It’s release week!
Playing With Trouble by Chanel Cleeton
July 21, 2015
Capital Confessions #2
Contemporary Romance
Penguin/InterMix
BOOK SUMMARY:
The author of Flirting with Scandal presents her second book in a sexy contemporary romance series about three sisters in a powerful political family, the scandals that threaten to destroy them, and the passion that drives them…
The daughter of one of the Senate’s most powerful figures, Blair Reynolds was ready to become the ultimate political wife—until she caught her fiancé cheating on her wedding day. Law school is a fresh start, her shot at putting the pieces of her life back together. That’s the plan, at least. Until trouble comes in the form of her Torts professor, the man whose arrogance infuriates her in class but haunts her private fantasies.
Graydon Canter had a fortune and a place on all the hottest “Thirty under Thirty” lists, until a series of personal missteps nearly destroyed his career. A year teaching at a D.C. law school is just the break he needs to get his life back in order, as long as nothing—and no one—trips him up.
When Blair and Gray are forced to work together, their explosive attraction becomes impossible to resist. But Gray’s demons have drawn him dangerously close to the edge, and Blair has spent her life playing by the rules. Will she break them for a shot at love?
Review:
I’m not a huge fan of the student/teacher troupe–it has to walk a fine line, or it can quickly get squiffy–but I’d really liked Ms. Cleeton’s London Falling last year and really enjoyed it, so I decided to give this one a chance. Plus, I’d read about her Capital Confessions series and been intrigued–somehow I’d missed book one’s release ( Flirting with Scandal ), so when book two in the series became available, I jumped at it.
I wasn’t disappointed.
Here the student/teacher relationship worked. It definitely helped that they were older–Blair’s in law school after a spectacularly failed engagement, and personal and professional scandal has Gray teaching law instead of practicing it at the relatively young age of thirty. Their relationship is definitely forbidden–when they first feel mutual attraction and share some heavily-charged moments, she’s in his class–but the fact that they don’t actually sleep together until the semester’s over was a definite factor in their favor. Furthermore, Gray had another professor do a read-behind on Blair’s final exam, which was a huge plus for him in my book.
Of course, it still was a bad idea to be involved with a student, and it’s of course going to blow up in their faces. But it was well done, and believable.
And they worked toward and got their much-deserved HEA, so…
Blair’s sisters play a role in her story, and Jackie’s (heroine of book one) background is alluded to more than once, but Playing with Trouble works as a standalone story. (Not to say I won’t go back and read Scandal anyway, because I definitely will at some point.) Kate’s story is next, and given what we know of her past and the fact that she’ll be in the CIA for her book, I’ll be signing up for that one for sure. The drama behind and possible wrongdoings of the girls’ father, a prominent U.S. Senator, look like they’ll come to a head in book three, and I’m interested to see how that will all go down.
And if Blair and Gray make a few appearances, all the more incentive!
Rating: 4 stars / A-
I received a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.
BOOK LINKS:
Praise for the work of Chanel Cleeton:
Flirting with Scandal by Chanel Cleeton has it all. A sexy hero, strong heroine, delicious romance, sizzling tension, and plenty of breathtaking scandal.
I loved this book!
– New York Times bestselling author Monica Murphy
**
Scorching hot and wicked smart, Flirting with Scandal had me hooked from page one! Sizzling with sexual tension and political intrigue, Cleeton weaves a story that is as complex as it is sexy. Thank God this is a series because I need more!!
– New York Times bestselling author Rachel Harris
**
Sexy, intelligent, and intriguing. Chanel Cleeton makes politics scandal-icious.
– USA Today bestselling author Tiffany King
NOW AVAILABLE!
Flirting with Scandal by Chanel Cleeton
May 19, 2015
Capital Confessions #1
Contemporary Romance
Penguin/InterMix
SYNOPSIS:
The author of I See London sets her sights on Washington, D. C., with a sexy new series about three sisters, the secrets they keep, and a powerful blog with a knack for exposing scandals…
Jackie Gardner knows all about dirty little secrets. The illegitimate daughter of one of the most influential senators in Washington, D.C., she grew up surrounded by the scandals and shadows of politics. Now that she’s landed an internship with a powerful political consulting firm, she’s determined to launch her career and take this city by storm.
William Andrew Clayton was born for politics. He knows the drill: work hard, play discreetly, and at all costs, avoid scandal. At twenty-six, his campaign for the Virginia State Senate is the first step to cementing his future. It’s time for him to settle down, to find the perfect political spouse. He needs a Jackie Kennedy, not a Marilyn…
When Jackie meets Will in the bar of the Hay-Adams Hotel, sparks fly. But the last thing Will needs is to be caught in a compromising position, and an affair with a political candidate could cost Jackie her career. When what began as one steamy night, becomes a passion neither one of them can walk way from, they must decide if what they have is really love, or just another dirty little secret…
PURCHASE LINKS:
AUTHOR INFORMATION: 
Originally a Florida girl, CHANEL CLEETON moved to London where she received a bachelor’s degree from Richmond, The American International University in London and a master’s degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science. Chanel fell in love with London and planned to stay there forever, until fate intervened on a Caribbean cruise and a fighter pilot with smooth dance moves swept her off her feet. Now, a happily ever after later, Chanel is living her next adventure.
Law school made Chanel realize she’d rather spend her days writing sexy stories than in a courtroom, and she hasn’t looked back since. An avid reader and hopeless romantic, she’s happiest curled up with a book. She has a weakness for handbags, her three pups, and her husband.
Chanel writes contemporary romances. She is published by Harlequin HQN, Penguin/InterMix, and Penguin/Berkley and is the author of the International School, Capital Confessions, and Wild Aces series.
AUTHOR LINKS:
Website: www.chanelcleeton.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/authorchanelcleeton
Twitter: www.twitter.com/chanelcleeton
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/chanelcleeton
Newsletter: www.chanelcleeton.com/mailing-list/