Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Unwrapping a Review of THE PROFESSOR'S SECRET by Peggy Bird

Always a fan of Peggy Bird’s romances because she conjures up the best characters, and with THE PROFESSOR’S SECRET, new from Crimson Romance, she did not disappoint.

***eARC provided by author in exchange for an honest and unscripted review.

Blurb for THE PROFESSOR’S SECRET:

English professor Claudia Manchester secretly writes spicy romances as April Mayes, the Queen of Steam. She wants to keep her side job under wraps till she’s secured tenure, but when she’s pressured by her agent to appear at some out-of-state conferences, she agrees … if she can go in disguise. Dressed as her sexier alter ego, she meets historical romance writer and high school history teacher Bradley Davis and passion ignites. But can true love be built on lies? And will he still want her when she reveals her real self?

~*~              ~*~              ~*~              ~*~

As Sir Walter Scott said, “O, what a tangled web we weave, When first we practise to deceive.”

Claudia Manchester is a professor of English Lit at Portland State University, and is eagerly awaiting her chance to secure tenure but there’s only one problem…she’s also a romance writer and her agent wants her to start attending author functions such as writers conferences. Her pen name is April Mayes. When she finally gives in to her agent’s request, she agrees to go but only if she can go as April and not as Claudia – in disguise, in other words – but as her alter ego instead of her staid professor self. April is known as the Queen of Steam and so as April, Claudia discovers a whole new side of herself.  

When she encounters a hot and handsome fellow romance writer, high school history teacher, Brad Davis, she discovers that April is much more willing to have fun than Claudia ever was. But what happens when Brad discovers the truth that April/Claire isn’t the real her?

Knowing that a lot of romance writers use pen names, this was a fun story for many reasons. As an aspiring author, I’ve considered the use of one myself but since I’m not a very good web weaver, I figure it would be more trouble than it’s worth to try to keep a cover story straight. Just the problem that poor Claudia seems to find herself in when Brad, who also writes under a pen name – Davis Churchill – begins to unravel her woven web but instead of coming clean, she creates yet another persona tangling her web even more so.

I love how Peggy infused the world of romance writer conference with all that comes with it. How she plunked this poor introverted college professor/sexy romance writer smack down in the midst of it with the undeniably delicious temptation of Mr. Hot and Handsome Brad Davis to keep her on her toes, sweating her woven web, and trying to grab a moment when she can breathe even as she wishes he’d steal away her breath again.

I’ve never had the luck to attend a conference but I know Peggy has and I’m so glad she wrote a story that allowed us to experience one even if only through Claudia and Brad’s eyes. Peggy always creates the most real, alive, and wonderfully delightful characters, people that I would thoroughly enjoy knowing in real life. Claudia and Brad are no exception. They are wonderfully clumsy, each trying to impress, and deceive, while trying to make a connection that will last. Whether, she’s Claudia, April, or Claire, our heroine is as sweet, complicated, and adorable as any romance heroine and Brad is definitely her hero. 

If you love sweet, flirty, and terrifically fun romance, I highly recommend reading THE PROFESSOR’S SECRET by Peggy Bird. It’s a quick, fun read that will have you wishing for your own nom de plume to secret behind in hopes of meeting your own Mr. Hot and Handsome.

Happy Reading Everyone!

THE PROFESSOR'S SECRET by Peggy Bird, Crimson Romance, available now in ebook formats at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobobooks.

No comments: