Tuesday 22 October 2013

BOOK OF THE DAY: Playing the Part by Darcy Daniel

by Darcy Daniel






BOOK DESCRIPTION
Anthea Cane is a successful actress—well, action star. Her films are mostly about how hot she looks silhouetted by fiery explosions. But Anthea is determined to prove she's more than just a body. With the role of a lifetime up for grabs—a serious adaptation of her favorite novel—Anthea sets off to her small hometown in the name of research.

Cole Daniel is a blind farmer with no patience for divas, especially one who mercilessly teased him as a young boy. When Anthea shows up using a fake name and pestering him into letting her stay, he can't pass up the opportunity to torment her just a little.

But Anthea won't let the stubborn farmer deter her from her goal, even if he is hotter than any man she's ever met. Cole finds his form of payback less than satisfying when Anthea keeps turning the tables on him, proving her mettle and gaining his respect. Will Anthea's research land her a man, as well as the part?

65,000 words


AUTHOR BIO



Darcy Daniel loved reading from an early age and fell in love with many genres, but was drawn most of all to romances, leaving her thrilled when she won the Charter Oak Golden Acorn Excellence in Writing contest for Best Contemporary Series Romance.

She lives on acreage in a cottage with her family and energetic dog. With friends and family close by, she enjoy country life in the picturesque, small historic town of Windsor in Sydney, Australia
.


REVIEWS

Marla Hayes's review
Read in January, 2013

review title: better than Nicholas Sparks novel 'Safe Haven'

In this romantic tale of Anthea Cane and Cole Daniel, I adore the juxtaposition of an action film star wanting to act with more than her physical attributes and a BLIND farmer who holds the key to her getting the role of a lifetime, the role that could bring out deeper feelings than Anthea or Cole ever thought were possible to have.

Over a period of three weeks of 'research' in her hometown, Anthea faces hard, painful memories from her past... as does Cole.

Author Daniel picked the perfect tree to be an integral part of the story and the characters' lives. And that first kiss... MMMMmmmm, even I felt it through my eyes! This story brings Sparks' novel 'Safe Haven' to mind, but moves one level deeper to make it a better, more enjoyable read. Actually, I'd like to see THIS novel adapted for the big screen.

Link to review on Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/510291834


Arijana's review

bookshelves: netgalleyfavorites 
Read from January 20 to 21, 2013

I liked this for how different it was. I wanted to start this review with she doesn't know that he knows that... but it's more than that.

It's a sweet love story about trust and forgiveness and finding out that you can go back, after all.

I need to get something out of the way. I loved the writing! The first time you meet Cole, you figure out his disability right away, without the author having to spell it out for you. Seriously, I had this lightbulb moment when I figured it out and I just said "Oh my god, he's..." (no spoilers though.) Now, for that alone I would have given this book five stars, but the whole book is awesome.

I liked Anthea. She's not a spoiled, bratty actress and it really got to me how she was actually acting like she thought an actress should act when she's not acting (this sentence makes perfect sense in my head). At first she may seem like she's living the starlet dream but her dissatisfaction with her life and striving to be more becomes obvious pretty early on. I was rooting for her to get that role so much, because I thought she was so much better than being a blonde bimbo in action parodies.

Cole's character surprised me. I mean, the guy admits that everything he knows about sex, he learned from romance novels. How many times do you hear that from a hero? And he's a very bad schemer and manipulator, but I admired his efforts. If only he wasn't dealing with Anthea. I did think he was being childish about the whole payback thing, but at the same time it amused me. And he's actually really nice, I loved that he was such a good sport about the pink shirts. Obviously, he's man enough to wear them.

There is awesome chemistry between these two from their very first encounter, but the romance is really slow building. That first kiss of theirs is...probably one of the best things I've read in a while. I really liked their dynamic, they're like fire and water, but there is always something that makes them more right than wrong for each other. And the tables are kind of turned - instead of an experienced hero and inexperienced heroine, you have it the other way around. It was different.

The book will make you laugh - Anthea's oblivious mishaps, Cole's plans that backfire every time, witty dialogue, these two are bickering all the time - it's really entertaining. There's also a serious note to it, Cole's traumatic childhood and Anthea's evasion of dealing with her grief. I loved the character development, the way they grow to understand and accept the other for who they are and learn new things about themselves along the way. I thought that Cole's disability was dealt with in a respectful manner - nobody treats him different than any other character in the book, I really liked that.




No comments:

Post a Comment