Book Review and Giveaway: The Publicist by Christina George

This is well written and engaging but more romance than I expected.
The Publicist
by Christina George

• File Size: 362 KB
• Print Length: 227 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1478247525
• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (December 3, 2012)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.

Genre: Contemporary Fiction
My Rating: 4.0 of 5.0

Book Description
Publication Date: December 3, 2012
Can one woman change an age-old institution like publishing? Probably not, but Kate Mitchell sure wants to try. As a publicist with a large, respected New York publishing house, Kate finds herself at the mercy of a broken publishing system, books that don’t sell, and author egos that are often, well, as big as the island of Manhattan.

Enter the star editor, MacDermott Ellis: Tall, handsome, charismatic, married, and ready to save the day. Then there’s Allan Lavigne, once a revered author—now as forgotten as last year’s bestsellers and his nephew Nick: Tall, gorgeous, sweet, single, and ready to sweep Kate off her feet. Kate wants to do the right thing but her hormones seem to be driving her decisions.

As Kate tries to navigate the landmine of publicity, over-the-top author expectations, and the careful dance of “I’m sorry, your book isn’t on the bestseller list this week,” she also finds authors who are painfully overlooked by a publisher wanting more sex, more celebrities, and more scandal.

Welcome to the world of publishing. The ego has landed.

Review:
Kate Mitchell has the dubious pleasure of being a publicist with a respected New York publisher. This includes launching some marvelous books as well as promoting and boosting some authors who are riding on prior successes. Some clients are lovely but many are demanding and unreasonable. Her job has become more challenging as the print industry has to compete with the rise of electronic publishing.

Kate hasn’t had much time for dating especially since no one has really caught her interest. There is her work associate, Mark, who is handsome and charismatic but also married. His marriage has been estranged for many years but he has maintained the relationship and honors family time so he can be with his sons as they have matured. Mark is accustomed to being with attractive women who understand that his commitment is limited. He has been interested in Kate and is glad to step in to rescue her at a last minute book event emergency. Their time together increases until Kate succumbs and they begin an intense relationship. Kate is enthralled with Mark even though she realizes their being together limits her future.

Then Kate meets Nick, the nephew of one of her favorite authors, Allan. Allan had a spectacular debut novel but has never produced a second book to the frustration of the Publisher. Finally the publisher finds a way to cancel the contract they had signed years before. Nick is immediately taken with Kate and clearly wants to see more of her even though he will be returning to California.

Kate struggles to choose between two handsome men, one who is distant by geography and the other who is distant by his own rules. Her life becomes more interesting when she inherits an unpublished manuscript that will clearly be a best seller.

This story is well written and interesting with complex characters and conflicts.  I was caught up in the story even though it did not proceed as I expected. I was hoping, based on the blurb, for more detail on the struggles of the publicist but the plot is more the romance conflicts. I don't like adultery and wasn’t inclined to like Mark. Ms. George does a good job of making him more likeable than just a cheating womanizer.  It appears that he uses his marital situation to avoid emotional commitment in any relationship but Kate has touched his life unexpectedly.

The book ends with lots of open questions that can only be answered by reading the sequel. What will Kate do with the manuscript and which man will she choose?

This is a story for those who like conflicted romance plus it has the bonus interest of being set in the publishing industry. 

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Misconceptions on the job of a publicist:

Most people think that being a publicist means a series of exciting parties, rubbing elbows with celebrities, and trips to exotic places to promote whatever book they were working on. Nothing could be further from the truth.  Locations 126.

Kate asks Mac:

“I mean don’t you want ....A whole relationship instead of pieces of a life stolen here and there?” Location 1225.

Kate recognizes the limits of Mac’s love for her:

Only it wasn’t love. It was something else that masqueraded as love but came with an expiration date.  Location 1621.

I received this title from the Author for an honest review.

This book is set in New York for my 2013 Where Are You Reading list. This is also a New Author.

Thank you to Ms. George for offering books for Giveaway: 

TO ENTER THIS GIVEAWAY for PRINT COPY to US and eBook to Canada/International.

ENTRY FORM HERE

For 3 Extra Bonus entries comment on the review or Visit the Author's website and leave a comment telling something you find of interest.

 * This contest is open US -Print OR INTERNATIONAL - eBook.
* This contest will close 10 PM (Central) on January 25, 2013.
The winner will be randomly selected from all entries.
WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED on January 26, 2013.
Winners will have 72 hours to respond by email or the winners form linked in the announcement.