The Publicist

By: Christina George

Narrated by: Lisa Cordileone

Length: 5 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's summary

Can one woman change an age-old institution like publishing? Probably not, but Kate Mitchell sure wants to try. As a publicist with a large, respected New York publishing house, Kate finds herself at the mercy of a broken publishing system, books that don’t sell, and author egos that are often, well, as big as the island of Manhattan.

Enter the star editor, MacDermott Ellis: Tall, handsome, charismatic, married, and ready to save the day. Then there's Allan Lavigne, once a revered author - now as forgotten as last year's best sellers and his nephew Nick: Tall, gorgeous, sweet, single, and ready to sweep Kate off her feet. Kate wants to do the right thing but her hormones seem to be driving her decisions.

As Kate tries to navigate the landmine of publicity, over-the-top author expectations, and the careful dance of “I’m sorry, your book isn’t on the bestseller list this week,” she also finds authors who are painfully overlooked by a publisher wanting more romance and sex, more celebrities, and more scandal.

Welcome to the world of publishing. The ego has landed.

©2014 Christina George (P)2014 Christina George

Standard "chick-lit"

Any additional comments?

The Publicist is a typical “chick-lit” book, but seems to be better written than many. The story itself is a standard tale of Kate, the plucky heroine versus the greedy business world. Thrown into the mix is Mac, the handsome co-worker who happens to be married. Part of the time is spent with the “will they won’t they game.” Kate fights the attraction, but predictably falls for Mac. I found most of their interactions rather boring. There is another character introduced to confuse Kate and to create a jump off point for the sequel.
The business part of the story is much more interesting, filled with interesting characters and twists and turns. There are attempts at sabotage within Kate’s agency and authors who are not who they appear to be. All in all, I enjoyed the book and may be tempted to listen to the second book in the series.
I received a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Doomed Relationship

Publicist Kate Mitchell is climbing the corporate ladder, too bad she’s also climbing married editor MacDermott Ellis! Kate goes into this doomed relationship with both eyes wide open, so it’s hard to feel sorry for her when her inevitable house of cards comes falling down. I loved the telling of this story even though the blatant infidelity bothers me. I will be listening to the second book in this series to see if Kate has suffered enough for me to forgive her. The jury is out.

Narrator Lisa Cordileone does a good job on the fully voice production of this audiobook. This is my first listen to her as a narrator and I look forward to hearing more from her.

This audiobook was gifted to me exchange for an unbiased review!

Great start to a great series

Where does The Publicist rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

The Publicist ranks among the top of the audiobooks I have listened to so far. I listen to a lot of audiobooks during my commute to work and often find that, while a story might be really good, I get distracted easily if the narrator is not good. That was NOT the case with this audiobook. I found the narrator to be easy to listen to and I did not find myself distracted because of a bad narrator. That alone puts The Publicist towards the top of my list. Not to mention I love the story (and the rest of the series, which I have read), which also really helps bump this audiobook up to the top of my list.

What does Lisa Cordileone bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Lisa Cordileone was an excellent narrator. She has a voice that I found to be easy to listen to and I was not distracted by her saying words in a way I find unusual nor did she have an unusual accent (of course, this is all relative to what I am used to...others might find her accent distracting). Overall, I enjoyed listening to her and found her to be one of the better narrators I have had the pleasure of listening to.

Any additional comments?

I really enjoyed this entire series and find The Publicist to be a great beginning. The love story is great and I really like to main character, Kate. I found her to be a very strong character who a lot of woman can relate to. The love story is so sweet (read/listen to the entire series) and I just overall really really enjoyed this series and The Publicist in particular. I highly recommend listening to this audiobook!!

I received a copy of this audiobook for free in exchange for an honest review.

The Publicist

When I purchased The Publicist, I expected a steamy and simple romance. However, what I got was a complex romance without the steam.

The focus of the story is on Kate Mitchell, a publicist for Morris and Dean Publishing, one of the top-notch publishing agencies in New York. She is determined to make her mark in the publishing world and in the process try to change the age-old institution of publishing. She just needs to focus on her job and stay away from the charismatic, handsome and how so married editor MacDermot Ellis.

Mac is funny and charming and has his eyes set on Kate. Known for his many liaisons, which he ends the moment the other party becomes emotionally involved because he had no intention of divorcing his wife. However, with Kate he wanted more. Kate believed she could handle the affair despite the many warnings she received against it. Then to make the situation even more complicated, Nick, the handsome single nephew of a dear friend, shows his interest in cultivating a relationship that goes beyond friendship. Can Kate fulfil her dreams of making waves in the publishing world while trying to handle her complicated love life?

I found the story engaging. It started out on a high note, which had me looking forward to more. Kate is called upon to utilise her skills to avert a potential crisis. The story featured several laugh out loud moments that had me laughing hard until my eyes teared up. The ending, which was a cliff-hanger, left me with lots of questions and had me curious about what is next in store for the characters.

I enjoyed spending time in the world the author created. I got an inside look into the world of publishing and learnt it was not all glamour and glitz. I saw first-hand the struggles publishers face dealing with high strung authors who cannot handle a negative review as well as the excitement garnered when her client ends upon the best seller list.

Kate Mitchell is hard working, and I admired her uncanny ability to handle the stressful situations with her clients. However, she is an enormous mess when it comes to her personal life. She had a knack for making poor choices regarding relationships, which was clear from her decision to get involved with Mac. Don’t get me started on how easy it was for her to get involved with Mac, despite the many warnings from her best friend. What had me shaking my head even more was her involvement with Nick while claiming to being love with Mac.

