Up Close & Personal – Kathryn Freeman

Zac Edwards is a Hollywood film star and makes every woman swoon around him except for the woman whose assigned to be his bodyguard, Kat Parker. One minute Kat can be around him joking around as his friend but the second she steps out in public with him she’s in bodyguard mode. Kat knows that she can’t cross the line to anything more than a friendly working relationship whilst she’s Zac’s bodyguard but that doesn’t stop the pair from wanting more.

Overall I liked this book. I thought it was a nice plot and the characters were good, however part of the plot was a little forced for my liking. I found that the storyline almost did a complete 360 halfway through when the real danger hits. Yes, I understand that Kat’s a bodyguard and it’s her job to be on the lookout for people out to hurt Zac but I felt that the story went too far. I personally would’ve been happy if the crazed storyline was fleshed out more, it was completely believable. I felt like what actually happened crosses the line just too much for me.

I really liked both Zac and Kat. Both were interesting characters and I felt like dual perspective storytelling really worked in this book so you could get an insight into their lives that was more than the tough security guard and Hollywood heartthrob. However I didn’t really get that much spark between them and although and I liked them as friends it didn’t bother me if they got together in the end or not.

I’ve read other books by Kathryn Freeman before and I do enjoy the way in which the author writes. I think she’s got a real talent for writing humorous stories whilst still maintaining a serious storyline that you can become invested in. She writes fantastic characters and although I didn’t even the storyline as much as other books that I’ve read, I did really like the characters.

I liked this book and although I don’t think its the authors best novel, I did enjoy reading it. I didn’t perhaps gel with the characters as much as I thought that I would and the storyline wasn’t exactly to my liking but overall it was a fun, quick read.

Synopsis – 

Sizzling chemistry, a page-turning will they/won’t they romance and the hottest twist on one of your favourite movies…

British actor Zac Edwards is the latest heartthrob to hit the red carpets. Hot, talented and rich, he sends women wild…all except one.

Close protection officer Kat Parker hasn’t got time to play celebrity games. She has one job: to protect Zac from the stalker that seems to be dogging his every move.

Zac might get her hot under her very starched collar, but Kat’s a professional – and sleeping with Zac is no way part of her remit…

Perfect Match – Zoe May

Sophia Jones is the queen of online dating. She’s a member of so many dating sites she has her about me template ready to go for when she joins up to a new site. Sophia has bad date after bad date and has decided to give up on dating. That is until her flatmate Kate, convinces her to give it one last try on a new dating site but this time Sophia isn’t following her usual about me application. Sophia’s profile describes her dream perfect man, must look like Robert Pattinson, own a multi million pound business…by some kind a miracle a man turns up who ticks every one of Sophia’s boxes. Can Sophia’s dream man really be Mr Right or will she discover the catch?

I really loved the idea of this book. The storyline on paper is something that I would absolutely love however I just found the book ok. The book itself started off fantastically, I loved the dynamics between Sophia and Kate in particular and it was writing in a funny way which I loved. The story starts off with Sophia’s dating disasters and then follows her on her dates with her perfect man and sadly for me its her perfect man, Daniel who lets this story down. I think the pressure to find the perfect match is something that is increasingly apparent in todays society so the story is very relatable plus I’m sure most people can relate on the dating disasters from a dating app too.

Personally, I loved Sophia. She is completely normal and I love how she interacts with her friends, including befriending an older lady who lives nearby. One of my favourite parts of the novel is her describing her perfect man as although I’ve never used a dating site, I feel like a lot of people have this check list and would secretly love to write it in their criteria. Daniel who fits every single description of the person man lets the story down in my opinion as bizarrely I found him far from perfect from the word go. I found him a little controlling for example, when Sophia wants a cheap outfit for work he insists otherwise and that he always wants to do want he wants to do. Normally I love the kind of relationship where the girl is swept off her feet with big romantic gestures but I didn’t like Daniel’s personally at all.

I loved how the author writes and its perfect for this genre of books. However, I just wished I could shorten the length of time Daniel was in the book and I think would’ve loved this book. Sadly, I just found it ok and not as good as I was expecting however, I would definitely check out other books by Zoe Maty in the future as I did like the writing style but the story just wasn’t for me this time.

Synopsis –

Can you ever find true love online?

Sophia Jones is an expert in all things online dating: the best sites, how to write a decent bio, which questions to ask and the right type of photos to use. The only thing she’s not so great at? Picking the guys…

After sitting through yet another dreadful date with a man who isn’t quite what she expected, Sophia is just about ready to give up on the whole dating scene. But her flatmate, Kate, persuades her to give it one more chance, only this time she must create a profile describing her ‘perfect’ man.

Yes, he must look like Robert Pattinson and needs to own a multi-million pound business, but there are a couple of other deal breakers, too! So, when a guy comes along who ticks every box, surely there’s got to be a catch?

A laugh-out-loud romantic comedy, perfect for fans of Catherine Bennetto and Rosie Blake!