Author: Christina George

Review: The Publicist by Christina George

Posted on September 4, 2020 by Nadene @ Totally Addicted to Reading in Reviews / 8 Comments

When I purchased The Publicist, I expected a steamy and simple romance. However, what I got was a complex romance without the steam.

The focus of the story is on Kate Mitchell, a publicist for Morris and Dean Publishing, one of the top-notch publishing agencies in New York. She is determined to make her mark in the publishing world and in the process try to change the age-old institution of publishing. She just needs to focus on her job and stay away from the charismatic, handsome and how so married editor MacDermot Ellis.

Mac is funny and charming and has his eyes set on Kate. Known for his many liaisons, which he ends the moment the other party becomes emotionally involved because he had no intention of divorcing his wife. However, with Kate he wanted more.  Kate believed she could handle the affair despite the many warnings she received against it. Then to make the situation even more complicated, Nick, the handsome single nephew of a dear friend, shows his interest in cultivating a relationship that goes beyond friendship.  Can Kate fulfil her dreams of making waves in the publishing world while trying to handle her complicated love life?

I found the story engaging. It started out on a high note, which had me looking forward to more.  Kate is called upon to utilise her skills to avert a potential crisis. The story featured several laugh out loud moments that had me laughing hard until my eyes teared up. The ending, which was a cliff-hanger, left me with lots of questions and had me curious about what is next in store for the characters. 

I enjoyed spending time in the world the author created. I got an inside look into the world of publishing and learnt it was not all glamour and glitz. I saw first-hand the struggles publishers face dealing with high strung authors who cannot handle a negative review as well as the excitement garnered when her client ends upon the best seller list.

Kate Mitchell is hard working, and I admired her uncanny ability to handle the stressful situations with her clients. However, she is an enormous mess when it comes to her personal life. She had a knack for making poor choices regarding relationships, which was clear from her decision to get involved with Mac. Don’t get me started on how easy it was for her to get involved with Mac, despite the many warnings from her best friend.  What had me shaking my head even more was her involvement with Nick while claiming to being love with Mac.

I am sorry to say I did not like Mac. He remains in a loveless marriage for twenty years and tries to justify it by using the catholic church’s stance against divorce while engaging in many affairs.  Talk about hypocritical and selfish.  Sorry I have no sympathy for cheaters.

I was not a fan of the romance for obvious reasons. Cheating coupled with a love triangle is for me a recipe for disaster.  That being said, the manner in which the author wrote the love scenes the reader had no choice but to imagine what went on behind closed doors.

I had a wonderful time listening to Lisa Cordileone, and I thought she did a superb job. She brought the story to life, and it made my experience a pleasurable one.

Conclusion/Recommendation

Despite my disappointment in the main characters, the story had its good points.

About Christina George

I’ve worked in publishing for twenty years and I sincerely love books and authors. I started this journey with my own books planning to write just one, and then well – all I can say is the stories kept coming. My original series The Publicist, follows Kate, Mac, Nick, Vivienne and a host of other awesome characters as they make their lives in New York, amidst the chaos that publishing often brings with it. I am now exploring a fictional small town called Harper’s Corner. This series is so fun, because there are so many characters in this town, from sexy firemen and hot Army guys, to an awesome group of women that I affectionally call “the coven.” These books will explore each of these characters, and their journey to finding the loves of their lives.

I love writing, and I love reading and if I’m not actively writing a book, I’m probably dreaming of what I’ll write next.

Nadene @ Totally Addicted to Reading

Tags:

Divider