I am sorry to say I did not like Mac. He remains in a loveless marriage for twenty years and tries to justify it by using the catholic church’s stance against divorce while engaging in many affairs. Talk about hypocritical and selfish. Sorry I have no sympathy for cheaters.

I was not a fan of the romance for obvious reasons. Cheating coupled with a love triangle is for me a recipe for disaster. That being said, the manner in which the author wrote the love scenes the reader had no choice but to imagine what went on behind closed doors.

I had a wonderful time listening to Lisa Cordileone, and I thought she did a superb job. She brought the story to life, and it made my experience a pleasurable one.

Conclusion/Recommendation
Despite my disappointment in the main characters, the story had its good points.

Delightfully Interesting

Would you consider the audio edition of The Publicist to be better than the print version?

The story was easily absorbed through the audiobook. Having read and listened to books by Christina George, it's hard to choose which version is better. I think that the reader will not be disappointed either way.

What did you like best about this story?

I really enjoyed Kate's work. I enjoy female characters who do their jobs well. Christina George knows publishing world well and was able to reflect it well in the book

What does Lisa Cordileone bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I thoroughly enjoyed Lisa Cordileone's narrative. Her voice reflects the author's tone well, and she provided an easy to follow audiobook.

Any additional comments?

I really enjoy a good chick-lit book that's got a good storyline. Christina George offers a fantastic plot (complete with a love triangle) with Kate and Mac while keeping the story from being cheesy or overly sappy. I was on the edge of my seat for the whole narrative. This is a great first book to the Publicist series.I received a copy of this audiobook for free in exchange for an honest review.

Great Start to a Great Series!!!

Any additional comments?

This book was very fun and the narrator did a really good job reading. There are some audio books that I can't get into because the person reading has no personality behind the reading; as in pitch, inflection, etc... This book was not like that. I was hooked within the first 5 seconds. The story follows Kate Mitchell as she struggles with the stresses of trying to be a good publicist and deal with everyday life. Then there is the excitement of the love triangle. As many times as it is brought into books, I still find it interesting and it makes you wonder who she will ultimately choose at the end. I do have to say that I had already read the third and fourth books in this series, but it was fun to go back and hear that backstory. I look forward to listening to the second book next. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

a love triangle that's a good listen

The narrator Lisa Cordeleones does a excellent job. She easy to listen to and did not put me to sleep. Nor was she annoying. I was not distracted while listening, it kept my attention. She did good job distinguishing difference between characters.
My favorite character is Mac, I like how is the opposite of Nick. How he has to juggle between wife and mistress , and his bad
decision making, makes story interesting.
The book is a typical chick book. You have the main character Kate who is a publicist for a big New York City publishing house. She is good at her job. She still struggles with clients , her boss, and just being a female. She gets caught in a love triangle . It's interesting to see how it unfolds with their escapades .
The story is well written keeps you interested and makes you what to hear the other installments. I recommend this love story to people that like story lines from like Sex in The City.
I was given a copy of this book for a exchage of a honest review.

A New Guilty Pleasure

I really enjoyed The Publicist by Christina George. I have a long commute and listen to audiobooks to make the drive better and this book was the perfect companion for the trip home. I was sucked into the story of Kate, a publicist working for a publishing house in New York City, and her love affairs. It was the right mix of romance and story paying near equal attention to Kate's author troubles and her love life. I was sucked in.

George did a wonderful job catching my attention and keeping it. Sometimes in other romance or chick-lit novels the story is weak or cheesy, but not in The Publicist. I'm definitely a fan and immediately downloaded the next in the series, Shelf Life, when this book ended. I'm excited to see what happens next! I definitely recommend listening to The Publicist!

I received a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Very Compelling

Where does The Publicist rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

The Publicist ranks fairly high among the audiobooks I have enjoyed. The narrator did a wonderful job distinguishing between characters with the tenor of her voice.

Who was your favorite character and why?

My favorite character was Kate. She is such a driven gal, I could really relate. She works in the tough field of publishing, trying to work her way up to success. I really never knew how much wrangling goes into helping an author publish a book. It had never occured to me that the development of e-books could diminish the desire to obtain the print copy. I liked that the main character, Kate is so invested in helping authors. I have read love stories before, but this story was one that I just wanted to climb into.

Which character – as performed by Lisa Cordileone – was your favorite?

Lulu was my favorite performance by Lisa Cordileone was my favorite. I could just picture her in my head, her mannerisms, body posture, etc when listening to Lisa.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The heartfelt struggle that Kate goes through as she tries to bury herself in love, even with her doubts.

Any additional comments?

I have read a couple of the later books in The Publicist series and getting to listen to the narrator tell the story has made me want to get the rest of the stories in audiobook form, so that I can continue to enjoy it. Really very wonderful, once I started, I couldn't stop listening!

I recieved a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Romance and turmoil in choosing between two lovers

What made the experience of listening to The Publicist the most enjoyable?

The best experience in listening to the Publicist is that I can relate to the love escapades and the turmoil Kate went through when choosing between two men.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Nick is my favorite character since his personality is gentle and sincere.

What does Lisa Cordileone bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Honestly, I don't care for Lisa's voice. I would have rather read the book.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No, I wasn't that eager to listen to in one sitting.