Anchored

by Brigitte Quinn

“Breaking Brigitte Quinn’s charming debut is an intriguing look at ambition, commitment, and temptation straight from the anchor’s desk.” --Andee Reilly, author of Satisfaction "A lighthearted read that takes you behind the scenes of a real newsroom revealing romance, true friendship, difficult bosses, and naked ambition, Anchored is a light read that will make you wonder about what’s really going on the next time you watch the news!” - Susie Schnall, author of On Grace and The Balance Project “A glimpse inside the cutthroat world of cable journalism that guarantees you will never watch the news the same way again. It’s Broadcast News for the New Millennium.” – Whitney Dineen, author of The Reinvention of Mimi Finnegan How do you stay anchored when you’re attracted to your co-anchor? Barbara King’s dream is to become the next Barbara Walters. But for now, she’s anchoring at the fledgling Phoenix news channel, covering car chases and interviewing drunken showbiz has-beens. If she can just out-fox the conniving anchors at her cable channel and move up to its prime-time line-up, she’ll be able to fly the coop and ascend to a real news network. Enter Jack Stone, Barbara’s dynamic, witty—and did she mention sexy?—new co-anchor. Another potential competitor, Jack’s attitude is chilly toward Barbara at first, but it’s not long before a genuine friendship forms. Soon they find themselves finishing each other’s sentences, discovering all they have in common and, ultimately, attempting to ignore how wildly attracted they are to each other. Meanwhile, on the set, under television’s bright lights, they sit just inches apart, their chemistry even apparent to the quirky cast of characters in the gossiping newsroom. Will Barbara give in to her attraction to Jack and betray her husband, Ben, her sweet-souled moral compass? When a life-altering news event propels the Phoenix to the #1 news channel in the nation, will Barbara sell her soul to become a prime time star? How do you stay true to yourself when you’re being seduced by stardom—and your co-star?

Genres: Chick Lit

304 pages, Paperback

First published August 2, 2015

About the author

Brigitte Quinn has worked in broadcasting for more than thirty years and can currently be heard anchoring mornings on 1010 WINS, an all-news radio station in New York City. She had left radio to pursue a television career that included anchoring at MSNBC, NBC News, and the Fox News Channel. She holds a B.S. from Cornell University and an M.F.A. in writing from Sarah Lawrence College. Quinn lives in Connecticut with her husband, two daughters and a son, and her mother. This is her first novel.

Reviews

[Gail Friedberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great read! The story is compelling. It moves along at a quick pace, and it feels totally authentic. I loved the inside look at how network news (ok -- basic cable network news) is made. And I loved the portrayal of "The Phoenix Network" and the light it sheds on the workings of a network with a slant and the difficulty that reporters who actually just want to report the news have when a network with a mission is paying the bills. Aside from that, I loved the romantic entanglement at the heart of the book and its honest portrayal of the moral and practical struggles women sometimes encounter when an appealing co-worker presents himself as an opportunity for extramarital excitement. To be honest, when I picked up the book I thought it might be a bit "fluffy" for me as I tend to like "serious" trade fiction titles like "All the Light You Cannot See", "A Little Life" and "The Goldfinch" but it was so intelligently written and engaging that I would definitely recommend the book and look forward to Ms. Quinn's next novel!

[Teresa Kander · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel provides a fun, lighthearted look behind the scenes of a newsroom and all the people who work there. It is full of humor, romance, friendship, and the struggle of staying true to yourself while working amidst strong egos and backstabbers. There are amazing plot twists, and several of the characters have endearing quirks. This is a story in which you can easily lose yourself. A great beach read!!

[vvb · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an entertaining gentle chick-lit read that covers the dilemma of love at home and love in the workplace. I liked the characters so well that I would have been happy with whatever couple outcome came about.

The day to day workings of life on a news channel was interesting to learn about along with the competitive nature and doings of the business.

Got me thinking of fidelity and kinds of love.

[Kristin (Kritters Ramblings) · Rating 3 out of 5]

First, you know I love the behind the scenes book and this one is fantastically behind the scenes! A set of news anchors deal with the ups and downs of news bulletins and the ups and downs of producers and network executives and it was interesting to see how many people it takes to get a news show up and running each day. I had no clue!

I rated it down just a little because I am not a fan of the cheating books, but if you don't mind a little affair action, this one wasn't completely horrible and I could handle it because it was a sub plot to the real plot of her professional career. I don't condone it and don't love to read it, but since it wasn't the full plot of the story, it was bearable.

I would absolutely read this author again and am excited to hear what could be coming next for her.

[Terry Pearson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ARC copy of Anchored in exchange for my honest review.

Ms. Quinn's book following Barbara, an anchor at a local television network, who becomes smitten with her co-anchor.

I don't typically read chic literature but the title of this book caught my eye and I went for it. The main character, Barbara, has aspirations of becoming a highly regarded news anchor. You follow her through her everyday life "behind the scenes". Along comes Jack Stoned, her co-anchor. As predicted, they develop a mutual attraction for one another although she is married. The concept of the book is nothing new but I enjoyed being inside Barbara's head for a while. It was a snowed in, roaring fire sort of lighthearted read.

[BARBARA]

This book is about the life story of Barbara King who is a TV Anchor on a morning show that dreams of going to big prime time TV. You learn what its like to live their life for one day and its never the same. Its hard being a Mother, wife, daughter and co-worker. The sacrifices you make for a job and the guilt you keep with you for doing your job.

[Shelley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Couldn't get through it

For what it's worth I rarely give reviews and have never given lower than a 3 star but I really could not get through this book. It just dragged on and on and I couldn't connect with the main character. Usually I force myself to complete a book but couldn't do it this time. Luckily I found this book from Book Bub so I did not spend a lot.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read my review at Penny for my thoughts

[Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick easy fun read