Flirting with Scandal Trailer! by Chanel Cleeton

Title: Flirting with Scandal

Author: Chanel Cleeton

Release date: May 19, 2015, Penguin/InterMix

Series: Capital Confessions #1

Genre: Contemporary Romance

The author of I See London sets her sights on Washington, D. C., with a sexy new series about three sisters, the secrets they keep, and a powerful blog with a knack for exposing scandals...



Jackie Gardner knows all about dirty little secrets. The illegitimate daughter of one of the most influential senators in Washington, D.C., she grew up surrounded by the scandals and shadows of politics. Now that she's landed an internship with a powerful political consulting firm, she's determined to launch her career and take this city by storm.



William Andrew Clayton was born for politics. He knows the drill: work hard, play discreetly, and at all costs, avoid scandal. At twenty-six, his campaign for the Virginia State Senate is the first step to cementing his future. It's time for him to settle down, to find the perfect political spouse. He needs a Jackie Kennedy, not a Marilyn...



When Jackie meets Will in the bar of the Hay-Adams Hotel, sparks fly. But the last thing Will needs is to be caught in a compromising position, and an affair with a political candidate could cost Jackie her career. When what began as one steamy night, becomes a passion neither one of them can walk way from, they must decide if what they have is really love, or just another dirty little secret...

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Flirting with Scandal by Chanel Cleeton has it all. A sexy hero, strong heroine, delicious romance, sizzling tension, and plenty of breathtaking scandal. 

I loved this book!

- New York Times bestselling author Monica Murphy



Scorching hot and wicked smart, Flirting with Scandal had me hooked from page one! Sizzling with sexual tension and political intrigue, Cleeton weaves a story that is as complex as it is sexy. Thank God this is a series because I need more!!

- New York Times bestselling author Rachel Harris



Sexy, intelligent, and intriguing. Chanel Cleeton makes politics scandal-icious. 

- USA Today bestselling author Tiffany King



Chanel Cleeton knocked it out of the park with Flirting with Scandal. The banter was refreshing, the political storyline captivating, and the sexual tension was through the roof. Smart, emotional, romantic, and sizzling hot--this book is fantastic!

- Christina Lee, author of the Between Breaths series



Chanel Cleeton delivers again! Featuring a strong heroine, a steamy romance, and juicy dose of political scandal, Flirting with Scandal is completely engrossing. Clear your calendars--you won't be able to put this one down! 

- Brenda St. John Brown, author of Swimming to Tokyo

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Book Trailer

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About the Author

Originally a Florida girl, CHANEL CLEETON moved to London where she received a bachelor’s degree from Richmond, The American International University in London and a master’s degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science. Chanel fell in love with London and planned to stay there forever, until fate intervened on a Caribbean cruise and a fighter pilot with smooth dance moves swept her off her feet. Now, a happily ever after later, Chanel is living her next adventure.



Law school made Chanel realize she’d rather spend her days writing sexy stories than in a courtroom, and she hasn’t looked back since. An avid reader and hopeless romantic, she’s happiest curled up with a book. She has a weakness for handbags, her three pups, and her husband. 




Chanel writes contemporary romances. She is published by Harlequin HQN, Penguin/InterMix, and Penguin/Berkley and is the author of the International School, Capital Confessions, and Wild Aces series.

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Giveaway

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French Kissed by Chanel Cleeton - Release Tour & Review!

French Kissed by Chanel Cleeton

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Published by: Chanel Cleeton - December 1, 2014
Genres: NA Romance
Rating: 4 Stars

NOTICE: I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.


SYNOPSIS:
On the surface Fleur Marceaux has it all—if only the façade matched reality. With one year left at the International School in London, Fleur’s struggling to graduate, her love life is a mess, and she can’t stop thinking about Max, her ex-boyfriend’s best friend. But all of that pales compared to the blackmailer determined to destroy her.

