Hi guys, we have Ken Bachtold popping in today with his upcoming release A Company of Players, we have a brilliant guest post and a great excerpt, so check out the post and enjoy! <3 ~Pixie~
A Company of Players
(States of Love 19: NewYork)
by
Ken Bachtold
Leaving romantic wreckage behind him, Nick Charles and his best friend Barb Anderson use Nick’s sizable inheritance to fly to one of the most exciting places in the world—New York City—with plans to open their own theater. In doing so, they meet Ross Taylor, the handsome real estate man and actor, and Rudy his construction-worker cousin. Ross is determined to heal Nick’s fragile heart, while shy Rudy and oblivious Barb stumble toward their own connection. Will Rosie Dupree, a rigid method actress, and talented but devious Gordon Holmes destroy their theater dreams? Was choosing the original piece, Starting Over, by an unpublished young playwright the best move for opening night? Will the invited critic show up? Amid the frantic and colorful world of the New York City theater scene, Nick and Barb must open their hearts and risk everything for their endeavors to succeed—both on the stage and behind the scenes.
Title: Mood Indigo Series: N/A Author: Ken Bachtold Genre: Romantic Suspense Length: 129 pages Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (March 2, 2016) Heat Level: Moderate Heart Rating: ♥♥♥ 2 1/2 – 3 Hearts Blurb: What happens when a powerful connection forms between two damaged strangers?
Found injured by the side of a road, Bill Ward suffers from retrograde amnesia. Having no recollection of his past, he feels like a nobody. Romance is definitely not an option for a nobody. Jazz singer and piano player Johnny Desmond, on the other hand, is emotionally dead from the ultimate betrayal.
But from the moment their eyes meet, there’s no fighting it, and with their friends’ encouragement, Bill and Johnny decide to get to know each other.
Bill’s memories are hovering at the edge of his mind, tormenting him with fear and doubts about what he has to offer. Johnny also has a past—one that could endanger his life.
It might have been love at first sight, but it will take courage and commitment to see it through to love that lasts forever.
First off let me just say that this is the first book by this author that I have had a chance to read. So I wasn’t really sure what to expect from it. The title was not what I would call an eye catcher. It made me think of colors and music yes but also a bit dull. I was a bit leery reading it at first. It doesn’t catch my attention like it should have. I am afraid to say I was a bit bored with it.
Now the blurb made the story seem a bit better than it really was. I was expecting something more I suppose. The story has great potential but the follow through was not very hot. Bill and Johnny come off a bit like brothers to me. They were quite interesting in the beginning of the story but then they just sort of fell short.
It just comes off a bit odd and not really realistic to me. The way they interacted with each other was bored and stiff. I felt like this was being written with no heart put into it, as if the author was rushing to get through it and a few other items as well.
It doesn’t seem like it really has a true plot to it as well. The guys didn’t really communicate through most of the story. It just didn’t have a flare to it at all. Like I said above it has great potential but for me it just didn’t work out the way it should.
The guys both have issues that they are having trouble dealing with. I mean Bill has no real clue who he is where as Johnny was cheated on with an idiot ex. The supporting characters had more flare to them then these two did.
Now the story did pick up close to the end which made it a bit better however I was just not pleased with it.
The problem was it took me longer to get past the first paragraph then it should have. I am sorry to say that this story was not for me. It was a very slow-paced story with no true heat to it. It comes off older than anything.
I would recommend it, but only if you are into those types of stories. I am sorry to say that I was a bit disappointed in it.
Aerin’s Review: ♥♥ 2 Hearts
This is my very first Ken Bachtold book and will probably be my last. As sad as I am to say this, there was no enjoyment for me to be found in this story. The blurb sounded intriguing and I remember previously reading a book with a similar story line that I enjoyed, so this book had a lot of potential. Unfortunately there were so many things that went wrong…. here’s a few of them.
The main characters were interesting and intriguing at the beginning, but quickly became cheesy and hard to connect with. There is nothing realistic in their interactions and the conversations were stilted and boring. The writing felt wooden, stiff, with absolutely no flow or reason.
Let me address the realistic issue; there is absolutely no instant in my life or life in general where I’ve heard people talking to each other the way Bill and Johnny did. It took 1/3 of the book for Johnny and Bill to even say hi to each other and let me tell you it was awkward as hell. They saw each other three times before, when Bill would go into the Jazz bar Johnny was playing music at; each time they had some significant (for them at least, for me was kind of confusing) staring contest after which Johnny would launch into a play of Mood Indigo ( and neither of them knew why Johnny played this song), which would make Bill run away. The fourth time Bill came in Johnny was determined to talk to Bill, and so he chased after him when Bill ran away again. This is the first conversation they’ve ever had (all of the quotation marks are a small part of their first conversation):
“What’s your name?”
“I have no real name, I call myself Bill Ward.”
“I don’t understand.”
“They told me I must have been in an accident. When they found me I was like road kill.”
