3.5 on the Masq Scale. It's Just a Little Crush by @carolinefardig #chicklit #bookreview
Cover links to Amazon.com
It's Just a Little Crush
Written by
Caroline FardigGenre: Chick Lit, Mystery
Book Synopsis
Lizzie Hart has even bigger problems. Lately, she can’t seem to concentrate on her job as copy editor at the Chronicle with the new hunky investigative reporter, Blake Morgan, swaggering around the office. How can a girl work when she’s using all of her energy combating Blake-induced hot flashes and struggling to repress the giggly inner schoolgirl that’s constantly rearing her dorky head? It’s a good thing that Blake barely knows Lizzie exists.
After an odd string of events, however, Lizzie begins to wonder if Blake is really as fabulous as she has fantasized. When Lizzie and Blake find a co-worker dead, Blake’s personality changes completely—and not in a good way. Even though the police rule the death as an accident, Lizzie immediately suspects foul play and senses a connection to the recent murder.
She is determined to bring the killer to justice, but is having some trouble getting her Nancy Drew on thanks to the pesky stalker she’s picked up—Blake Morgan. Wait, didn’t she want him to follow her around and pay attention to her? Not like this. Blake has turned from cool and smooth to cold and downright scary, making Lizzie wonder if he should be next on her suspect list.
Joy C's Review
STORYLINE: Life goes from predictable to dangerous when a copyeditor in a Midwestern town is dropped in the middle of what turns out to be a series of murders. Along with her crush, Lizzie Hart follows clues that put her in the path of a deranged and determined killer. Along the way she finds a little romance to sweeten the deal.
PLAYERS: Lizzie Hart is smart, snarky and bored with her job of editing articles. When the reader meets her, she’s spinning her wheels and moving from day to day. The arrival of her crush, Blake Morgan, is the highpoint of her workday. By the end of the story, things turn around and she is more in command of herself in Blake’s presence.
Blake Morgan is the newest and most eligible man in town. Of course, Morgan has the attention of a fair number of ladies. At first glance, he seems self-absorbed and sure of himself, but his character develops nicely in the telling of the story.
I liked Lizzie’s voice. There were some very funny moments in the novel and the humor comes mainly from Lizzie’s thought processes and how she views the changes in her relationship with Blake.
I realize this might just be part of the writer’s current style, but I found that some of the speech tags are more a way of cluing the reader in to the speaker’s emotions and what the character is up to than anything else. Fardig uses terms like ‘I snark’, ‘I hedge’, ‘I announce’ ‘Blake says uneasily’ and ‘Blake says unconvincingly’. In the first three cases, the dialogue could have stood on its own with ‘said’ used to back it up. In the latter case, I also understood what was happening without being told how or why the speaker said what he did.
OVERALL COMMENTS: Although the storyline involves several murders, It’s Just A Little Crush is a light and entertaining read. After a while, I figured out the identity of the culprit, but it wasn’t immediately obvious. I’m still trying to figure out why Lizzie was ever with her ex, since he seems to lack a brain. A preview of the second book in the series is included and it looks like Lizzie will be solving more murder cases.
COVER NOTE: The newspaper theme works well for the story and the title is a clever play on words.
Review Disclaimer: Book provided in exchange for an honest review.
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