There’s a social hierarchy at the International School, and Max Tucker is outside the velvet ropes. After watching Fleur break his friend’s heart, Max knows to stay away from trouble—despite the crush he’s had on her since freshman year. But when they’re partnered on a project, Max learns there’s more to Fleur than meets the eye, and she just might be worth the wild ride.

The more time they spend together, the further Max falls. And when a kiss awakens a passion Fleur never imagined, she’s unable to resist Max, who she thought was wrong for her, but might be the only thing that’s right.

But will he stand by her when her secrets are revealed?

Have you ever read a story that had you so captivated, you re-read it right after completing it the first time? For me, that story was I See London and my introduction to the intensity that is Maggie & Samir. Not only are they the hottest couple in the literary planet, but they're each well-drawn, unique characters that could hold my interest even if they weren't together. Combined, they are a big fireball of heat. 5 stars!

After I completed (and greedily re-read) I See London, I was granted a sneak peak at the London Falling arc, the sequel and end to the International School books. I couldn't wait to see how the intense love story between Maggie & Samir ended. I finished their sequel in no time and was thoroughly pleased with the result. 5 more stars! It's SUPER rare that I like a sequel at all, let alone rate it with 5 stars. I usually find that they're so off-base in the reprise of the character's personalities they ruin the first installment for me. I tend to not read them and leave my favorite characters behind in that happy after-glow (of reading) one gets when they loved a book.

During what was supposed to be the final book in the series, a strange energy emerged between two of the secondary characters: Fleur and Max. He called her "The Ice Queen" and she hated him for it. A lot of fans felt like there was a story there and one we wanted to read. The author was only too obliging and created a third (and seriously final) book to the International School series, French Kissed starring Fleur and Max.

When I began the book, I wasn't sure if I was going to love it. In between the sparse dialogue between the MCs was a ton of exposition and inner-thought. If what was written truly happened in real life, it would've taken 15 minutes to spit out 6 sentences of dialogue, there was so much introspective thinking written in. That was a bit off-putting and I greatly hoped the rest of the book didn't read like that. Fortunately for me, it didn't!

Fleur and Max are pushed together as partners for a project in one of their classes that will make up 80% of their grade. Fleur needs the class to graduate and Max needs good grades for his future in banking. It's clear that this is the main antagonistic curve ball in the story - two people that "hate" each other forced to get along to pass the class (even though we know they really like each other). The second is the mysterious blackmailer who plagued Fleur in the previous book. Will her secrets threaten the relationship she eventually has with Max?

Although I love Chanel's writing and enjoyed the plot line, I wanted their push/pull to last a bit longer than it did. I guess I wanted a bit of Maggie and Samir, which probably isn't fair as they're different people. Regardless, after one kiss, they pretty much become a couple. I wanted a bit more of a struggle before that happened. I also felt like the reader knew who the blackmailer was (it was pretty obvious in the prior book) and although the things the blackmailer did to Fleur were embarrassing, they weren't anything (I think) that would ruin a relationship between Max and Fleur. I didn't find Max's initial reaction plausible and like his character at all. I felt like the author was trying to create more tension in the story but used a tactic or a reaction that didn't really fit in line with her characters.

Those two critiques aside, I loved the book and devoured it within a day. I loved that we found out what happened to Maggie & Samir as well as Max & Fleur down the road. A very satisfying ending to the series. It also makes me want to re-read London Falling. I think I just might!

There is also a Rafflecopter giveaway of a $10 Amazon GC, 1 Ebook of I See London, and 1 Ebook of London Falling (US winner only due to gifting constraints- sorry!).

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The Wrong Woman Release Tour

The Wrong Woman

By 

Brenda J Brown 

Release Date: 17th April 2014

Published by The Writers Coffee Shop

Available from Amazon, Kobo, Barnes and Noble, and TWCS PH


I had the unique opportunity to review an ARC for The Wrong Woman earlier in the year. Please read my highly positive review here!

