Celebrity Spin Doctor

by Celia Mulder

Remember when country star, Christy-Anne, had the leaked sex tape?No one else does either.All thanks to Lucille Anton, undercover PR agent for troublesome celebrities. They screw up, she covers up. Business is good and Lucille’s good at it.But all that changes when international superstar Michel Polce approaches her with the toughest case of her career—his fiancée is trying to kill him and he doesn’t want anyone to know. Brett Jacobs is at rock bottom of, well, everything. But he pulls himself out of his grimy apartment to attend a party with his former best friend, Michel Polce. Little does he know he’s about to be introduced to the most fascinating, unattainable woman he’s ever met in his life. And the only way to get close to her is to convince her, and himself, to help Michel.The mission is clear—find the fiancée, tell her to stop trying to kill Michel, and make sure no one knows. But with an ex-boyfriend popping up at inconvenient moments, a fugitive uncle who can’t stay away, and some ill-timed sexacapades, this ordeal is more than any of them bargained for.

Genres: Contemporary Romance

273 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 20, 2018

About the author

Celia Mulder, penname of author C Mulder, hails from the lovely, yet unpredictable northern Michigan. They are a librarian, a former wedding planner, and an avid appreciator of all things campy and ridiculous. Friends-to-lovers plots are their catnip. They believe in three things-- the importance of representation, the awesomeness of Aquaman, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Their first novel Celebrity Spin Doctor was a double RITA award nominee.

Reviews

[JenReadsRomance · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read [squints] one percent of Celebrity Spin Doctor by Celia Mulder. This is a finalist in the contemporary mid-length & best first book category. Verdict: I don't read romance for meanness, casual racism, or fat jokes. DNF.

There was a long pause accompanied by the sound of Christy-Anne chewing. "But won't people notice I'm not pregnant? Pregnant women get fat. If you're suggesting I get fat, I'll fire you again. Lucille smirked. "Don't worry. In a month or so we'll have you lose the baby. Maybe you could travel to Africa and catch dysentary while tutoring starving orphans?"


Copied & Pasted from Twitter as part of a project where I'm reviewing the 2019 RITA finalists.

[Skye Kilaen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Never reading because of the content: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Zoraida · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hard pass. https://twitter.com/JenReadsRomance/s...

[Emily Koelzer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really fun and enjoyable read! This was my first romance novel, so I wasn’t sure what to expect but I really enjoyed it. I love the witty banter between the characters and the exciting mystery that drives the plot. Celebrity Spin Doctor pokes fun at the parts of Hollywood we love to hate.

[InD'tale Magazine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Celebrity Spin Doctor” is a hilarious romp that rolls from one plot twist into another, keeping the reader thoroughly entertained.

Read full review in the 2019 April issue of InD'tale Magazine.

[Deborah · Rating 1 out of 5]

So bad it’s good camp fun? Not a book I would read for myself, but i’m Narrating it for the Canadian National Institute for the Blind’s talking books program. (Which leads me to observe: who chooses these books for the clients? They’re visually impaired, not brain-damaged, surely?) Anyhoo, a Harlequin romance with a turbo-charged libido, set in Hollywood among the movie and music stars, where the heroine struggles to spin her clients’ serious personal life missteps into plausible positives to feed the celebrity news machine.

[Book Him Danno · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spin doctor is an interesting twist of how things could happen in Hollywood.
The story flows well with humor, romance and interesting, mystery. Its a quick beach read.
Thank you Netgalley for the copy of Celia Mulder Celebrity Spin Doctor

[Tracy Fritts · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought it was a good story and I enjoyed reading this story.
Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy of this book, this is my honest review.

[Elle Gainer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm usually not into romance novels, but this one had action, comedy, twists and turns while still giving that feel-good vibe!

[R · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun read! Great vacation book!

[M 3 · Rating 1 out of 5]

Badly written book. Could not finish it. I was surprised to find this as a finalist for RWA.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely debut novel. I highly recommend.

[Gillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Celebrity Spin Doctor is a little bit more than what it first appears to be. Not a huge amount more, but that's part of the charm. It's enjoyable, fun, and definitely a page turner. Celebrity Spin Doctor sees the 'fun trash romantic novel' subgenre, and as much as it plays into it, it also moves into an area of meaning just beyond it. Tropes are nodded to, honored, and then stepped over - which is a joy every time it happens. Every one is beautiful, and people sort of maybe fall in love in satisfying ways. Wordings are often clever and pleasing to the eye - though on the spin side (SPIN SIDE GET IT) some inner thoughts and dialogues are a bit awkwardly structured and phrased, especially when they're intertwining.

However, overall, I deeply enjoyed this novel. Celebrity Spin Doctor is light, flashy fare that is less there to critique and more there to poke fun, but it doesn't need to be anything more than exactly that. I told me not to use the words 'In this political climate' for this review but in this political climate, maybe a sharp and sassy doctor spinning us away from the bad for a moment is really what we need right now.

I look forward to Celia Mulder's sophomore novel and seeing where she goes from here.

[Brittany · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finished in one sitting!!

Loved these characters! The imperfect qualities made them relatable and so much more likable! So different from the normal tropes you see associated with an HEA or HFN. Funny and witty story packed with action and all the feels. Well done!

[Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Laugh out loud funny!

Stephanie Plum meets Romancing the Stone, at least that’s the feeling this book gave me! Celia Mulder is laugh out loud funny and this book rocks! I hear a second book is in the works and I can’t wait to read it!

[Kirsten · Rating 1 out of 5]

Too many plot holes! The premise was good. The book was disappointing.

[Cindy Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

This started out so strong, the quick comments, clever spin doctoring and hollywood cynicism. Of course everyone is impossibly beautiful, well dressed and groomed. There is the usual suspension of disbelief with all the partying, drinking and drugs, but no visible consequences in how one looks or is perceived.

The plot is a bit convoluted, but entertaining to a degree. Once the focus shifted from the fun stuff of twisting the truth for the press and insatiable tabloid public, the story evolved into something of a bodice ripper.

It's a fun, fast read, not too deep and there are some good comments and a nice tie up of loose ends.
A good little primer to remind you to take what you read about Hollywood with a very large grain of sand.

[J_McA 251 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading this book was like reading your favorite tabloid. It was flashy, a little trashy, and good fun. The plot was decent, moved at a good pace and the characters were interesting, if a little superficial. But that’s okay, because it’s supposed to be light. It kind of seemed that the author wasn’t entirely sure where she wanted this to go. It wasn’t as much about covering up celebrity scandals as I thought it was going to be. I also think it got a little bit lost in the middle; it went from murder attempts to kidnapping to…well, kind of all over the place. In the end, though, everything was wrapped up, and it had a good finish. If you’re a fan of celebrity mags, give this book a try. 3.5 stars. Thank you to NetGalley, Inkspell Publishing, LLC, and the author for a digital ARC in return for an honest review.