Smokin' Hot Reads: Release Week Event and Review: On the Record by KA Linde

K.A. Linde Release Week Event

On the Record

8/22-8/28

For political reporter Liz Dougherty, election day—a day of looking toward the future and saying goodbye to the past—seems like a fitting time to start a new relationship. But feelings for her former flame still linger...

The sexy second book in bestselling author K.A. Linde’s Record series decides whether it’s better to pick up the pieces and move on...or to pick up right where you left off.

“Liz,” he growled, “get. In. The. Car.”

“I can’t. I just can’t get in the car with you,” she said. She made the mistake then of lifting her eyes to meet his deep chocolate orbs. Fuck! His eyes were so intense and commanding. She just wanted to get lost in those eyes forever. She swallowed hard and licked her bottom lip. “It’s not a good idea.”

“Goddamn it, Liz. Get in the car!” he yelled. “I didn’t get out of my meetings for the night and drive thirty minutes out of the way for you to tell me to go home. Now get in the car.”

“Seriously, shut up,” she cried, pushing off of the car door. “I made a mistake. People make mistakes.” The car jerked into park and he popped the driver’s-side door open. “What are you doing?”

“I said get in the car, Liz, and you’re going to listen one way or another,” he said, walking around the front of the car.

“What the fuck does that mean?” she asked, narrowing her eyes. “I’m trying to have a conversation with you. I’m not in the right frame of mind tonight, and being around you is a bad idea.”

“I like bad ideas,” he said, standing before her.

BRADY

Brady Maxwell III -- State Senator running for the House of Representatives, tall dark and handsome, alpha, played college basketball, family lives in Durham, has a younger brother and sister, father is a U.S. Senator, Adam Cowie

LIZ

Liz Dougherty -- reporter, student at UNC Chapel Hill, journalism major, Morehead scholar, plays tennis, curvy blonde, obsessed with skinny jeans, originally from Tampa, Bar Rafaeli

CLAY

Clay Maxwell -- Brady's younger brother, Yale Law School, dating Andrea, promiscuous, cocky, blonde and blue, black sheep of the family, Todd Finlay

HAYDEN

Hayden Lane -- editor in chief, student at UNC Chapel Hill, journalism major, cross country runner, blonde with hazel eyes, neat freak, driven, originally from Raleigh, parents and older sister, Jamie, in DC, Oliver Cheshire

SAVANNAH

Savannah Maxwell -- Brady's younger sister, freshman in college at UNC Chapel Hill, works on the campaign division with Liz, rebellious, loyal, long pin straight dark brown hair and brown eyes, Victoria Justice

VICTORIA

Victoria Glass -- Liz's best friend and roommate, prefers TAs and professors (at the same time if she can), party girl, wicked smart, loves to travel, originally from New Jersey, Vanessa Hudgens

CALLEIGH

Calleigh Hollingsworth -- reporter, works for Charlotte Times, UNC Chapel Hill alum, Hayden's ex, bottle maroon red hair and bright green eyes, exotic build, self serving bitch, Ariana Grande

Brady, Brady, Brady… sigh…. Why do I have such a weak spot for you! Gah…. Why would I love a man, a politician at that, who wants to have a private affair with a college student? What is it that makes me swoon over him and has me chopping at the bits to get to the last book in the series??? Could it be his smooth and suave demeanor?? Maybe…. Could it be he’s got that whole tall dark and handsome thing going on? Maybe…. Or could it be the dirty mouth that comes out in the bedroom?? Definitely! In On the Record, I may just fallen a little harder for our politician. He just makes my heart burst and stake claim to him as my book boyfriend and nobody else’s! This review will contain spoilers from Off the Record so if you have not read that… get to one clicking! This series is one of my all-time favorites!

Last we saw Liz, she walked out on Brady. She knew that she would only hinder his chances of being the career politician he knew he was meant to be. It was the hardest thing she could ever do. She loved him but she knew love was not going to be enough. She was the distraction. So she went back to focusing on what she knew, the school paper and Hayden. She knew Hayden as there for her. Their relationship was safe. He was the good guy that could love her unconditionally. She had crushed on him for two years and he has expressed interest in moving their relationship forward.

“…she knew that Hayden was the right choice. He was sensible, attentive, handsome, carrying, and he would never hide her. He was a fucking perfect as Victoria described him. But still… he wasn’t Brady.”

She knew though Hayden was the safe bet. She could be happy with him. She could build something with him. Months go by and their relationship continued to blossom. Even though Brady’s sister Savannah worked at the paper with her, she kept all things Brady out of her mind. She didn’t want to follow his career or know what was going on in his personal life. When her senior year rolled around, it was time for Hayden to move forward in his career as well. He had accepted a position in Charlotte Times with no other than the queen bitch herself, Calleigh. Liz was suspicious of Hayden taking job where he would work so closely with Calleigh… never mind that they once had a relationship. Hayden is committed to Liz and convinces her Calleigh is a nonissue. He loves Liz, that Calleigh will not get in the way of their relationship. At this point, I’m like yah right! Calleigh is the biggest bitch ever and I know she will get in the way!!

“She had fucking brought a Senator to his knees… she could handle Calleigh Hollingsworth”

I just love that line! When Liz gets her dream internship with the New York Times, she works hard to juggle her responsibilities. When Hayden makes a surprise visit to the school and sees how Liz is handling the paper he comes down on her hard, this was not how he ran things and he expected more from her. A huge argument follows and Liz finds herself leaning on the one person she never expected, Brady Maxwell. So at this point I’m jumping for joy! I’m all about #teamBrady! I’m like finally!!!!!!!!! Will this be the catalyst that pushes Brady and Liz back together or will this be a bump in the road of Liz and Hayden’s relationship? Will their first real argument be the beginning of the end??

“I’m not doing this again. Next time he breaks your heart, I don’t want to hear about it. I don’t want you to call me. I don’t want you to think about me. I’m not part of your life. We might as well have never happened.”

When the secrets and lies start to unravel, my emotions were all over the place! Again KA Linde has the ability to bring me to tears!!!!! Gah!!!!!! The middle book in a series for me tends to be boring at times, for me anyways… It’s normally the book that ties the beginning and the end but I feel like with this book I got a whole different side to the story. We get to know our favorite characters a little more and we get more of some great supporting cast. Clay and Victoria are two of my favorites. Clay is Brady’s younger brother who is cocky and arrogant and I love it! Victoria is the best friend we all want. She’s straight shooter and calls it like it is!

When everything starts to unfold I could not help myself but to find myself saying things like what... oh no she didn’t… oh no he didn’t…and why!!! Why!! Why!! I wanted so much more! I kept watching my kindle timer at the bottom thinking no… no… no…. I’m getting to the end and I don’t want it to end!!!!!!!!!! KA Linde delivers another phenomenal series and the “Queen of Angst” holds her title as this has my emotions on the rollercoaster that I never wanted it to stop! The agonizing wait until November will probably kill me but in the end, I know it will be so worth the wait! I will just leave you with one of my absolute favorite quotes from the book!

“You fucking train-wrecked through my life, and I can’t get rid of you. But at the same time, Liz, my entire body is aching to touch you. I just want to taste your lips and breathe you in, and bury myself inside of you. I feel like I’m going insane, that I’m splitting in two. Because everything tells me I should run headfirst in the opposite direction, but then I look at you, I hear your voice, I see those pleading blue eyes and I’m lost, I forget everything I should do, and I just know what I want to do.”

USA Today bestselling author K.A. Linde has written the Avoiding series and the Record series as well as the new adult novels Following Me and Take Me for Granted. She grew up as a military brat traveling the United States and Australia. While studying political science and philosophy at the University of Georgia, she founded the Georgia Dance Team, which she still coaches. Post-graduation, she served as the campus campaign director for the 2012 presidential campaign at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. An avid traveler, reader, and bargain hunter, K.A. lives in Athens, Georgia, with her fiancé and two puppies, Riker and Lucy.