Review: Shelf Life (The Publicist #2) by Christina George

It’s an industry of out-of-control egos, unrealistic expectations, and unfulfilled promises.

This is publishing and it’s Kate’s world, but maybe not for long.

When one of Kate Mitchell’s star authors is carted away in handcuffs, it’s only the beginning of her troubles. As her world crumbles around her, Kate desperately looks for anyone to hold onto but finds that happy endings are truly works of fiction. With the shelf life of her career and her love affair quickly expiring, Kate sets off on a new adventure…

Starting over in California is easy but Kate soon learns that leaving her old life behind isn’t. Nick Lavigne is eager to help her forget but two things still own her heart, the dream of discovering the next great American novel, and MacDermott Ellis.

As Kate tries to rebuild her life she finds a surprising gift that reboots her career in a new and unexpected direction. Suddenly her name becomes synonymous with one of the biggest bestsellers publishing has seen in ages and she's welcomed back with open arms.

But at the height of her success the ghosts of her past come back to remind her of the world she'd been trying to forget and the man who never let go of her heart.

Behind the book, there’s always more to the story. Welcome to Publishing, the ego has landed.

Paperback, 274 pages

Published August 22nd 2013 by CreateSpace

 

Terri's Thoughts:

I won this book in exchange for an honest review via a Goodreads giveaway.

I will start by saying that this is the second book in a series and I did not read the first one.  I was able to understand everything and felt like it was not required to read the first book but how I wish I did.  Not because I needed to but based on this read I really think I would have enjoyed the first read.  If Kate and Mac had this much chemistry in the second instalment I can only imagine what the first one was like.

I almost hesitate to say how much I enjoyed this read.  I normally save all of my praise for those books that I consider "epic" which if I am honest with myself are normally tragic stories that seem to revolve around war times.  This was not one of those stories yet I found I took great pleasure within the pages,  For this reason I am changing my rating system.  I am now going to base my ratings strictly on how a book made me feel and stop benchmarking them against my "top 5 reads of all time" list.

The story of Kate and Mac was one of great chemistry.  I can't believe that I am admitting that I was rooting for the married guy in this story!  What female cheers for the married cheater when the perfect guy is waiting in the wings?  I can honestly say I have never before this story.  This is part of the reason I want to go back and read the first book.  If I was cheering for him in this story how would I have felt if I read the first one?  I have a feeling it would be the same but with more feeling.  Kudos to George for coming up with two characters that do not seem to be whole without the other

Putting the characters aside I loved that this book was centralized around the publishing industry.  As someone who reads a lot and blogs for fun, I have a fascination with the entire industry.  The fact that George has admitted that some of the stories are true (and some are not) only adds to my interest.  The inside view in to the publishing world was just as interesting to me as the actual character storyline.  I believe that the world is just as crazy as described in the book and only wish that I could join their ranks someday.

Overall this was a great and fast read for me.  I acknowledge that it is not going to make my epic list however something about this book stuck with.  It was pure entertainment for me and provided the needed escape to my everyday life.  I will be looking forward to going back and reading the first book and will also be reading the third instalment.  Thank you to Christina George for getting me out of my book comfort zone and allowing me to enjoy something that is not within my regular genre.  I will be keeping an eye out for future work.

 

 

 

About the Author

 

I’ve worked in publishing for twenty years (give or take). Here’s what The Publicist isn’t. It’s not a slam against publishing (though it is broken) and it’s not a slam against authors (though some of them are crazy). This book is not autobiographical though many of the stories are true. No you won’t know which ones, hell it’s more fun to guess, right? I continue to work in publicity and help authors because at the end of the day I do love books, I love publishing, and I love authors. I hope you’ll enjoy this romp through Kate’s world as much as I enjoyed creating it.

Website:  http://www.thepublicistnovel.com

Twitter:  publicistgal