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The Spotlight #1.5
The Trouble With Bree
The trouble with Bree is…
Bree Farrell is ready to turn her life around. A twenty-one-year-old mother of two, she’s not sure where to start. She could use a little help, but her string of horrible ex-boyfriends keep setting her back. First step: she’s swearing off men forever. Or at least until she gets back on her feet.
Josh Maxwell got a second chance at life, and now he wants to help kids who are in the same situation he was in. His new job as the coordinator at a preschool for underprivileged kids is the perfect place to do that.
On paper, the policy not to get involved with the families of the students makes perfect sense. But when Bree meets the new coordinator of her son’s school, she and Josh learn that some rules are made to be broken, no matter what the consequences.
Bree Farrell is ready to turn her life around. A twenty-one-year-old mother of two, she’s not sure where to start. She could use a little help, but her string of horrible ex-boyfriends keep setting her back. First step: she’s swearing off men forever. Or at least until she gets back on her feet.
Josh Maxwell got a second chance at life, and now he wants to help kids who are in the same situation he was in. His new job as the coordinator at a preschool for underprivileged kids is the perfect place to do that.
On paper, the policy not to get involved with the families of the students makes perfect sense. But when Bree meets the new coordinator of her son’s school, she and Josh learn that some rules are made to be broken, no matter what the consequences.
Unknown Binding
First published January 19, 2015
38 people want to read
About the author
Kristen Strassel
134 books312 followersKristen Strassel is far cooler than she’ll make herself sound in this bio. She enjoys spending time with the voices in her head—nudging the characters toward those bad decisions and a happily ever after. When she’s not writing, she’s often still in the land of make-believe—doing makeup for film and television. And when she’s not doing any of that, she enjoys making her house look like a Pinterest board, watching football, and road trips to the middle of nowhere.
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
January 23, 2015
I've never been a big fan of novellas. I never feel like they leave me with a good understanding of who the characters are or how the love came to be.
HOWEVER--you haven't read a good novella until you've read a K. Strass novella. The power of this book lies in the pacing. It's paced so perfectly that you get to know the new characters (*cough*JOSH*cough*swoon*) and the love reads SO well on the page and it's believable and you just root for it from the moment they introduce themselves to each other.
And ANOTHER THING I was so crazy about--the character growth. If you read book 1 in this series, you know who Bree is (or you think you do) and you almost dismiss her. I'm telling you now, after finishing THE TROUBLE WITH BREE, you're wrong for doing so. Bree grows so much as a person and it's just really refreshing to read.
This entire novella was refreshing, actually.
HOWEVER--you haven't read a good novella until you've read a K. Strass novella. The power of this book lies in the pacing. It's paced so perfectly that you get to know the new characters (*cough*JOSH*cough*swoon*) and the love reads SO well on the page and it's believable and you just root for it from the moment they introduce themselves to each other.
And ANOTHER THING I was so crazy about--the character growth. If you read book 1 in this series, you know who Bree is (or you think you do) and you almost dismiss her. I'm telling you now, after finishing THE TROUBLE WITH BREE, you're wrong for doing so. Bree grows so much as a person and it's just really refreshing to read.
This entire novella was refreshing, actually.
January 15, 2015
I loved so many things about The Trouble with Bree, which doesn’t surprise me since I love Kristen’s writing.
This was a very sweet story about a girl who always falls in love easy and always picks the wrong guy. That is until she meets the director at her son’s new preschool. How can you not fall in love with a man that will be there for not only you, but for your children as well? I know I fell in love with Josh by reading his interactions with Bree’s children!
One thing that I did not like about this book was that it was so short!!!! I could have seen/love to see this as a full novel, but if you need a quick read, I recommend it!
This was a very sweet story about a girl who always falls in love easy and always picks the wrong guy. That is until she meets the director at her son’s new preschool. How can you not fall in love with a man that will be there for not only you, but for your children as well? I know I fell in love with Josh by reading his interactions with Bree’s children!
One thing that I did not like about this book was that it was so short!!!! I could have seen/love to see this as a full novel, but if you need a quick read, I recommend it!
June 16, 2015
Bree Farrell is hell bent on making her childrens' lives and her own better. With a string of bad ex-boyfriends behind her, her first step is to swear off men. Second, is to enroll in online college courses. Well, she get's the second step down, but the first runs into a little trouble when she meets the damn near irresistible Josh Maxwell.
Josh has just gotten a new job as the coordinator of a preschool for underprivileged kids. The school took a chance on him, hiring him without really any experience, so the last thing he needs is to get involved with a student's mother. But sometimes the risk is worth it.
I loved Bree and Josh's relationship. What I loved about this novella and their relationship was that it didn't feel like a soap opera. Bree nor Josh are the typical leads you'd ordinarily find in romance novels. They're real people and their relationship felt very real and organic to me. This is what a real relationship looks like in the real world. And I loved that quality to the story.
And as always with Strassel's work, the writing flowed and the dialog was well done. Oh, and if any of you happen to be fans of her Night Songs Collection series there's a little nod in there to the vamps in Vegas. I'm so glad she did that. I love it when an author stays in their own world and references it in other seemingly unrelated series. It's like watching a movie/reading a book and hearing someone say the name of it.