Summary: 

Norah Rothe is an actress and dreams of a life on stage in the big city until the callback she never expected has her bailing out the family business back home. But a chance encounter brings those dreams back into full focus when, miraculously, Hollywood comes to her.

David Raurke is a card-carrying movie star, but dreams of being more. When a freak accident costs him his leading lady David must find a replacement immediately or risk seeing his directorial debut tossed on the cutting room floor.

What he didn’t count on finding was Norah Rothe, and what he’d ultimately risk for her.

Can a romance between a talented girl next door and one of Hollywood’s hottest celebrities survive within the cutthroat world of the film industry? Come behind the scenes and see for yourself if dreams can become reality and find out what really happens once the lights fade to black.

Interview with Brenda Brown: 

Q: This boy-meets-girl novel is not quite what I expected. It contained none of the usual love-hate predictable character conflict between two lovers when they first meet. What made you decide to have David and Norah like each other right away? I found it refreshing.

A: What a great question! I guess I wanted to see if I could write a compelling story that didn’t always follow the typical formula, while still remaining true to the genre. Even though, like you, I’m a voracious reader of Romance, I haven’t any personal experience with intensely disliking someone and then being passionately overcome by him later. I’m not sure if I could do justice to that kind of scenario. Liking someone and then growing to love them simply felt more natural to me.

Q: Which protagonist came first: David or Norah? Explain.

A: They both kind of arrived fully formed. I had a dream one night that involved myself and a very famous movie star (the dream ended up in chapter 1, more or less in its entirety). The dream haunted me for days afterward and eventually took over my waking life by expanding into the before and after. Finally, I had no choice but to write it all down.

Q: Were any of the events or characters in the novel inspired by real life? Explain.

A: Well, that dream was the true inspiration. If not for that random flash of nocturnal imaginings this book would never have happened…what an awful thought! As to other events, I lived in Whitecourt, Alberta until I was 9 years old, and then again for a year or so at 17. I still have lots of family there and visit often, so I’ve frequently wondered how different my life would have been if I’d remained. As to the characters, there are certain mannerisms, speech patterns or turns of phrase that I can attribute to any number of friends and family members.

Q: I see that you, like me, have an extensive theatre background. What made you decide to include that element in The Wrong Woman and how different was it writing about film acting rather than stage acting?

A: Cool! Going back to ‘The Dream’, in it I was brought in to audition for a movie so there wasn’t any way to not include the acting element. Plus, we’ve all heard the old adage, ‘write what you know’, and I know acting, so it’s something that I could write about with some authority or at the very least, make it sound like I knew what I was talking about. ;-) As to the other, I’ve never written about acting in either format before this, but I’ve studied both. So, I suppose, to give the illusion of the intimacy that film is capable of, the scenes that are described in The Wrong Woman have the characters physically very close together. I’m a firm believer that there needn’t necessarily be a great deal of difference between the two forms of acting, beyond that one needs to be a bit louder. That’s a gross simplification, of course, but I think that audiences of live theatre today have become more sophisticated and prefer a subtler performance. We could talk about this for HOURS!

Q: Fans of The Wrong Woman want to know: What are you working on right now?

A: Well, I have two stories on the go just now. One is going to require a LOT of research so I think I might pick away at that one while focusing primarily on the other. I can’t go into much detail as I’m in the most preliminary stages and I’m ridiculously superstitious about that sort of thing.

Author Bio:

Before writing The Wrong Woman, Brenda dabbled in a myriad of professions. She’s been a waitress (back in the day before they were called servers), a security guard, a ballroom dance instructor, an interior decorator and design consultant, a set dresser for the film and television industry, where she is still a member in good standing, and a restaurant manager. She is currently working as a visual merchandiser for The Brick, a chain of furniture stores throughout the lower mainland.

In the midst of all that, she’s been an active part of the Community Theatre scene, doing set design but principally acting and studying most of the great works since her late teens. She currently lives in Coquitlam, British Columbia, with her beautiful daughter, one dog, and two cats.

Connect with Brenda J Brown on: 

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