Book Review: The New Guy by Kathryn Freeman

The New Guy 

by Kathryn Freeman

Amazon US / UK / AU / CA / B&N

Sam Huxton doesn’t do one-night stands, especially not with men she’s just met! But the hot guy at the bar was hard to resist and their one night together is one she’ll never forget.

But one night is all they share – no names, no numbers, just some much-needed fun…

Until the same guy walks into Sam’s life the next day as her new employee. Sam never mixes business with pleasure and makes it clear an office fling with Ryan is off-limits. But after-hours…one thing can lead to another. Can Sam trust her heart and her business with the new guy?

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

Then he peeked at him over his shades. ‘Admit it, big man. You’ve got a soft spot for me.’ ‘It’s soft all right,’ Ryan muttered, causing Lucas to burst into laughter.



I’ve got a bit of heartburn, that’s all. Probably the sausage sandwich I had for lunch from that mobile greasy spoon on the market. Haute cuisine it isn’t. More like haute coli.


My Review:

This is my fourth time reading the clever arrangements of words of Kathryn Freeman and each time I pick one up, I aspire to read her entire backlist, I am enamored with her smooth and engaging writing style, wry humor, and perceptive insights. Her unique and quirky characters tend to be hard-working and admirable yet flawed, struggling, and more than a bit short-sighted at times while still more enjoyable than most people I know. I adored this couple as they traversed the challenging minefield of working together during the day while secretly doing the slap and tickle after-hours. They smoothed and soothed each other’s damaged psyches.



In addition to providing me with an entertaining diversion, Ms. Freeman also added to my Brit Word and Phrases list with lampin - Midlands-speak for a beating, sussed – UK slang for understood or figured out, and bobby dazzler - a person who is considered remarkable or excellent in some way. As such, I’ve astutely sussed Ms. Freeman to be a complete bobby dazzler and will hand out a serious lampin to anyone who dares dis my gal.

About The Author

A former pharmacist, I’m now a medical writer who also writes romance. Some days a racing heart is a medical condition, others it’s the reaction to a hunky hero. 

With a husband who asks every Valentine’s Day whether he has to buy a card (yes, he does), any romance is all in my head. Then again, his unstinting support of my career change proves love isn't always about hearts and flowers - and heroes come in many disguises.

Social Media Links 

Website: http://kathrynfreeman.co.uk

Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/kathrynfreeman

Twitter: https://twitter.com/KathrynFreeman1

Book Review, Giveaway: Reach for a Star by Kathryn Freeman

Reach for a Star

by Kathryn Freeman

Amazon US / UK / AU / CA / B&N

What if your dreams were so close you could reach out and touch them? 

How could anyone resist Michael Tennant, with his hypnotic blue eyes and voice like molten chocolate? Jessie Simmons certainly can’t. But Jessie’s a single mum who can’t sing to save her life – there’s no way she’ll ever cross paths with the star tenor.

At least that’s what she thinks until she’s unexpectedly invited to take part in a new reality TV show. The premise? Professional singers teach hopeless amateurs how to sing. The surprise? Jessie’s partner is none other than Michael Tennant!

As she becomes better acquainted with the man behind the voice, will Jessie find out the hard way that you should never meet your idols? Or will she get more than she bargained for?

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

Christ, she was murdering the song. While he winced and cringed, she continued to murder it all the way to the end. His eardrums ringing with tuneless screeching his cat – if he’d had one – would have been appalled by, Michael wondered what he was supposed to do now.



What happened? The cat didn’t just get your tongue, it seemed to have chewed it right off.




My Review:



Ms. Freeman’s writing was engaging and heart-squeezing and I liked the premise and enjoyed the colorful and clever strokes of levity as well as most of the storylines. However, I struggled with the overabundance of angst - there was just so much of it with a steady stream of inner musings of insecurities and self-doubts in both main characters. Don’t get me wrong - the writing was ace with insightful observations and entertaining scenarios, my opinion is skewed by a personal aversion for the bitter tang of conflict and inner turmoil, although the majority of my book buddies gobble it up like candy.



The book was well populated and showcased an interesting mix of relevant issues, family drama, parenting concerns, and character quirks. The various settings spanned the globe as Michael, an introverted, and uptight international celebrity vocalist who was uncomfortable with fame, toured his talents across several continents while pining for Jessie, his new love interest and an everyday divorced mom who should only sing when alone in the car, and was even more uncomfortable with his fame than he was.

About The Author


A former pharmacist, I’m now a medical writer who also writes romance. Some days a racing heart is a medical condition, others it’s the reaction to a hunky hero. 

With two teenage boys and a husband who asks every Valentine’s Day whether he has to buy a card (yes, he does), any romance is all in my head. Then again, his unstinting support of my career change proves love isn't always about hearts and flowers - and heroes come in many disguises.

Social Media Links – 

Website: http://kathrynfreeman.co.uk

Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/kathrynfreeman

Twitter: https://twitter.com/KathrynFreeman1

Giveaway 

Win a PB copy of Oh Crumbs

 by Kathryn Freeman

 (Open INT)

*Terms and Conditions 

Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below. The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then I reserve the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over. Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will be passed to the giveaway organizer and used only for the fulfillment of the prize, after which time I will delete the data. I am not responsible for dispatch or delivery of the prize.

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Book Review, Giveaway: A Little Christmas Charm by Kathryn Freeman

A Little Christmas Charm

by Kathryn Freeman

Amazon US / UK / AU / CA 

Would you swap sea and sunshine for tinsel and turkey?
Gabby Sanderson is used to being let down – even at Christmas. Which is why she’s happy to skip the festive season completely in favor of a plane ticket and sunnier climes.