I loved everything about The Trouble With Bree, except one thing. I wish Bree had gotten her own story. I think she had more than enough material to have warranted a full length novel. This novella just felt like an aside to Secondhand Heart. I guess all novellas that are part of a series kind of are asides, but they usually benefit from leaning on the main stories. This time I feel like it limited it. That being said, fair warning, the timeline of this novella coincides with Secondhand Heart's timeline (the first in The Spotlight series). It definitely spoils the events in Secondhand Heart, so if you're the type of person who likes to read a novella from a series before they decide if they want to dive into it, you're probably not going to want to do that with this one.
4 out of 5 stars to The Trouble With Bree. Bring on the next Spotlight novel, Strassel. I'm ready.
Josh has just gotten a new job as the coordinator of a preschool for underprivileged kids. The school took a chance on him, hiring him without really any experience, so the last thing he needs is to get involved with a student's mother. But sometimes the risk is worth it.
I loved Bree and Josh's relationship. What I loved about this novella and their relationship was that it didn't feel like a soap opera. Bree nor Josh are the typical leads you'd ordinarily find in romance novels. They're real people and their relationship felt very real and organic to me. This is what a real relationship looks like in the real world. And I loved that quality to the story.
And as always with Strassel's work, the writing flowed and the dialog was well done. Oh, and if any of you happen to be fans of her Night Songs Collection series there's a little nod in there to the vamps in Vegas. I'm so glad she did that. I love it when an author stays in their own world and references it in other seemingly unrelated series. It's like watching a movie/reading a book and hearing someone say the name of it.
I loved everything about The Trouble With Bree, except one thing. I wish Bree had gotten her own story. I think she had more than enough material to have warranted a full length novel. This novella just felt like an aside to Secondhand Heart. I guess all novellas that are part of a series kind of are asides, but they usually benefit from leaning on the main stories. This time I feel like it limited it. That being said, fair warning, the timeline of this novella coincides with Secondhand Heart's timeline (the first in The Spotlight series). It definitely spoils the events in Secondhand Heart, so if you're the type of person who likes to read a novella from a series before they decide if they want to dive into it, you're probably not going to want to do that with this one.
4 out of 5 stars to The Trouble With Bree. Bring on the next Spotlight novel, Strassel. I'm ready.
January 25, 2015
I first met Bree in Secondhand Heart and was looking forward to getting more of her story. The first quarter of this book was mostly a retelling of the end of Secondhand Heart from Bree’s perspective. There were very few actual details about Bree’s life, and it felt like her story was being overshadowed by Daisy’s. Going into this book, I already knew it overlapped with Secondhand Heart so I was not completely surprised. Still, this made it hard for me to get into the story at first because I already knew what was coming.
Bree is not your typical romance novel heroine. She’s a single mom at twenty-one, living on public assistance, and she can’t just drop her kids off at the sitter to go out for an evening. The string of bad boyfriends she’s had would be enough to make anyone want to give up on men, and that’s exactly what Bree has decided to do. That resolution doesn’t last long when she meets Josh, the administrator of the Head Start program. Josh is different from the men in her past and Bree soon finds herself breaking her new rule about men, while Josh is breaking a rule about not getting involved with the parents of students. I liked Bree. She’s a good mom and is trying to make more of her life. There were moments when I didn’t agree with her choices, but I definitely wanted her to have her happily ever after.
Josh was a nice guy, but I never really ended up connecting with him in this story. I think there just wasn’t enough interaction between him and Bree, probably due to the length of the book. I also just didn’t feel any chemistry between Josh and Bree. This may have just been a personal issue, since the sex was definitely hot.
Overall, this is sweet story, but I ended up wanting more. There were a lot of potential issues brought up that Bree and Josh would need to deal with, but in the end things came together too quickly. I gave this book 3.5 stars. Despite any issues I had, the writing flowed well, and the dialogue was well-written. I am looking forward to reading more from Kristen Strassel, who is a new author for me.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Bree is not your typical romance novel heroine. She’s a single mom at twenty-one, living on public assistance, and she can’t just drop her kids off at the sitter to go out for an evening. The string of bad boyfriends she’s had would be enough to make anyone want to give up on men, and that’s exactly what Bree has decided to do. That resolution doesn’t last long when she meets Josh, the administrator of the Head Start program. Josh is different from the men in her past and Bree soon finds herself breaking her new rule about men, while Josh is breaking a rule about not getting involved with the parents of students. I liked Bree. She’s a good mom and is trying to make more of her life. There were moments when I didn’t agree with her choices, but I definitely wanted her to have her happily ever after.
Josh was a nice guy, but I never really ended up connecting with him in this story. I think there just wasn’t enough interaction between him and Bree, probably due to the length of the book. I also just didn’t feel any chemistry between Josh and Bree. This may have just been a personal issue, since the sex was definitely hot.
