From New York
Times bestselling author Catherine Bybee comes the sixth novel in
the warm and witty Not Quite series.
No one drives in New York City. Everyone knows
that, including California transplant Rachel Price. But that doesn’t stop her
from driving into the city. From Connecticut. Every single morning. Rain or
shine…or snow.
When
she runs the charismatic and good-looking Jason Fairchild off the road, their
immediate spark is met with bad timing. There is also one tiny little detail:
Jason is her boss. And a woman as intelligent and dedicated to her career as
Rachel knows not to date her boss.
As
CEO of a private jet company, Jason Fairchild is more used to flying than
driving. But if he hadn’t chosen to drive home one night, he wouldn’t have met
the slowest—and most irresistible—driver in the entire metro area. Jason has
never had time for love. Or dating. Or really anything that doesn’t involve work. But when
he finds out that Rachel is the newest superstar in his marketing department,
he can’t help wondering if fate has other plans…
Release
Date: March 6, 2018
Montlake Romance
Not Quite #6
Contemporary Romance
Review copy provided by publisher
Liza's Review:
Not Quite Crazy was
a great addition to the Not Quite series. Catherine Bybee once
again delivers an emotional romance to her readers.
Rachel Price has moved to Connecticut from California to be closer
to Owen's grandparents. Owen is her best friend's Emily's son, and Rachel
received guardianship of him upon his mother's death. To try and appease his
grandparents, Rachel and Owen have moved in order to give Owen a chance to meet
his dad's side of the family, as none of them have ever been in his life. First
of all, I have to give both Rachel and Owen major props for doing this,
especially after meeting his grandparents, who might be 2 of the rudest
and most entitled people on the face of the planet.
Rachel meets Jason Fairchild totally by accident and doesn't
realize until he shows up for a presentation at work that he is basically her
boss. They had such amazing chemistry already between them, I knew they would
be fighting their attraction to each other to make sure Rachel's job was
secure. I also loved how close Jason and Owen grew over a relatively short
period of time. I actually totally got that as Owen was 15 years old and had
really never had a man in his life as his father had only been around a handful
of times that he could remember.
I enjoyed the romance between Rachel and Jason. It moved at more
of a slow burn and with all that was going on in Rachel's life, it made sense
for them to move slowly. I honestly felt the fact that Rachel and Jason were
friends first really worked in their favor long-term.
The custody drama with Owen's grandparents really just made me
dislike them even more than I did upon meeting them initially. Really it was
more the grandmother than the grandfather. He really just seemed to go along
with whatever his wife wanted. I have to say I was a bit surprised by Owen's
actions during this battle, but had to remind myself that while he acted pretty
mature much of the time, he was in fact only 15.
Not Quite Crazy was
a fun and emotional romance that grabbed hold of me early on. I had to keep
reading to find out how Rachel and Jason could make their relationship work and
to keep up with Owen. I really enjoy this series from Ms. Bybee.
Rating: 4 Stars (B)
Message From the Author
In Not Quite Crazy,
California transplant, Rachel Price, doesn’t understand the ramifications of
driving into Manhattan from Connecticut every day; in every type of
weather…especially snow. When she runs the charming Jason Fairchild off the
road, sparks fly. Too bad Jason is her new boss and dating him is out of the
question. Everyone knows it’s occupational suicide to date your boss.
Determined
to keep her distance romantically, the two dive into a friendship. It isn’t
long before those sparks ignite and neither one of them can deny their
attraction. Throw in a teenage ward that Rachel has taken on after the death of
her best friend, and biological grandparents that seek custody; and this heart
warming love story is bound to whisk you away.
While I
was writing Not Quite Crazy I took an impromptu trip
to Manhattan last March. I purposely chose a winter month where I might be able
to absorb what it felt like to be in the city when snow covered the ground.
That might sound silly for those of you who live in the city, but for me, a
woman who has lived in Southern California since she was eighteen years old, I
had no idea just how snow impacts day to day life.
On the
drive in from the airport, I was immediately struck by the bikes chained to
posts and buried by snow. I observed a man digging his car out and effectively
covering his neighbor’s car in the process. The plows did a great job of
clearing the path for those cars actually moving, but did an equally fantastic
job of making sure some vehicles couldn’t move for days. Trash piled up on the
sidewalks would have to wait to be picked up until the thaw. It was astonishing
to see. But the best experience for me, and one that made it into the pages of Not Quite Crazy,
came when I took my first ride on the subway. You see, I was on my way uptown,
from downtown to meet with my agent. Keep in mind, Manhattan is only five miles
long. But it was St. Patrick’s Day and I completely forgot about the parade. I
ordered an Uber, as one does, and sat bumper to bumper for nearly two hours.
