Monday, July 30, 2012

Trust In Advertising by Victoria Michaels


Lexi White finds herself at a crossroads. After putting everything on hold to care for her ailing father, it’s finally time for her to start living her life again. An exciting new job holds the promise of a fresh start, until she comes face to face with someone from her past who has always stopped her dead in her tracks, and who evidently still has the power to make her forget her own name. This time around, Lexi’s a grown woman who refuses to back away from her dreams, even if it requires working with her old high school crush. Side by side. Every day. Will he end up being her downfall or exactly what she needs?
Vincent doesn’t even remember Lexi from high school, but he begins to take notice when the fiery young woman is hired as his new assistant. Quickly, Lexi turns his world upside down and becomes an invaluable addition not only to his team, but to his life. Having learned a few hard lessons about trust in the past, Vincent is reluctant to let down his guard, especially when it appears that someone is out to sabotage his family’s advertising agency. Professionally, they are dynamite together, but when sparks fly between them personally, will Vincent let lies and jealousy ruin everything between them, or will he finally learn not only how to love, but ultimately trust…in advertising?

As far as I’m concerned, 3 stars still signifies a good book; just not a great book. Trust In Advertising was a good book, for the most part. I had a bit of a hard time figuring out where to start with this review, mainly because about half way through the book I felt myself getting more and more disappointed. I read Boycotts & Barflies by Victoria Michaels about a month ago and loved it so I had high hopes for this book as well. Sadly, it didn’t quite live up to my expectations…and in some parts was just a little farfetched.

The storyline is pretty cut and dry: Lexi White moves back to San Francisco and interviews at different ad agencies to try and get her foot in the door; unfortunately, she never finished college because she was helping her father who had developed Alzheimer’s…I loved Lexi for that, by the way. Of course, the company she desperately wants to land a job at calls her the same day as her interview and offers her the job. She couldn’t be more excited until she finds out that her boss is Vincent Drake; her infamous high school crush. While working together, they get closer and they both start to wonder if they could be exactly what the other needs.

At first, I absolutely loved this book. The witty banter between Vincent and Lexi was adorable and had me grinning from ear to ear. She knew how to hold her own without being overbearing, and seemed to be the only assistant he has ever had that didn’t piss herself when he flipped his sh*t over something. She also doesn’t take sh*t from Vincent’s demon-spawn, supermodel girlfriend, Jade. I loved that Lexi seemed to be a strong female character that wasn’t going to be somebody’s doormat…..

All that changed when I was about 75% done. Lexi started to annoy me. Actually, her and Vincent both started to annoy me. First of all, Lexi wanted to make it very clear that she was in no way interested in being involved with Vincent while he was still with Jade. Well, sorry to tell you honey…but actions speak louder than words. You can slap him and “take a stand” all you want, but when you kiss his cheek for photo ops on the red carpet, walk arm-in-arm into a fashion show, and then tell him he can kiss your hand all he wants…you aren’t a strong woman anymore. You are what people call a hypocrite. I understand her feelings for Vincent may have been overwhelming and by God, Jade was vile…but if you are going to make a big speech about how you refuse to be put in the middle of a relationship, then don’t do sh*t that you know is absolutely going to put you in the middle.

 I also noticed that Lexi tended to cry a lot. I mean, a lot. She cried when Vincent simply told her “Not everything is about you, Lexi.” First of all, he had every right to make that comment to her considering the situation, and second of all I don’t believe that warrants tears. (Keep in mind, this is coming from someone who is pretty damn emotional.) Vincent annoyed me in the sense that he never stood up to Jade, no matter what she said to Lexi or Vincent’s family. He claims to be this macho man but seems to lose his backbone when it comes to putting Jade in her place. Whatev.

Honestly, it was a good book but the second half is what took it from being great to just good. It was a little long in my opinion, and it seemed to drag once I hit around 65%. If I find myself constantly checking how close I am to finishing a book, it’s not a good sign. I feel like it’s just confirmation that I’m getting bored. I hate that feeling. I did like that it revolved around the advertising world, but then again, I’m a little biased considering advertising/public relations is my major. That being said, I find it hard to believe a huge advertising agency would promote Lexi as fast as they did considering she didn’t have a degree in advertising…let alone a degree at all. I just found that a little unrealistic, but oh well. The two characters that completely saved this book from plunging from a 4 star to a 2 star? Hope and Sean. I loved them. I liked Sean more than Vincent to be completely honest. Overall, it’s a good book although it does drag a little once you hit the halfway mark, and the storyline is a tad predictable. I’d still encourage people to check it out…even if it is just to read about Hope and Sean :)


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