Reviews: Picture Perfect and Rumor Has It by Elisabeth Grace

Picture Perfect (Limelight #2)
   by: Elisabeth Grace

Publication Date: Apr. 3, 2014
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Age Group: New Adult
Source: e-galley provided by InkSlingerPR in exchange for a  fair and honest review.
Page Count: 286 pages
Order Links: Amazon | B&N
My Rating: 4/5 stars

Being the daughter of a big-city mayor, twenty-one year old Skye Summers has giant shoes to fill in her first real job out of college. With the public spotlight on her family, and her dad’s expectations running high, she jumps at the chance to work side-by-side on an important project with her sexy new boss.

Playboy entrepreneur Landon Steele has built a successful entertainment PR firm and broken more than a few hearts along the way. He’s counting on his enthusiastic new assistant to help him expand his business into LA… until he discovers she’s a pampered rich girl who’s in the public spotlight as much as his famous clients. Still, he agrees to give her a chance, and soon the two are heating up the bedroom as well as the boardroom.

But when Skye’s ex-boyfriend threatens to reveal a dangerous secret from her past, her job, relationship with Landon, and her father’s career are suddenly all on the line. Will she be forced to leave Landon? Or will she pursue her heart, regardless of the cost?

 

 

I really liked this second novel in the Limelight series by Elisabeth Grace! I enjoyed the characters, their romance, and the storyline that Grace provided for us.

 

Pacing: I felt this one was really well paced. Landon and Skye's relationship progressed quite well given their situation and Grace did a good job of keeping the story going without too many lulls or too much filler.

 

Storyline: I really enjoyed this one. I do love the whole forbidden office romance going on and I liked that this storyline seemed to fall into place a bit more naturally than the first book in the series did. The story begins with Skye getting out of a messy potentially abusive relationship and starting a new job. She meets Landon Steele at a club one night and while she's not looking for anything more right now, she can't help the physical response he elicits from her. And then runs away. It made me chuckle because it sounds like something I would do! Unbeknownst to her, Landon is actually her new boss, which brings things to a whole new level of awkward and tense. Both know it would not be professional to have any kind of relationship, but staying away from one another is going to prove to be quite the task. Having to work closely together, it's only a matter of time before Landon and Skye give in. There was one obstacle thrown in I could have done without, as I felt it was added in to create more drama, which was unnecessary. There was already a more concrete storyline in place to add tension, and I felt that was good enough.

 

Characters: I liked Skye and Landon. Skye is sweet and a bit of a seductress! She isn't actively looking to start anything else after getting out of her previous relationship, but things with Landon just happen and that kind of chemistry is just hard to ignore. She is close to her father and she doesn't want to do anything that will jeopardize his career, which is why she shoulders some things later in the novel on her own, instead of seeking help. She cares for Landon and doesn't want her mess disrupting his business, as he's worked hard to get where he is today.

 

Landon is a great male lead. He's sexy, sweet, and dominant all in one. And man, do I love my dirty-talking boys! Landon could be a bit hard to read at times, but he is really a good guy who cares for Skye. He knows they should keep it professional, but working so closely with her does nothing to help his libido. Landon is very protective of Skye and he can't stand that her ex, Vic, hurt her. He refuses to watch another woman get crushed under the weight of a man, after seeing what his father did to his mother. He was the one to pick up the pieces and therefore, cannot let himself forgive his dad, despite his pleadings to see him and make things right.

 

We also get to see Ellie, Mason, and Katie from Rumor Has It show up. Ellie and Katie are those girlfriends every girl needs in their life and I like that Grace included their friendship.

 

Final Thoughts: Overall, I thought Picture Perfect was a great read. I liked seeing Skye and Landon's relationship develop slowly, as well as watch them fight the attraction they feel towards one another. Their scenes together were sexy and I didn't feel they were too over the top at all. There were a couple of things I could have done without, because I didn't feel they were necessary to fueling the plot. The storyline really did stand on its own, with their relationship, Skye's ex, and the matter of how important public appearance is to both of them.

 

 

 

Rumor Has It (Limelight #1)

   by: Elisabeth Grace

 

Publication Date: Dec. 2, 2013

Publisher: Self-Published

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Age Group: New Adult

Source: e-copy provided by InkSlingerPR in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Page Count: 308 pages

Order Links: Amazon | B&N

My Rating: 2.75/5 stars

 

All publicity is good publicity, right? Unless you’re recent college grad Ellie Wagner and an embarrassing video of you and your boyfriend goes viral. Every man in your life abandons you, but who knew a one-minute clip of your latest doomed relationship would brand you a slut, prevent you from getting your perfect job, and force you to keep doing the one thing you swore you’d never do again…live with your mother.

But staying with mom and her latest boy-toy (is this husband number four or five?) until your life turns around might not be all bad. Especially when you fall – literally – at the feet of a sexy, green-eyed stranger who offers you freedom and a life of luxury on a gold-rimmed platter.

There’s only one little problem – the man of your dreams is none other than Mason Nash, the latest hip-hop star busting up the music charts. Fame and fortune are his calling cards and he’s vying to steal the show on a new reality TV series that will catapult him into mainstream stardom. Hello spotlight.

The man behind the famous persona is perfect for Ellie in every way, but can she overcome the ugly pitfalls that come with Mason's celebrity status? Or will she be forced to choose between the man she loves and the independent life she longs for? After all, fame and fortune aren’t always what they seem and not all publicity is good publicity…

I really liked the idea of this storyline! I am such a sucker for music industry romances and reading about the pressures they have to endure in regards to their appearance, personal life, and how to handle the paparazzi. I didn't like this one quite as much as I did Picture Perfect though. The second book in the series had a stronger storyline and we didn't see as much back and forth as we did in this book.

Pacing: I felt the pacing was okay in this one. It wasn't a hard read at all, despite some of the choppy phrasing, but I did feel drama was thrown in just to create angst and a story. This storyline had the potential to really explore the music world, Mason's struggle between a new romance and his career, as well as Ellie's fear of being sucked back into the limelight due to a previous incident. With that being said, I just felt that exploration was a bit lacking and everything resolved a bit quicker for my tastes.

Storyline: Ellie is trying her best to stay out of the limelight after a video went viral of her. (I personally didn't think the video was as big of a deal as it was made out to be, but that's just me.) She works a job she doesn't particularly care for, but it is because of that job she meets rapper Mason Nash. She (literally) stumbles into his life and he is immediately intrigued by her. He is determined to spend time with her, but knows their time together is limited, as his break from work will only last so long. Mason finds himself torn between the woman he's slowly falling for and the career that he's worked hard to build. Ellie, on the other hand, is afraid of how past transgressions will affect being with Mason. She doesn't want to be in the spotlight, but she will have to decide if she can get past that in order to be with the guy she's falling for.

Characters: I liked Ellie and Mason's characters and their personalities. However, their thoughts were very back and forth and I felt like I was getting whiplash. One minute they would be resolute in their thinking and the very next would completely change their mind. It was a bit frustrating to read, as I couldn't get a good hold of their true thoughts and feelings.

Final Thoughts: I didn't like this one as much as Picture Perfect, but it did give us a nice introduction of the characters that I have grown to love so much. I felt Rumor Has It had a lot of potential, but unfortunately I just didn't connect with it as much as I would have liked. I don't like when excessive drama is created just to keep the storyline moving and I just thought some of it was too over the top.