Virtual Book Tour: ~ MM ~ Overly Dramatic by Rebecca Cohen (ARC Review, Author Interview, Excerpt, Giveaway)
Author Name: Rebecca Cohen
Book Name: Overly Dramatic
Series: Treading the Boards
Series: Treading the Boards
Book: One
Release Date: August 19, 2015
Blurb:
Andy Marshall moves to London looking for a fresh start after breaking up with his long-term boyfriend. To stave off boredom from his day job as an accountant and to meet new people, Andy joins a local amateur dramatics society called the Sarky Players based in Greenwich, South London. Despite his best efforts to avoid it, Andy is cast as one of the leads in a truly dreadful play called Whoops, Vicar, There Goes My Trousers, written by a local playwright.
The play might be bad, but the Sarky Players are a friendly bunch. Andy quickly makes new friends and finds himself attracted to Phil Cormack, a local artist helping with the props. But life doesn’t run to a script, so Andy and Phil will have to work hard to improvise their own happy ending.
Pages or Words: 120 pages, 40k words
Categories: Contemporary, Humor, M/M Romance, Romance
Excerpt:
The handout turned out to be a few pages of the play stapled together. Andy had expected the script for Cold Comfort Farm—this definitely wasn’t that.
“Er, Derek, have you given us the right play? This says it’s from Whoops, Vicar, There Goes My Trousers.”
“You old dog, Derek,” said Ryan with a guffaw. “You’ve lured in this poor man on the promise of a proper play.”
“It is a proper play, Ryan. Just because it was written by a local doesn’t make it any less credible.”
Dear God, what had he gotten himself into? He quickly checked the flyer and saw for the first time that the date for Cold Comfort Farm audition was the year before. Derek must’ve used the flyer to scribble down the audition times, but whether he’d deliberately meant to mislead Andy was another matter. Andy skimmed through the partial script. Instead of the gentle comedy based around a young woman who arrived in an airplane and something nasty in the woodshed, he had a 1920s farce involving a runaway goat, a vicar, and a large quantity of stolen French brandy. And that was just the scene in front of him.
Mari’s Review:
***ARC provided to Bayou Book Junkie in exchange for a fair and honest review.***
This was such an enjoyable, engaging fast-read read, filled with interesting and fun characters and just a dash of angst for good measure.
Andy recently moved back to London after a bad breakup, and one of his new coworkers invites him out for drinks, where he finds himself roped into an audition for an Amateur Drama Club. Thinking he doesn’t have anything to lose, and considering he barely knows anyone else, he joins into the production of the most outlandish play he’s ever read in his life. Too late to back off when he realizes what he’s gotten into, he makes the most of it. There he meets Phil, who also is out of a bad relationship and while attracted to him, and willing to give it a try, Phil doesn’t quite feel the same, or does he?
I just adored Andy. He was sweet and fun, and very loyal with his friends, but he isn’t willing to be a doormat for anyone, especially after his boyfriend of 4 years cheated on him. He thought he wasn’t ready for something else, but once he meets Phil he quickly changes his mind. Phil isn’t quite at that point, though, and he needs more than a nudge to realize he might end up losing something that has great potential for being unable to move on from the past.
I have to admit that I wanted to slap Phil more than a couple of times. Yes, I completely understood where he was coming from, but it was obvious he wasn’t willing to move on, until he finally saw (or rather, his friend Maddie made him see) what he might lose if he didn’t.
Andy and Phil were great together and had good chemistry. Ussie, Andy’s octogenarian neighbor and the play’s writer, was a riot, and I loved Naomi and Andy’s mother and sister. Also, I have to give the author props for the hilarious play, and her descriptions of the rehearsals and the actual put in scene of it. The story is very British, but perfectly understandable and it was a pretty good read! I’m looking forward to Ryan’s book, it sounds amazing!
Rating: 4.5 Stars!
Sales Links:
About the author:
Rebecca Cohen is a Brit abroad. Having swapped the Thames for the Rhine, she has left London behind and now lives with her husband and son in Basel, Switzerland. She can often be found with a pen in one hand and a cup of Darjeeling in the other.
Where to find the author:
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Cover Artist: Paul Richmond
Interview with the Author:
Today we’re very lucky to be interviewing Rebecca Cohen author of Overly Dramatic!
Hi Rebecca, thank you for agreeing to this interview. Tell us a little about yourself, your background, and your current book.
- Give us an interesting fun fact or a few about your book or series:
Overly Dramatic is the first in the Treading the Boards series set around an amateur dramatics society in Greenwich, South London. Each story will have a new set of leading men looking for their happy ending.
- How did you come up with the title of your book or series?
My hubby and his family have been involved in amateur dramatics for years, and I’ve even helped out from time to time. There’s so many characters and things going on behind the scenes that it would’ve been a waste not to write the series.
- Give us an insight into your main character. What does he do that is so special?
Andy might come across as a normal bloke but, like everyone one of us, he’s special just by being who he is.
- What do you think makes a good story?
I like well-rounded characters and an interesting plot. And I always want a happy ending.
- What does your family think of your writing?
Those that know are very supportive. My hubby is my tech wizard who runs my blog and makes sure I get time to write or edit by entertaining our toddler son. I consider myself very lucky.
Tour Dates & Stops: August 19 – September 1
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Rafflecopter Prize: $20 Dreamspinner Press gift certificate plus copy of choice of ebook from author’s back catalogue
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Can I choose from Shakespeare? I love Twelfth Night.
ReplyDeletePhantom of the Opera :)
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