Marie Astor

Janet Maple, graduate of Columbia Law School, four years in the DA's office, with a prized job in the investigations office, along with a handsome boyfriend, Alex, working alongside her, thought she was on her way to the promotion and the career she wanted, bagging Wall Street bad guys.

Then Alex gets the promotion, she gets laid off, and she's struggling to support herself and her dog, Baxter, and find a new job without using her ex-boyfriend as a reference. When her oldest and once closest show more friend, Lisa Foley, calls her with an off of a job as Assistant General Counsel at Bostoff Securities, she accepts. She's working on Wall Street instead of hunting Wall Street bad guys, but she can play a role in keeping Bostoff Securities on the right side of the law, right?

It's not long before she realizes there's something wrong at Bostoff. Their five biggest customers are hedge funds with dubious reputations, and their documentation seems to be incomplete--ownership data, for instance, is missing. Yet her ability to investigate is limited, because most of the legal work is done by outside counsel Tom Wyman. Even her friend and boss, Lisa, the General Counsel, has very little real work. Why was Janet even hired?

Dennis Walker, undercover Treasury investigative agent, is working at Bostoff as an IT specialist, under the name Dean Snider, because Treasury has questions about Bostoff, too. The normally suave and perfectly groomed Walker is posing as a dorky IT guy. It grates on him, but the job is his main concern--his only concern, until he meets Janet Maple.

What follows is a complicated interaction, where Janet, once burned, likes "Dean" but is set on avoiding romance at work, and Dennis likes Janet, but can't get involved brecause of his job--except that he also soon realizes that Janet might be the inside source he needs.

They move together and apart, repeatedly, and meanwhile we get to know the Bostoff brothers, Jonathan and Paul, sons of the largely retired founder, Hank Bostoff, and more complicated than one might expect from their assigned roles in this story.

It's a fun story, and I like the characters and the plot, yet it never completely gelled for me. Also, the cute dog on the cover, Janet's dog Baxter, does arrive at the end of the book unscathed, but also barely plays a role in the story at all, which did disappoint me. Honestly, I was in need of a dog in a story, and clearly didn't do enough initial scouting of the story.

It is enjoyable, though, even if not very deep or entirely solid.

I bought this book. show less

Twenty-eight year old Annabel Green is just months away from marrying her boyfriend of seven years, Jeremy Blake, when she catches him kissing his book agent, and suddenly her whole world is turned upside down. She had willingly been the breadwinner in their relationship, taking a "temporary" copywriter's position at an advertising agency, setting her own dreams of writing aside while Jeremy writes his first novel. Faced with a cheating fiance, she confronts Jeremy and finds out that he has show more been seeing his book agent for the past three months, brokenhearted Annabel ends their relationship. For the next few weeks, Annabel slides into a depressing routine of working late, eating takeout and watching tv, while ducking attempts from her best friend, fashion designer Lilly Clayton, who tries to get her out of the apartment. Determined to pull Annabel out of her funk, Lilly treats Annabel to a makeover and a tarot card reading, where Annabel is given a heart-shaped charm on a gold necklace to wear as a talisman to bring her luck in love. Lilly asks Annabel if she would accompany her on a three week trip to Paris, to help her in a fashion contest that she has entered. Will Lilly's attempts to get Annabel back in the dating game work? Will a dream trip to the famous City of Lights and a lucky charm bring Annabel love?

Lucky Charm is a delightfully fun and flirty romance novel that will draw you into Annabel's story from the start. The storyline is a true chick lit novel at its best, filled with romance, broken hearts, learning to love again, and the promise of a happy ending, all you'll need is some wine, chocolate and a comfy couch to enjoy this story. The author does a wonderful job of engaging the reader's interest and drawing them into Annabel's journey of self-discovery and learning to find love again. With a touch of dramatic, flirty and sassy interactions between the characters, you can't help but giggle as you turn the pages. Annabel and Lilly's friendship is a realistic BFF relationship that everyone can relate to. You can't help but smile and giggle at their crazy antics, it reminded me of my own relationship with my BFF. The author does a fantastic job of describing Paris and its cultural treasures, it reads like a virtual tour guide, and is truly sigh worthy. When Annabel meets the handsome Parisian, Etienne Gerard, I found myself smiling and cheering her on as their whirlwind romance developed during her three week stay in Paris. Even though an ocean separates them, love can overcome all obstacles, if Annabel will allow herself to trust and love again.

