Early Review: Marlowe Banks Redesigned by Jacqueline Firkins

October 17, 2022

by Jacqueline Firkins

Pub date: Oct 25, 2022

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Marlowe Banks is an overworked, under appreciated production assistant on a TV show filming in LA with dreams of one day becoming a costume designer. She has a run-in with grumpy actor Angus on set and things don’t really get off on the right foot. They eventually get to know each other through working together but it takes extra work for Marlowe to excavate the real Angus Gordon from all the publicity she reads about him in magazines and online.

Even though this is a romance, the main story arc of the book is more about Marlowe’s journey in discovering who she is, what she wants in life, and figuring out how she’s going to get it. It has more emotional depth than a typical romcom and explores many important topics.

Aspects of the book remind me a little of Katherine Center’s The Bodyguard and Ava Wilder’s How To Fake It in Hollywood, both of which I loved. The blurb totally sold me on trying it but it took me a while to connect with Marlowe and feel invested in her situation. (The last 40% is where the book really shines.)

I enjoyed getting to know Angus and immediately loved the dynamic between him and Marlowe. I also really enjoyed Marlowe’s friendship with her coworker Cherry and her scenes with Angus’s friend Tanareve. The support and guidance they offer Marlowe is so special and sends a strong “women supporting women” message.

There is a strong feminist tone to Marlowe’s character (and the book as a whole). I appreciated the discussions about beauty standards in the entertainment industry, patriarchal norms, and the concept of being able to distinguish between what’s real and what’s fake. One of the themes of the book is the difference between real life and curated images you see online. Is it ever possible to really know someone based solely on what you see about them online? Marlowe also deals with body image issues and a lack of direction in her life. She feels discouraged at how elusive success and fulfillment have been in her personal and professional life.

“She couldn’t run errands indefinitely, nor could she engage in costume work that prioritized brand recognition over character and story. Not if she could use her voice as a storyteller, telling the sorts of stories that might make fewer girls like her question the value of their desires, their ambitions, and their impulses, defaulting to a position of getting small.”

Throughout the book, Marlowe struggles with many things but eventually learns how to acknowledge - and leave - a toxic relationship, how to believe in herself, how to follow her dreams even when everything is going against her, and how to put herself first when she needs to. Her evolution made me so proud of her. By the end she is on the road to accomplishing her goals and makes changes in her life for the better, and she is much happier for it. Needless to say, I was fully invested by the end and was rooting for her so hard!

I loved everything the book had to say about so many important things women have to deal with every day - and the ending is so good! The way Angus and Marlowe reconciled their very different lives (the third act breakup was mercifully short, thank you Ms Firkins) was exceedingly romantic and swoony and so so sweet.

🐶 One little side thing I loved: Marlowe’s costume designer boss has a dog that she sometimes asks Marlowe to care for. The dog’s name is Edith Head, which is never explained but is the name of a famous Old Hollywood-era costume designer. Love that reference! ⤵️