I jumped at the chance the review J.S. Marlo’s second novel, Unscripted, for several reasons. First and foremost, J.S. Marlo is an Alberta author, and I’m always game to support authors from my current province of residence. And secondly, I was intrigued by the genre that Unscripted was categorized under: romantic suspense. Although not an avid reader of romantic fiction, I do read widely, and have enjoyed several romance novels that I have read in the past. And, as far as I’m aware, I’ve never read a romantic suspense, so I wanted to give the genre a shot. I wasn’t disappointed!
About the Author & the Book:
J.S. Marlo lives in northern Alberta with her husband and has written two novels: Unscripted and an earlier novel called Salvaged. Both of her novels were published by ebook publisher Sapphire Blue Publishing. Here’s a synopsis of Unscripted from the publisher’s site:
When actor Blythe Huxley is sent to the airport to pick up the new writer for the television show Wild Rescue the last thing he expects to find is a kindred soul in Riley Kendrick.
Riley always dreamed of being a script writer, and winning the Wild Rescue script contest is her ticket in. A series of fires back home and being shot change her life forever. Her friendship with Blythe is the only thing she can rely on; soon their friendship turns to love.
Can their relationship progress or will someone stop at nothing to see them apart?
What’s the best thing about this book?
Unscripted is filled with well-developed characters and loads of plot twists and turns. I read this book over a few days, and found myself thinking about it in between reading sessions, which is always a good sign! One of my favourite parts about Unscripted was the way the author managed to deftly juggle several major plots and subplots without overwhelming the reader. This kept me interested and flipping the (digital) pages as fast as I could.
Who should read this book?
Fans of suspense will like Unscripted for the handful of mysteries that run through the work, but it will also appeal to people with an interest in love stories. I suspect (although hesitate to generalize) that Unscripted might appeal to more women than men (but again, you never know!).
Final verdict:
I really enjoyed Unscripted, and would recommend it to anyone looking for a fast-paced, fun read. Having read the book, I would definitely agree that it is a romance suspense novel: there aren’t enough descriptive romantic scenes to qualify it as a pure romance, but love plays such a big role in the book that I can understand why the author and publisher chose to include in it in this genre. I did a bit of research and found that romance/suspense is actually a much bigger genre than I realized! If you’re interested in learning more, you could check out this website: Suspense Romance Writers.
If you’d like to learn more about J.S. Marlo and Unscripted, you can visit J.S. Marlo’s website here.
Happy reading!
The cover really looks like a movie poster!
It does, doesn’t it! I was one of the things that drew me into the book. I love the mountain scene at the bottom.
Carrie,
i am very intrigued by this book. Thanks for the great review!
Hi Sohpi! You can find your own copy here. It’s only $4.50for the ebook, which is a steal!
Hello Carrie,
Just to let you know that Sapphire Blue Publishing closed its door quite unexpectedly on Dec 1. Yesterday, I signed a new contract with Breathless Press, a Canadian publisher.
“Unscripted” will soon become available on their website at breathlesspress.com
Thanks for taking the time to read Unscripted.
Sincerely,
J.S.
Hello J.S.,
I’m so sorry to hear that!
Please do send me the new links once Unscripted is up on their website. I will update my post to reflect the change.
Best wishes,
Carrie