a boring village filled with old aged pensioners with the title of Britain’s Ugliest Village. Willow’s life is suddenly turned upside down when a You Tube video of Willow impersonating Marilyn Monroe becomes an overnight sensation after the viewers spot Marilyn’s ghostly image in the video. Willows life and the small town she lives in are thrown into chaos with fans flocking from all over the world to see ‘the new Marilyn. Willow embraces her new identity, gaining weight to achieve Marilyn’s curves and changing her entire look. When Willow’s former love Alex returns to the village she must decide if she wants to focus on fame or revert back to her old self in order to find happiness.

Talli Roland has come up with a individual, unique storyline, which I have not seen done before. I really enjoyed the way she took this quirky idea of someone becoming a You tube sensation and what happens afterwards. I felt that with this storyline Talli was also able to create characters that were relatable and fell into pace with the story. I loved the characters of Dickie, Willow’s father and Bett’s, the Marilyn Monroe fan from America. I especially enjoyed when these two characters were interacting together. I found them extremely likeable and also very funny at times. I hated the character of Jay, he is absolutely vile, doing everything for his own gain and not caring in any way about anyone else. You are expected to hate Jay from the beginning, right through and you will be hoping along the way that someone manages to put him in his place. Willow is also an interesting character who you will feel for throughout the novel. Willow is also very family oriented, which I loved.

My only issue with the novel was that I felt at times as though Willow was a little too naïve. All of us make mistakes in life and make decisions without having all the facts, however I felt as though Willow went into a lot of situations with her eyes closed. I would have liked to see Willow as a little bit of a stronger character. For example Willow falls out with her best friend over Jay and decides to believe what Jay has to say over her best friend, Paula. Willow and Jay have only known each other for a few days, therefore I don’t believe it is realistic for a woman to believe a guy she has just met over her best friend.

Watching Willow Watts is a funny, heart-warming, unique story, that will have leave you unable to put the novel down. I finished Watching Willow Watts is one weekend and did not want it to end. I will now be running to the store to purchase The Hating Game, Talli Roland’s previous novel, in order to read more of her delectable writing. I would recommend this novel to anyone looking for a fun unique take on chick lit.