Every so often I go through phases of reading a load of trashy chick lit, and when that happens, I reach for a Wendy Holden. I've read a lot of her novels over the years, usually acquired free from magazines, but I picked up Beautiful People from my local library.

Beautiful People was published in 2009, and is Holden's tenth novel. It features several main characters, unusual for Holden as she usually focuses on one central character. Beautiful People does not however feature Holden's recurring character of Champagne D'Vyne - which is no loss in my opinion.

Darcy is a serious English actress who suddenly has the chance to star in "the new Star Wars". Belle is a fallen Hollywood star who manages to regain the limelight through her off screen exploits. Emma is a dedicated nanny who somehow finds herself in celebrity circles. Orlando is reluctantly gorgeous and fending off women. Marco is a passionate Italian chef who isn't looking for love. Holden weaves a story which intertwines all their lives, and brings everything crashing together.

What I like about Holden's novels are the stories. They're not complicated or original, but they're perfect trashy chick lit. The bad characters are obviously the bad guys, and they get their comeuppance - things don't work out for them. The good guys always get their happy ending (and it's predictable from early on).

The characters are simple. There are the ones that the reader will like, and the ones which are deliberately written so that we don't like them. These characters, like Belle, always frustrate me, because Holden has them thinking they are fabulous and deserve everything good in life.

While Beautiful People still has the predictable story and characters of Holden's previous novels, I felt it was of a higher standard. It is considerably longer, involves more characters and has a more intricate story. There are so many threads to the story that when eventually the novel came back round to the story of a minor character, I had forgotten they existed.

When I pick up a Wendy Holden novel, it is with certain expectations. I expect to be entertained, to read happy endings, and for it to be mindless reading with no thought required. I wasn't disappointed with Beautiful People, it was as mindless and as easy as previous novels by Holden. However, I was pleasantly surprised that it was of a slightly higher standard than I expected.

I would always recommend Wendy Holden for a spot of lightweight reading, but I would also always say don't expect much at all except thoughtless entertainment. With Beautiful People, you can expect a little bit more than usual.