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Monday, June 4, 2012

Book Review: Viewer Discretion Advised

By Kathryn Hamilton

Ever wonder what really goes on behind the scenes of your local news broadcast station in terms of scandal, drama and politics? Then grab a bag of plain M&M's, a comfy spot to read, and join Charlene “Charley” Thomas as she navigates the waters at WCAR Miami as the recently appointed news director. Charley must deal with cutthroat station manager Jonathan Lefton and the assorted drama of her news anchors, all while trying to bring the station to the top of the ratings. As if that isn’t enough, Charley also struggles to figure out how and where loves fits in.

Cindy Roesel is an Emmy award winning anchor, reporter and producer, who also happens to moonlight as an associate reviewer here at Chick Lit Central. “Viewer Discretion Advised” is her debut novel and Ms. Roesel uses her vast insider knowledge of the TV news world to create an enticing and provocative story that will keep you turning the pages. Charley is a character that readers will instantly enjoy. She is confident, efficient, sassy, and earns the respect of those who work with her. As a reader, you respect her as well and root for her to succeed. Charley is a great contrast to Jonathan by showing a more “human” side. Although, even Jonathan may not be as evil and heartless as the reputation that precedes him suggests. The supporting characters are written with rich flavour that makes them just as enjoyable as Charley. Readers will likely have strong feelings of like or dislike depending on the character (yes, Miranda, I’m looking at you), but Ms. Roesel allows for the possibility that characters will redeem themselves in realistic ways. It is fun to imagine the anchors in the novel being someone you see on the news every night. One aspect that I appreciated is that this is not a typical chick lit novel, in that the romance side tends to be secondary. However, the sex that does occur is deliciously raunchy and perhaps even a little blush-worthy.

I have only one note of dissatisfaction: I was disappointed by numerous
grammatical/sentence structure errors found throughout. One sentence in particular appears to be missing a couple of words. This was the only really distracting error because I re-read the sentence several times to make sense of it. These errors can be fixed, and it is not enough for me to say “stay away.”

Ms. Roesel has certainly found a fan in me and I look forward to reading more from her in the future. In the meantime, go check out this fantastic novel. You won’t regret it!

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