There is so much that can be said about this fun little novel, but I don't want to give any spoiler information, so if you are looking for a lighthearted contemporary romance novel that will leave you smiling, I would definitely recommend reading Lucky Charm, you won't be disappointed!

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Would you settle for marrying a man that you had to convince yourself was "the one," and deceive yourself into believing that you are in love with him? Or would you go with your attraction and feelings for another man, and have the courage to follow your heart? This is the dilemma that twenty-three year old Maggie Robin found herself facing in On the Rim of Love.

Maggie Robin has a bright future ahead of her, she just graduated from college, she has been accepted into Yale Law School, and her show more TV producer boyfriend of two years, Jeffrey Preston, has proposed to her, could she want anything more? Not everything is perfect in her life, Maggie's dream since childhood is to be a renowned photographer, not an attorney, that was always her mother's dream, not hers. She's also not sure if she is really in love with Jeffrey, and if she really wants to marry him. But she convinces herself that she has a perfect life, and that she can't do any better than this, so why change it ... or so she thinks ...

Jeffrey Preston is a thirty year-old successful cable TV producer, the heir apparent to a huge cable network, that is if he can let go of his wild lifestyle and settle down as dictated by his father, the chairman of the network. He has an aggressive, pompous air about him, he takes no prisoners and knows how to get what he wants, when he wants it. To satisfy his father's demands he chooses Maggie as his wife, their union would help him climb the corporate ladder.

Jeffrey takes Maggie and another couple on a skiing trip to British Columbia, to supposedly celebrate their engagement, but in reality it turns out to be a working trip. Jeffrey is going to produce a documentary on a skier that will attempt to ski the dangerous off-piste terrain of the Needle Eye slope, part of the Eagleville mountains. The daredevil skier, is handsome twenty-three year old Taylor Denton, and when Maggie and Taylor meet, the electricity of attraction flies between them, that sets off a dangerous love triangle that could have serious ramifications for them all. Does Maggie stick by Jeffrey and their engagement, or does she follow her heart and turn to Taylor? Will the love triangle have life-changing ramifications for Maggie, Jeffrey and Taylor? Come visit them at the beautiful Eagleville Ski Resort and see what happens next when they're On the Rim of Love.

On the Rim of Love stays true to the contemporary romance genre, it provides the reader with a story that has enough romance mixed with intrigue and suspense that is truly sigh worthy. I absolutely loved the storyline, it was well written and fast-paced, I was so intrigued by Maggie, Jeffrey and Taylor's story, that I couldn't put the book down. The characters in the story had dynamic personalities, their intertwining lives gave the story a realistic feel that engages the reader. I loved the love triangle concept, in true romance tradition, it had a princess, a prince charming and a villain. I was completely engrossed in the intrigue and suspense of the love triangle. The author's description of the British Columbia landscape and Eagleville ski resort was breathtaking. I found myself closing my eyes and I could actually visualize the mountain scenery and ski village. When a reader can be transported to the place described in a story, you know that the book is worth reading. The description of the skiing scenes, especially that of the dangerous off-piste skiing scene, kept me on the edge of my seat, it was a pure adrenaline rush that had me wishing for my younger days when I went on ski trips. Finally, there is nothing better than steamy love scenes in a romance novel, and I was not disappointed, Maggie and Taylor's blossoming attraction for one another was truly worthy of many sighs. On the Rim of Love is an engaging, beautiful romance novel that will completely satisfy every contemporary romance fan!

Disclaimer: At the request of the author and Goddess Fish Promotions, a PDF edition of the book was sent, at no cost to me, for my honest review and participation in the virtual book tour event.

Virtual Book Tour Event: On Friday, February 3, 2012, in association with Goddess Fish Promotions, Marie Astor participated in a virtual book tour event with an Author Guest Post on Jersey Girl Book Reviews.
http://jerseygirlbookreviews.blogspot.com/2012/02/author-guest-post-marie-astor-...

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I loved how this story came together effortlessly. It was a little verbose in places but I didn’t find that a distraction. In fact, I enjoyed the feeling of complexity by the in depth explanations. In other words, more word for me here.
The characters were great and fit the plot. There was a good balance between the plot and characters with enough drama to move things along.
Great start to a series and I look forward to read more from this author. For more of my reviews, and author show more interviews, see my blog at www.thespineview.com. show less