Blog Tour Review & Giveaway: Newbie by Jo Noelle

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Newbie

by Jo Noelle

Adult Contemporary Romance
Paperback & ebook, 360 Pages
August 16th 2014 by Little Box Press LLC

Summary

The housing market is crashing, and Sophie’s life is crashing with it. At twenty-four, her successful real estate career evaporates. She’s broke, can’t find a job, or pay her bills, leaving Sophie wondering how her successful lifestyle became so fragile.

At the urging of her roommate, Sophie accepts a job in her fallback career—teaching six-year-olds. She hopes it’s temporary. After all, how long can a tanking economy last anyway? The best part of the new job is Liam, another employee at Rio Grande Elementary. The worst part of the new job is, well, teaching.

Sophie has a surprise real estate closing from a contract she wrote months ago, leading her to a niche in the real estate market and to a new partner, Kevin. Sophie must choose between Liam or Kevin and between a lucrative career or recess duty.

 

My Review

Newbie is the second book I've read from this author team and so I was expecting to like it. Happily, I wasn't disappointed. The characters were fun, the story was about more than the romance, and the plot kept me engaged pretty much the whole way through.

Sophie was an interesting character. She thinks she's heading for the top among her real estate team when the market and her career comes crashing down. She ends up finding a job as a first grade teacher and some hilarious and stressful situations ensue. The bright spot in her day is when she gets a peak at a handsome guy, Liam, who works at the same school. I enjoyed her craziness and internal dialogue. The kids she teaches were hilarious and because I have kids of my own, I could relate with her experiences. There's a teacher who gives her the cold shoulder. I never found out exactly why, but it added some extra tension to the plot. There is also an older lady that Sophie befriends and brings into her circle of friends.

Kevin, her real estate partner at one point, was also an interesting character. He's confident, suave, successful, and good looking. He turns Sophie's head a little. Counter to him is Liam. Liam is sweet, humble, attractive, great with kids, and definitely turns Sophie's head. It was interesting to see her interact with both of these guys even though it wasn't a true triangle. There were also quite a few preconceived notions from first impressions, some that were completely wrong. Sophie had some things, situations, and people to kind of struggle through.

I really liked that the story didn't completely focus on the romance. It was there and I would have liked a little more depth and banter there, but the story was a lot of Sophie figuring out what she wanted. Did she want to be a teacher? Could the kids worm their way into her heart? Did she want a huge house and nice car and a hefty paycheck and was getting back into real estate what she wanted for those things? I also loved her blog posts that documented her struggles, questions, and life as she figures things out.

If you enjoy chick-lit, romance, or women's fiction, then I'd recommend Newbie. It was full of friendship, finding that one can learn new things and rise to challenges, that some things aren't really that important, and that romance can come in unexpected packages. I'll definitely be checking out Noelle's future books.

Content: Some innuendo, but I would consider this clean.
Source: From the tour host, which did not affect my review in any way.

About the Author

Jo Noelle grew up in Colorado and Utah but also spent time in Idaho and California. She has two adult children and three small kids. She teaches teachers and students about reading and writing, grows freakishly large tomatoes, enjoys cooking especially for desserts, builds furniture, sews beautiful dresses, and likes to go hiking in the nearby mountains. Oh, and by the way, she’s two people—

Canda Mortensen and Deanna Henderson, a mother/daughter writing team.

They began writing separately several years ago but found the process much more fun when they started collaborating. They are debut authors, with Lexi’s Pathetic Fictional Love Life as their first completed work. Other titles include Newbie and Damnation.

Deanna attended college before marrying and starting her family.

Canda received a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education, a Reading Specialist endorsement, and a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership. Her day job focuses on teaching teachers and children about literacy.

Website - Twitter

Tour-Wide Giveaway

$25 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash
Ends 4/6/15

Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

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