Sunday, July 6, 2014

{Review} Predictions (Airwaves #1) by Kim Carmichael


Genre: Contemporary Romance
Age Group: Adult
Publication Date: April 2nd 2014
Series: Airwaves #1
Pages: 142
Format: mobi/Kindle 
Source: Provided by author for review


Trying to change her outlook, meteorologist, Charlotte Bernard, came to California for a change of seasons. When she took the job as Weather Forecaster for KCLA she didn't realize their ratings were falling like raindrops and weather doesn't truly exist in the Sunshine State. Cameraman, Jake Wells, is on a mission to save the station where he used to run around as kid on the studio lot, and the new Ice Princess of a weatherwoman is providing his perfect muse both in front of the camera and behind it. He only needs to figure out how to melt her heart and have her forget their Spring-Summer difference in their ages. Determined not to repeat the mistakes made in the springtime of her life, Charlotte refuses to succumb to the charms of the scorching hot, younger cameraman. Though she plays along with his gimmicks to get ratings, she refuses to allow him to make a disaster zone out of her life. Together they figure out that weather and love are anything but predictable. Predictions is book one of the Airwaves Series following the News Crew at KCLA-TV. Each book is stand alone with its own unique couple.





With an older female meteorologist and a younger cameraman, Predictions appealed to me on more than surface level. The main reason I wanted to read this is because I work for a TV station and have a degree in production in both television and film so I had a feeling this would be a great little story.

Predictions isn't very long, it's more of a novella and the heart of the story is the relationship surrounding Charlotte and Jake. Two characters who couldn't be more different of they tried. She's the straight laced older career driven woman and he is the young and gorgeous playboy. Charlotte is on her last chance to make it in front of the camera after venturing out of the lab predicting and studying the weather to forecast it instead. With several failed relationships under her belt she has no room in her life to focus on any kind of connection. As a last resort she's moved to California to work for a station that is struggling for ratings glory so she's paired with cameraman Jake who has a knack for finding the story. What starts out as a mishap during an earthquake where her underwear is shown on live TV soon turns into a series of unfortunate incidents that would make even the most seasoned personality blush. 

I'm gonna give it to you straight right now. I loved Predictions. A lot. It was cute, funny, charming and romantic. Jake and Charlotte had amazing chemistry between them in just the short time I got to know them. They're an unlikely pairing even though Jake shows signs of interest early on and Charlotte fights to keep herself in check with Jake's movie star good looks. It's hard to fight against that kind of charm and I applauded her strength throughout the first half of the story. 

Charlotte was a great female lead even though she lets her fears about their age difference get in her way. Meteorology is something has always fascinated me and as a young kid I used to sit and watch the storms roll through for hours in end. My forte was wanting to chase the storms instead of sit behind a desk and watch a computer tell me what was happening outside though. this was a woman who knew what she wanted in life and strived to achieve it but one after the other events seem to prevent her from reaching it and pushing her in another direction. If there is anybody who can relate to Charlotte in that aspect it's me. You don't get what you want but you take what you can get. The only difference between us is she took it on the chin whereas I fight tooth and nail against it. Charlotte was a lovable chick and I found myself feeling sorry for her several times during the book so there was no question I loved her tremendously.

Jake was just as freaking lovable with his boyish good looks and his immense charm. Although his father runs the studio Jake had a determination to be his own man outside of his father and worked hard to be the best cameraman/ aspiring director he could be. He's put in the hours and the effort plus he has a great instinct for what will grab a viewer's attention when it comes to ratings. Jake is the kind of guy you would write off at first if you didn't get to know him and Charlotte almost makes that mistake. Yes he's the stereotypical playboy with a loose reputation but seeing things from his eyes I found him to be disillusioned with the average California bleach blonds that run rampant through that place. He wants someone with substance. Someone real. Someone he can dig deeper with and get to know on another level. Of course he still has his inner "I want her in my bed" attitude occasionally but for the most part this guy was a big sweetheart. Jake's heart was the best part about him and the fact that he stood strong and wanted to prove to Charlotte that he was a stand up guy made me swoon. It's not just the fact that he wanted to prove himself worthy of her he also went out of his way an too the initiative to confirm their budding relationship. He knew what he wanted and wouldn't budge even when Charlotte offered herself to him. The kind of guy I just wanted to "Hold him, and pet him and squeeze him and call him George".

One major plot point I really loved about this short story was the age difference between Jake and Charlotte. With Charlotte being in her late 30's she's only 8 years older than Jake but the stigma in society frowns upon this scenario. *Hopping up on my soapbox for a second* I can't understand why society looks at an older man with a younger woman OK, but an older woman with a younger man is deemed a cougar. Yeah there are some older women who objectify younger men and may take advantage of their naivete but it goes both ways I think. Men take advantage of younger women and make promises to lure them in and there you go. Yet it's not as widely frowned upon unless it's a child being exploited. Carmichael did a beautiful job illustrating the concerns of a woman dating a younger guy and the thoughts and feelings that would accompany this type of situation. A balance between Charlotte wanting to give in to not only her desires but her heart and the youthful ignorance and lack of life experience Jake brings to the table made for a believable conflict. For a woman like Charlotte who is ready to take the next step in life it was scary to be attracted to a guy with so much left to experience in life. 

A book with great humor mixed in is always a big bonus for me. Predictions had several moments that made me chuckle. Mainly when poor Charlotte was being embarrassed on live TV. Fro an earthquake that made her take a tumble and created "PantyGate 2014" to a mutant tumbleweed chasing her around there wasn't a dull moment between them. Not to mention some off camera sexy times that didn't quite stay off camera there was so much about this story that left a smile on my face. I've already said I loved the story and I did but coming from a technical background and knowing the day in and day out operations of this business I found some of the on air mishaps hard to believe especially during live newscasts. There were times when I know the on air feed would have been cut by someone in studio but it wasn't a big deal to me because I was too invested in this couple to care. Much. Being the first in the Airwaves series Predictions was filled with romantic goodness. If you want a quick read with great characters, adorable romance with an ending that will have you feeling like the chocolate in a S'more, then you should check this cute story out.



Quotes:

~ She exhaled. The man toggled from being serious and sensuous, to an infant who needed his bottle of apple juice. eARC 8%

"Yep, you caught me." he shrugged.
"You would be my conquest."
She crossed her arms. At least the man was honest.
"You realize, Charlotte, a conquest is something a man really want to win."
eARC 28%

~ With Jake she didn't need to feel young. As he said, their ages didn't matter. he was all man, protective, and sexy, and he allowed her to be herself. eARC 59%

"I think the planet is trying to tell us it wants us to be together. Technically, with a leap year birthday, you're not even older than me. You've only had nine true birthdays, so technically I'm robbing the cradle." eARC 92%


About The Author:





Kim Carmichael began writing eight years ago when her need for graphic sex scenes and love of happy endings inspired her to create her own. She has a weakness for bad boys and techno geeks, and married her own computer whiz after he proved he could keep her all her gadgets running. When not writing, she can usually be found slathered in sunscreen trolling Los Angeles and helping top doctors build their practices.

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1 comment:

  1. Yeah, I can definitely see why you would enjoy this! Jake and Charlotte sound great and I totally agree with you on the age difference issue.
    Great review!

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