Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Together in Starlight by Susan Mac Nicol



Title:  Together in Starlight
Author:  Susan Mac Nicol
Series:  Starlight #2
Published:  February 20th 2013 by Boroughs Publishing Group
Page Count: 350
Genre: Young Adult Romance
Shelf:  Review Copy
Rating:  

Synopsis:

CASSIE & BENNETT
ACT TWO
Bennett Saville is sexy. At the peak of his career, the English star of stage and screen is everything a woman might desire, as fiancée Cassandra Wallace well knows. Together they’ve seen the world, from L.A. to Shangri La, yet shadows persist even in the spotlight. At home they face lust, greed and ghosts from their pasts—and that’s off stage. There is also “The Val”. The aged London theatre holds a mystery four centuries old, cast in starlight and waiting to be revealed. Intensely personal, impossibly passionate, the play must go on…and Cassie and Bennett must face it together. 

My Review:

This is one of those novels that could be read as a stand-alone, but that also follows brilliantly from its prequel. You would be missing some of the background on the cast of characters, but the entire story still flows as it is. The author ensures that all relevant pieces of information are re-inserted into this novel, just not as in-depth as they were in the original. Mac Nicol continues to use a variety of different writing techniques to differentiate between different characters and to highlight various emotions. She uses descriptions and illusion in a subtle way to draw the reader in and create a realistic world for them to visit and get lost in.

The characters undergo further development in this novel. You get to know many of the supporting cast members very well as they begin to take a more prominent role in the series. I appreciate that everyone in this novel has their own life. The story doesn’t simply revolve around the main characters. Each person has their own separate issues to deal with. Because of this there are a few separate storylines that intertwine and meld together. Mac Nicol has mastered this art and uses it to her advantage. It creates a unique approach to a romance novel that really makes it stand out.

As a whole this novel captured me with its uniqueness. Mac Nicol melds many techniques together to produce a very fetching story that keeps you captivated and wondering throughout. She also creates a cast that is so diverse that everyone will find at least one character to relate to. It was a brilliant follow-up to Cassandra by Starlight that leaves you feeling refreshed.

Buy this book online today via AmazonSmashwords, or  All Romance

Author Bio:

Susan Mac Nicol (Sue to most people) was born in Headingly, Leeds in the United Kingdom. When she was eight years old, her family emigrated to Johannesburg in South Africa, where she remained until her and her family¹s return, with husband and two children, to the UK in December 2000.

Sue's career as a professional business woman was mainly in the operational side of the Financial Services and Vehicle Leasing markets. Currently her responsibilities have evolved to being the Regulatory Compliance Officer at a financial services company in Cambridge.

Having written all her life, since her first short story was published in a local youth competition when she was just eleven, in between the day job and daily life, the inspiration for the Starlight series of romance novels was born. Her characters, Cassie and Bennett, finally made their debut on the flickering screen of a laptop. The character of Bennett was inspired by someone very special and perhaps one day, if you get the chance to ask her or meet her, over a cup of good coffee, Sue might just explain who this was. She will probably smile wryly and say, "Hopefully without sounding like a teenage groupie."

Her first novel was submitted to various publishers and Boroughs Publishing Group liked what they saw. Sue was offered a contract for her novels and that, as they say in the classics, was that.

Sue is a member of the Romance Writers of America and the Romantic Novelists Association here in the UK. She lives in a town house in the rural village of Bocking, in Essex, with her husband, two children and a mixed collie mongrel called Blu, so named because of his two different colour eyes ­blue and brown. Sue is a voracious e book reader and a self confessed geek and Android phone fan. Her office is in her bag most days and without all her gadgets, she confesses she could barely function.

Connect with the author online:

website: www.susanmacnicol.com
blog: http://www.susanmacnicol.com/blog/
facebook: www.facebook.com/susiemax77
twitter: www.twitter.com/SusanMacNicol7
linkedin: http://uk.linkedin.com/pub/susanmacnicol/48/a44/602


2 comments:

  1. Jonel
    Thanks so much for reading Together in Starlight and giving me such a lovely review. I'm so pleased the book lived up to expectations :) The next one in the series will follow on and of course will have the event everyone's waiting for - Bennett and Cassie's wedding. But of course they still have a lot to go through before we get there -life is never quite simple for these two.

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    1. Good morning Susan;

      Thanks so much for stopping by. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing what Cassie and Bennett's wedding brings. I'm sure it'll be very.... interesting....

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