Say what? Who tells that to a complete stranger the very first time they have any kind of conversation? I mean do people blurt things out like that? Because if they do, I must live on another planet since I’ve never heard any conversation like that in my life! And this is 100% insta-love; you know insta-love can be sort of cute when done right, but these guys decide quite cheesily that they have a crazy chemistry and need to try a serious relationship. It kind of went like this (this happened 2 minutes after they introduced each other):
“I looked up and saw your very blue eyes, and I kind of shuddered. I felt some kind of connection. Scared the hell out of me. It was the first time I didn’t feel isolated. And there you were, the handsome perfect stranger. Right out of a book.” —–> Bill
“I know. I looked up and you were gone. I had this weird sense of loss, and I thought I’d probably never see you again.” —–> Johnny
During the first conversation they’ve ever had Johnny also tells Bill about his cheater ex boyfriend and the terrible time after they split up. As much as I wanted to, I simply couldn’t believe, never mind buy into their relationship. They had no chemistry at all and they were so very boring together. Needless to say the topics of their conversations came and went without any sense. It was like some weird butchered dialog that was pretty much just vomited on page without any editing to make sense of it.
The plot is….well…. wait, what plot? I’m pretty sure I must have missed the plot, because most of the book Johnny and Bill spent their time being all cute and completely unsexy, Bill’s housemates, a trio of older people who acted like meddling kids, stuck their nose into Bill’s personal life and were constantly plotting things. I’ve just finished a book in which the grandmother was pretty much my favorite character because she was a hoot, but I can’t say the same thing about these ones. They seemed a bit creepy to me, or maybe I should blame that on the blocky dialog and bad writing. And I get the feeling there was supposed to be some form of suspense given Bill’s accident and the recovery of his memory but it was mostly a case of stating the obvious.
I usually find things to enjoy or like in a book regardless whether the books I read gets a high rating or not; I tried to think of what I liked and couldn’t come up with anything! Not the characters, not the story, and certainly not the writing. I am being very generous giving this book 2 Hearts.
* I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review through http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com *
Title: All By Myself Series: N/A Author: Ken Bachtold Genre: Contemporary Length: Novel (200 pages) Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (February 2nd, 2015) Heat Level: Low Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥5Heearts Blurb: Mitch Donnelly and Grady Gilmore are two damaged souls. While walking in Central Park, novelist Mitch finds actor Grady in terrible distress, digging up the grass as if he can bury himself in the ground. After hearing the story of Grady’s long-time partner’s betrayal, Mitch is afraid to leave him alone, so he invites him to stay in his spare room until he feels better. Mitch understands—he lost his first love in a car accident.
Upon Grady’s arrival, Mitch is much happier and his writing improves. Grady, with Mitch’s constant support, auditions and is cast as Iago in a production of Othello. Attraction slowly blossoms, but each man has been so terribly hurt in the past, both are afraid to act on it.
With the encouragement of Emma Latimore, Mitch’s outspoken landlady and friend, and constant chatter from a parakeet named Tweet, Mitch and Grady might find the courage to face their doubts and find a second chance at happiness.
Review: I really liked this book. Mostly this had the potential to be full of excruciating angst, which at a certain point I can’t stand and declare a book stupid or over the top. Thankfully, instead of unnecessary angst (which I think would be ridiculous for two grown men) we have been given a story that is full of sweetness, uncertainty, healing and to different degrees, mourning. Okay, so I got back on my first sentence, I really loved this book.
This is the story of Mitch Donnelly, who comes across Grady Gilmore in New York’s Central Park amidst a type of breakdown. Mitch hasn’t let another man close to him in years since the death of his partner, Jared in San Francisco. Grady on the other hand has found out the hard way that the man who had been his best friend and now boyfriend hadn’t been faithful. To top it all off, both these guys don’t seem to have anything that anchors them to New York.
The story is charming. This isn’t the type of insta-love where they fall into bed together. Instead there is mostly friendship, a lot of yearning and encouragement as these two guys try to come to terms with their respective pasts and bring their future forward. I will admit, some people will find the will they or won’t they theme annoying. However, to me it reminds me more like a Bollywood movie in that sense, i.e. the kiss that never happens until the HEA at the end. The advantage of this is also that we get a chance to see both Mitch and Grady being them before being Mitch and Grady together.
Another worthy mention is the minor characters. Although, Mitch’s good friend and land lady, Emma, is basically a main character in her own right, she and her new friend, Sarah are wonderful people. They both move the main plot along nicely as well as having a nice sub plot of their own. There are also parallels between Emma and Mitch, and Sarah with another minor character. We have a villain, Hank, who occasionally pops up to once again drive Grady forward.
Then there is Brandon and David – David only pops up at the end but when they make their appearance it’s a bit difficult to gauge them. There is certainly more to them than their simple back stories, which makes me wonder if there are going to be more books or was it just convenience? And let’s not forget precocious animals – Emma’s smart mouthed bird Tweet is almost like a prophet, dare I say?
And yes, you may be forgiven to think of the song by the same name… because Mitch thinks about it in the beginning and end of the book! I really liked that extra touch and it wasn’t too corny for me.
* I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review through http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com *
Blurb: When Josh put a blue valentine in the class box for Bobby Prentice in fifth grade, he just wanted to show how much he appreciated his best friend. Years later, both the ridicule he suffered and his unrequited feelings for Bobby have followed him to the university where they both teach. Bobby would like to say many things to his friend, but he doesn’t know if he can find the courage in himself that he admires in Josh.
A part of the “A Valentine Rainbow” set of 14 holiday stories. Get all 14 stories on Feb. 1 when you purchase the set.
Review: I found this one to be downright enjoyable. I knew I liked this book from the start. It rang a personal bell for me. The spirit of the book touched my soul and I knew it was about time a book had done it. The characters were downright great. And the plot was perfect. It kept me intrigued all the way through.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone that likes good holiday stories.
Title: Mood Indigo
Title: All By Myself