The Catching Kind (Brew Ha Ha #3) by Caitie Quinn

A Review by Wendy

4 Forced Lovers to True Friends....Stars 

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Right after finishing this book, this crossed my mind...
You know when you see a movie and it is about making a movie... you get to experience all the parts usually hidden...like the process of shooting Day for Night. This process allows the cameras and film to be like night even though they are shot during the day...A movie of the same name in 1973 by Ferrand Truffaut was made and it covered exactly this and used it as metaphor for the goings on and romances on the set during the filming.

I mention all of this because in this book the subject isn't movie making but involves authors, books, PR, connections and the process of marketing...things, we would be interested... and puts it together with the need to redeem a playboy sports figure with a "nice" girl....and said nice girl is a YA author. She is mildly successful but totally uncomfortable with interviews, photo opportunities or social media.

Hailey becomes paired with the mega sports star Connor because of a legendary, whispered about but never revealed poker game played by only the top agents, movers and shakers in the entertainment/sports/media world. To get a seat at the table is like being a part of an inner circle that doesn't exist... no one knows how to become part of it...yet everyone hopes to be there at some point in their career...and to stay there once there...that is the key.... Because deals, careers and fortunes are made there.

Hailey's agent, Caroline has made the cut... she is part of the inner circle and during the most recent poker game...made a bet she thought she couldn't lose...but she did... and now she has to pay up... Meaning Hailey will...and this is where all the fun begins...

Dex, the winning PR extraordinaire, won the bet...The deal is he needs a Nice Girl for his Playboy superstar baseball player pronto... to clean up a serious image problem... and Hailey's demographics of readers fits the bill... so she will be his Nice girlfriend for a month; clean up his image and then fade out... it will be a win win for everyone because she has a new book coming out... she can piggy back on his charming way with the press and get a little experience of not screwing up her interviews, etc...and all will be happy... at least that is the plan from the agents' perceptive...

What takes place is something a little different... From a disastrous  encounter to the rude and hurtful first official meeting... this had all the signs of not working... he said things which cut to the bone...she had her own history which made them even more sharp... but she also had a true sense of who and what she believed in... and held to it.

Connor was a man who had learned lessons... wanted to be better but really thought he was best alone. Experiencing things from Hailey's perceptive opened his eyes... made him understand much more about being undervalued... what it felt like and how it could make one react... As the two of them play this game of dating... both begin to view each other differently... they become friends... and maybe more...

What was such a treat in this story was the realism about writing... how it isn't all fun a games and easy. There were discussions about timelines and days of deadlines; there were book readings and tours... and the idea of others not seeing it as a real profession.

There was depth in the characters and how they interacted... he was much more than the public knew... or what she had thought... She was strong and I admired it... but she also held onto the hurt feelings, I felt, for longer than necessary... then again... I am a bit of a softy...

There were interesting secondary characters and due to this being part of a series... I could see how all of them were so close together... It didn't take away...just made me make a mental note to look up the other books for future reading.

If you are interested in smart dialogue; the makings of PR and inside stuff with a sweet story of how two different people can be just the right blend...then this will be a satisfying read.

A gifted copy was provided by author/publisher via NetGalley for an honest review.

About Caitie Quinn

Caitie writes stuff. Stuff that’s funny — hopefully.

If it’s not funny, you can totally blame the weather, or her lack of chocolate, or the formatting, or her cat. Wait, she doesn’t have a cat. Scratch that last one.

You can check her out on twitter @CaitieQuinn or email her at Caitie.Quinn (AT) aol.com

You can check out her YA stuff as Bria Quinlan.