Overall, this is sweet story, but I ended up wanting more. There were a lot of potential issues brought up that Bree and Josh would need to deal with, but in the end things came together too quickly. I gave this book 3.5 stars. Despite any issues I had, the writing flowed well, and the dialogue was well-written. I am looking forward to reading more from Kristen Strassel, who is a new author for me.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
February 14, 2015
Bree Farrell is in love with being in love. She has tried and failed miserably to find her Prince Charming hence the reason she is a single mother to 2 year old Lucas and 4 year old Landon. Landon's father left her shortly after he found out she was pregnant and went to college leaving her and the baby behind without even a second glance. Lucas' father had to be forced away with a restraining order after trying to hurt Bree. Regardless of her crappy love life Bree is an amazing mother and friend and decided to swear off men. This moratorium on men lasts until she goes in for Landon's preschool interview and meets the incredibly handsome new school administrator Josh Maxwell.
Josh is instantly drawn to Bree and her kids and he pretty much tells her I know that you guys are a package deal. Bree does not want to screw this up and decides she wants to really get to know Josh and their relationship unfolds. Bree tries to throw many obstacles in the way to deter him until he admits to her the story of his own childhood and the heartache he had to deal with. In the end Josh and Bree fight to be together and it is a sweet and heartwarming novella with just the right amount of drama and sexy times to keep the pages turning :)
Josh is instantly drawn to Bree and her kids and he pretty much tells her I know that you guys are a package deal. Bree does not want to screw this up and decides she wants to really get to know Josh and their relationship unfolds. Bree tries to throw many obstacles in the way to deter him until he admits to her the story of his own childhood and the heartache he had to deal with. In the end Josh and Bree fight to be together and it is a sweet and heartwarming novella with just the right amount of drama and sexy times to keep the pages turning :)
February 1, 2015
The Trouble with Bree by Kristen Strassel
4 stars
We first met Bree in Secondhand Heart. She was Daisy's best friend, mother of 2 boys, and a little on the wild side. After swearing off men Bree decided she wanted to sign up for classes. One was online school classes and the other was pole dancing classes. She wanted to learn how to do it classy and it was good exercise, too. So she signed up for both, signed her oldest up for Head Start so he could start pre-school, and met the man of her dreams even though she just swore off men.
Josh was the administrator over the Head Start School where Landon would be attending. Josh knows there are rules about dating a students parent but when he saw Bree for the first time he knew he was gonna break that rule, you know lust at first sight and all that.
I loved this novella. There's not any angst, not much drama, and it's pretty much real life. A struggling mother doing the best she can meets the man who wants to make her life a little bit easier. And I love that Kristen, at one point, ties her vampire series into this one. I hope you all take the time to read it and enjoy it as much as I did!
Book provided by Wordsmith Publicity for honest review.
4 stars
We first met Bree in Secondhand Heart. She was Daisy's best friend, mother of 2 boys, and a little on the wild side. After swearing off men Bree decided she wanted to sign up for classes. One was online school classes and the other was pole dancing classes. She wanted to learn how to do it classy and it was good exercise, too. So she signed up for both, signed her oldest up for Head Start so he could start pre-school, and met the man of her dreams even though she just swore off men.
Josh was the administrator over the Head Start School where Landon would be attending. Josh knows there are rules about dating a students parent but when he saw Bree for the first time he knew he was gonna break that rule, you know lust at first sight and all that.
I loved this novella. There's not any angst, not much drama, and it's pretty much real life. A struggling mother doing the best she can meets the man who wants to make her life a little bit easier. And I love that Kristen, at one point, ties her vampire series into this one. I hope you all take the time to read it and enjoy it as much as I did!
Book provided by Wordsmith Publicity for honest review.
January 21, 2015
Bree, 21 yr old mother of two. Josh, 26 yr old school administrator.
There is a rehashing of the ending of Secondhand Heart told in Bree's POV.
We get a look inside Bree's world. Her struggles to better herself and her situation while caring for two rambunctious toddlers.
Josh enters her life and there is instant attraction. They begin to secretly date and he shows her how she should be treated. A couple of ugly incidents occured and they worked together to get a positive outcome, so in the end Bree, Josh and the boys get a HEA.
It was a good read, even though I really didn't connect with the couple but I enjoyed reading their story.
There is a rehashing of the ending of Secondhand Heart told in Bree's POV.
We get a look inside Bree's world. Her struggles to better herself and her situation while caring for two rambunctious toddlers.
Josh enters her life and there is instant attraction. They begin to secretly date and he shows her how she should be treated. A couple of ugly incidents occured and they worked together to get a positive outcome, so in the end Bree, Josh and the boys get a HEA.
It was a good read, even though I really didn't connect with the couple but I enjoyed reading their story.
January 24, 2015
I'm such a fan of Kristen's writing, and Bree's story did not disappoint. The hardships, love, and ultimate triumph was genuine and a pleasure to "watch" unfold. There were so many real moments in this book, that I feel like Josh and Bree could live right down the street. A true couple, with true problems, and true love. Loved it all!
January 23, 2015
This was a super short and sweet story. Hard for me to get into but since it was short, was able to finish it.
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January 21, 2015Rating and review to come...
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews