Reviewed by Cinnamon

TITLE: A Company of Players

SERIES: States of Love series, New York

AUTHOR: Ken Bachtold

PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press

LENGTH: 137 pages

RELEASE DATE:  March 22, 2017

BLURB:

Leaving romantic wreckage behind him, Nick Charles and his best friend Barb Anderson use Nick’s sizable inheritance to fly to one of the most exciting places in the world—New York City—with plans to open their own theater. In doing so, they meet Ross Taylor, the handsome real estate man and actor, and Rudy his construction-worker cousin. Ross is determined to heal Nick’s fragile heart, while shy Rudy and oblivious Barb stumble toward their own connection. Will Rosie Dupree, a rigid method actress, and talented but devious Gordon Holmes destroy their theater dreams? Was choosing the original piece, Starting Over, by an unpublished young playwright the best move for opening night? Will the invited critic show up? Amid the frantic and colorful world of the New York City theater scene, Nick and Barb must open their hearts and risk everything for their endeavors to succeed—both on the stage and behind the scenes.

 REVIEW:

A Company of Players is part of the States of Love series, which is a collection of “stories of romance that span every corner of the United States.” This time our story is set in New York City.

Ken Bachtold is a new author for me and I really enjoy his writing style. It’s pretty obvious that Mr. Bachtold is either very familiar with the wonderful world of theater or he did an amazing amount of research because that angle of the plot-line was very well written with exciting and informative details. We get an insight of what’s going on behind the scenes, how a performance is put together detail by detail.

Nick and Barb are best friends and after graduating they leave their hometown, San Francisco, and head to the Mecca of Theater, New York City. Nick’s inheritance helps them to make their dream come true and start a new theater, which they name A Company of Players. This book tells the story how they make it happen with the help of real estate extraordinaire/aspiring actor, Ross and his cousin, Rudy, who is a construction worker/high school drama and English teacher. They are a wonderful group of people and we root for their success along the way. There are some nice complications in the form of an egotistical, troublemaker actor and Nick’s painful heartbreak that makes him vulnerable and insecure in his romantic ways.

Romance takes a back seat in this book and we get hints and see our couples but not much romance is happening on the pages.

I am aware that a novella is short but I feel that too much was left out, too many things happened outside of the story.

I enjoyed this book a lot but I would have liked to see more of Nick and Ross’ relationship and  attraction. I didn’t feel their connection just knew that they belong together.

If you like theater, a straightforward story-line and  some great characters, this is a good read for you.

RATING:

BUY LINKS:

Dreamspinner Press

Amazon