A Crazy Kind of Love

July 3, 2017
Marlowe’s sophomore novel, a contemporary romance that lacks the paranormal element of Some Kind of Magic but shares its focus on ordinary women hooking up with rock stars, is pure cotton candy. Photographer Josie Wilder is an incompetent paparazza: she stalks celebrities around New York City in hopes of a juicy or salacious photo, but instead takes artful pictures of everyday happenings. Jo has an artist’s eye for capturing moments, but not for the sensational, and all the missed opportunities infuriate her sleazy editor, Andy. When Jo meets Micah Sinclair, a famed musician and notorious flirt, the attraction is instant, but she wonders whether he’s really interested in a regular Southern girl like her; maybe he just wants free publicity. As Jo gets sucked deeper into Micah’s world and gets to know his family and friends, she learns that Micah is a genuinely nice guy. The crux of this romance is not whether or not they can make a relationship work, but Jo’s job angst: Andy instructs her to mine her relationship with Micah for tabloid gold, or else. Her best friend, Zion, adds humor to the daily shenanigans and spectacle with his own flamboyant love life as Jo figures out what she wants. This fluffy summer read is enjoyable, but not memorable. Agent: Jane Dystel, Dystel & Goderich Literary.

November 1, 2017
Josie Wilder pays the bills as a tabloid journalist for a sleazy, demeaning boss. When she is on the streets trying to get a shot of an A-list celebrity, but crowds block her, she begrudgingly takes a bystander up on his offer to sit on his shoulders in order to get the shot. What Josie realizes later is that she was sitting on the shoulders of Micah Sinclair, a rock musician who is tearing up the media with his pretty-boy looks (and man-whore ways.) Before she knows it, Micah is pursuing her, and the tables are turned, with the paparazzi following Josie's every move. Marlowe's sophomore work, the second in her Flirting with Fame series (after Some Kind of Magic, 2017) is another sizzling, glitterati-filled story. She seamlessly shifts gears between characters (Micah' sister, Eden, is the star of the first novel), giving just enough of a recap that this second book in the seriesis fine as a stand-alone. Marlowe fills the pages with insider peeks into tabloid journalism, life in the limelight, and scintillating sex scenes. Readers will pounce on this title faster than a photographer can snap a pic.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)