I could not have been more delighted to be offered the opportunity to take part in this blog tour. I have previously read and reviewed Suzy's previous book, The Greatest Love Story Ever Told, and I adored it. If you would like to read my review of that you can find it here.
Believe me, if my blogging diary had not been so full I would have loved to read this book. However, I am thrilled to have an extract of this book, Love or Your Money Back by the talented Suzy K. Quinn on the blog today.
The Blurb
Is marriage about love or marketing?
Kat is 34, single and running out of time – she wants to get married before she turns 35, but her fiancé just ditched her for a 21-year-old life coach.
Freddy is a ruthless marketing guru who thinks love is just transactional. He’ll use his marketing genius to make Kat the most sought-after woman in London, if she lets him rebrand her struggling company.
With her 35th birthday looming and her love life a disaster, Kat agrees to become Project Marriage.
Can a rebrand king sell happily ever after? Or is love something even the best marketer can't package and promote?
A smart, funny romantic comedy for fans of Emile Henry (Funny Story), Lucy Score and Ali Hazelwood.
The Extract
The Corporate Clash
This is the first explosive meeting between Freddy Stark, a ruthless marketing guru, and Kat Friedman, the no-nonsense CEO of a struggling indie publisher. Freddy expects to bulldoze his way through the company. Kat has other ideas.
‘Mr Stark.’ Kat crosses her arms. ‘Little Voice is a small, independent publisher. Our job isn’t to make money. It’s to win awards.’
‘Well, that changes right now.’ Freddy claps his hands, making a very satisfying, manly noise. ‘I have a few restructurings to make before we get onto the fun stuff. Anyone I let go will have a great remuneration package, a good reference –’
‘What are you talking about?’ Kat shouts. ‘You can’t lay off my staff.’
Despite himself, Freddy smiles. ‘I beg your pardon? Your staff?’
‘Yes, these are my staff.’ Kat gestures around the table. ‘My team. And don’t even think about raising your hand to cut me off.’
‘I wasn’t going to –’
‘Because the last person who did that ended up with oolong tea all over him.’
‘Kat.’ Freddy gives another charming smile, brown eyes twinkling. ‘Can I call you Kat?’
‘No.’
‘I just bought out T&C Media. Little Voice is part of the package –’
‘No, it isn’t,’ Kat interrupts. ‘T&C Media owns fifty percent of Little Voice. I own the other half.’
Freddy is a little wrong-footed, which is surprising considering how expensive his shoes are.
‘I think you’ve made a mistake there, Kat. As far as I’m aware, it was a total buyout.’ Freddy whips out his brand-new, not-even-available-to-the-public-yet, iPhone and checks the T&C takeover contract.
Little Voice, Little Voice…
Oh no. It’s right there in black and white: 50% share.
A 50% share won’t work. Not for the changes Freddy needs to make. And T&C Media is nothing without the literature angle. It’s the key to unlocking so many big deals.
Freddy isn’t a partnership sort of person. He is a lone wolf. Lone wolves don’t compromise. They eat people.
‘Well look at that, Kat.’ Freddy quickly regains his composure. ‘We’re co-owners. Half each. I’ll tell you what. I’ll give you two million to sell me your half.’
‘No.’
This response surprises Freddy. He’s never met anyone who turned down a ridiculous sum of money before.
‘Maybe you didn’t hear me right.’ Freddy gives Kat a wink. ‘I said two million. Pounds. You can buy yourself an awful lot of new shoes. Or cardigans –’
‘Mr Stark,’ says Kat. ‘I am not motivated by money.’
Freddy stares at Kat, momentarily lost for words. This woman is crazy. But he should have known that by her outfit. Eventually, he asks: ‘So what are you motivated by?’
‘Looking after my team and creating books that give people a voice.’
Freddy feels no further need to ask questions. Kat Friedman has a screw loose. You can’t argue with crazy.
‘Okay then.’ Freddy glances at his redundancy list. ‘We’ll do things the hard way. As a co-owner, I can make changes –’
‘No, you can’t,’ says Kat. ‘Not without my permission. And I don’t give permission.’
‘But Kat, it’s in your interests to streamline staff,’ Freddy insists. ‘You’ll make more money, and your staff will find positions more suited to their skills. A real win-win.’ He’s about to wink at her again but thinks better of it. ‘Of course, your job is safe –’
‘I don’t have a job,’ Kat snaps. ‘I’m co-owner. You can’t fire me or anyone else. Not without my permission. And I don’t give permission. I take care of my staff.’
Freddy returns to the comfort of his trademark charm. He throws Kat a fabulous smile. ‘How about we talk business over dinner? You can tell me how you got those marks on your hand. I bet there’s a story there.’
‘They’re not marks. They’re scars.’ Kat holds Freddy in a steady death glare. ‘And I have no interest in spending time with a man who wants to get rid of my loyal employees.’
‘In my defence, I haven’t gotten rid of anyone yet,’ says Freddy. ‘But let’s start sorting the wheat from the chaff. Is there someone called Alan here?’
The oldest gay in the village starts crying.
Kat’s face crumples. She puts an arm around Alan’s leather-clad shoulders, then gives Freddy a look that could strip paint.
Freddy pushes a box of tissues towards Alan but feels unrepentant. Alan will get an excellent remuneration package. Enough to buy himself many more leather, studded caps. And frankly, given his attendance record, he’s unlikely to know the difference between working and not working.
‘Alan, stop crying,’ says Kat. ‘Mr Stark isn’t getting rid of anyone. To make decisions about this company he has to go through me. And I say no. We’re a family.’ She turns to Freddy. ‘So, take your cheap smile and your expensive suit and throw your weight around somewhere else.’
Freddy is impressed. He almost wants to give Kat a round of applause. She is marvellous and very pretty. But she is also in his way. She’ll have to go, just like the rest of her badly dressed, lack-lustre team.
Freddy wants Little Voice. It’s an untapped gold mine and also the key to some previously tightly locked tax advantages. And Freddy always gets what he wants. It’s just a matter of time.
Book Details
ISBN: 978 1999866389
Publisher: Book Club Ltd.
Formats: e-book and paperback (currently available on Kindle Unlimited)
No. of Pages: 328 (paperback)
Purchase Links
About the Author
Suzy K Quinn writes romantic comedy / rom com books / cozy mystery and has sold over 1 million books worldwide. She is a bestseller in the UK, US and Germany and has plans for total world domination with more feel-good books (bestsellers, obviously) in the near future.
Suzy lives in Wivenhoe, Essex, with her husband Demi and two daughters. She is a twin, an incompetent parent of two and now fully decaffeinated. Her twin sister, Cate Quinn, is also a bestseller author. When she's not writing, she is reading rom coms and cozy mysteries.
Suzy loves her readers and is ALWAYS happy to chat on social media
You can also find Suzy at:
(ARC and media courtesy of Rachel's Random Resources)
(all opinions are my own)
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