We'd love for you to join us in celebrating the release of THE TROUBLE WITH BREE (A Spotlight Series Novella) by Kristen Strassel! Checkout the excerpt as well as my review below!
Title: THE TROUBLE WITH BREE (A Spotlight Series Novella)
Author: Kristen Strassel
Age: NA
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: January 19, 2015
Blurb
The trouble with Bree is…
Bree Farrell is ready to turn her life around. A twenty-one-year-old mother of two, she’s not sure where to start. She could use a little help, but her string of horrible ex-boyfriends keep setting her back. First step: she’s swearing off men forever. Or at least until she gets back on her feet.
Josh Maxwell got a second chance at life, and now he wants to help kids who are in the same situation he was in. His new job as the coordinator at a preschool for underprivileged kids is the perfect place to do that.
On paper, the policy not to get involved with the families of the students makes perfect sense. But when Bree meets the new coordinator of her son’s school, she and Josh learn that some rules are made to be broken, no matter what the consequences.
MY REVIEW
I really liked the first book of this series, so I was looking forward to reading Bree’s story and learning more about these characters and their world. I actually wound up being a bit disappointed though. Yes, I know this is a novella so there’s going to be less pages to tell the tale…but everything just happened WAY too fast throughout almost the entire story. The relationship moved too quickly, time moved too quickly, it all just felt too rushed leaving me feeling like the story really didn’t do justice to the characters or plot.
The overly rapid pace at which the story progressed made it hard for me to really immerse myself in it, and not totally satisfied once I finished. Don’t get me wrong-the story itself is a good one-but it really would benefit from being fleshed out into a full novel, to give both the character and storyline more depth. Because it went by so quickly, I really didn’t feel invested in the characters even though I wanted to be.
I still thought it was a 3-star read because it does add to the overall series, and I liked the characters (Josh was such a sweetie!), I just couldn’t really grow attached in any way. If you are reading The Spotlight series, I would recommend The Trouble with Bree so you can gain more insight into the entire world of the series, just don’t be surprised at how quickly everything goes by.
EXCERPT
He ran a hand through his hair. The curls didn’t go back to the exact same place. “Does it bother you? To have someone so new be in charge of Landon’s school?”
“Are people giving you a hard time because you’re young?” I asked. I did some quick math in my head, and settled on Josh being twenty-five.
“Yeah.” Josh looked a defeated. “The administrators wanted someone fresh, but then they’re not always open to new ideas. It’s a struggle.”
“This is what I think. I’ve been in charge of Landon up until now, and something tells me you’re a couple years older than me. I’m a little biased, but I like to think I’m doing all right. So if I can do it, you can totally handle him three mornings a week.”
Josh leaned back on the couch, relief washing over his face. Maybe his age did bother some other people. Whatever. People judged first and asked questions later. I stopped letting it bother me when I had to bring Landon with me to high school. “I knew I liked you,” he said.
“Did you?” A smile spread across my face.
“You were the best fifteen minutes of my day.” He nodded. “Those evaluations can be pretty stiff, but with you guys, I felt like I was talking to friends. That’s why I asked if I could see you again. To be honest with you, I shouldn’t be doing this.”
And there it was. The catch. “Why?”
“It’s against school policy to have a relationship with the students outside of school related activities. That includes their parents.”
“That makes sense.” There were so many creeps out there, in most circumstances, I’d be one hundred percent in favor of that rule. But now I was wondering what the loophole was.
Josh had gone back to the kitchen for a second round of food, and dropped another Rangoon on my plate when he came back. “That’s actually why I didn’t get in touch with you right away. But I just moved here, and you were the first girl I couldn’t stop thinking about.”
My heart stuttered in my chest, confused. He couldn’t stop thinking about me, but he already had his doubts. He was putting a lot on the line by just being here. “I’d said on the way to the meeting that I was never going to date again.”
He raised an eyebrow. “So we’re both breaking the rules.”
About the Author:
Kristen shares a birthday with Steven Tyler and Diana Ross. She spends each day striving to be half as fabulous as they are. She’s worn many hats, none as flattering as her cowboy hat: banker, retail manager, fledgling web designer, world’s worst cocktail waitress, panty slinger, now makeup artist and author. She loves sunshine, live music, the middle of nowhere, and finding new things to put in her house.
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