After arriving extremely late to my lunch, my wise and savvy agent gave me the
instructions I needed to ride the subway back to my downtown hotel. I’m a grown
woman, riding a subway shouldn’t intimidate me… but if I were honest, it did.
So, with my purse strapped to my shoulder and zipped on the inside of my
jacket, and my eyes wide open, I crowded into the underground train along with
just about everyone else in the city. Street performers jumped onto
the car and started singing for change. Tourists chatted enthusiastically while
locals looked bored with the whole process.
Rachel,
my heroine in Not Quite Crazy is an extension of
everyone I know that has lived in California. Here on the west coast we all
have cars. We’re in them all the time. Public transportation is a joke when the
distance between downtown LA and Orange County is so far away. The concept of
always relying on public transportation to get to work every single day isn’t
something most Southern Californian’s do. So when Rachel showed up on the page,
I made sure she personified my own stubbornness about independently driving to
and from wherever she needed to go. Even if it takes her two hours more than it
should.
I hope
you all enjoy this final chapter in the Not Quite Series and
find room on your keeper shelf for Not Quite Crazy.
Cheers,
Catherine
NOT QUITE CRAZY Excerpt
Rachel found the stack of mail on the dining
room table. She fingered through a few bills and tossed the junk to the side to
add to the recycle bin. The box Owen had spoken of didn’t have a mailing label.
In fact, all that was written on the plain brown box was her name, her first
name.
She peeled away the tape, not knowing
what to expect. Once she folded the lid back, she saw a handwritten envelope on
top of a white canvas bag. It took a little effort to lift the noisy bag from
the box—the sound of metal hitting metal struck her as odd.
Chains.
Chains for the tires on her car.
“Who…?”
She opened the note and a second paper fell
out.
Rachel
Thank you for braving this stranger in a storm
and keeping me from frostbite. Welcome to Connecticut.
Jason
Below his name was a phone number
Something inside her stomach flipped, the buzz
a teenage girl feels when she notices a popular boy watching her from the other
side of the classroom. Or maybe she was reading into it. Maybe this was just a
thank-you, a friendly gesture from a grateful, stranded traveler.
Her cheeks warmed.
Assuming he gave her a mobile number, Rachel
decided to send a text.
Hello Jason. I received your gift. They were
incredibly thoughtful. Thank you.
She
read her note over, twice, then pressed “Send.” Off it went, in wherever notes
went as they traveled faster than Superman in cyberspace.
The
phone in her hand buzzed, reminding her she was holding it.
Is this
Rachel?
She
grinned.
Do you
leave gifts on everyone’s doorstep in town?
Dot.
Dot. Dot. It is nearly Christmas.
Was he
flirting? It had been some time since she’d sent a text to anyone outside of
the friend zone, so she couldn’t tell.
So you
double as Connecticut’s Santa Claus?
Shhh.
Don’t tell anyone. It’s a secret.
Well,
he wasn’t not flirting.
I’ll
keep my mouth closed on one condition.
Oh?
What’s that?
I want
to meet Vixen. She’s always been my favorite.
I
thought Vixen was a he.
She
giggled.
A boy
named Vixen. That’s just cruel. Good point. I’ll see what I can do. The team is
on a strict curfew until after the holiday.
Rachel
found a rolling eye emoji.
About the Title
Title: Not Quite Crazy
Author: Catherine Bybee
Release Date: March 6, 2018
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Summary
No one drives in New York
City. Everyone knows that, including California transplant Rachel Price. But
that doesn’t stop her from driving into the city. From Connecticut. Every
single morning. Rain or shine…or snow.
When she runs the charismatic and good-looking
Jason Fairchild off the road, their immediate spark is met with bad timing.
There is also one tiny little detail: Jason is her boss. And a woman as
intelligent and dedicated to her career as Rachel knows not to date
her boss.
As CEO of a private jet company, Jason Fairchild
is more used to flying than driving. But if he hadn’t chosen to drive home one
night, he wouldn’t have met the slowest—and most irresistible—driver in the
entire metro area. Jason has never had time for love. Or dating. Or really
anything that doesn’t involve work. But when he finds out that Rachel is the
newest superstar in his marketing department, he can’t help wondering if fate
has other plans…
About the Author
When
Catherine Bybee fell in love with the first romance novel she ever read, she
promised herself she would one day become a published author. Now she’s written
twenty-seven books that have collectively sold more than four million copies
and have been translated into more than eighteen languages. Along with her popular Not Quite series,
she has also penned the Weekday Brides series, the Most Likely To series, and
the First Wives series.
Raised
in Washington State, Bybee moved to Southern California in hopes of becoming a
movie star. After growing bored with waiting tables, she returned to school and
became a registered nurse, spending most of her career in urban emergency
rooms. Catherine now writes full-time. Fans can learn more at www.CatherineBybee.com.
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