Monday, October 12, 2015

review || HER CONFESSIONAL : PLAYING FOR KEEPS + series { blog tour } by Rebecca Norinne Caudill


Making of a Star Cover
Self-Published | April 8, 2015 | Romance
Her Confessional, book 1
★★★★1/2

SOURCE: INDIESAGE

Her Confessional is a sexy new romance series told from the point of view of Sarah Travers, a smart, happy, plus-size heroine who explores - through a series of written confessions - what happens when the best friend she's secretly in love with becomes the world's most famous actor overnight. 

Hi, I’m Sarah, a plus-size 33-year-old single woman with an amazing job as a personal assistant to a major Hollywood director. My best friend? His name is Cameron. Here’s a secret for you, something I’ve never told anyone else before: I’m in love with him. Truly, madly, deeply. I know. Bad idea, right? But that’s not even the worst of it. My biggest problem? I’m not the only one. You see, Cameron just landed the role of a lifetime and now millions of other women fancy themselves in love with him too. But this isn’t their story; it’s mine. My confessional.

The Making of a Star is the first installment in the series.
Our Little Secret Cover

Self-Published | June 11, 2015 | Romance
Her Confessional, book 2
★★★★1/2

SOURCE: INDIESAGE

Sarah Travers has had a really bad month. First, a drunken night of sex with her best friend – and the secret love of her life – Cameron Scott resulted in him freaking out on her and going MIA. That would have been bad enough but then her boss, a high-powered Hollywood director, cast Cameron as the lead in his new movie and put Sarah in charge of his publicity. On the bright side, it turns out she’s rather good at it - much to the chagrin of the studio’s PR team. Cameron’s back in the picture and he’s made some surprising confessions of his own, taking their relationship from the friend zone to so much more.

Now Sarah and Cameron are forced to deal with how their love for one another impacts their circle of friends and what it means for his career. With pressure from the studio to keep their relationship a secret, the two must figure out how to navigate not only the stresses of any new relationship, but also one under such a strong spotlight.

Our Little Secret, a 23,000-word novella, is installment two in the Her Confessional series.

perfect fit man from the back in the white towel
Self-Published | September 30, 2015 | Romance
Her Confessional, book 3
★★★★★

SOURCE: INDIESAGE


After months of hiding their engagement to promote a farcical PR relationship tied to Cameron's new movie, Sarah is struggling to remind herself of the benefits of the plan – if only she can make it that long. Having just about reached their breaking point, Cameron proposes a romantic weekend away to re-connect with one another but their boss has a better idea: a two-week trip away from the prying eyes of Hollywood and the PR team’s aggressive gossip machine.

Once out of the Hollywood spotlight, Cameron reverts back to the loving, attentive man Sarah first fell in love with and idyllic days spent hiking, biking, and surfing lead to sensual nights wrapped in each other’s arms. But when a gossip columnist viciously pegs Sarah as “the other woman,” they’re forced to acknowledge the reality of their situation. Vowing to beat the studio at its own game, Sarah and Cameron openly flaunt their relationship, knowing their actions may mean giving up the careers they both love. With help from some new friends along the way, Cameron and Sarah re-discover what matters most as they work to find their happily ever after.

This is the third and final part in the Her Confessional serial. Parts 1 & 2 must be read first before reading Part 3.



{ about rebecca caudill } .

Rebecca Norinne Caudill
Rebecca Caudill read her first novel when she was just four years old and has been hooked on books ever since. When she wasn't writing her own stories, she was sneaking copies of her mom's romance paperbacks to read late into the night. After graduating from the University of Pittsburgh with a degree in Journalism, she embarked on a career in technology public relations representing some of the world’s hottest start-ups and publicly traded companies. After twelve years in the business, with the unwavering support of her husband, she quit her job to pursue writing full time. Rebecca lives in Oakland, California, with her husband and cat.

When not creating fictional worlds inhabited by strong women, and dashing heroes, she is planning her next vacation, trying out new recipes, or drinking Islay scotch.

{ review } .

Before you read any further, I'm going to put this out there:

THIS REVIEW IS PRIMARILY FOR BOOK THREE (AS WELL AS
PARTIALLY HEAVILY A SERIES REVIEW), AND THEREFORE MAY
CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR THE SERIES.

We good? Good.

Oh my goodness, do I have a new fave author, or what..?! This entire series is written in confessional form -- which I didn't quite understand in the titling but immediately understood upon reading. The books are told 100% in Sarah's point of view -- this woman is such a hoot, and her thought process is awesome.

As a reader who loves dialogue and sometimes finds extensive internal dialogue to be a bore, I have to say -- kudos, Rebecca, you did it superbly well. I often forgot that I was reading a story that was primarily done in internal dialogue, I was just that engrossed in it.



Throughout the entire series, we see what a strong woman Sarah is. She's thirty-three, moving up in the PR world of Hollywood. Her mother thinks Sarah's life would be better if she lost some pounds, but Sarah is comfortable and confident in her heavier skin. She's not the woman who's afraid to eat a pizza or ice cream; she doesn't watch what she eats among friends or even men. She's not unhealthy, by any means -- she just lives in a world with super thin people but she's learned to own her confidence, and for that and that alone, I absolutely adored her.

When she met Cameron, they formed an easy friendship. Neither of them really talked about becoming more, for fear of losing that awesome friendship they had. One night, though, caused a rift in their friendship -- but that same night caused both of them to reflect on what the other meant to them.

Cameron is such a damn good guy. I loved him to pieces. My only issue... my only issue, was that sometimes I didn't get the thirty-something vibe from him. And sometimes his emotional parts where nearly a bit on the beta side of my liking, but beyond that, I really, really liked this man. He's a home grown good guy, who is attracted to Sarah and her personality. He's not afraid of curves, and he loves her mind. When we get to see his vulnerable side, the side that puts up walls between him and Sarah because of PR issues, you get a true sense of what Sarah means to him. 

Book three, PLAYING FOR KEEPS, was hands down my favorite of the three -- but only because we see Cameron fully fight for Sarah. While their courtship was quick, there is no room to question either of their feelings. Their friendship was such a solid ground to build a relationship on, and Cameron's adoration for Sarah was more than evident -- and that was through the not-so-rose-colored eyes of Sarah. I can only imagine the love and major feels we would have seen if we even had a peek inside the mind of Cameron.

I truly enjoyed every moment of this three-part serial. I would love to revisit them and their friends, too -- there are so many stories that can be told in their new group of friends, as well as with Cameron and Sarah's best friends (my goodness, I loved Mike).

{ giveaway } .


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1 comment:

  1. Hi there! I'm so happy you loved this series and that you embraced Sarah and Cameron so wholeheartedly. Now that I'm done writing their story I kind of miss them. Never fear though - I have definite plans to continue writing about their friends, both from Hollywood and Eagle Harbour. If you want to be updated on that, I encourage you to sign up for my newsletter on my website. Thanks again!

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