I received an ebook copy of this book for review from the author.

I have to say that this book really exceeded my expectations. I'm not a romance reader generally. Every once in a while I will read a romance, but usually that's a secondary factor to the story and not the main focus. I always worry that romance novels will be cheesy and embarrassing-by-proxy, meaning that I get so embarrassed for and by the characters that it makes the book less enjoyable for me. But I'm always willing to give a book a try, so I agreed to read this book and give a review, and honestly, I'm glad that I did.

I did have a few issues with this one. First, the ™ symbols after almost every brand name. Aquaman™, Google™, etc. This was pretty distracting to me, especially when it occurred in dialogue. I can see "Aquaman™" being said maybe once or twice to be ironic, but that wasn't the case. It felt more like CYA to me, and while I don't know the ins and outs of copyright law, I'm think that a blanket CYA on the copyright page of the book would be enough for all term uses in the content.

The only other big issue I had was some of the dialogue felt a little unnatural. For instance, during a hot and heavy make-out session that's quickly going places, I can't see the usually pragmatic main character Linnea saying, "You whip me into a frenzy!" Again, an ironic use would be funny, but otherwise I don't think I've ever heard anyone say that, ever. It just felt awkward to me.

But now onto the good stuff. Besides those two little nitpicks, I did really like this book a lot. The main characters were realistic and identifiable and interesting, and I liked them both quite a lot. I really loved Ingrid and Wes though, and for me, Wes made this book. He's the typical sidekick, but he's the Make It Happen Man, getting the short end of the stick while doing the lion's share of the work. One of his scenes literally made me shout with laughter, and that clinched him as my favorite character, right there. I love that.

There was a lot of humor in this book and I really enjoyed it for that. I also enjoyed the theatrical behind the scenes stuff. I thought a few things could have been resolved better, but overall this was a light, fun read, great for summer reading. Very enjoyable. ( )

Reviewed by JoAnne
Review copy provided by Christi Barth
This is the second book I've read by Barth and I wasn't disappointed. This book had romance, laughter, some tears, lots of conflict and was able to hold my interest from the first pages. A large part of the story took place in the theater and although I don't know much about that world it was easy to envision yourself there as the story unfolded. Between the rehearsals, costuming, the myriad of characters involved in one part of the theater or another and through to opening night you felt yourself a part of the energy and even the tension that surfaced at times. You could also smell the cosmetics, feel the heat of the lights and hear the back slapping and applause. The friendship between Linnea and Ingrid was portrayed realistically and you could feel the emotions they felt whether it be happiness, disbelief or just support they gave each other. Luke and Wes thought they were friends as well as business partners and associates but Wes was
frustrated easily by Luke's actions and very often only thought of himself. I especially liked the ending which gave me the happily ever after I was hoping for but didn't think would actually happen. My only disappointment was that the story seemed to end so abruptly. A few more pages would have been nice. This was an enjoyable read and I look forward to reading other books by this author in the future.

Favorite Quote: "Since when does a woman turn your brain fuzzy? Especially when it comes to business? Damn it, Luke, you know better. We both know it. You've got a pretty short priority list-your family, then your career. Now you're suddenly behaving like a rank amateur because you had a nice dinner with a girl? Give me a break"... ( )