But this Christmas could be different because this time she might not be spending it alone. Can Owen Cooper charm Gabby into loving Christmas in the same way he’s charmed his way into her life or is he just another person who’ll end up disappointing her?

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:


She almost laughed out loud when she saw the car he finally climbed into. A deep blue Maserati – of course. Nothing said single man on the pull like a Maserati.

I’m so flabbergasted at your audacity I can’t find the breath to tell you to stop being so stupid.

As it’s December and frigging freezing in this house, despite the expensive new boiler, I’m covering up my important parts. I don’t want to ruin the image you have of me by appearing in front of you naked. And cold.


My Review:


This was an engaging holiday read yet it contained considerably more angst than I was expecting, sigh. Angst is just not one of my favorite things, and the main character of Gabby was riddled with it and was basically a tight knot of tension, anxieties, and a critical case of wariness. Thankfully, Ms. Freeman also tossed in her own special brand of levity, wit, emotive storylines, and enough clever banter to keep me from descending into the abyss. Gabby was emotionally immature, exasperatingly stubborn, distrustful, easily startled, and a pain in the posterior. Why the luscious Owen was so fully captivated by her prickly nature was a grand mystery. I adored Owen, he was extremely patient, witty, perceptive, and sex on legs.

I found two extra fun new additions to my Brit word list with throw a wobbly (a display of temper usually over something minor) and skivvy – which I have only known as underwear but apparently, it is also another word for servant. Oh my, now I am envisioning a butler clad only in his bow tie and boxers while tossing a tantrum.

Empress DJ

Author Bio 

A former pharmacist, I’m now a medical writer who also writes romance. Some days a racing heart is a medical condition, others it’s the reaction to a hunky hero.

With two teenage boys and a husband who asks every Valentine’s Day whether he has to buy a card (yes, he does), any romance is all in my head. Then again, his unstinting support of my career change proves love isn't always about hearts and flowers - and heroes come in many disguises.

Social Media Links 

Website: http://kathrynfreeman.co.uk

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kathrynfreeman

Twitter: https://twitter.com/KathrynFreeman1

Giveaway 

Win a paperback copy of A Little Christmas Faith by Kathryn Freeman 

(Open Internationally)

*Terms and Conditions –Worldwide entries welcome. Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below. The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then I reserve the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over. Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will be passed to the giveaway organizer and used only for the fulfillment of the prize, after which time I will delete the data. I am not responsible for dispatch or delivery of the prize.

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Book Review, Giveaway: Oh Crumbs by Kathryn Freeman

Oh Crumbs

by Kathryn Freeman

Goodreads

Amazon US/ UK  B&N

Sometimes life just takes the biscuit …

Abby Spencer knows she can come across as an airhead – she talks too much and is a bit of a klutz – but there’s more to her than that. Though she sacrificed her career to help raise her sisters, a job interview at biscuit company Crumbs could finally be her chance to shine. That’s until she hurries in late wearing a shirt covered in rusk crumbs, courtesy of her baby nephew, and trips over her handbag.

Managing director Douglas Faulkner isn’t sure what to make of Abby Spencer with her Bambi eyes, tousled hair and ability to say more in the half-hour interview than he manages in a day. All he knows is she’s a breath of fresh air and could bring a new lease of life to the stale corporate world of Crumbs. To his life too, if he’d let her.

But Doug’s harboring a secret. He’s not the man she thinks he is. 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

‘I’m a brown belt in BJJ. Brazilian jiu-jitsu,’ he added at her puzzled look. ‘I’ve heard of a Brazilian, but I’m pretty sure the one I’m thinking of wouldn’t take out two men.’ Bugger, bugger, talk about a mood crusher

I’m an ample, if I breathe in, size ten. Okay, maybe I’m an eleven but they don’t really do that size so I guess that makes me a twelve.

Though I suppose there are plenty of women out there better at sex than me. If I had to make a guess, I’d say I’m only Brownie badge status.’ She winced, finally looking up at him. ‘And that sounds wildly inappropriate because unless things have changed radically in the last fifteen years, I doubt Brownies have a badge for sex.’

‘Don’t change, Abby,’ he replied quietly. ‘You’re perfect just the way you are.’ And wow, he might not say many words but those he did say were dynamite.

My Review:

Before finishing the first few pages I was an instant fangirl of the delightfully amusing Kathryn Freeman, who is now my favorite wordsmith.  I want all her clever and witty words as I savored this scrumptious and engaging book and from start to finish.  I absolutely adored Abby although all the characters were endearingly quirky and intriguing.  The writing was well-crafted and engaging, the characters were uniquely appealing and complex, and the reading was a total treat.  I hit pay dirt yet again for my Brit Vocab List with several comical entries including: not on your nelly (not likely), cock-a-hoop (extremely pleased), Hell’s teeth (exclamation of surprise, frustration, or anger), and gazump (swindle).  I am cock-a-hoop having discovered this exceptionally talented author.  

Empress DJ

Author Bio – 

A former pharmacist, I’m now a medical writer who also writes romance. Some days a racing heart is a medical condition, others it’s the reaction to a hunky hero.

With two teenage boys and a husband who asks every Valentine’s Day whether he has to buy a card (yes, he does), any romance is all in my head. Then again, his unstinting support of my career change proves love isn't always about hearts and flowers - and heroes come in many disguises.

Social Media Links –

Website: http://kathrynfreeman.co.uk

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kathrynfreeman

Twitter: https://twitter.com/KathrynFreeman1

Giveaway 

Win a paperback copy of Too Damn Nice 

by Kathryn Freeman

 (Open Internationally)

*Terms and Conditions –Worldwide entries welcome. Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below. The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then I reserve the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over. Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will be passed to the giveaway organizer and used only for the fulfillment of the prize, after which time I will delete the data. I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.

a Rafflecopter giveaway