A star is most definitely not born in Steel's 24th novel--just a stereotypical California innocent who gets caught in the clutches of Hollywood. ""The birds were already calling to each other in the early morning stillness of the Alexander Valley as the sun rose slowly over the hills, stretching golden fingers into a sky that within moments was almost purple."" It's California, 1946, and romping through those golden fingers is Crystal Wyatt, part wood-nymph, part Cinderella, so beautiful at age 15 that grown men practically cry out and fall to the ground in the wake of her passing. Crystal is the daughter of an honest but dumb and poor rancher, and a horrible mother who is always yelling at her to do one thing or another. Who should arrive on the scene, then, but a handsome prince named Captain Spencer Hill, a newly returned war hero on his way back East to rich family, law school, and a career in politics. The two are smitten, but Crystal is too young; sighing wearily, Spencer heads back to New York, eventually to marry the ambitious and very proper Elizabeth Barclay. In the meantime, Crystal is raped by an evil brother-in-law and runs away to San Francisco, where she waits tables, becomes a singer, and eventually ends up a big movie star under the auspices of Svengali-like manager Ernie Salvatore, who is murdered under mysterious circumstances. Naturally, Crystal is accused of the crime, and Spencer gives up all--promising career and shrewish Elizabeth--to fly west and defend her. Clinch. Fade. Tepid stuff--a lackluster effort from a Romance Queen who is coasting on name alone. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Though Steel's ( Zoya ) novels showcase glamorous settings and turbulent romances, she writes convincingly about universal human emotions. Her latest book begins in California just after World War II. At age 14, Crystal Wyatt's radiant beauty and singing talent have already aroused hostility in her narrow-minded rural community. When Spencer Hill meets Crystal at her sister's wedding, an unlikely yet magnetic attraction binds them. Spencer, 13 years Crystal's senior, comes from a distinguished Eastern family that is forcing him to shoulder his deceased older brother's political aspirations. Though he yearns for Crystal, Spencer enters into a loveless but socially and professionally advantageous marriage with Elizabeth Barclay, daughter of a Supreme Court justice. Soon he implores her for a divorce, but Elizabeth vehemently insists on maintaining appearances. Meanwhile, Crystal has achieved stardom in Hollywood, but her brutally possessive manager threatens violent reprisal if she ever tries to see Spencer. In her portrayal of the reunion of this star-crossed couple, Steel displays the dramatic flourishes her fans savor. Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club dual main selection. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved