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A review by kaje_harper
Invitation to the Dance by Tamara Allen
4.0
Charlie is a newspaper reporter with a cheerful and resilient spirit, a taste for the gentlemen that he perforce keeps hidden, and a confidence in his writing that may or may not be justified. In Charlie's opinion, an editor's sole job seems to be to whittle down his eloquent prose to dry little columns half the length. So when he meets a new applicant for an editorial post at the paper in his boss's office, he has no scruples against trying to send the man on his way.
William was a well-respected editor at his small local paper, but he wants to marry his girlfriend Violet, and she comes from money. So, since his pride won't let him sponge off her father, he needs to advance. A post with a big-city paper is a start. Polishing the prose of overly-wordy writers like Charlie is his bread-and-butter, and he knows he's good at it. He doesn't require reporters to like him.
But the happenstance of William's last name - Nesmith - matching that of a wealthy west-coast family, results in him being invited into the inner circles of local wealth and power. Charlie (and his boss) convince him to take advantage of the mistake, as the two of them try to get a story on an elusive visiting British nobleman. Between the adrenaline and shame of the deception, his curiosity about Lord Belcourt, the proximity of Charlie sticking to his side in search of the story, and Violet's hot-and-cold reactions to his new job situation, William is thrown out of the comfortable path he'd envisioned for himself. He never imagined writing society columns, and he never quite imagined friendship with the kind of scamp Charlie is. In this new life, anything might be possible.
Charlie hates editors. But he's coming to appreciate William, in more than one way although he won't mention that to the man with the fiancee. Writing columns that make the rich folk buzz is good, friendship is great, the hunt for Lord Belcourt is a lark. And if he sometimes wishes for a bit more substance to his life, maybe the lord has dark secrets that will provide some. Charlie's an optimist.
This book started more slowly than some by this favorite author. It took me time to warm to Charlie, and to get a feel for William, and the situation they were in. But about the halfway mark, the story settled in with a click and reminded me why I read anything Tamara Allen writes. I loved both these men, and enjoyed the plot and the resolution of their story. If you haven't tried this author, you could start anywhere but "Whistling in the Dark" remains my favorite, and "If It Ain't Love" is a gorgeous short freebie. If, like me, you wait for new stories from her with ill-hidden impatience, then I expect you will enjoy this new one.
William was a well-respected editor at his small local paper, but he wants to marry his girlfriend Violet, and she comes from money. So, since his pride won't let him sponge off her father, he needs to advance. A post with a big-city paper is a start. Polishing the prose of overly-wordy writers like Charlie is his bread-and-butter, and he knows he's good at it. He doesn't require reporters to like him.
But the happenstance of William's last name - Nesmith - matching that of a wealthy west-coast family, results in him being invited into the inner circles of local wealth and power. Charlie (and his boss) convince him to take advantage of the mistake, as the two of them try to get a story on an elusive visiting British nobleman. Between the adrenaline and shame of the deception, his curiosity about Lord Belcourt, the proximity of Charlie sticking to his side in search of the story, and Violet's hot-and-cold reactions to his new job situation, William is thrown out of the comfortable path he'd envisioned for himself. He never imagined writing society columns, and he never quite imagined friendship with the kind of scamp Charlie is. In this new life, anything might be possible.
Charlie hates editors. But he's coming to appreciate William, in more than one way although he won't mention that to the man with the fiancee. Writing columns that make the rich folk buzz is good, friendship is great, the hunt for Lord Belcourt is a lark. And if he sometimes wishes for a bit more substance to his life, maybe the lord has dark secrets that will provide some. Charlie's an optimist.
This book started more slowly than some by this favorite author. It took me time to warm to Charlie, and to get a feel for William, and the situation they were in. But about the halfway mark, the story settled in with a click and reminded me why I read anything Tamara Allen writes. I loved both these men, and enjoyed the plot and the resolution of their story. If you haven't tried this author, you could start anywhere but "Whistling in the Dark" remains my favorite, and "If It Ain't Love" is a gorgeous short freebie. If, like me, you wait for new stories from her with ill-hidden impatience, then I expect you will enjoy this new one.